European Vacation, more like Wild chase.

My biggest fear heading to Europe to race was that I'd be one of those cyclists that can get results at home but not where it matters. Europe is to cycling what Hollywood is to acting, it's where you go to make it big. My first week, and first two races in Europe have been a boost to my confidence.

After arriving in the Netherlands on Wednesday my first race was to be a UCI 1.2 category 125km race around the village of Borsele, near the Belgium border on Saturday 25th April. At the start of this race I finally met the man I'd been e-mailing for months and the man who had given me this fantastic opportunity, my team manager, Chris Rouw. I also met six of my Moving Ladies team mates. Emma Trott, a girl 10months older than myself and a very strong Time Trial rider. Emma rode for the Great Britain national team for much of the 2008 season. Nikki Harris, a very strong cyclocross rider who placed 14th at the 2008 cyclocross world championships. Kate Cullen, another rider from the UK who has won medals at the Commonwealth games on the track. Sarah Cramoysan, a strong national rider in the UK. Linda Ringlever, a strong Dutch rider who rode for the UCI pro team Global, now known as Vision1 and Evelien Post, another strong Dutch club rider.

The race was 5 laps of a 25km circuit on roads barely wider than the bike paths around Canberra. With narrow roads, sharp corners, strong crosswinds, six of the biggest UCI Pro teams and a bunch of two hundred plus riders I was truly diving in the deep end. To skim through the details the race made everything else I have competed in look like a training ride. The Cervelo Women's team showed why they are arguably the best team in the world, pushing the pace at every opportunity and causing the bunch to splinter to pieces within the first 65km. By the last lap only sixteen out of the two-hundred girls who lined up at the start line that morning were at the front of the race, I was lucky enough to be one of them. I ended up finishing 6th which I was ecstatic with as my aim heading into the race had been: Get to the front and stay there. It was amazing to be racing next to women like Marianne Vos and Kirsten Wild, riders who up until now had been names on paper to me rather than, as it turns out, absolute machines.

The next day the Moving Ladies team headed to the village of Roeselare, near Gent in Belgium to race another UCI 1.2 category race, the GP Roeselare. After a small drama where we were in doubt as to whether we would have enough riders to actually start the race, myself and three of my team mates again lined up at the start line with two hundred of our closest friends. I had quickly established that small teams like Moving Ladies have one race plan in races such the GP Roeselare and the Omloop van Borsele: SURVIVE. And so as we rolled away surrounded by Team Columbia High Road, Cervelo, BSB Bank and Flexpoint riders, our race for survival began. Like yesterday's race the roads were very narrow and technical, however, unlike yesterday's race, this race had three short sharp power climbs, one of which had a maximum of 23 percent gradient and was cobbled.

If there is one thing I learnt from each race this weekend it is this:
i) riding in the gutter with roaring crosswinds while Cervelo bring back the break is not a dream come true, it's a nightmare; and
ii) climbs plus cobbles equals not pleasant.

I made it to the final kms intact. Cervelo once again had completely controlled the race, showing their dominance of Women's cycling. Kirsten Wild had her lead out train driving the pace from almost 10km out reaching over 55km/hr in the final stages. I found myself fighting for Rochelle Gilmore's wheel as we made the final right hand turn into the finish straight. I was unable to match both Kirsten and Rochelle's kicks and just missed out making the podium as I crossed the line for 4th in the mass bunch sprint. Again I was ecstatic with my result in only my second race in Europe. My results over the weekend have only made me hungrier to race against the top teams and top riders in the world and to prove myself and my abilities on the international cycling scene.

Here's hoping the podium is the next stop!