Summer Fun

Summit of the Port de Bales 

I thought I would write a few things that have been highlights in 2014, before the proper racing starts and the race reports start flooding in.

April: A 7 day jolly to Mallorca with the Leeds University Cycling team. Our group of 13 had a super time riding around the island for the week. The weather was fabulous for April and we explored all over. Some particular highlights were pushing it up Sa Calobre and watching Euan being pushed in the pool after a brave defeat at table tennis.

LUUCC on tour. Spot the short fry 

May: Revising. Spent the month staring out of the window at the glorious weather wishing I was on my bike, whilst slightly regretting the 7 days spent in Mallorca not revising and hence building stress levels.

LUUCC Gold: The Dream team 

The dream machine. Note the orange :) 

June: Exams over! Whoop! I took custody of my new mountain bike (note this tactically occurred after exams, or it is fair to say I would have failed for sure). So trips to Dalby, Glentress, Hamsterley forest begun which was so much fun. Then on a very, very wet day, LUUCC ventured to the British University XC championships. It was a complete mudbath but spirits were high and the Leeds boys (Ed, Hugo and Luke 'el presidente') took home team silver, whilst myself and Jo Rycroft won Gold. To top it off, I won gold individually and Jo took silver. Perfect!


Other June highlights included an appearance at Morvelo Citycross; the urban cyclocross. This is event is mega unique with heats in the morning and a final in the evening. Qualifying in 2nd place for the final I knew I had much more in the tank and so was happy to take the win on a seriously narrow and technical course. I loved the event, I was thrilled to take the win but more than happy that I managed to stay upright as some of those brick walls looked like they would hurt!!!

Great course and organisation at Morvelo City Cross 

Le Tour in Yorkshire! Living in Leeds proved to be most convenient when the ASOS announced that the Tour de France would visit Yorkshire. I had seen Le Tour before, but there was something a lot more special and exciting about the race coming to the UK. The atmosphere for the weekend was brilliant and everyone, cycling fan or not seemed to get behind the event and into the Tour spirit. Scott and I were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and find ourselves in the VIP area for the Grand Depart, where we were able to mingle amongst the riders and staff, which was awesome! When it was all over we said goodbye to the staff members and told them to look out for us on the French climbs where we were to see the race 3 more times.

Getting super close at the Grand Depart Leeds 

The infamous Caisse Desert of the Col d'Izoard 

July: Off on holiday! We headed to Briancon in the French Alps with family to do some riding. The scenery was spectacular for cycling and walking, and the weather was great to match. There was a huge choice of climbs but the Col d'Izoard, Sestriere and Alpe D'Huez were my personal highlights. After 2 weeks the family drove home and Scott and I headed onwards to Bagnieres de Luchon in the Pyreenees to meet up with Jenny, Caroline and Hugo for yet more riding.

Climbing up to Sestriere 

It was our first venture into the Pyreenees and I loved it. The climbs were inviting unlike the intimidating angular nature of the Alpine peaks. Geology aside, the most spectacular view was from the summit of the Port du Bales, where the huge mountains look like larger versions of the rolling green Yorkshire Dales! My favourite climbs were the Col de Mente and the Col de Peyresourde. The warm friendly nature of the ascents however, were contrasted by the sheer number of enormous bulls roaming the fields on the side of the road. Plenty of intervals were completed on the mountainous roads just trying to get away from the intimidatingly aggressive bulls as fast as possible. On a more friendly note we did come across deer, wild horses and a pack of wild donkeys on our travels: who says wildlife is always scary. Away from cycling we filled time with a trip to Toulouse, climbing lessons and a day in Bruges


August: It was back home for 2 days then off to Riva del Garda in Italy with my Grandparents, and they begrudgingly conceded and let me take my most prized possession: my carbon of course. The Trentino region is a gateway into the Dolomites (a mountain range in Northern Italy). The weather was much hotter than the mountain regions of France, yet the altitude much lower. Riva starts at +100m and rises to 1200m on the highest peaks. It was a great 10 days training, and if I went back I would certainly bring my mountain bike as Riva is a known mecca for off road riding buffs.

Beautiful Trentino 

Summer is not yet over: the racing is to soon begin and preparation is going well. I have some exciting news to come so stay tuned, and keep riding your bikes!

