NOT SO GOOD
Yeah, I had higher expectations.
Things didn't start off well with the heel injury just prior to Andalucia Bike Race which meant I couldn't train properly (and also gained weight before the start of the race). Then I suffered my catastrophic mechanical failure and had to abort the race during the fifth stage. Well, at that point I didn't care that much anymore.
The next goal was the Swedish Marathon Cup (Långloppscupen). I had a fourth place in the cup from 2016 to improve upon.
The cup started of with my favorite race: Billingeracet. I had trained well before the race and my weight was good. The year before I had come in second place so expectations were high for this year. I finished sixth. A bit of a disappointment but I felt that I had done a good race. Looking at some of the Strava segments during the race also told the same story: I was quicker than the year before. So I guess the opposition was tougher.
Things didn't get much better; In the next race, Lång Lugnet, I came in seventh place. In fact that was the theme for the rest of the races in the cup: Mediocre results. Well, that's when they weren't out right awful, I had a few of those as well.
I finished the Swedish Marathon Cup in sixth place overall. Two places worse than the year before. Also not a single podium finish in any of the races.
The middle season goal was the stage race Beskidy Trophy in June. In 2016 I finished in fourth place, just 60 seconds down on third. Again this year the preparations involved a big push to lose weight and I got down to close to 70 kg just before the race. Pretty much the same as last year. I ended up finishing in sixth place, mostly due to a terrible second stage with lots of punctures. If I deducted the time that I lost during that stage it looked like I might have finished in fourth again. A good result, but not what I was looking for.
There was also the Swedish Marathon Championships: I had a good training period before them, weight was not perfect, but good. But then I suffered a puncture within the first kilometer. The way I was able to catch up and finish in 10th place in spite of this tells me that I was in good shape. Especially as I the day after had my best placing in the Marathon Cup: 5th place.