Next seasons goals

Inspired by the lyrics of the number 2 hit from S Club 7 I have decided to ‘reach for the stars’ when setting my goals this year. With all of the support I am getting from friends, my team and the university there is no reason these goals can’t be achieved. Winter training has started well and assuming I stay fit then I will be in a fantastic position come the start of the season in March. Here are the 4 goals I have set for next year: 

·         Elite licence

·         Win a national B race
·         Top 10 in a national A race
·         5 Wins

For those of you non-cyclist I will try and put into context what this actually means. An elite licence is the top category you can achieve in the country and if I can achieve this at the age of 20 it would mean big things! A national B is the second highest ranked event which is open to riders from across the country. Finally a national A race is the top ranking event in the UK and the level below international races.

These goals are what give me direction and the thought of achieving them provides great motivation when out training. Training 6/7 times a week is made a lot easier when you know what you are trying to achieve. I find a lot of other riders just ride for the sake of it and by the time the season starts they have already lost heart with training. I feel goals are one of the most important motivators in life, not just in sport.

I thought in this post I would also talk about my inspirations and who I look up too in the sport. People would naturally assume that with the recent British success I may look up to Wiggins, Hoy or Froome. I admire them as riders and am very grateful to be in an era of amazing British cyclists but I can’t relate to them which makes it hard for me to idolize them. The corrupt nature of the sport in the last 20 years also makes it harder to find someone to look up to compared to other sports. I admire attacking racing and Alberto Contador’s break on stage 17 of the 2012 Vuelta Espana was one of the greatest pieces of riding in recent history. In modern times the favourites for the race will hardly be given a chance to race and stage 17 was a rare opportunity to see a solo attack by a favourite. It seems strange to admire a rider who has been caught doping but I genuinely believe he races clean so until another ‘shocking’ doping operation is discovered he will always be a rider I follow.

Next post will be an update on BUCS Cyclo-cross which took place yesterday so I will post once results and photos have been released! 

BUCS Hill Climb

So last Saturday was my first competitive event since the 15^th September which was the BUCS hill climb. I turned up relying on the form from my road season having not trained specifically for the event. As I got to 2 minutes into the climb I hugely regretted this decision as there was no power as I got out of the saddle and despite the amazing support nothing could summon my legs to deliver the required result. This left me with the very disappointing time of 6.26 and a harsh lesson taught. I thought I would be able to rely on my strong road season to find a result but as it happens I was left with a highly embarrassing 47^th place, not what I was looking for. Next year I will train and get on the podium, you heard it here first!

Alongside posting about my result at the BUCS hill climb I thought I would share a bit about my background in sport. The stereotypical cyclist seems to have had a shockingly bad childhood: Greg LeMond being sexually abused, Bradley Wiggins having an alcoholic dad and David Millar having to endure the difficult break-up of his parents being just some examples. I think the reason why a bad childhood gave these great champions success is down to them wanting to get away from the reality of life. I find a little bit of this in myself although, I will emphasis, for much less serious reasons. Another element in becoming a competitive cyclist seems to be sporting/competitive parents. Again I lack any sort of racing pedigree from my parents as I have probably cycled more miles in one training ride as they have in a life time! I have thankfully had a very stable upbringing however and have found the sport naturally from trying a bit of everything. Since a young age I have been involved in competitive teams yet didn’t find something I thought I excelled in or something I was confident playing.  

I had always cycled but more for enjoyment than competition and this was until I joined the Colchester Rovers. I began cyclo-cross training and then started racing in the discipline and before I knew it I was hooked. I found I was able to progress very quickly and that hard work actually paid off. Whereas in team sports where you are reliant on other people to fuel your success in cycling it’s purely down to your hard work and your ability to read what is happening in the race.  Obviously when it comes to higher levels of racing a team becomes more and more important but at a lower level the harder you train the more results you gain.

The next 2 months for me is where the hard work really begins. I now have a nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach thanks to the support of the university so there is no excuse for not having a fantastic winter. Next event for me is the BUCS cyclo-cross (if I can get a bike sorted!).