What a Season

December (if you can remember that long ago!) is in many ways the apex of the cyclo-cross season. The races come thick and fast, everyone is going that little bit quicker and it's generally freezing, which unfortunately seems to be a necessary prerequisite for "proper" 'cross. Unfortunately I picked up a cold towards the end of November which I didn't manage to shake until mid-December. Note to self: book a holiday next year!

Ploughing through the Boxing day mud

Coming in to the 5th round of the National Trophy at Bradford I hadn't been able to train as much as I would have wanted to so I wasn’t optimistic about doing particularly well. However I'd watched the nationals on the same course in 2013 and I knew it’d be worthwhile because, if nothing else, the course looked like great fun.

I was gridded on the front row for the first time which was both exciting and daunting; I knew I had a real chance of doing well but if I didn’t start well then I’d be holding up everyone behind me up. As it happens I got a really good start and by the end of the first lap I had established myself in about 8^th position, in a group with Delia Beddis and Amira Mellor.

We remained together for the remaining laps until Delia managed to power away, leaving myself and Amira Mellor battling for the 7^th spot. On the final lap, I managed to sneak in front on the final run up before the finish straight and sprint away for 7^th place. I was super happy with the result considering my training prior to the event. I would like to thank Dave, Alison, Ted, Steve, Heather and the Cyclocross Magazine gang for all the help!

After the race I left my Yorkshire student digs and headed back to the Newcastle homeland for Christmas. Next up on the race calendar was Cyclocross North East in Carlisle on the 22^nd December. What is usually a pleasant drive across the A69 became a battle with the driving rain. The only description which comes close to doing it justice is biblical and even that’s an understatement. To give you an idea the fastest mode of the windscreen wipers wasn’t even keeping up! A standard day up North right?

To ride or to run? That is the question....

A “quick” lap (about 10 minutes in actuality!) of the course was enough to realise it was going to be nothing other than a slog fest. Again I got a good start, cemented my lead which, with much hard effort and multiple bike changes I was able to maintain to the finish. 

Four days later it was time for the South Shields Boxing Day cross. It was a beautiful crisp morning, a bit frosty and a low winter sun. Conditions were perfect for cross and the mud was just about right. Again, a good start, pushed me well up the field, which I managed to maintain with some camber riding I was quite proud of! Two great CXNE courses and two top steps of the podium served as a lovely confidence booster heading into the headed into the final round of the National Trophy in Shrewsbury.

Sloppy....

Coming into the final trophy round, I was lying 9^th overall in the series, just one race away from my top ten goal at the start of the season. A super early start from Knaresborough began the mammoth commute to Shrewsbury in treacherously icy conditions. After a significant detour, we arrived running purely on diesel vapour – sure enough the van ‘konked out’ just as we were parking. But at least we made it! Getting petrol back in the car and back on the road (that minor, trifling issue) was something to be confronted later, right now it was race time.

I picked the less favourable side of the grid (although I made the front row again, whoop) which set me up on a dodgy line up the first steep camber. A great start placed me about 4^th then after an unplanned dismount I settled into 6^th. Then before I knew it, I went over the top of two girls who had crashed. Picking myself up I started again quickly but I had lost so much of my hard earned advantage from the start. Into the woodland section of the course, I worked my way up a few places into about 8^th, but then second lap I punctured. This wasn’t a major problem in the deep mud of the tree section, but it was a total nightmare and practically unrideable on the fast tarmac straights. I lost a further 3 places and to add insult to injury and through no fault but my own I missed the pits so had an extra half lap on the rims. To cut a long, frustrating story short I finished in 11^th position and moved up the rankings into 7^th overall. Having not had the best of luck this made the long drive North considerably more pleasant. I was over the moon to finish 7^th in the national trophy in my first season racing ‘cross - happy days!

The final race of the season was the National Championships in Derby. I spectated the veteran’s race on Saturday then attempted to ride the course afterwards. My findings from this research excursion can be succinctly summarised: absolute mud bath! In the hour I practised I almost managed to ride one full lap; almost. Amidst the enveloping darkness I retired for the night, with some serious bike washing to be completed before the big race and the even bigger problem of working out how I was going to get round.

