2nd January 2011: New year new legs? That's what seemed to apply today...
We arrived with about an hour and a half until my race at the Cat A event in Ipswich held by Elmy Cycles. I took off on the course which i have always loved for a warm up lap and i could just feel that something was different, just that sort of feeling you get when your on the finishing straight coming in for a win....
After a flying two laps i started warming up with national Champ hopeful- Joe Fry. The whistle went and we were at the start. The griding was wrong by far. There were riders on the front row, before me in fact who have never even podiumed so far this season, but as my dad says "Make the best of a bad job". From the start i was in third place and the race soon split with Harry Franklin in the lead, Josh Parkin following, and then me, my long time rival and friend Alan Trolove, and Welsh rider Dylan Kerfoot-Robson. My aim was to be honest- beat Alan.
I was clinging on to Alan and Dylan for most of the race until i crashed heavily on a descent and had to retrieve my bike from a nice spiky bush, but i got back on and chased until i was about 5 metres away from the two riders wheels. Alan tried to ride a tricky corner on a descent, on which he crashed and made himself and Dylan have to run up the slope, which is where i caught them.
Alan, Dylan and i managed to catch second place rider Josh Parkin after a badly timed puncture ended his hopes of a second place finish. We kept pushing until two laps to go when right at the start of the lap, Dylan had a mechanical and had to run to the pits which left me and Alan together.
Me and Alan stayed away for the rest of the race and i was on the front for the whole last lap, trying to limit our losses to the leader Harry Franklin. After giving it my all trying to keep Alan under pressure, it came to a sprint where i stupidly left a perfect line open for grabs. Alan got me in the sprint which is no surprise as he is a powerful rider on the track. I managed third in a cat A race which got me plenty of points ahead of the national champs next week.
Ciao.
8th January 2010: National Championships
Today, the National Champs? Wouldn't have thought so if you'd have seen me rolling around before the start. Chatting and not doing what i was supposed to be doing really.
We arrived around two hours before my race at the venue in Derby and i set out for a lap. The course was good, the conditions were bad (For me anyway). The course consisted of a lot of off-camber slogs and tricky switchback corners and steep, short climbs. If it was dry, this would be perfect for me but as it was muddy, the course was a real test of power which is what i lacked.
I was gridded on second row which should have set me up for a good start but due to my lack of warming up i just went backwards as soon as the gun went and i was in about 35th place entering the first corner. Then, i settled into a pace with Dylan Kerfoot-Robson and a couple of others and then started trying to pick myself up a few places.
By halfway through the race i was in 22nd position, which soon went down to 20th coming into the last lap. I was fading and Dylan got away to the group just ahead. Coming into the final section of the last lap, Rory Townsend crashed about 25m on so even though it sounds petty- It was a place i could gain. I caught onto his wheel once he had remounted and won the sprint for 19th against him.
Out of all of the first years i was 9th i think, which to me still isn't good enough. I know I'm a lot smaller than some of the others riders but next season i aim to come back with a top 5!
All in all i ended the day happy with my good friends Joe Fry & Hugo Robinson riding to the win in the U14 and Junior categories. Hugo will be off to St. Wendel later this year as part of the Junior Great Britain team for the World Champs.
Ciao.
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