23rd/24th July

Hey all,

This weekend I had two events planned, the Oxonion CC 10 Mile Time Trial on H10/17R, and the Bath RC Junior Road Race.

The time trial on the Saturday was planned as a potential qualifying ride for the Junior Best British All Rounder competition, this competition takes into account the two fastest 10 and 25 mile time trials in open events during the course of the season, the winner is the rider who has the highest calculated average speed. The H10/17R is one of the faster local courses, but the wind was strong so there were to be no super fast times. Having seen the conditions I set my sights on a sub 22 minute ride, which would be tough given the conditions, but not out of reach. I got to the start line just as my number was called, then with 30 seconds to go... my chain came off, I just managed to slip it back on with about 5 seconds to go, and set off on my way! A blistering tailwind on the way out meant my average speed was sky high, I reached the turn in about 12 minutes, with an average speed of just under 30mph. The shorter return leg was painful and slow, not helped by me feeling a sudden stomach ache for the last 10 minutes of the ride. It was a block headwind back, and my average speed was down to 25-26mph. I finished in a time of 21:48 with an average speed of 27.5mph, taking 9th place out of 80 finishers. The event was won by Tejvan Pettinger in a time of 20:14, a storming ride in hard conditions. Pleased with my performance, another top 10 in an open event, very happy!!

Sunday was the big race of the weekend, the Bath RC Junior Road Race, part of the 2011 Junior National Series. A 71 mile road race around the Stewkeley circuit, which consisted of a long drag up to the finish and a couple of other draggy climbs on the circuit. It was a glorious day which meant no arm warmers for the first time in a long while! The race consisted of some of the top junior riders in the country including Oli Rossi, Ali Slater, and national champion Dan Pearson. We started fast, and for the first lap I was feeling fatigued and weak, however by the end of the first lap I felt fully warmed up and strong! A large break went up the road on lap 1 consisting of about 10 riders, they soon established over a minute on the peloton and the chasing pack were making no inroads into the time gap. I made my way towards the front of the group and started working on the front with 5 other riders to try and close the gap, other riders chasing the break included Dan Pearson the national champion, and Brennan Townshend, 2nd placed rider in the Ras de Cymru. We chased hard for about 10 miles and eventually reeled in the breakaway halfway through lap 3. More riders soon attacked, and I settled back into the bunch whilst the race continued at high speed. At the start of the last lap there were 6 riders up the road with a substantial gap, and two chasers inbetween the bunch and the break. I shot off the front in an attempt to bridge the gap to the two chasers. I quickly pulled out about 300 metres on the bunch as nobody chased, but I couldn't reach the two chasers on my own and after about 10 minutes on my own I sat up and waited for the bunch. The rest of the race was ferociously fast, and I stayed near the front for the last lap, I soon found I was on the limit for the last lap and paid dearly in the uphill sprint for the line. I rolled over the line at the rear of the peloton. We finished the 71 mile race in 2h50m, with an average speed of 25.5mph. I was pleased with how I rode, and pleased with my effort to bridge the gap.

My legs are feeling super strong now ever since the Ras de Cymru, and hopefully my 2nd category licence will come within a few races.

Next weekend I have a 25 mile TT on H25/2 course in Marlow, aiming for an improvement of my pb of 56:48.

Ciao!