Road and TT Cyclist
Well this sprung up on us didn’t it?
It feels like ages ago when, we were told A levels weren’t taking place and school was over. I’ll tell you that hit hard, like really hard. The first thought I had was the effort I have put in over these past two years! The feeling of a loss of gratification from never being able to take those final exams that give so much closure to the whole process. Continue reading “Lockdown, it has its difficulties”
Urbano Team Training #1
Well, what a day to start off my time at Urbano Cycling Team!! The weather was pristine after worries that bad weather and rain would dampen our day, and my first outing with the team. It was quite the opposite. A beautifully sunny day, with a stiff westerly breeze with the added touch of chill. Overall, not too bad a day for mid-January on the continent.
Believe it or not this was my first time in Gran Canaria actually riding a bike for the majority of the trip. We had planned to do it around 7 years ago but I was too young and the hills were far too steep for me to be riding every day. However, being older and stronger now than I was then, I was excited to get this training period under way and get some solid training in the bag for the 2020 season with Urbano Cycling Team! Continue reading “Let’s Get 2020 Started!!”
July was a tough month for me with one big crash which I am still recovering from, unfortunately. The other hurdle was a mental one, which has been hard at times. There have been times this month that I have wanted to climb off the bike, there were more of these than I would have hoped for. Thankfully I only climbed off my bike twice as these were two days that just didn’t go my way, really. Continue reading “July – the Month of Criteriums”
My first race in June was the Regional Championships in Colchester. That Sunday I had the aim of riding my socks off for my close friend, Andreas who had tragically passed away the previous morning. I was devastated when I heard the news and after the pain had subsided a bit I knew I had to go and win for him. My parents said you don’t have to race if you don’t want to, I understand where they were coming from about not being able to think clearly, but it had to be done!
Day one of this prestigious three-day stage race was, on paper, a day for the sprinters due to the profile of the course (it was as flat as a pancake). 180 riders took to the start line, and not too long into the first day was the first crash. Continue reading “Driesdaagse Van Axel”
So my first stage race of the season started off well with a 5 km time trial with an elevation gain of 35m so not exactly flat. Due to the importance of course reconnaissance I actually rode 3 times the distance of the race on the ‘recon.’ The ride was tough and always was going to be due to the short time period that you would be racing for. On the menu was a short maximal effort of around 6 minutes, depending on the wind direction. It was just that, I managed a 10th place with some time leaked on parts of the course. Usually 10th would mean I would be anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute behind, but this time I was only 9 seconds behind the American National Team, and become the first Brit a couple of seconds ahead of Ben Tulett. Continue reading “Ster Van Zuid Limburg”
Day one of our training camp – where to start? So much has gone on … as I am writing this it is 16:10 so I have nearly been awake for 14 hours, my normal school day hours. Yes if you are a mathematician you can work out the waking time, but those of you who are not quick with their calculations, I woke up at 2:30 in the morning in order to get to the airport at 4:30 (reminds me of my Swimming days). This combined with rare Spanish rain did not bode well for the coming ride. The pace started steady but quickly got really fast on the smooth, slick Spanish roads. Then came the rain, and as many of you see on the roundabouts in races like the Vuelta a Espana, it is like riding on ice when the rain sweeps standing dirt and grease onto the roads. Continue reading “Oliva Nova Team Training Camp”
Over the early months of 2019, we, as team Spiderking Soenens have been going to team training camps in both Belgium and Netherlands to get some race pace in the legs before the much awaited classics which come in just a few weeks’ time. There have been 3 team weekends: Waregem, Geraardsbergen and Assen. Unfortunately, but understandably, I could not go to the training camp in Assen due to the vast travelling distance, and not to mention the time required out of school to ensure I travel from Great Britain to Assen, Netherlands. We made a collective decision to forego the training weekend deciding that it would be more beneficial for me to train at home.
What a season it has been!! After a slow start, being ill, having my exams and getting a new coach, I got back on track and had a long season of intense racing throughout the extended summer, due to my exams finishing my school term early. In fact, immediately after my exams I headed straight out to Belgium for a weekend’s racing, where to my dismay the, now, world champion had turned up to race. But we will get into the details of the season later. But I have to say I couldn’t have done it without the help of Trainsharp and Alex, my coach. Click Read More to find the season in numbers. Continue reading “2018 Season”