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3 weeks to go until the British Cross Country Champs so its time to get fast! After a poor result at Margam Park, my only option is to simply clear my head of all the crap that’s gone on so far this season and stay focused and make the most of training between now and the Champs. Most of my build ups have been hard turbo sessions (when the weather have been poor), combined with tempo mtb rides and relying on some road/crit racing to sort out the top end stuff.

Castle Combe 30/6/11
The plan for the race was simply to get the most out of myself, work as hard as I could and to not be bothered about where I came, which is what I pretty much did. There was an extremely dense field entered to ride with many top names from pro squads including Marcin Bialoblocki (Poland) of Marshals Pasta, which everybody had tipped to get the win. No suprise there then as he and a couple of others managed to get a small break in the first 10 mins despite our Team Wiggle fast start from the gun, with Marcin going on to get the win. For the remainder of the race I chased nearly every attack and pushed the field along getting a cracking workout and generally feeling pretty good about giving my body a hammering. I ended up coming in with the bunch sprint (mid pack) after a lot of good efforts. Happy day’s racing. :)

Castle Combe 7/7/11
Again the plan was to go hard, and chase down as much as I could and generally stir things up as usual. For the first time since I been racing at Castle Combe (this year anyways) me and Ben didnt go from the gun, however, the pace did still pick up quick in the first few turns and was soon chucking out speeds of up 40mph again. For the first half of the race I chased down pretty much every attack that came, but at the half way point, Ben managed to get into group of 6 riders who made the jump. Unlike what I normally do in road racing (chase down my own team mates with passion) I just marked any attacks tha came but denied doing any of the work to pull back the lead group. This for me takes alot of disapline on my behalf as I cant resist smashing it and getting a sweat on. By the end of the race Bens group stayed clear of the peleton (Ben taking 4th) and myself enjoying the bunch sprint of my own to finish 3rd of my bunch. Again another quality session.

Brentor 60 mile 10/7/11
The following Sunday I headed down to Devon for the Brentor 60 mile road race, which again was an E/1/2 race so would be good fast training. The race consisted of 10 x 6 mile laps- mostly fast but with one draggy climb to slow up the pace at the end of each lap. Off the start and for most of the first lap there were a few little moves which were marked by riders but on the whole pretty quiet. On the climb crossing the line for the first time I was sat in the first 5 or 6 riders but feeling really light on the pedals and was thinking of giving it a go, but decided that if I was in the same position on the next lap then I’d go from the bottom to make the most of the climb. True to form the bunch was still together by the end of the lap, so I postioned myself in the first 3 riders going into the sharp left at the bottom so I was on the Front and ready to go. Diving down the inside and out of the left hander already with a 4 bike-length lead I put my foot on the gas and was away!

By the time I reached the summit and crested the climb I was a good 20 seconds clear so I put my head down and committed to the punishment. For the next few laps I stayed away and at one point I had 35 seconds to 3 chasers and around 50 seconds to the peleton. In the time I was clear I took the first of two primes, but by the end of lap 5 was caught by what was now a group 8 chasers. The following lap again up the climb I was still feeling pretty light on the pedals and with the end of lap 6 being another prime, I planned to go again…if I could! Again as we entered the tight left-hander I dived down the inside and was away! I managed to take the second prime and again was clear of the field by around 20 seconds. Unfortunately, I was chased down a little quicker this time and within 5 mins I was caught and instantly attcked by a rider from the Primal Europe squad. I booted it and got onto the wheel and was still feeling pretty strong at this point and felt I could go all day. For the next few laps the were a couple of attacks, but most of the time it was pretty consistant work to keep our lead from the peleton. On the last lap I had the same game plan, however I knew deep down there was no way I was going to win this race as I was starting to feel the effects of my efforts and was cramping when the pace kicked. I was attacked on the straight before the last bend which I managed to claw back before the start of the climb, but my legs were shot. As soon as I entered the final climb 4 riders blew past me and all I could do was get to the finish line… I’d had it! Overall I was really happy with the days effort and it felt quite good being a marked man on the last laps… it was exciting!

Overall I feel I’m in reasonable shape for next weekend’s British National Champs, where hopefully I can write in the diary ‘another good days racing done’.