National Road Champs 2013

Nationals didn't go to plan. It was tough, and not just in the conventional sense. I had to make a huge effort to even reach the front of the race, but also to control my emotion against riders in the bunch who I felt were simply racing against me. However that was the way it panned out and I must move on to my next target. In the end I was glad to make it to the front and even contest the win. Infact I received some congratulations from people simply for escaping the bunch, which put what had happened in the race into perspective a little.

This was the first of my 2013 goals that I haven't been able to tick off, something that makes me look at the bigger picture of my career objectives, one race aside, and in the short-term, fills me with even more motivation for my remaining races this year.

I would dearly love to win a jersey of some kind.  But it seems for now the wait will continue...

Thankyou to Jonty Darlington for the photo. And a huge congratulations to Lawless. After the disappointment had sunk in, I couldn't have been happier for him. A great mate who I was super happy to see on the top step of the podium.

Trofeo Karlsberg

A race can be told in a million ways and driving home or chilling out after a tough day, this is exactly what happens. Whether it be in a team debrief with our manager, or lay on a hotel bed killing time before dinner, the crazy stories from another day in the bunch always emerge. Laughter and disbelief bounds around the hotel room, the atmosphere as electric as the bunch itself, as tales of close calls, crashes and fights animate the hours after the stage.

This season, between these shared experiences of racing, and our amazing management, something seems to have clicked at the Nations Cups. Karlsberg reflected this perfectly, our team having become such a tight unit, regardless of which individual riders rode, that others fought tooth and limb for our sprinters wheel - simply; they knew it would deliver them to the line. This might seem normal from an outside view of the Professional peloton, however I have never seen it happen to such an extent in junior races in the last two seasons.

It seems our time together on ODP camps, slogging it out in the winter months, riding and living together, as one programme, culminated in our performance in Trofeo this week. We won the team classification on every road stage, put atleatst one rider on the individual podium everyday and came away with the Points jersey on the back of Mr Fast Legs Lawless. I over the moon to see the guys who had supported me in Roubaix, Croatia and Czech take some spoils for themselves, especially Chris, who had a tough time with mechanicals in the first couple of races this season.

Personally the race proved how far I have come since last year. A third place on the final day was the only 'result' I came away with, along with twelfth on the overall classification. I was pretty disappointed with this, especially of the back of my win and top five in Istria and Czech. Yet this is just what the paper results say, when in actual fact I took so much more from the race. Leading the lads on the road and delivering Lawless for a sprint win made for without a doubt some of the most fulfilling kilometers of my entire life. Infact crossing the line watching Lawless with his hands in the air was probably the happiest moment I have ever had on a bike - the feeling of putting everything in, ten kilometers of tension and chaos, came out (very loudly) and was captured perfectly in the rather wet picture above.

Whilst possibly not greatly suited to my current strengths, it was also an amazing race. The fans, weather (mostly) and organisation were top class. But above all else, it was the way we rode as a unit that I will remember most vividly, delivering some amazing results in the process. We showed how professionally we can ride and what we have learnt from the Nations Cup series this year. I would like to think this will stand myself and all the other lads in good stead in our attempts to progress our careers in the future, however ofcourse only time will tell!

Trofeo was my last ever Junior Nations Cup. It has been an awesome journey. The forseeable future see's an all in effort to try and get selected for the GB Team Pursuit team at the World Junior Track Championships in Glasgow. Its a huge goal and one I am super excited to try and achieve.

A huge thankyou to Matt and Martyn for their help this year at the Nations Cups. And to Kathryn, for her support in Germany, whose questioning - 'is this not normal then?' - of our podium antics, really made me consider how times can change.

'The Cyclist' Magazine Feature.

 'The Cyclist' have run a feature on me in their latest issue (preview of some of it above!) If you are interested you can buy it online at cyclistmag.co.uk, in WH Smith or at Condor!

