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GB Team Selection Races 1 and 2
The already difficult task of winning a place on the mens kayak senior team for 2007 has got a little bit more difficult after a very disappointing weekend of paddling on my part.
In the first race a clean, solid first run had me in 3rd place, just a fraction down on second. Given that there was a couple of places on the run where a bit more time could be eeked out I was confident of delivering a strong, second run. Sadly it was not to be. With the combination of blustery wind which led to a 2-3 second time loss on the bottom half of the course, and the addition of a two second penalty, I was pushed down to 4th place with a second run time nearly 5 seconds down on the first
With Sunday being the second race of our three race selection series I was all too aware of what I needed to do. Once again, however, and much to my frustration, I was unable to deliver that crucial first run. Whilst there was no major time errors, a two second penalty incurred whilst negoatiating a tricky gate sequence around the pyramid pool, was enough to leave me in 8th place, and well down on the leaders.
I knew only a good second run would get me back into the points, and so, with a composed but attacking second run, I put down a run nearly 6 seconds quicker than the first, and which also the fastest run of the day. Whilst this has obviously served to boost my confidence, it does add to the frustration of knowing the speed is there, but not being able to deliver it twice.
With two races gone I find myself in 4th place, knowing that only the win in the thrid race will be enough to secure my place on the team. Whilst the odds are somewhat daunting, this is a particular challenge I am looking forward to taking on.
First things first though, need to iron out a few things that have become apparent over the course of this weekend...