Suffolk Cycle Race Series

A small goal for this year was to win the 'Suffolk Cycle Race Series' which is held at Trinity Park. It is an hour long crit on a relatively technical course so it suited to my cyclo-cross background, this was shown by my results in the series:

Cycle Series 1 3rd
Cycle Series 2 2nd
Cycle Series 3 4th
Cycle Series 4 1st
Cycle Series 5 1st
Cycle Series 6 DNF                                                              

Cycle Series 4- 1st 

I had fantastic form for all of the races and was very happy to win the series overall. In the final race of the series I was in a break with one other rider, had a 15 second lead heading into the penultimate corner... *BANG* what a fantastic time for my tire to explode. Despite my best impression of Usain Bolt running to the finish I was caught by the main field.

Now the series is complete my week is now built around training to complete my hardest goal of the year which is to win an E/1/2/3. I have a good foundation to build on but still have a lot of work to do in August to become strong enough to win an elite race. My other goals for the season are almost completed as I only have 29 points left to get my 1st cat and 4 wins out of 5.
This weekend I have what is likely to be my last 2/3/4 for years (hopefully longer). It is set up perfectly as a win would give me 30 points and complete 2 of my goals for the year!

Start of July

Racing this month had the best possible start with my first win of the season at Suffolk Cycle Race Series on Wednesday. My last win was in January 2011 which was a 4th cat race now, 2 and a half years later, I have won my first elite race which puts into perspective how far I have come in the last few years. I am hoping this is the first of many wins this season!

I was able to follow up my first win with a solid weekend of racing finishing 2nd on Saturday and 4th Sunday. I was in a break with 4 others on Saturday in a crit and having gained 2 minutes on the bunch it was a sprint for the victory. Unfortunately due to some 'interesting' cornering from another rider I was left with to much work to do in the sprint and finished with 2nd.

Sunday was the VC Norwich race, last time I raced there I ended up on the floor with 200m to go and a broken gear leaver! This time round my legs felt strong and I was able to cover several of the early moves. Eventually a break with 8 or so riders stuck and we were left to chase down a group of 5 that had already formed. We caught three of them but after some mucking around another rider got away and we were left fighting for 4th. I took advantage of everyone sitting up before the sprint and rode away on my own with 3km to go. I stayed away and came within 5 seconds of catching two of the riders up the road. I was happy with the result despite not achieving my aim of winning the event but my legs were there and I am sure I will win a road race before the end of the year!

Return of The Legs

Having started the season so strong I then found myself struggling for form during May. This was down to a lack of racing and a lack of decent miles during the exam period. However, since finishing, June has been a fantastic month on the bike and I am feeling stronger with every race I complete.

Stats for June:

Miles: 904

Hours: 47

Average Speed: 19.2

Points: 61

I scored points in every race in June so was really happy with the consistency of my results. I am currently leading the series in the 'Suffolk Cycle Race Series' thanks to a 4th, 3rd and 2nd place in the first three nights and have backed this up with results at the weekend races. 15th Eric Buddolph, 6th Suffolk Cycle Racing Sunday Races, 14th Circuit of the Fens, 2nd Elveden and 6th at the Lea Valley RR. Next month I will look to build on this form and win a couple of races to close in on my 1st Cat licence. 

       Sprint at the Circuit of the Fens