Today was the Tielt Winge Kermesse, which was a 1.12 Category, 100km Kermesse (meaning it was the highest ranking amateur kermesse ) The best part was  that the race start was 50m from my house! I could literally walk to the registration in my pyjamas!

Anyway, the race got off to a good start, with everyone feeling pretty friendly today for some reason. It must have been the sunshine... A few attacks went off up the road, but non worth chasing. Except one. The one that stayed clear all day! With half the New Zealand contingent in the move, it was bound to work...

A few laps later, and the peleton had calmed down... Once the field hit an open stretch of road, Ian Fields and Marc Perry joined me on the front, and we drove a solid pace along a "gutter section" - referring to the side wind that puts the field in a long straight line. Soon enough the field was split in 2 groups which is what we wanted. Then I took the chance to catch a breather in the back of the group and let some others do some work for a change.

Come the final 2 laps, the pace went up again with one of the Brits pushing the pace on the only climb in the 6.5km loop. This again shrunk the size of our group and allowed us to work together for a better result. With 1km left until we started our final lap, an official told us that the lap we were on now was in fact the finishing lap! The reason for this was that an official on turn 1 was run over by a wayward bus... Not the best sight, although he only broke his ankle. Back to the race - the sprint started, with various riders having already finished ahead of us in the lead break from lap 1. So we were sprinting for top 20's and cash bonuses really... My finish went well, and I managed to win the bunch kick - putting me in 19th place overall. So I finally got my elusive top 20!

A top day on the bike! I'll enjoy my recovery ride tomorrow, and the associatd sleep in! Time to catch Top Gear on TV so until next time, Tot Ziens!!!