Tom Simpson Junior RR

A few exciting things to note this week:

1. I have finished ALL my exams!

2. I got selected for the European Junior Road Race in Belgium

3. I got 7th at Tom Simpson Junior RR and nationals are next weekend!

4. I have got a new retro section below this blog- check it out.

The week before Tom Simpson was mixed. It was mainly focused around my mountain bike. I spent Wednesday doing some efforts around bracknell forest before I punctured. Then I spent Thursday doing a 4 hour mtb ride along the ridgeway in Oxfordshire- I managed to break my chain twice! When I hopped back on my road bike it felt very weird due to the different cleats, pedal width, and position. We drove up on Sunday morning (with Pete D). The course was pretty flat so I knew I would have to be aggressive early on and try and force a break.

After a lot of attacks and counter attacks one eventually formed (see below). I was suffering soooo bad for most of the race. Not sure why but I have been having to take anti-viral/biotic pills as my sister managed to get Swine Flu! There have been loads of people complaining about side effects so maybe that was it. Anyway that break got pulled back but I perservered and another soon formed.

Unfortunately this break had 3 Glendene riders in it, so on a flat course it was quite a challenge to try and beat them. Tim got away with Josh Edmonson with 1 lap to go and I had to chase (see picture below of me grimacing in pain). I kept attacking and trying to split the group but was unsuccessful and came over the line 5th in the sprint for 3rd.

The Glendene Riders seriously need to work on their victory celebrations. After Joe's embarrassing swerve at Hog Hill there were none from Josh! He did a good ride though!

Next weekend I have got the Nationals which are more hilly, and I will be off the anti-viral medication so fingers crossed. Weekend after that is European Road race which should be a real dog fight.

Here's the video

Comments

Lazy Blogging..

Hi guys, I apologize for not updating in a long time. It is always irritating when people have out of date websites. The excuse is that I have been pretty busy, and also quite disheartened about my cycling. But I think I have turned a new stone and now everything's smooth sailing...or riding perhaps. After my race in Singapore I had a couple of local races, and my knee just didn't hold up under pressure. It was buckling under the increased intensity and I was pretty upset after all the work I had done with my physio, and I thought after a good few months I was over it. This kept going on in a weekly cycle. I would train and condition my leg during the week and then be smashed in the races because I just couldn't put any power down. Needless to say my motivation kept declining, along with my fitness, for around 2 months After an awesome family holiday in Morocco (that can come in the next blog) and a serious discussion with my coach, its looking more positive. I think I may...

Summer Travels

July started well with my first half-decent race for months. I took part in the Guildford Town centre Criterium on Wednesday night. A tiny circuit featuring a patchy tarmac descent and a sharp cobbled climb with little in between. As soon as I started I realized there was no way I was going to keep up the sterling track record of cyclefit employees (Warwick) in the race. I got stronger as the race went on though and I didn't crash -always important as my confidence was pretty low. Jon Dibben did a great ride as per usual. I drove home optimistic that my season was turning around with my new pedalling technique (no pun intended). Next up in July was the Cyclefit Etape Trip. Me and Stuart (brother) drove the Clio down to Pau in the Pyrenees and met Jules and Konrad (or Konradiator as he later become known). Due to the efficiency of the French Motorways, we made it there pretty fresh and with only 3 speeding offences (2 in Bordeaux alone). Our first job was the Expo which involved ...

Great Britain Call Up

Well its lucky I didn't stop my training during my mini- meltdown a few ago. I got a call from Max Sciandri the other day offering me the chance to do U23 Paris-Roubaix and a stint in Italy! It will be good to race with the guys again, and hopefully I can do an impressive ride.... Jules and Phil at Cyclefit have been very understanding, and there is lots of discussion as to what equipment to use. Kimberly's Zipp 303's or use the GB Mavics? Look 585 or Look 595? These are the important questions of our time... nothing to do with people called Cameron and Clegg.

Grain of Sand

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