Race day, was unusually quite relaxed! With a hotel 8 minutes from the venue, we arrived with plenty time before the race. After a proper warm up for once, I took to the start line with an excited grin on my face. Gridded second row, I slotted in just behind Wyman and Harris assuming they had a good start in them! Luckily they did and I clung to Harris’s wheel into the first corner following her presumably well researched line. I held onto 5^th place all the way until the sandpit, where a bad line took me down. Although the cameras did catch me and it was deemed worthy of a replay on the Eurosprt highlights, about ten minutes in, check it out! Anyhow, this meant I lost 3 or 4 places. However I got back on the bike and settled into a rhythm. The battle with the mud took its toll on me and my bike. It may as well have been made of lead, I could hardly lift it onto my shoulder and that was with changing every half a lap!.

Crossing the finish line at 40 minutes, I heard Wyman joining the finish straight behind me. Oh well, just another 10 minutes to suffer! With one rider just ahead and another behind, it was going to be tough lap. Places 13 to 15 were to be decided here. Sitting between the two riders, I just tried to stay upright. Finally my moment came at the boggiest section of the course, the rider in front slowed and started to run, whereas I managed to stay on the bike and plough slowly through it, which must have looked like a battle of snails! I managed to open a good gap so it was just a case of staying upright to the line, which is a lot easier said than done. I managed to get round the last lap relatively unscathed and I crossed the line in 13^th.   

One of the many tough climbs at Derby

So to conclude what has been a pretty whirlwind season. I started of looking to dabble in a few local races whilst being pushed to enter maybe one Trophy and see how it goes. A season later, I won every CXNE race I entered, won the British University Cross Championships, finished 7^th in the Trophy and 13^th at Nationals. When I look back to Abergavenny in October and remember how it felt to be the last gridded in the rain on completely the wrong tyres, I can see how far I have come in just one season. I was gridded front row in Bradford and Shrewsbury which was an amazing experience

I could not have moved from the back to the front of the grid without the help I have received this year. Such people include ‘Coach Ted’, DS Steve and Chief Cowbell ringer Andrew Yee at Cyclocross Magazine, who have enabled me to race a full season in quality kit. Big thanks also go to the awesome guys at Bioracer for the great kit and Tidds for all their help too.

Further mentions should go to all the gang at CXNE who put on amazing races week in, week out and all the lovely people I have met as a result of racing ‘cross of whom there are too many to mention. I would like to thank everybody who has helped me this year in the pits, Scott, Dave, Alison and Heather. And finally I am grateful to Jamie Brady and Tony Glover for their invaluable cyclocross tips and advice, I don’t know where I’d be without the help!

So thanks everyone and see you in August for some good old summer ‘cross!

Moment of fame

National Trophy Milton Keynes

My third foray in to the world of National Trophy 'cross racing was in many ways similar to my previous two outings; race preparations began a good twenty four hours before the racing itself and the car, once more, managed to accomodate an impossible amount of kit! Who needs to use their interior mirror after all?!

I set off with Chris, a friend from my course whose knowledge of bikes would be an absolute life safer come race day. We made the journey South where I was lucky enough to stay with Chris's family in their quintessentially Southern cottage. The house itself was beautiful and I was made to feel incredibly at home - it was the perfect pre-race base.

Race day didn't get off to the best of starts, after a minor issue with Chris's land rover; it didn't start! When you're in a rush, the million and one roundabouts which constitute Milton Keynes are not ideal. Nevertheless we arrived at the 'Bowl' with what seemed like enough time to run through all of the neccesary pre-race procedures...

Photo by Richard Bennett

This day was particularly exciting because Tony at the Bicycle Repair Man had arranged for Jamie Brady to deliver my new Ridley X-Fire to Milton Keynes. It was lovely to get my hands on it but I couldn't enjoy the moment quite as much as I would have wanted to. With less than an hour til the whistle the gears needed indexing to work with my tubs. Obviously I am useless with bikes and I wouldn't have been able to remedy the gears in time for the Bradford National Trophy in two weeks time never mind the Milton Keynes race! Thankfully though, Chris and Jamie are magicians when it comes to this sort of thing and before long they had my bike primed, fitted and ready to go. For that I am really, really grateful!

With so much to do, I didn't have time to do a warm up or recce the course. Two big no-no's when it comes to racing cross. My lack of course knowledge and warm up meant that it probably wasn't the best of ideas to move up to a space on the front row of the grid. But I did it anyways. And I didn't stop then, this was undoubtedly my best start in the National Trophy so far - I heard the whistle, clipped in straight away and powered the new Ridley up to third place. Again not the best of ideas. It was amazing to be mixing it up at the front but I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. The first corner came as a surprise but I managed to maintain my position up the hill. I wasn't quite so fortunate in the stairs however which came as an even bigger surprise, I didn't know I had to get of my bike so I basically stopped. On top of this, I didn't have the best of clip ins at the top. Such is the level of racing in the national trophy that this small technical mistake saw me drop back two or three places.

