English
So, since the last post I’ve raced in two national championships and rounded off a track league.
First up was the Welsh Open/Closed Madison Championship. That means its open to all riders but has a Championship within for the Welsh national title. Leading up to the event, I had a crash – see previous blog entry. This wasn’t ideal preparation, oh well. I love riding my bike, so was not going to miss out on this event. Also, my partner for the event, fellow Team Wiggle rider Ben Simmons, decided to focus his weekend’s priorities on the British Cyclo-Cross championships. So I found myself a partner in Anthony “Boyler” Boyle. Having never ridden with Boyler before and heard horror stories about previous Madison events he had rode… I guess you can say I was a tad concerned!
The race had two riders who are on the British Academy team, and were on fine form, they were off to race a World Cup track event a few days after riding this race.
The race was almost a show for the pairing of Harrison and Mould who were a class above the rest of us. Boyler and I however were in the mix with the race for the remaining two medals available. The aggressive riding by Boyler meant we were attacking when it wasn’t the best moment, however, it made the race quick and the crowd seemed to enjoy it! We picked up points and up until the last sprint we were still in the possibility for a bronze medal, we ended up in 5th. Having never ridden with Boyler on the track was not the best preparation as you need to understand your partners body language, especially in such an event.
The next day I was back at Calshot, taking part in the track league. I felt a little tired but still managed to take some wins. The weekend went OK.
The following weekend was going to be fun. Friday night travel to Manchester, stay at a friends house. Saturday was the British Madison Championships. This race had pro-tour professionals, British Squad riders, Olympic Gold medallist, British champions, professional road riders. And me. And my partner, Simon “Sprinter Simon” Winston. I opted to ride with Sprinter as I knew his body language having ridden with him on the track in a race type situation before. As I said earlier in this blog post, its important to recognise any changes in a rider, before they tell you. Riding with Simon I felt I could notice such things. So, the reality is, we were always going to be in for a hard ride with the fellow competitors being the standard and level they are.
The first pairing to really show their colours was that of Andy Tennant and Ed Clancy, household names to cycling fans! Sprinter was struggling a little with the pace, and not used to riding with such a big gearing on his bike. He did a fantastic job though and did his best. I felt the pace massively too. It showed how amazing the professional riders are. The British Champ honours went to Luke Rowe and Pete Kennaugh. A fine display by two of Britain’s best track riders. Sprinter and I finished up in 9th place.
That night I went to Bristol for the evening and then in the morning to Calshot, for more racing. I actually felt really strong and lapped the field in every event. It must have been the good “run out” the day before! That evening I had to pack my bags as I was off to Portugal the next morning for 5 days away.
I had a great time in Portugal with some of my mates from the racing scene. It also gave me the opportunity to try out some samples and prototypes for the dhb clothing range . There are some great new additions to the range for 2011 and I look forward to wearing them as usual.
Upon my return from Portugal, I was ill for a few days, some horrible stomach bug that I caught. It really was unpleasant.
Finishing on a high though, I managed to take the overall honours at the Calshot Track League. A massive thanks to Sue, Time and Anthony and others involved with helping with running the series and also all the riders for making it what it was every week. Also a big thanks to Selle San Marco for providing a comfortable place for me to sit on! Windwave for providing FSA chainrings for me to adjust my gearing perfectly. And finally Paligap for an amazing set of wheels for me to use for track racing. I cannot wait to ride in the open track events this year. A favourite of mine, and get rolling on these parts again.
