Snow cross and Bradford...

12 December saw round 5 of the National Trophy Cyclo cross series take place in Bradford, South Yorkshire. This race wasn't really on my to-do list until about a week prior to it so i didn't really have time to prep much as i had a busy week leading up to it, including a school awards night in which i received an award for 'Effort'. Not to sure how it happened but i managed a free book out of it so i don't mind. We arrived at Bradford about one and a half hours before the vets race so i got a couple of laps in on what was a frozen solid course. After my crash at Koksijde on the ice (Which involved a suspected dislocated elbow) i wasn't at all confident on the rutted course.

I just got on with it though, then went back to the car and got changed to watch the vets, juniors and women's race. During these races though the course had unfrozen and become a mud pit. One famous descent in the course took out at least 80% of the field every lap, a video can be seen at http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/. I got to the start of my race and as we took off i just went backwards until the ground levelled out again, I've never really been good on anything that that has a gradient of more than 1%. I did move up as the race went on and was ahead of my No.1 competitor Alan Trolove who i always lose an eastern win to. I had to make a couple of bike changes due to the crud that the bike was picking up and I completely died on the last lap after a crash and just couldn't get my rhythm back and lost a staggering 4 places, one of them to Alan.

After, it was fun to watch David Van Der Poel, a first year U23 from Belgium battle it out with our country's best, it really shows how much better at cycling Belgium is than us, but at least it gives you something to aim for!

Yesterday, 19th December i travelled with James Whatling in the Orbea-Twenty3c ( http://twitter.com/Twenty3c_Orbea) team van to a snowy race in Broome Heath, Bungay. Never have i experienced such luxury at a race! The teams Mercedes Benz Vito Sport was perfect for cross, with enough room in the boot for 4 bike and two spare sets of wheels, and then enough room in the back to get changed comfortably in privacy with the tinted windows. Due to the snow, we arrived at the race with about an hour to go, not ideal but that's how it goes I'm afraid. I did a lap before, and just making sure they didn't make any changes to the course from last year, when it was also snowing.

The course was perfect for me, icy and fast, but technical which i like. The sub-zero temperature also helped me as i love the cold where many people hate it. I got a flying start and i lead going up the start finish straight. Alan, who i have mentioned earlier in the blog was well suited to the course as well as he just does not let up on the icy bends where i do, purely due to a lack of confidence. After chasing Alan, and an Extreme Sports Therapy rider, i finished a comfortable 3rd, with 4 minutes on the next rider. Finishing third is okay to me as i still have another year in the U16 category and this year is mainly for learning.

James, who we came with was competing in his first cross race! He didn't do bad either, finishing 12th Senior. We hope to see him at Rutland!

My next race will be on the 30th December at the Sylvester Cross in Bredene, Belgium. This is literally 100 meters away from my first cross race in Belgium this season so i will go into it confidently.

I may do another blog before Xmas but if not, Merry Christmas and a happy new year!



London, Eastern & SE Championships

Sunday saw the best of two leagues battle it out for the regional championship victory. It was my first regional champs as an U16 so  i wasnt expecting to win but a top 7 would have been brilliant. The venue was hog hill in Redbridge, London and the circuit was patched with ice and snow which made it a very exciting race. I did a couple of laps recon and liked the cirsuit despite the hill which took it out of me, and thought i was capable of a good ride.

I am second from the right, on the front row.

Being gridded on the front row i had an opportunity to get a good start and from the gun i was in 6th place which i kept for most of the race, being contested by Joe Fry, who is an U14 and a good friend of mine. As the race went on, i think i must have been one of the only ones who didnt deck it which was good as i have to admit it took skill to stay upright in them conditions. I moved up to 5th place by the finish and i felt i had a good ride, making good descisions like running certain sections which turned out to be quicker. Hopefully i can carry this performance to Bradford on the weekend where i will be racing a National Trophy.

Some photos by Pauline English;

Thanks to Trevor and Ewan at Ciclos Uno (http://www.ciclosuno.com/) for keeping me supplied with kit and for keeping my bikes running smoothly.

Ciao for now.

Koksijde - Snow and ice.

