Midlands XC Marathon

Midlands XC Marathon 70km

Last Sunday was the midlands XC marathon a new edition to the series and I only decided to do it 2 weeks before then event, the weather leading up to the event was great, but the forecast very quickly turned bad for the weekend.

As I was driving up to Hanchurch it was raining very hard, I was thinking “this is going to be interesting” once arrived I parked up and signed on and took a quick look at the feed zone and the start/finish straight, then I sat back in the car as the rain started to throw it down!  I was sat in car getting ready making sure I had enough gels for the race, checking my tyres pressures; the race was looking more like the 4 hour mark with the rain and mud. With about 10 minutes to go I rolled down to the start and by then it had just stopped raining.

Even thou we had 70km to do the start was pretty fast and strung things out pretty quickly and the 100km riders set of in front and we were catching them very quickly and two of the lead riders quickly got away as they sat a fast pace, which I didn’t want to follow as I would pay for it later, by the end of the first lap I was in a small group of riders then the leaders came past as they had gone of course so I jumped onto the back of these two riders but the pace was still very fast so after a few minutes I decided to go to my own pace so now i was sitting in third with the leaders just ahead, for the next lap i could see the leaders just ahead sometimes i got closer other times they got further away a bit like a yoyo after a while i caught up to one of the riders on lap 3 and after a while i started to feel the pace and was back into third, then i was caught by 4^th place and by now the legs were

really feeling it, and I did the last lap on my own and finished in 4^th place.

Overall I was happy with the result as I hadn’t raced this length before, it has taken me a few day to recovery from it, it produced a high TSS score 290 you can find my race data here with power/hr (the elevation is wrong) http://tpks.ws/J9uL

Big thanks to all my sponsors for their continued support, my next race will be the 6/7^th July for the next round of the British series.

British XC Round 3 Hopton Woods

 British XC Round 3 Hopton Woods

This weekend was round 3 of the British XC and tough course with its relentless climbing, a big test for the legs.

We set of on Saturday morning for a bit of course practice; I was feeling up for this weekend as training has been going really, well with constant improvements, once we had arrived and set up, I had a quick lunch and set off shortly afterwards to go round the course. The course starts with a long climb which took around 8-10 minutes to the top, which was then followed by a quick decent which had numerous lines some much quicker than others, you had to really pay attention as you could easily make a mistake which could leave to an off and that could be race over! Another climb followed at the end of the first descent, for another few minutes which led into the second descent and most of the climbing was now completed, with a few more long descents to take us back down to the bottom.

On the last decent I was carrying a bit too much speed and lost my front wheel which sent me towards a tree which I just missed, fortunately I hadn't fallen off to hard but I was a tad sore afterwards, a bit of Sports tape helped once applied, I went round for another lap at just under race pace to get a better feel for the course and to sort out my lines.

Photos from British Cycling's photo stream via Andy Whitehouse

I was 25^th on the grid out 52 riders, and the start was manic, I tried to move through quick but it was hard due to the amount of traffic with riders everywhere, but my early efforts of moving through I was paying for by the top of the climb where the pace was still very fast and so I lost of few places.

Over the next few laps I worked hard and moved through, and on the last lap I was in a group of 3 13^th-15^th and the pace really kicked up, with constant attacks from the other two riders as we all tried to drop each other and with half a lap to go they had around 5-10 seconds on my which was held to the finish, I crossed the line in 15^th my best result to date, I am getting closer each time to a top 10.

I’m very pleased with this result.  MY RACE DATA. 

http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/NFUGAZCIWQY33Q4ZUG32DEIDHA

Big thanks to Forme Bikes/ NectarFuel/ Forgoodness Shakes/Schwalbe/Prendas

All the sponsors above make a real difference helping me to reach my goals.

First Elite Win of the Year

Welsh MTB Series round 2

Today’s race destination was Coed Y Brenin in north Wales, so a two hour journey was on the plateand with that in mind the car was loaded the night before and in the morning we set off for Wales.