 Photos - Juan Trujillo

Axel Junior Tour

After a week's 'mid-season' break I was more or less straight back on it last weekend, lining up at the three day Axel Junior Tour, UCI 2.1. Contrasting the last few races I had done it was a pan flat and windy affair, for the first two days atleast. The Sunday then saw a visit to the bergs of the Vlaamse Ardennen, with promise of carnage and big time gaps from the last few years!

I raced the first day hard, really hard. Going from inside the first ten kilometers, that included some muddy and wet cobbles, I was fueling myself mainly on excitement, using my legs much more than my head.  It took a lot longer than expected but the narrow lanes did eventually take their tole on the peloton, with some big splits inside the last twenty kilometers, the weather also helping to make a pretty epic days racing.

In the end Germain and I crossed the line in the front group of twenty, with four riders escaping off the front in the dying stages. We endured tough conditions, questionable tactics and a lot of muck, however it wasn't a great performance on my part. I raced hard early and subsequently missed a good opportunity to go for the win at the end. Whilst it was a good learning experience, a reminder to race smart, and probably for the best that I got the excitement of getting back to racing out of the way, I was kicking myself a little for not using my experience to read the scenario better.

 The second day of the race was a split stage - a fast and flat TT in the morning followed by another cobbled road stage in the afternoon. Although I should add these cobbles are Belgian/Dutch ones - nothing on those of Roubaix! I did an ok TT, recording a top twenty finish and keeping myself in the hunt for the GC but the main highlight of the day was a great leadout for Germain in the afternoon. A very well orchestrated ride by what was essentially a brand new team of guys working together. We went big and although it didn't come together in the last few hundred meters of the stage, we were very close. I really think coming into our next race we can put these lessons to use and repeat our success in Czech! Also enjoyed being told by a nameless but well respected American rider (speak this in a deep Texan twang) 'Tao mannn your so scary dude'. Love it.

 

The final day of the race delivered us to the bergs and ridges of the Vlaamse Ardennen. I was lying tenth on GC coming into the stage but hoped to make a big step up on the GC with a hard race over the hills. We planned to wait until the last of four laps before, between Germain and I, attempting to explode the race to bits. In the end it didnt pan out at all as planned, with a soft move going early in the race and never coming back. The bunch didnt seem too keen to race it out on what turned out to be a pretty hot day and so Germain and I took it up on the last lap as planned and tried to cause some carnage, with the hope of some time gaps emerging in the process.

In the end we did eventually snap the elastic, easier said than done on three climbs of less than 1000m in length, on the last classified berg of the race, but it was really too little too late. We pressed on and escaped the clutches of the bunch, however only took ten seconds or so on the line. In the end I moved up onto ninth on the overall, with Germain in tenth. It wasn't a great result but not the end of the world as my first race back, with some good experiences to take forward, as ever!

A huge thankyou to Matt, our mechanic Martyn, Luc De Wilde who was our carer for the weekend and the lads for keeping it fun!

Next on the agenda is Karlsberg - our last Nations Cup of the year. British Cycling's Axel report is here!

The Peace Race

We had been racing for almost ninety kilometers when the news that one of my teammates had been pushed by into a ditch reached me via a friend on a rival team. 

The whole race up until this point I had spent shepherding our team’s sprinter around the bunch, attempting to soak up as much of the wind, hills and general hardship of racing as possible. Saving his legs for the crucial last two hundred and fifty metres. For every one of these kilometers, constantly checking he was still on my wheel and felt ok, keeping him in the top fifteen of the bunch, I had stayed calm. I was one hundred percent focused on the job in hand, even risking my overall placing in order to allow our fastman to take the last climb that little bit easier. It was all in for one last hurrar, aiming for another stage win to add to our success. But now, the talk of one of our lads in in the grass, flicks a switch inside my head. Something deep down rages and I let the red mist descend, my eyes searching out the perpetrator:

He is located, via his race number, about five minutes later. A teammate and I pull alongside him and unleash a barrage of abuse, of which, ofcourse, he will have understood little of. We do it anyway and despite the language barrier, I am sure he got the message. We tell him exactly how it is before moving back through the bunch, his reply falling on deaf and now uninterested ears. We have bigger fish to fry.