On Friday, My Dad, Kevin Barker, team mechanic for Ciclos Uno Ewan Hendon and myself carted off to Belgium for round #3 of the UCI World Cup Cyclo Cross at Koksijde, Belgium where i would be racing in the 'Nieuwelingen' support race. Koksijde is rennouned for being both a mentally and physically tough course, and was one i desperately wanted to ride, even if it was not for a race. With the 2012 Cross world champs being hosted at Koksijde, there were some changes in the course-Which in my opinion, took away the feel and the atmosphere that you usually get at Koksijde. This aside, i got a good few laps practice in on Friday, where it was raining almost continuously, and i liked the course which suited me due to long stretches on sand which require you to run and short sharp climbs that test your power. After spending a few hours at the course and checking out the registration site, we took off to the hotel. We arrived at the surprisingly nice apartment for the night, we went out and amazingly found an excellent Irish Bar where we had dinner.

Practising the course on Friday.

Arrived at the hotel.

Overnight there had been light snow, and the frozen conditions ensured ice. We arrived at the course with about 45 minutes to go, after collecting Kevin's press pass and i set out to warm up. Riding along the start finish straight before the start, i crashed on black ice and landed dead on my elbow. After getting up, i was pretty much immobilised until about 5 minutes prior to the start and i was facing doubts over even starting due to the pain i was in. After some not to friendly encouragment from my dad, i took the choice to start, and with no surprise i was gridded 3rd from last. Straight from the start i was about 5th from the back, unable to ride properly. Once the adrenaline (More effectively cold, it was -3) set in and the pain numbed i managed to make up about 5 places to finish in 27th place. Not exactly what i had hoped for, but not to bad considering I'm a year younger than most others and also my crash, but i gained valuable experience.

Just after crashing on the ice.

In the race.

Sunday, after ongoing pain in my elbow, we went to the NHS walk in centre to get it looked at where almost instantly we were sent to A&E with an expected dislocated elbow. After resting it up for a couple of days as advised, I'm back doing rollers and will be racing the Regional Championships on the weekend at Hog Hill.

Overall, i had a superb weekend and it could not have been done without the help of Kev and Ewan, and my Dad. Thanks a lot to Trevor at Ciclos Uno for supplying me with kit every season, and Ewan again for always keeping my bike running smoothly. Thanks as well to the Burch's for the support.

Ciao for now.

London league.

I did London league cross today at Lea Valleys Gunpowder park. It was a relatively cool day and was sloggy, which suits me. I ran my bike in a way that i thought was good for the conditions; 12-25 block, on a 32 grifo, with a wolber deeper profile rim on the front, which had a 30 grifo to cut throught the mud and help steering. It was all going well, i lead for most of the first lap until we hit a climb out the back of the park, which completely sapped me, and i fell back to 6th. Trying to regain places, i feel on a corner and had to punch me levers bck straight which cost precious time, but i got back on and chased my way to 5th. Not a bad result considering im a first year, but it is a result i know i could have improved on. Anyway, its been a good prep for Koksijde next weekend....

Sum up of the season so far...

Seeing as i've started the blog a big late, Heres a summary of my Cyclo cross season as a first year U16 so far:

12/09/10 Eastern CX Round 1- 2nd
02/10/10 Eastern CX Round 3- 2nd

03/10/10 London CX Round 3- 7th

09/10/10 Eastern CX Round 4- 1st

17/10/10 Eastern CX Round 5- 2nd
23/10/10 Vlaamse Cyclocross Cup Bredene- 5th
24/10/10 Eastern CX Round 6- 2nd

EADT Article- October 2010.

First thing...

Well, I've never really been one for blogging but I'm thinking it may be a good way to try and get a bit more noticed. I'm a bike racer, who prefers cyclo-cross and mountain biking, but I still race a bit of road in early summer to keep my fitness. For my ages category, I'm consistently getting top 10 at national level, in both disciplines and this year, moving up to become a first year U16, I'm taking a more international approach to my racing. 5 races in Belgium, one already ridden and a 5th place gained. This year is going to be used as a learning year for me, with the biggest experience being in racing in the Koksijde world cup support race.

I will try and keep this blog as updated as possible, with race reports, and anything else I find valuable,

Thanks for reading,
Sean