Photo by British Cycling Photos

At this I eased back and rode to consolidate my position. I simply tried to cling on and ride a sensible race; despite this I did have a number of falls. I was so happy to hear the bell, it gave me a new lease of life to know that the suffering would soon be over. In fact it gave me such a boost that I'm pretty sure my last lap was my second fastest lap. I came home in 6th, one better than I managed in Durham, I was very happy with that especially considering that this was my first ride on my new bike and I hadn't warmed up. I'm looking forward to building on this result and hopefully improving on my performance come Bradford in two weeks time.  

I just want to finish by saying thank you to Chris's family for their hospitality and Chris in particular for his technical assistance on race day. I'm also indebted to Jamie Brady and my cxmagazine teammates, Ted and Steve, who made my bikes ride-able. Without them I couldn't have raced so thank you very much! I'd also like to say thank you to Steve and Heather for putting on some top-notch post-race grub - the eggy crumpets were very welcome and went down lovely! I'll bring the sausages for Bradford!

And as ever, i'm very grateful for the all of the help i've received from everyone at cxmagazine.com - if anyone's after a discoutned digital subscription get in touch!
   

National Trophy Take 2

When BUCS wrapped up on the Saturday, we visited the Lumiere festival in Durham then headed home to commence the bike washing before Sunday's national trophy. I have to admit there is probably only one thing I enjoy less than washing my bike, and that's doing it in the dark. Together with my Dad however, we managed to wash the bikes (practically by candlelight) and get everything ready for day 2.

I felt optimistic when I woke on Sunday. The conditions were the same as the previous day where I had raced well, so why couldn't I do that again? I felt I would almost have an advantage having ridden the course the day before so long as my legs could last the duration of the race. Although, one area I thought I could improve from Saturday was my warm up (or lack of!). Instead today, I dedicated a good 30 minutes to looping up and down the river side, getting the legs ready for the off.

Tackling the 'Durhamburg' 

I was gridded poorly from my previous venture into NT racing, but when the gun went I got the foot in straight away and immediately moved up into the top 5. For the first lap, I tried to maintain my position, through all of the carnage. The 180 degree turns on the top pitch were really sketchy when people battling for position and overtaking, and I saw 2 girls crash behind me. I just wanted to stay upright through that section. Myself and Delia Beddis had a good battle first lap until she took a new bike in the pits and I lost her. By the second lap, the top 4 girls were away and the real race started between places 5-8; jostling, undercutting and blocking was the name of the game. For a couple of laps I sat on the back of the 4 girl chain just watching all of the position swapping and trying to avoid crashing. I knew we wouldn't bring back the top 4, however we did put lots of time into the girls chasing behind.

Massive Boards! (Photo by Velo UK) 

With 2 laps to go, I moved from 6th to 5th on the stairs, nicely remounted and started riding. I took a little glance over my shoulder and realised I had opened a small bike and half length gap to Amira Mellor who was just behind. In my excitement, I attacked and started to open up even more of a gap with 3 girls chasing. At the one lap to go mark, Amira made it onto my wheel, I slotted in behind her, then Alexis joined us too. Hitting the stairs for the last time I was absolutely exhausted from my solo lap and at the top I missed my pedals, allowing both girls to sneak in front. As hard as I tried I couldn't catch them, however crossing the line in 7th place was a pretty nice feeling.

Top 10 was the dream in a NT this year, so to make 7th on only my second attempt was pretty satisfying. I would have struggled to have had such a good weekend, if it were not for the support from my Dad, Scott, Ted and Cyclocross magazine who helped in so many ways from being pit crew, helping me to wash my bike or give me little tips on how to ride the course better!

Happy! Crossing the line in 7th 

I can't wait for BUCS next year to defend the title and for the next round of the trophy in Milton Keynes in 2 weeks time.

Inter Area Championships; Prissick

Today was an extremely proud day. Only a little over a year after my first venture into the muddy world of cross I pulled on the North East jersey for the first time. The venue was Prissick, home to a new cycle circuit used for racing all through the year. I didn't expect much due to a cold, that had clung to me for the last week and a half, but I was willing to give it my all for the NE team.

