The day didn't start well. Maybe it was the electrical storm overnight or just the anxiety of hoping to sleep well that ironically kept me awake but I only managed 3-4 hours sleep Saturday and awoke for Round 2 of the sprint series far from refreshed. Even a cup of "Espresso Dino" didn't help much. Emily had a similarly bad night and neither of us was in the mood for a long day of sprinting. Still the show had to go on..

Conditions couldn't have been much better at Blackburn. Warm but not hot and virtually no wind. The air was a bit thick with humidity though and added to the general feeling of lethargy. A flying 200 time of 13.273. Not bad but below expectations. I really need/want to go faster but seem o have stagnated around that 13.2-13.3 mark. Might need to consult the coach more on that one. Bigger gear? Smaller gear? Different line? I do know I'm often going faster than in the races themselves.

Young Marc Wilson first up and I'm leading and doing a fair job of keeping control. I noticed he was frequently taking a hand off the bars to push his sunglasses up his nose and with this in mind I jumped hard as we approached the front straight, got a small break and held on for the win. 13.1 seconds for the last 200 (See!)

Stuart Vaughan in Race 2 and I was looking forward to this one. You've got nothing to lose when racing a World Champ right? I had a definite plan against Stuart but unfortunately it involved me leading and controlling (especially when we crossed the finish line!). Stuart almost read my mind and controlled the race beautifully. I couldn't go under or over and just had to bide my time. As we came off the clubhouse bank for the last time I kicked as hard as I could basically drag racing Stu to the next corner. I had to get to the sprinters lane by then if I was to be a chance and although I got about a half a bike length ahead I was never in a position to safely chop down on Stu and then had to go the long way around the last bend. By then Stu ahd speed up and pulled away to win by a bike length. We both enjoyed the race.

Neil Robinson again. He jumped me coming into the home straight but didn't quite get far enough in front to take the lane. He then did me a favour by electing to ease off and sit on my wheel for a draft up the back straight but I had just enough in reserve to kick again when he tried to come around and took the win.

So I had made the final for third. That was significant because the only other time I had made an A grade final was when there were only four of us in the grade and the final was a fait accompli. But I was wasn't confident. The last race against Neil really drained me and the long day after little sleep was taking it's toll. I was up against Marc again and the race was turning into a carbon copy of the earlier encounter except this time he jumped me and opened up an enormous gap. Not sure how he got so far ahead. Was I really that brain dead and slow to react? I put in a huge chase and made up significant ground but was never close. So the day finished with two wins, two losses and more homework to do.

Emily raced really well. I reckon it's the best set of match sprints I've seen her do. She's building up quite a (friendly) rivalry with John Lewis and their races are great to watch. So we're both looking forward to Round 3. In the meantime Emily has a few target events, The Formua Future,, then the Womens' Omnium and The Metro's. I haven't decided if I will do the Metro's but I did gain some confidence yesterday.

More consulting with the coach needed!