It’s a certain type of anger, one I can only conjure up upon seeing a teammate or friend in trouble, that rises up at times like this. However despite this rage, I really just pity the guy. His team are known for causing crash after crash, never giving a crap about anyone else. In contrast, as I look around the bunch, I see friends and teammates that I hope to race with, and against, for years to come. I see the respect that we have for eachother, all enduring the same race, regardless of success or failure. I laugh. Now safely on the otherside of the tunnel, race over, I can sense the desperation of his act. Without a win or even a podium, with the weight of his nations cycling heritage weighing down heavy upon his shoulders, looming on every horizon, he and his team resort to this…

Ten kilometers later and its full gas now. We are coming into a big bunch gallop and whilst chaos is normal, today is a bit more. It is the last day of a stagerace and everyone knows that without a result today, they leave empty handed. There is no tomorrow and you can sense it. The earlier incident is now a forgotten memory, something we will joke about later on the Plane home. Its time for our sprint train and it’s ready to deliver.

We wait, calm before the storm, jostling for position. Shouts to move left, move right, keeping us together as a unit. We hold out, looking for the exact point we had been instructed to light the ignition, a few kilometers from the line. As we hover, I sense the lads strung out behind me, all sticking to eachother like glue. I know any second now it’s going to be full gas, all guns blazing.

At this moment a rider from another team passes me far left. He shouts to take his wheel. In an instant, as I pull our team into his slipstream, it’s time to commit.

Take a step back from the drama of the sprint leadout for a second. Rewind twenty five kilometers back into a race you have never even seen. We are on a fast and rolling main road into the finish town, the bunch barrelling along, the race leaders team on the front driving it to keep him in contention. Rewind back further, past the red-mist, the expletives, the push. I am at the front, sprinter tucked into my wheel, just like he has been the rest of the race, when a rider comes up beside me. He says his teammate, a guy in the top ten on GC, has had a mechanical. He asks politely that we wait to start our leadout, so his man can get back to the bunch.

It's a long way to go and I know we wont commit until the dying stages so there is little I can do on that front. Instead I pick my way forward a few places, and pulling up alongside the yellow jersey tell him of the mechanical. Before I know it the bunch is ten across the road, the pace slower than it has been all day. Whilst we may not be pro’s, we no how to race fairly, at times like this atleast.

Fastforward again, in pace, time and tension. Put yourself back into the heart of that GB train. Lungs screaming, legs giving for all their worth. You have to go until you die, then, upon death, pull over and slipping back in the bunch, cross your fingers for a win. But wait, go back further, to the supermarket where we started the leadout, where the ‘rival’ came past with his offer to help. That's right it’s the guy with the mechanical. The one who we orchestrated the wait for, now driving it on the front for us. His rear mech at some ludicrous angle, he still managed to get the power down and strings the bunch out in the process. He has gratitude in his actions and contributes hugely to our leadout today.

His job done he peels off and I go next, giving it everything I have left. I pull over almost exactly where I was meant to, my legs blowing up and buckling underneath me. The teams remaining three riders come past me full bore and that's it, the day is done about a kilometre and a half from the end. I slide into the back half of the bunch, attempting to watch the finish through fifty or so helmets. I stand up out the saddle to get a better view.

Whilst I dont see who wins, I have the feeling that today, regardless of the result, we struck fear into the opposition, taking them to the sword. Then I cross the line and the race is done.

Last week I took fifth in the overall classification of the Course De La Paix - The Peace Race. Great Britain took a stage, two seconds and one third place in the process. I thank my teammates and the unspoken friendships of the peloton.

Course De La Paix

Loughborough British National Series

Sunday was my first British national series round of the year after missing the first two at Roubaix and Istria. On a new course run by the Loughborough University, it was looking like an exciting days racing.

The race, five laps of a rectangular shaped circuit, with one long increasingly steep climb up to the finish line every lap, was a good one for me and with the combination of some very strong wind and aggressive riding throughout, saw the race split to smitherines.

