And so after another hotel breakfast and 2 trips to the car with all my stuff it was time to roll off to Åstorp. I had never raced there before but I have heard a lot of good things about it...and they were all true! Today was the finest CX course of the year! There were approximately 4003 curves and most of it was grass but not wet and sucky like the last three times. There were still hills but they were not as steep so it was possible to keep on the bike and 'gasa på' if you happened to have legs for that.

Since seeding for the weekend was based on last week's points and many DNSed again I actually had Startled 1 next to Philip King (who later went on to a superb 3rd place!). The only time I have ever had front row is when they choose randomly or when CC Lasse reverses the order in Introcross. Anyway, no one was behind me because they knew and at the start I was actually fine but by the end of the start hill I was back to my usual last. This start was a massive shock to my body and I fought and fought to get back to the group and I did by the time the corners started. Okay, Patrik's wheel...nej, he jumped up a position. Who else? Hmm, by the time we reached one of the tight curves Lars E was the nearest in front again so I battled on until the slalom down to the mud hole part (which was fun with splashy splashy) and then he took off in grand style.

But this was a race of the unexpected because after I chickened out and ran down the drop (it had a hard-looking fence at the bottom) I saw someone from CK Master ahead of me carrying his bike. FIGHT!! So I accelerated and passed him at not the best point but if I had waited he would have blocked my way up the fun little bridge section. So I tried my best to get a good lead because the pit was just after that and he could change wheels So for a first lap this was quite lively. And then just at the start of the second lap I saw someone from CK CX also running with his bike so for the second time today I could say FIGHT!!! and pass someone else. So I continued to power my way through Lap 2 obviously not feeling near as sick as the last two races.

By the end of the start straight and into Lap 3 I was obviously feeling the aftermath of my attacks and I could sense company from behind. I held on about another quarter of a lap before being passed by Otto from CK Master but to make me feel better I looked forward and saw that I could see Lars E again and if I believed hard enough the gap was shrinking.

I had already calculated that it would be a 5 lap race and I would be doing 4 but since the day was going well and I actually finished 3 laps without a sign of anyone behind I decided to push on and see how long I could hold off. I was on the grass part heading back parallel to the grusväg start section and could see that they were coming like a bullet so I think I was somewhere around the löphinder when I started getting lapped. Still, 3.5 laps was not bad at all and I still decided to give it everything I had once I was lapped because it would be over soon. It is good to test myself when I am that tired and it shows that I am capable of it if I could just get a better start. That seems to be the missing link...

Anyway, since I was not passed by that guy from CK CX I assume I did not finish last so that is a wonderful end to a weekend that could have been a disaster. In fact I finished 22nd place which is way higher than the 42nd I started the year with. With all the points I will get from all the DNS I might just even visit the top 20 of the cup.