In the world of bike racing, there are hundreds of anecdotes where the best laid plans have been undone by crashes, mechanical problems and inattention.

Until today, I have never fallen victim to the latter, but now I can say with total disbelief and frustration, that I totally f*@ked up the last corner of the TT and recorded a DNF.

Sure, I'm not a total idiot: there were 5 corners through narrow streets in a village in the last km; there was no marshall on the last corner; and I had not seen a map nor ridden the final kms yesterday due to logistical issues. But still, most of the other riders managed to cross the finish line, and those that missed it turned around to at least post a time.

We had arrived in Lausanne the day before after 7 hours in a car, and I cut a lap of the course with legs that felt like slabs of heavy, salted meat. Not good. The roads were beautiful (this is Switzerland, remember) but they were either up or down, and feeling bad while doing course recon is not great for the mojo.

At dinner in the hotel, GianCarlo and Francesco appreciated the fashion choices of the Slovakian waitress, vying for her attention with every course. (Francesco has a thing for Eastern Bloc women - his first two wives were a Romanian and a Czech).

Finally I got some solo time in my room, and some sleep after very little the night before. Thanks to some wise words from Donna, WO Larkin and National Coach, Martin Barras, I felt much more rested and positive on race morning.

It was the first outing for the new bike and wheels, and it was satisfying that nothing went wrong after all the time and effort that others had put in to getting me set up and sorted. This was an important day for me (oh, to be 21 and not care!) and a lot had changed since I did this race in 2008. I was fitter, a better climber, and perhaps more was at stake. But one never imagines that actually getting to the finish line without incident would be so difficult!

It was also the first time I had selected the Italian language option on race radio. Sure, we'd had GianCarlo's dulcet tones on the wireless for the Tour of Flanders, but it's strange how the earpiece always seems to fall out on those cobbled roads....

So for 23.4km, I had a an incredible stream of repetitive and positive reinforcement hitting my right eardrum at 110db. "VAI BREEDIE! HOP! HOP! SI, SI BREEDIE, BRAVA!! CREDO, BREEDIE! FORTISSIMA BREEDIE! BRAVA, BRAVA!" (repeat for 36mins). I'm yet to determine if it was performance enhancing, but it sure did make me want to get the race over with!

The volume went up when I overtook my 1min rider, before the top of the 7km climb that began the race, but there was a lull in proceedings when Judith Arndt (who started 2min behind me) flew past on the fast descent with 3km to go. Francesco got on the radio to say "NO BRAKES BREEDIE, NO BRAKES!!" which was encouraging, but not so helpful when one has to make a lot of corners at speed and one is not Casey Stoner.

I was relieved to see 500m to go then 400m to go, and to have not crashed getting there. But then, I saw no actual finish line after the 100m to go sign. And I had done such a good job chasing the moto! After a couple of minutes turning the legs over and trying not to vomit, GianCarlo found me and look concerned. "Non arriva Breedie!"

Va funcula, I was mortified.

The UCI don't do SRM traces, so it's not like they cared, and I certainly wasn't disputing a podium finish. The lovely British rider, Emma Pooley (Cervélo Test Team), recent winner at Fleché Wallone and climber extraordinaire had blown the field away. Damn those tiny people and their huge power to weigh ratio!

To allow ample time for rumination and more of that 'salted slabs of meat' feeling, we're on a relatively easy 500km jaunt north for 2 one-day races circumnavigating the tax haven of Luxembourg.

We'll rendezvous with the rest of the team at a ChefExpress on an autostrade somewhere between Lausanne and Luxembourg and drive in convoy at 140km/h. Dear sweet baby jesus, pray for us and out over-nictotined, under-slept staff.

I would like to extend a very heartfelt thanks to the excellent people who have gotten the ducks to all line up for me. I could not ask for better support, equipment and inspiration:

Donna Rae-Szalinski

Tom @ Parlee Cycles

Beverly Lucas @ Edge Composites

Jason Phillips @ SRAM Europe and Rob Eva @ SRAM Australia

Peter Kyriakidis @ Cycling Edge

CarbonSports for Lightweight

Sheridan @ Oakley eyewear

Monica @ Selle SMP

Darryl and Steph @ Shotz sports nutrition

Jono Breekveldt for doing a fine job as pre-race mechanic

Team Valdarno staff - GianCarlo Montedori (DS) and Francesco Moreni (soigneur)

AIS Italia staff - Marv, Macca, Nico, Elsa, Beth, Shayne and Hayesy for their support in Castronno and at races - Australian accents are a home away from home, believe me.