I’ve really been focusing hard on my nutrition to get the best out of my training/racing and been training well and this was to be my first Elite race that had BC points up for grabs unlike the previous week at Cannock chase, so I wanted to do as well as I could, I raced this course last year as it was the welsh champs and this was when i junior where I won so I was feeling confident about the course.

Once Arrived we got the bikes unloaded and went for a quick spin around d the course to get a feel about it and to sort out pressures on the tyres, this course was a good test of your bike handling skills and suited my carbon 29er so well as you could really keep the speed up on the technical sections as the big wheels really allowed you to flow over.

Unlike the previous weekend it was much warmer while riding, but standing around you would get Fairley chilly, I was gridded on second row as I hadn’t done the first welsh round which was too early for me in the season.

 As the gun went i got myself into 4/5^th wheel in the first 100 meters then i moved into the lead and rode away with another guy on my wheel but over the technical sections i gapped him and started to move away and over the course of the 5 and half laps, and i rode with in my-self as I had a healthy gapped and kept it at that so I didn’t want to push on to hard and risk blowing as I’m still adjusting to the extra distance.

 I was riding well but with ½ a lap to disaster struck, i somehow managed to hit a rock and bent my mech hanger and rip my rear mech off so for the last half lap of the race i ran faster than i have ever ran before! I still managed to cross the line with 20 seconds to spare and taking my first Elite win of the year which I was extremely happy about, i would like to thank Forme Bikes for their huge support and are %100 behind me along with Nectar fuel, prendas and schwalbe for all their amazong support.

I’ll be next racing the Midlands XC in two weeks time.

Power Test

well it's that time of year when everybody seems to be ill, you try and do your best to avoid it but you still get it! i was just starting to feel good again after a week of training, then boom! i'm ill again!

two weeks ago i started training, after a few weeks of building it back up, it started with a FTP power test to determine where i was at, these test are horrible and i'm very glad when i'm done.

here is a link to my test, Power Test Results

20 minute test i averaged 281 watts, which i was happy with weighing in a 55kg so hopefully i should get it to around 300 watts just before the start of the season.

hopefully i'll be recovered before to long so i can resume training.

Update

it's been a long time since i've updated my site and plenty has changed since my last post, i'm now back training after having 5 weeks of due to a nasty chest infection which needed two course of antibiotics to shift it!

i didn't realize how disheartening it was not to be fit, for every pedal stroke to be a struggle, seeing my HR so high yet my power so low, well what could i expect really after having such a lengthy time if my bike, well the training is slowly getting there my new coach Adrian Timmis is fantastic, and soon a shall see my power figures rise nicely and hopefully have some good gains on my FTP% to get me ready for the seasons ahead, also having a year full time to race a train to set me up as an U23/Elite Rider which will be a hard year to get to grips with the speed and length increase but i'm very looking forward to it!

i have some fantastic people and a new team for next year whom all will be supporting me, i eagerly await the start of the season, i will do my best to keep this updated!

Sherwood Pines BMS R1

Sherwood Pines the opening round of the British National Mountain bike series:

With two consecutive wins on the past two previous Midland xc rounds I was feeling good, my forme was slowly coming together and with lots of early prep work on the MTB I was feeling ready for the first National. I arrived mid-morning on the Saturday afternoon & set up the caravan, the weather was mild but slowly brightening up and looking to be a nice day.

The new Forme Winscar race bike was all set with some brand new Racing Raplhs from schwalbe on to my new Kenya CX Pro tubeless wheels.

The course was flat, with a few false flats where you could put the power down, and get  going, there was a lot of single track which meant passing would be limited so positioning would be crucial into the first piece of single-track and be a decisive part in the race, after three laps I had the course drilled in and was feeling ready for the race the next day.

