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| In the Break at the Glendene RR |
Having had a busy month racing in July I took a well earned rest to prepare my legs for the rest of the season. It was forced up me slightly thanks to a knee injury that took a month to get over but that has now been resolved thank to Sportsmed East. As a result of my injury I only raced twice in August once at Hog Hill and the other in the Glendene RR. A DNF in both races knocked my confidence but it was all I could expect after a long time away from racing.
September has had a much better start and I have had three races in three weeks without any knee problems which was my main concern. The first was the Jef Schils memorial which is held near my home town. This is a big advantage as I knew the roads we were racing on and where I needed to be to get shelter in the crosswinds and more importantly allowed me to have a lay in until 11am for a change! It was a fast race with a 27mph average, so fast in fact my mates riding out to watch managed to miss the finish. I remained in the bunch despite two punctures and got 95 miles of racing in my legs which felt good.
The following weekend saw me line up against the best field I have competed against in the UCS Ipswich Coastal race. It was a surreal experience as last year I would have been watching this event and now I was competing in it. I felt comfortable in the peleton riding alongside some of the finest talent in Britain most of whom were preparing for the Tour of Britain. Eventually thanks to my poor positioning in the bunch (near the back) I got dropped after 85 miles. I learnt a lot from the race and am sure next time I compete at that standard I will at least finish or even get a result.
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| Jef Schils Memorial |
A week after the UCS race was the Shaftsbury RR. I went into the race knowing that 3rd would secure my 1st category licence for next year. My legs felt great and having raced at such a high standard in the previous two weeks. It was a strange race with people prepared to chase each other down for majority of the 70 miles. Unfortunately I missed the decisive break of 4 riders and didn't have the legs to bridge across on my own. Instead I decided to launch a late attack to avoid the carnage of a bunch sprint and managed to stay away with 4 other riders who I comfortably beat in the sprint for 5th place. Although it was not the result I wanted I was happy with my performance as it leaves me with just 7 points to achieve my 1st cat.
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| Sprint for 5th at Shaftsbury RR |
I have one race left this season on Sunday and after that I will be heading back to Sheffield to start my 2nd year at University. I will have a couple of weeks off before I start training again but I can't wait to begin my winter miles for next year now I know what I can achieve. Hopefully my next post I will have got my 1st cat licence, thanks for reading!