On the first lap a big move went, a dangerous one, however I stayed attentive and the next time up the climb the bunch split in half, our group riding away and eventually joining up with the ten or so guys up the road. From there it was a small war of attrition, the lead group shelling riders everytime up the climb until there was only about ten of us left. On the last lap I gave a few digs, trying to distance the others, however a strong work ethic in the group behind ensured they caught me a few kilometers later.

Eventually, with a horrendous headwind on the back straight, it all came down to the last time up the climb. Coming into it Chris, Scott and Joe Evans, all from the ODP, attacked. The gap grew to about one hundred meters however coming into the climb I knew I could stick it in the gutter and, with the help of the raging crosswind, go for it.

This was pretty much what I did, catching the group and then attacking up the steepest park of the climb, having enough time to enjoy the last few hundred meters and savour the victory.

Later today we fly off to the Czech Republic for Course De La Paix, a four day, five stage race that I really enjoyed last year, despite how hard it is! Fingers crossed the week brings some more success for GB...

Report from Loughborough here on BC Website. Apologies for the brief and bland report, lots of packing and work to do! Flights to catch... Thanks to Guy Swarbrich and Luis Oliveira for the photos.

Tour Of Istria

 Last Thursday saw a return to Croatia for the 53rd edition of the Tour of Istria - Memorial Edi Rajkovic. The three day race was familiar territory after my eighteenth place there last year and a big early season target. Fruthermore after the success the GB Junior team had enjoyed at Roubaix, we were second in the Nations Cup competition and keen to improve on this over the course of the weekend.

Stage One

Last year we had been caught out a little on this stage, one that was, on paper, almost guaranteed to end in a bunch kick and likely to play to our strengths as a team. We had stuck to the 'race distance' to the meter and consequently not expected the finish when it came, a mistake I would not make twice and a good lesson for racing in general, the 'race guide' is exactly that - a guide! This year we approached the race hopeful to put into practice a deadly lead out train, delivering one of our two sprinters for the win.

We covered the moves early doors, eager not to miss an opportunity to get up the road, however ultimately with almost ever other team doing the same the first fifty kilometers were pretty fast and hot! I didn't feel particularly good, maybe a combination of the heat and grippy roads, however hoped to ride into the stage a little, getting some good legs for the final valley road to attempt to deliver one of the fast lads into pole position for the win!

The first stage is a rolling one, although does have two categorised climbs about mid way through. Last year these had passed with little fireworks and I expected the same this time round, expecting the GC to be decided on the harder hilly Saturday stage, how wrong I was! Six riders slipped away on the first climb and I decided to jump across the gap in order to protect GB interest, it wasn't a very big effort and with the gap under ten seconds I was expecting the move to get shut down by the bunch as soon as we hit the descent. In the end another six or so riders came across over the top of the climb and the group swelled to fifteen or so guys. In the meantime I had gone for the King of the Mountains sprint at the top of the climb, just misjudging it to catch a Russian just up the road, rolling over the 'summit' second.

For the next fifteen or so kilometers I let the French (three riders), Russians (two riders) and Dane's (two riders) do as much of the riding as possible, my mind constantly thinking of the inevitable catch and being as fresh for the lead-out as possible. I went for the second KoM sprint and took it pretty comfortably, now on equal points with the Russian, I knew the jersey would be awarded to whoever crossed the finish line first, something I wasn't particularly thinking about. With ten kilometers to go we hit the false flat downhill valley road and got a time gap of forty five seconds to the bunch. A few kilometers later, with the break far from cooperating, the gap had stretched to fifty seconds and I knew we were going to stay away for the win.

Coming in to the finish drag I covered the first few moves and ended up coming second in the group sprint, with the Slovenian putting a canny move in in the last kilometer to take the win and first Yellow jersey of the race. I was reasonably pleased with the finish and happy to keep myself in contention for the GC, however ruing not following the Slovenians move in the last kilo, something I knew I had the legs to do. Coulda, woulda, shoulda...

