Yet another busy few months have passed, a lot of races have passed and a nice summer holiday to sort of relax; but now back to racing for the final part of the season...
My last blog I said I would shortly after be returning home for a couple of races which consisted of one of the Elite Circuit Race Series around my local town, which in good old English tradition, poured down for the full length of it which made it sketchy to say the least haa, followed by the final Premier Calendar of the year; which even better, went right past my house. Although the races didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped, I still enjoyed them nevertheless and enjoyed the atmosphere of the local crowds all around the course.
The Elite Crit was a great atmosphere even with the rain present, but the course certainly made it interesting for both the rider’s and spectators! I remember sitting in the car, circuit soaked with rain, and me trying to put off getting out the car as long as possible ha; before going a little too mad with letting air out of my tires. I eventually I made it to the start line; everyone soaked, before the racing was eventually underway. Very fast from the start, some very sketchy corners, and me thinking ‘my tires feel rather spongy’… maybe because I was racing with 40psi in- schoolboy error!
The Premier Calendar was even more important because firstly, the course went right past my house, and because I had always wanted to ride a Premier Calendar since I had started Cycling near enough. On the start line, the crowds were amazing, the sun was out (sort of) and it was as local as I could have gotten it! Great! We set off and there were crowds all around the course near enough cheering and shouting. I felt good nearly all the time I was in the bunch however I was caught out on the hardest part of the circuit around 2/3rds through when the hammer was put well and truly down at the front and I didn’t get back on which I was a bit disappointed about, but the race was never going to be easy!
I had however been racing quite a lot over in Belgium in prep ready for the weekend's racing, but on both race days in England, I didn't feel brilliant; maybe a bit to do with all of the travelling in that week etc but nevertheless, it was still an excellent weekend and It was great to be able to ride a race of that caliber so close to home, so still happy!
Wind Tunneling…
Whilst back home, as further prep for the BTTC, I also had the chance to have a go into the wind tunnel with my TT bike for a few hours down at Drag2Zero in Northampton. Having never been in a Wind Tunnel, it was a great morning and interesting to see how far off my ideal position I was. Turns out, quite a lot! New positions were tried out until we were eventually happy with it. Success!
Cuba Summer Holiday...
Time to sort of relax and prep myself for the final part of the season; this involved sitting by the beach, sitting by the pool and enjoying the sun with a few rides on the hire bikes and a few times in the gym; also with the occasional game of Tennis… good stuff!
The rest was nice, and it was good to have a bit of time away from racing- but I was still eager to get racing again and get back on my bike! Soon enough however, I was back in Belgium and having only been back on my bike for just over a week, I’m pleased with how it’s been going; and still feeling stronger as the day’s progress.
Pro Kermesse- adrenaline rush!...
I was selected by the team to ride a 170km Pro Kermesse just a few days ago, and I was feeling good, and rearing to go, however the race was nearly cut short for me after 65km when I punctured in the tight and twisty lanes already with an average speed in excess of 47km/h over the twisty, narrow and lumpy roads of Huesden. In the middle of the bunch, I had to somehow find my way to the side of the road without causing carnage in the process. So I have my wheel in the air and the team car ditches in the gutter, get a new wheel and I’m thinking there’s no way I’m going to get back on at those sorts of speeds, so I get right behind the team car which is now doing over 64km/h and I’m just inches off the rear bumper, horns going off from everywhere etc etc. Adrenaline rush to say the least ha ha! A lap later I was back in the bunch trying to recover as quickly as I could which meant swallowing about 3 gels, taking a whole bottle and generally trying to get up near the front…
A little bit later on…
About half way in the bunch coming into the fast finishing straight and big crash… rider’s stationary all trying to get past which caused a huge split and after nearly half a lap of chasing back on again, I went BOOM haa! Enjoyed the race nevertheless, and to ride another Pro Kermesse was all good!
My next upcoming race is a 2 stage Kermesse; Saturday and Monday with a GC at the end of Monday’s stage. Easy day tomorrow then to the start on the Saturday… Let’s hope the ‘’leg gods’’ are good to me ha ha. Following that, it’s back to England for the TT Champs!
Again, thanks for reading!
Josh.