Racing in France

With the season drawing to a premature close in August in the UK I took the opportunity to spend 6 weeks racing in France. After racing out there in May and riding well I started messaging round to see if anyone had any contacts out there. Eventually, thanks to my coach, the chance to live in Limoux in the south of France came about and it was time to start planning races.

I arrived at the beginning of August and after 3 days settling in I was on the start line of my first race. The race was in Tarascon on a 6km circuit (15laps) with 2 climbs which suited me perfectly. The racing was super aggressive and after 15km a group of 5 went I bridged across with one other. 55km later we had begun to lap some of the field and it was time to start thinking about the win. I attacked on the steep climb at the finish and took 2 riders with me. We worked well and it came down to a sprint which I came 2nd in. It was great to achieve a podium in my first race but I came here wanting more.

Next up, Puy L'Eveque. A very good field turned out thanks to a huge prize fund and the racing was brutal. It was 28 laps of a 3km circuit which had a partially cobbled 1km climb. The amateur French TT champion, world masters champion and several DN1 riders turned up to dish out some pain and after a lot of grovelling I finished 18th. 

The following weekend the racing near us was a little quite so we headed to the Alps. There were two hill climbs taking place, one on the Col du Galibier and the other on the Col du Granon. We raced the Galibier on the Saturday where I rolled in 4th place overall and first espior (under 23). I caught two espiors in the last 3km and was pleased with my efforts.

On Sunday it was a chance to race the Col Du Granon which was a bit of a contrast compared to the Galibier. The 9.3% gradient average for 10km was unforgiving and I suffered, I finished 7th (2nd espior). The weekend in the Alps was a great opportunity to ride/race on some iconic climbs and after stopping off on the way back to ride Mont Ventoux I ticked off a lot of climbs I have always wanted to ride.

After a good block of training the next race came in the form of a pan flat 3km circuit which we covered 30 times. I felt pretty good from the start and after letting a group of 5 get up the rode I bridged across the 30s gap and that was the winning move. I spent a lap recovering then went to start working with the group and touched wheels with a lapped rider who was on the back of the group and came down. I was allowed a lap out which gave me time to straighten my gear lever and make sure I was still in one piece. I jumped back in with the leaders and it was damage limitation for the remaining hour of the race. I lost skin on both knees, my forearm, hand and hip but there was no way I was finishing second again. I made my move with half a lap to go and won comfortably.

I spent the next couple of weeks in a lot of pain when training and have just about healed now. I competed in one more road race which I finished 12th in and on my final weekend I competed in the Pic de Nore hill climb. It was a bunch start with a hundred riders at the bottom of a 17.5km climb. I felt strong on the first 9km and held my place near the front of the group. After this, there was a 2km plateau before the final 7.5km where the race really kicked off. One rider had a 30s lead going into the final 7km of the climb and the bunch responded with several attacks at the to try and close the gap. I found myself in a 3-man chase group which I stuck with until 3km to go. I started to go into the red and dropped the wheel so had to drag myself to the finish alone and had the final kick in the teeth of being caught by a rider on the line. I went very deep and came home in 5th in field of good riders.

Overall I am pleased with my efforts over the last 6 weeks and have loved racing out here. My aggressive riding was rewarded with some good results and I am hoping to get the opportunity to race in France again next year.