Domestique Duties For Me Today

I thought that being a domestique would mean having an easy life in the Kingston Wheelers Saturday gang peloton but I was wrong. Very wrong.

Look at today’s ride. For the first two climbs my leader sent me to cover all Enrique’s moves in the first two climbs. Enrique is a strong climber and even if he wasn’t pushing hard today it almost gave me a heart attack trying to keep up with him.

Once Enrique left the ride I figured my role was to move to the front and set the right pace for my leader. Thankfully my leader wanted an easy, sustainable pace. There I went sitting in the front. Quite often! All the way to the coffee stop.

With two more climbs to come, as soon as we jumped on our bikes after the coffee stop my leader suggested I should create a breakaway…

And there I went pushing the pace at the first small ramps. The peloton didn’t fight against a breakaway and very soon me and Nigel went clear.

So, there I was in a breakaway with a proper rouleur. All my hopes of having it easy at the breakaway vanished. 

Luckily for me he allowed me to sit in the front and set the pace that suited me better. Steady all the way. The arrangement worked very well. We stayed away for more than 45 kilometers. The stage was going to be ours. It was going to be a sprint finish.

I figured I had a 50% chance at the sprint. Those are odds I’d take any time I’m not riding with the climbers of the group. A shame that the traffic light just after the last roundabout was red forcing us to stop and calling off the sprint. 

Happy with a neutralized finish that allows me to claim I didn’t lose the sprint I finish my day thinking the life of a domestique is not really for me. 

It requires you to work a lot. Doesn’t really fit with my lazy approach to cycling.

I think DS would be a better role for me.

I wonder if the Saturday Gang would allow me to drive behind the ground while I give them instructions on the radio…

Take care

Javier Arias González