Race day: with a good night sleep I was feeling ready for the race today, with a start of 12 I had plenty of time to sort everything, meaning I could take my time and not rush with anything,

On the turbo, I was getting focused I was racing for three laps so around an hour, the start was delayed slightly due to an unfortunate crash, once we started I moved quickly into the top 8 then into the top 4  and me and three other riders were away with a nice gap, I stayed at the back watching other riders, and working out my moves for the last lap, by the second lap one rider had dropped of and one was of the front with around 6 seconds,  we were slowly closing down on him when he burped his rear tyre and had to stop, so it was just the two of us away now with a nice lead  with 2km of the second lap to go I attacked into some single track where I knew I could ride it fast, and a gap appeared, on the long  start finish straight, he was slowly winding me back in, but once into the single track I kept the pace high and the gap slowly grew over the remainder of the last lap, once on the finish straight  I threw my arms in the air, taking my first ever national MTB win,

I’m mega happy with the results and feel I rode it really well; I’d like to say a massive thanks to all my sponsors for the continued support

Picture Credits go to Ray Mortlock @ www.raymortlockimages.wordpress.com

That wraps up the CX season,  I havn’t written much in a while, as half the time I havn’t been in the UK in the last few weeks I’ve been in the UK, France, Belgium and Holland, with Team GB.

A week after the nationals at was announced that I had been selected for another world cup and the world championships which is a massive achievement for me and would be a massive learning step to getting closer to a pro contract one day and a taste of living the dream.

The weekend after the national champs was the last National trophy race, at Shrewsbury, this course I have raced on many times and know it like the back of my hand, on arrival it was frozen and file treads where the tyre of choice but the sun came out and it was rhinos, it was very muddy, my start was poor but it was around  1.5km before the course got tight so I had plenty of time, I moved up slowly and there were three of us away, and slowly it was just two, me and joe, the course didn’t suit me as it was flat, and being a smaller rider I just couldn’t get away and joe could put some time into me on the flat, and on the last lap he put a big dig in, which I just couldn’t respond to, and he took the win by 9 seconds and me finishing 2^nd and 2^nd overall in the series.

The following weekend I was off to the last round of the world cup in hoogerheide (Holland) the course was one that in practice rode nicely but in the race, it was mega hard, it was a very very muddy course which didn’t suit me to well, also ended up running a lot, my start wasn’t great, but slowly moved up feeling good, but on either the 2^nd or 3^rd lap, I lost control on a muddy section and went straight into the barrier and bent my lever and put the front brake on, so after a struggle to the pits and many places lost I finished in 45 6 minutes down so not really my day.

The Sunday evening I returned home, and that following Wednesday I was off to Belgium for the world championships,  on Thursday on Friday we had a road ride in the morning then course practice in the afternoon, I had got the course drilled and was feeling very good, but the night before the race I wasn’t feeling great so I went to bed and hoped to sleep it off, but I woke up at 11 and threw up, and over the next 7 hours I didn’t get  any sleep and was either sick or on the loo, at 6 I managed to fall asleep and was up at 7 but I was I no state to race, and other riders had the same, looks like it was food poisoning, even some of the staff were out, I was gutted as I was looking forward to having a good race I was hungry to race, but the wraps up my CX season

That’s 16 podiums 8 wins   and my best international results of 28^th and 2^nd overall in the national series and 1^st overall in the national rankings

National Cyclocross Championships.

A very important race this was for me, I’ve had good consistent results throughout the season and this day was a big day, it was selections for the World Cyclocross Championships in a few weeks’ time and the national title was up for grabs, so all was on the line.

On the Saturday I pre-rode the course to get a good feel of it after my road ride in the morning and got everything dialled in, on the morning of the race I got a few more laps in to see if anything had changed on the course, it had, it had dried out a lot more so I put some faster tyres on, I had a good warm up and a lot of prerace encourage meant from friends & family such as the like of my girlfriend Pip & my coach Dan fleeman from (Forme coaching) whom earlier this week we had a heated discussion on my training for the week prior to it but I listened and everything turned out ok, “so listen to you coach he knows best”