Stage Two

Saturday was the first time I had ever worn a jersey outright in a race however I went into the stage not explicitly thinking about defending the jersey, instead taking aim on the overall stage win and much more coveted yellow jersey. Stage Two was a pretty hilly one and had always split up in the past. I had not so fond memories from last year, crashing before the first climb and subsequently missing the break whilst I was chasing back on, something I hoped to rectify this year!

In the end the stage was super controlled. The Russians and Slovenians rode tempo on the front all day, dissuading any big attacks. I felt like my legs were ok and had Scott 'Sid' Davies for company in the front group of about thirty. Assessing the situation I decided, with the super hard and steep final 500m cobbled climb to the finish weighing heavy on my mind, that I would go all guns for the finale, letting the teams with numbers in the front control the race.

Scott did an amazing job of babysitting me throughout the stage and arriving into the final hectic kilometer I ducked and dived to take third wheel into the base of the climb. I held back and let a few guys take it on, dying a million deaths on the wheel of the french rider before finding one final kick and taking the win in the last twenty meters of the stage.

It was cool to win a race at this level, even if I barely got my hands in the air from exhaustion. Standing on the podium I was pleased to have paid back all the work the team had put in and more importantly the faith they had in me - a win at this level doesn't come about every day that's for sure. I took the yellow leaders jersey by three seconds, turning a seven second deficit around with a cheeky ten second bonus on the line. I was frustrated the stage hadnt been harder, leading to bigger time gaps on the final climb, however there wasnt a whole lot of complaining I could do after the result.

 

The podium presentation was followed by a nice hour and bit wait outside anti-doping control as some poor lad tried to overcome stage-freight and pee in his little plastic cup. As was the case at Roubaix I found this the easiest part of the day and was in an out in a matter of minutes, taking pride in easily filling the 100ml necessary to make a sample!

Stage Three

Sundays stage finished in 'Pula', the town in which most of my friends and half of north London descend on come August for the Outlook music festival. It was a little more complicated than I would have ideally liked, with bonus seconds available on the road and at the finish. Luckily the team were super organised and with a few other teams also riding for a bunch kick, I managed to sprint to a fourth and third in the intermediate sprints, doing enough to step onto the podium for a third day in a row! It was also really cool to have guys coming up to me in the bunch to say Congratulations, I was pretty blown away by how many guys did! On the final podium it was wicked to pick up the Yellow leaders jersey and the Red points jersey on the final podium, the fact GB had won a nations cup stage race for the first time ever also made it pretty special!

No photos have arisen from the final stage yet, however I will post some up if/when they do! A huge thankyou to Matt my coach, Rachel our carer and Martyn our Mechanic, its a cliched thing, however I really cant emphasise how much they do for us. The team were amazing on the road and I am hugely thankful to them for their work. So thank you Ollie, Scott, Chris, Jake and Jake!

Paris-Roubaix Juniors

Roubaix 2013. I cant decide if I have anything to say that will do this race justice. I think I will have something to say, but tonight, fresh in from a week long camp and prior to that, the race itself, the task of writing about the hell of the north feels even bigger than riding it.

To wet your appetite some links from various sources, complete with some snippets and information from my view of the race that you may/may not find interesting!

Rapha Blog - Junior Paris Roubaix Interview
Sky Sports Cycling - Interview and Story
Cycling Weekly - Interview and Story
British Cycling website - Story
British Cycling Insight Zone - Day as a Director Sportif

For now what I can say is a huge thankyou to my team mates, what a job we did - second on the team classification and two riders in the top ten. My best mate Ollie Wood 6th (post-race hug below), a huge result. Lawless and Gibbo were super unlucky to crash and mechanical out, however I am sure we can make them some chances, the season is a long one.

The result, whilst not a win, also reflects the unbelievable hard work put in by my coach Matt, our mechanic Martyn and our carer/doctor/in-race-feeder (etc etc etc!) Rachel. They look after us better than we could ever ask for, ensuring all our energy can go into the bike race and showing why Great Britain and British Cycling have worked so well and continue to do so. Thanks also to Tom from BC who (metaphorically) held my hand through the new experience of Anti-doping control and gave us some great pictures of the race (and videos to be seen in the above 'insight zone').

