STAGE 1 LIMOUSIN: DEJA VU

A day trip to Cento on Saturday seemed quite epic, until realising we were faced with a 10 hour drive to France the following morning! I slept as much as possible, tried to eat as little as possible, and passed the time as girls usually do...gossiping. I have left the confines of the AIS for the week to compete with the development team for the 'Tour Feminin en Limousin', and after racing here last year, I know what I'm in for...hills, dead roads and more hills. Josie, Carlee, Leonie and I had a few days to acquaint ourselves with the course, experiencing our first Cat 1 climb within 1km of our sleepy town! We also found time for a spot of shopping in nearby Limoges, where we bought nothing but internet time and food...let’s agree that France isn’t the fashion capital.

Our fellow team-mates arrived on Tuesday night in Ruth Corset and Louise Kerr, although the only sighting I’ve had of Lou in the last 48 hours is her with her head in the toilet! She has come down with a serious case of food poisoning after consuming a suspicious looking chicken sandwich at the service station, but started the tour tonight in a hope that she couldn’t get any worse. It was a long evening with 120 girls prepared to tackle the relatively technical and slightly hilly 4.6km time trial circuit, and spirits were high after having 5 girls finish in the top 20. This gave me 11th on GC and a bad dose of pursuiter’s cough it seems. Coincidentally, Josie (pictured above at TT start), Ruth and I all finished on the exact same time!

Results: Tour Feminin en Limousin, Stage 1, Limoges-Landouge, 4.6 kms