I got to the start line feeling focused and ready to race, my start was good a quick, I got into 3^rd into the first corner then fell back a bit on the straight to around 6^th place, and the pace was increasing at the front, so I got a move on and got myself on the gas for the next few laps and got myself into second chasing the defending champion hugo with around 2.5 laps to go I got to hugo, and shared the work with him for a bit, but after chasing for a while my legs were started to cramp and couldn’t respond as quickly to the fast accelerations out of the corners as hugo was, I started to lose his wheel and he realised this and put his foot down for the last lap and a half and got away, I had three riders behind working together to chase me down, and I had to go as hard as I could without cramping, and I lost out by 5 seconds to first and the guys behind me were 8 seconds behind me. I was shattered, it was a good race and a very entertaining one as it was all so close, I’m delighted with the second but unhappy that I lost,

Following on from that I have been selected for the World Championships in Koksijde for Great Britain which I’m delighted about, 

I’d like to say thanks to all the support from my sponsorsCycleShack/Forme/FormeCoaching/USE/KASK/Accelerade/JuiceLubes

peel park round 5

Round 5 Bradford peel park

Rain, what else can I say, typical cross weather, it was chucking it down all day, eased at times but not for long, the course was a mud bath and I loved it, I wasn’t feeling %100 having had a 6 hour exam on the fri left me feeling tired and illness loaming in the family household I wasn’t quite on it,

I got gridded and had been practicing my starts, but as the gun went, I couldn’t clip in again, once it was clipped on, most likely clogged with all the mud, I moved up the places, going past riders throwing themselves on to the floor more or less, I got myself into third, and on the long straight, bike just washed out I went sliding along the ground and ended up back into 6^th, i then got back to 4^th, but had another few offs which caused me to lose some vital time, and a nice off on the last lap landed me into 5^th place over all, bike changes were constant as people were just snapping mechs everywhere, but my Forme bikes have a huge amount of mud clearance making it ideal!

So an easy week is in order to make sure I’m over everything and some good strong training provided by Dan Fleeman at FormeaCoaching will have me in top form to fight for that national jersey. Thanks to my pit crew and  cycle shack/Formecoaching/Forme/USE/Acclerade/KASK

 

Koksijde and Derby

Koksijde and Derby

 

With a much looked forward to weekend, but a long one at that, racing both days, Saturday and Sunday, with a lot of road miles in-between. On the Friday, we I spent the afternoon practicing on the Koksijde Junior world cup course, as I was there as part of team GB, the course was very dry and the files were the tyre of choice, spending around 2 hours on the course I felt confident that it was going to be a good but hard race, it will always be the most sandiest course I have ever ridden on, requiring a whole new level of bike handling skills, which I found out were essential after going over the bars a couple of times.

In the morning I was feeling confident and strong, I was gridded at the back due to the lack of UCI points, but this was all expected, on the starting straight, the pace was manic, a moved up a fair amount and on the First corner someone went down, slid across, and took my straight out, I go flying over the bars and get ran over a couple of times, (NOT NICE) I run back to the bike, and by this time I’m in dead last, and my saddle Is snapped in half, but the bike is just rideable, so I hop on a dive into the pits to swap bikes, still in dead last, over the next 35 mins, all I’m doing, is getting to groups and going past them, so from 85^th, I rode to 42^nd so not too bad,

Got back to the GB van and showered, and we were off back to the UK to get to derby ready for the national trophy, a long 5 hour trip that was.

With a good night’s rest under my belt I was ready to go again,

The course was long, windy and slippy in places, so was going to be a course for groups, I was feeling strong today but not on it due to racing the day before and travelling all day yesterday, I had a good warm up and was ready to go, gridded second, on first row, and a long straight ahead of me, the gun goes and what happens, my foot doesn’t clip in, second time. No luck. Third time lucky and by this time I’ve lost a fair amount of places, so I put the gas on, and get passed a load of riders, and get myself into the chasing group of the two riders ahead, a groups with around 10 riders and throughout the whole race attacks were coming from left right and centre and I kept my self in the top three of that group so I could go with any moves, and on the last lap, some riders crashed which I managed to avoid, and some of the other riders put there foot down going into the wind, I sheltered behind them and once it came to the last 700 meters or so through a set of technical corners and cambers I made my move and comfortably took 3^rd so not a bad day at all,

Big thanks to all my sponsors  cycleshack/FormeCoaching/Forme/USE/Kask/Accelerade