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Outsmarted
In the end it all came down to a fraction of a second. Not once but a couple of times
It was quite simple really. I looked over my right shoulder. Rob dives down below my left.
I was half asleep. I knew it was going to happen and yet it still took me a second to react. By the time I do, Rob is a good 20 metres up the track and I know I'm in trouble. It's still 500 metres to the finish and Rob has gapped me and he has 4 inches more gearing than me. I know he's strong with better endurance than I and with a bigger gear how the hell am I going to catch him let alone get around him.
So I put the head down and spin like crazy to get his wheel. It takes at least half a lap for me to reach him and I'm exhausted. Coming around the bend for the last time I hesitate again for a fraction of a second, not sure when to pull out and try to come around. By the time I commit I'm too late. I hadn't given myself enough time to get over the top and the line is too close. I'm faster over the finish line but can't make up the last couple fo centimetres.
And there it is. I won all the heats only to lose the final. I was completely outsmarted by an opponent who had a definite plan and then the mind and ability to put it in place.
Well done Rob! It was a brilliant race. I wish you weren't my friend so I could curse you and stick pins in a voodoo doll. You deserve the win and we both learned heaps. And despite the heat, the wind and the fatigue it was lot of fun.
I was half asleep. I knew it was going to happen and yet it still took me a second to react. By the time I do, Rob is a good 20 metres up the track and I know I'm in trouble. It's still 500 metres to the finish and Rob has gapped me and he has 4 inches more gearing than me. I know he's strong with better endurance than I and with a bigger gear how the hell am I going to catch him let alone get around him.
So I put the head down and spin like crazy to get his wheel. It takes at least half a lap for me to reach him and I'm exhausted. Coming around the bend for the last time I hesitate again for a fraction of a second, not sure when to pull out and try to come around. By the time I commit I'm too late. I hadn't given myself enough time to get over the top and the line is too close. I'm faster over the finish line but can't make up the last couple fo centimetres.
And there it is. I won all the heats only to lose the final. I was completely outsmarted by an opponent who had a definite plan and then the mind and ability to put it in place.
Well done Rob! It was a brilliant race. I wish you weren't my friend so I could curse you and stick pins in a voodoo doll. You deserve the win and we both learned heaps. And despite the heat, the wind and the fatigue it was lot of fun.