The race had a different dynamic; teamwork came into play and immediately from the gun, the Yorkshire team who were the pre-race favorites took to the front. They formed a 4 rider chain occupying the first 4 places, which I clung to the back of. But, they were to be too strong, my lungs were screaming and I was coughing like crazy, I dropped off the back and was resigned to chasing on my own. In the end Yorkshire was by far the best team and they thoroughly deserved their win, taking

places 1-4 which left me in 5th. However, some fab performances by Bev, Michelle and Karen for the NE earned us the silver medal!

Proud to stand on the podium for the NE with Bev and Karen 

Gold, Gold, Silver and Gold

The British University Champs (BUCS) are held in Durham set against the beautiful setting of the cathedral and river. This year my university (Leeds) had many strong riders so we headed into the competition aiming high.

I got myself down to the start line early, as I knew how important a good start would be in race. 74 riders with men and women combined, I knew would allow me to 'hide' amongst the men if I could get away and establish an early lead. Bang, off we went. Foot in straight away, I sprinted flat out and made it into the top 12 or so boys approaching the first crucial corner, then it was up the steps and onto the top field were the technical turns began. I had gained a gap of about 15 seconds by the first lap and I knew I just needed to sustain the momentum for the next couple of laps.

I fought hard to extend my lead and by lap 2, the gap had stretched to 30 seconds. I added another 20 seconds in lap 3 and just tried to use the boys around me to draft me around the course. I felt comfortable, but knew I couldn't ease back too much, because the girls were still pushing on behind.

With one and a half laps to go, I could see the leading male riders catching me, so I eased right off the gas, and allowed them to overtake. Teammate Ed was battling with a rider from Manchester Met, so I cheered him on and rode happily through to the finish, listening intently to the battle between Ed and Alex Welburn for 1st place. Ed outsprinted Alex to take gold for Leeds, and I crossed the line immediately afterwards as the first placed female.

I was so happy to win, because the British University champs mean so much to student athletes. I had said to myself that I wanted to leave uni with a BUCS gold medal in something (like anything, if this cycling thing didn't work out I was going to start looking at more obscure sports. I had my eye on futsal or korfball). So to win with 3 years left at university feels quite strange, I thought I'd be chasing that gold for a lot longer....

To make the day even better, my teammate Kat Broadbent rode a superb race to finish 6th which earned us the team silver behind Birmingham University, whilst the boys showed their strength finishing 1st, 12th and 19th which was enough for the team gold! Double individual gold, team gold and silver, all I can say is: LEEDS, LEEDS, LEEDS!!!

The only way is up (unfortunately!)

Saturday saw the annual British Universities Hill Climb Championship return to Curbar in the Peak District. This is undoubtedly one of the most painful race days of the year. Nonetheless, with a 4th place finish last year, we were looking to go at least one better in the team competition this year.

After a decent warm up on the turbo I took to the start line. Thirty seconds. Ten seconds. Five seconds. Go! I hit the steep part of the climb and held about 85% effort, knowing the consistent gradient would soon up the perceived exertion. After an all too long 15-20% section the gradient dropped to a "easy" 7%. With 1/3 down I thought I would up the effort and try to hold on until the top.

Head down. Pain Cave

I approached my 2 minute woman on the final hairpin corner before the deceptively long straight to the top. At this point I was sure I could taste a little blood and my throat and lungs were screaming for respite. Just one last effort I told myself; but the lungs and legs had other ideas! The lactic was building, legs screaming and lungs burning. I just kept shutting my eyes praying the finish line would come into sight.

The aftermath with teammate Jenny

My wheels rolled over the line with just enough momentum for a volunteer to catch me and lower me gently on to the grass verge where I lay gasping, eyes shut and still clipped in to the pedals of my bike. It took about 4 minutes before I felt well enough to cycle back down the hill. I was feeling clammy, hot and faint; it was inevitable, the perfect storm some might say, I puked right beside the car. Well at least it showed I tried!

In the end, I finished 11th, Jenny came 9th and fourth overall again :( We did however, both take over 1 minute off our times from last year. If we do that again next year we'll be in with a very good shout of winning individual medals and hopefully (eventually!) getting on that elusive podium. On a side note, the Leeds Uni boys team took silver, so a huge congratulations to them on a really incredible performance.

See you again next year, Curbar!