Poland 2.1 and some British racing

    This month has been quite a busy one for me both on and off the bike whilst I try to balance my training and racing with my A levels before finishing school for a very long summer in mid-June. This month started with a trip to Poland for the Coupe du President Juniors. This consisted of a split day on day 1 with two short kermesse style races, stage 3 was carnage with thin and exposed roads in some very strong cross winds, stage 4 was a rolling kermesse style race before the final stage being one big circuit on the flat again. This race was brilliant for the team as we came away with the overall victory and 2 stage wins which the rest of us contributed towards. The race started decent for me however I ultimately missed the break on stage 1 when I was in a good position to jump across to it leaving me frustrated and finishing in the bunch. The 2^nd stage was a similar race but came down to a bunch sprint this time which was won by my team-mate Max which was great! Stage 3 was defined by cross winds and unfortunately, I had one of my worst days ever on the bike on this stage suffering from some food poisoning and ultimately battling to stay in the race after vomiting halfway through. To my relief however I didn’t do as bad as I originally had thought and quickly recovered for the next two stages. I was really pleased with my performance on stage 4 and helped to defend our leaders jersey well with the team having taken it the day previous, being able to chase down moves and contribute to the lead out for the intermediate sprints which offered time bonuses. This stage was extremely sketchy with numerous crashes, 3 in the last kilometre which I thankfully avoided. The final stage went really well for the team also with us controlling the race all day and finishing the job off to keep the overall win within the team! This race was really fun and a great team to be a part of over the week of tough racing on flat roads. The race didn’t play out quite as I had wanted for myself but I still found it extremely rewarding to help play a part in an overall victory. I also learnt a great deal of things during this race which I can hopefully put in to practise in the coming races.

stage 2

After a week without racing to train and recover after Poland, I then went down to Wales for the Cadence Road Race round of the British Junior National Road Series. This race went really well for me last year, taking 2ndfrom a long breakaway. I didn’t replicate this result however as the race was very different to last year and although I felt really good throughout, the race came down to a bunch sprint pretty much and I got boxed in. I had got in the days main break with three laps to go but we were caught at the bell before I got in another counter that was soon reeled back in frustratingly. This race was a frustrating one but showed me that I had good legs which I was really happy with and likewise with the way that I rode the race.

Break at cadence

  After this came a Nat B one day stage race in memorial of Richard James Taylor near Liverpool. The race had a strong field with strong Continental riders from Madison-Genesis, Swift Pro Cycling and Ribble Pro cycling all well represented. This was a nice relief after a week of exams and with the race having a prologue hill climb, the atmosphere was brilliant with cheers all the way up. I was very pleased with my performance in tis, taking 9^th in the prologue and then moving up to 8^th overall after the afternoon road race. The afternoon road race was a massive contrast to the morning with it being pan flat which made it difficult on junior gears. The race started hard and I got in a few moves that seemed dangerous and as though they could stay away but everything was shut down and after the halfway point the race became a lot more controlled. This was due to Madison Genesis sitting on the front at a fast pace to deter any more breaks going to ensure that they won the race overall after Matt Holmes was victorious in the hill climb. This ensured a bunch sprint which I was in a really good position for but I got swamped and quickly lost places. As I had good legs, I was able to make some of them back, finishing in around 15^th but was a little frustrated as I felt as though I was capable of more in the race. Overall however this race was great and I was really pleased with my result in the hill climb and general classification in a brilliant race.

    

Hill climb

Hill climb

   

Afternoon RR

Next up for me through June are the Regional champs, being followed by the Junior Cicle classic in Rutland, another Nat B event in the Lake District, Ilkley town centre crit and then the Junior Tour of the Kingdom in Scotland as part of the British National Junior Series. I’m looking forwards to these events and am pleased with my legs at the moment so hopefully I can achieve something at them. Thanks to all the people who support me as always!