The past few weeks have been a steep learning curve for me; having proved to myself that I can comfortably compete for podium positions at a regional level (Cat 2/3 races), I turned my sights to the next step up- E12 races on the National scene.
As always, throwing myself in at the deep end seemed the best way to go about this new target, and my first Elite race of 2014 was at the South East Road Race League (SERRL) spring stage race. I didn't really have aspirations in the General Classification, so my main objective was to survive the three days- but objectives tend to go out of the window when the racing adrenaline kicks in. That said, so does common sense...
The first road stage was a stark reminder of just how fast Elite racing can be, and it wasn't on the climbs where I was struggling- it was the descents. People often disregard road cycling as a boring, safe alternative to Cross Country or Downhill mountain biking- but descending at over 80 km/h wearing just a thin layer of Lycra, and some puffed up foam on your head for protection is definitely neither boring or safe. Add in that you can't see the road ahead of you because your sight is blocked by some other bloke's arse, and it's downright stupid. I found at pretty quickly that the only way to stay in the bunch is to switch off the bit of your brain that says "no." After that, things got a lot easier.
The rest of the weekend was very much the same- having suffered a mechanical on stage two, I dropped down the GC, but finished with the bunch on every other stage and wound up 33rd of around 60 starters by the end of the three days. Having never completed a stage race before, I was pretty pleased with myself.
With one stage race ticked off, the next was the Condor Three Day in London- three 80km Crit races in three days. With no team support, I knew it would be a tough race; I had to find the balance between controlling the race to a situation that would suit me, and having the legs left to get a result.
After my bid to win the overall went down the toilet when my breakaway partner on stage two punctured, I went about picking up a few bonus seconds where I could, and eventually finished 11th overall, once again out of around 60 starters. Despite it being a decent result, and clearly a sign of progression, I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed to have finished outside the top 10 when I felt it was a race I could have won.
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| On the attack at the Condor Three Day |
Back to single day races, and it was time for the Bec CC Road Race down in Kent. I went into the race off the back of a heavy week of training, so I was never expecting much- so when I realised only half of the field made it into the last 60km of the race I was pretty pleased with myself. I eventually got dropped on some super steep climbs with 40km to go, but rode by myself to the finish- that hurt a lot. I think I was actually on track for a top 20 until I turned the wrong way at a junction on the final lap- the marshals had just packed up, and so had my brain.
Finally, the big target had arrived- the Central Divisional Championships. Having originally planned for and trained for the South East Championships, I received an email two weeks before the event telling me that I lived in the Central region- woops. This meant that once again I would have no team support, and was going into the race having never ridden the course.
Therefore, the logical thing to do was attack on the first lap. Obviously. Four of us went up the road almost as soon as the neutralised flag came down, and quickly built up a lead- but by the end of lap 5 only two of us were left, and we still had 80km to go. However we still had a three minute advantage over a chasing group, and I was pretty convinced that we could hold on to our lead. However after 120km two riders bridged to us on the hardest part of the course- somehow Henry Latimer held on, but my legs were in pieces.
Eventually I was forced to pull out- once the adrenaline of being in a winning position had faded, the effects of such a hard race started to take their toll, and I could hardly ride in straight line. However I was seriously pleased with my performance; I'd proved to myself that I could really make a mark on an Elite race. I've had a few people ask why I didn't just sit in and ride to a top 20 at the Divs, and the easiest way to explain my mindset is a quote by the ever invincible Jens Voigt;
"If you go with a break, you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win."
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| In the break at the Divs- my face tells the whole story. |