Special kudos to Lawless who ate more pasta at our pre-race meal than is humanly possible, his time will come in the upcoming bunch sprints! To Gibbo for riding 30km with a broken hand (watch his space for next year!). Ollie for his bad-ass result. Sid (Scott) for his result and super chase back on early doors, I would have been stressing way more! And Ragan for being, well, tough as anything- up the front almost ALL race!

All of this wouldn't happen without my sponsors and the support of British Cycling, I feel immensely privileged to have the opportunities provided to me.

Thank you to everyone who has congratulated me and supported. Thank you to my family who came out to the race, it was very cool to have them there on a pretty special day. The response online has been very cool and makes me wish I could thank everyone personally. I hope this result is just the start, the hard work is only beginning...

Last thankyous. To Sophie Darlington for the cool pictures! And my brother Bede.

Checkout an article just published on Rapha’s blog today! The anticipation for Sunday is building...

http://www.rapha.cc/merci-roubaix#comment

I have a few words in Rapha's new weekly round up 'Doppio', available online and in their Cycle Clubs. Check it out here.

I am delighted to say that I will once again be riding the Junior edition of the famous Paris-Roubaix in 2013, as announced earlier this morning on the British Cycling website. It is a huge honor to be picked for such a prestigious junior race and I feel very lucky be representing Great Britain again after my outings in 2012. Last year was a difficult day out, however I am looking forward to returning to unconquered pastures to see what this year will bring.

Our race is run on the morning of the Pro edition so if anyone out there is planning a trip to see one of the most iconic monuments in cycling, get out there a bit early and give the GB junior lads a cheer on too!

Cadence RR 2013

Three hours into our drive to Hereford I received a call from Ol - 'the race is off'. For now that is pretty much the summary of the Cadence Road Race 2013 and subsequently my quest to defend it after the success I found there in 2012. I say 'for now' as there may be a rescheduled race, however we shall see as with about five free weekends between now and September, I am pretty skeptical I will be able to ride. Fingers crossed!

The subject of race cancellations is an interesting one. I for one completely agree with the Cadence organisers move to chuck the race. Rider safety is the priority, all the more so with the recent, tragic, death in the UK domestic calendar. After experiencing a few too many avoidable near misses in races, I think the upmost should be done to maintain safe conditions. The way I see it chucking ice or a car into a race environment is like slinging a Shark into a swimming gala...

Racing is dangerous, that is an inescapable fact and one that does, on occasion, make it all the more exhilarating. However racing in icey conditions is ultimately unnecessary, no matter how 'epic' it may appear from afar. It introduces far too much uncertainty and begs the question, is it even a race in adversely dangerous conditions? I am all for 'epic' races - the latter conditions of the recent Milano-San Remo made for amazing viewing, however I am sure if you ask any riders, the blizzard and ice they experienced in the last ten kilometers before the neutralised was a step too far. This didnt come as a fault of the organiser, the riders, or anyone else, but freak weather and sometimes there is nothing to be done, yet when there is it is good to see moves made to protect the riders. I would love love love to be able to compete in a race like that one day but really when lives are put at risk, its not sport anymore, let alone entertainment. Really all I can do is hope for no more ice and race cancellations in the next few months! After all at the end of the day we just want to race and not have to think about any of this extra stuff...

Saturday instead saw a ride from my Grandparents house, luckily we were only twenty minutes away from Hatherop when Ollie called. It was nice to be able to see them, all the more so as it is my eighteenth birthday next Saturday. The ride also turned out to be my first in 2013 on proper race wheels, turns out I saved the carbons for a solo jaunt around the empty lanes of the Cotsworlds! Scary going out on tubs, however nothing to be done, the training must go on!

Sunday came with a return to home roads and, thankfully, training wheels! Although, not too sound like a moaner, the super cold conditions were pretty grim. I love training and racing in the cold but its hard at the moment all the same. Despite this I was thankful for the ice and snow free roads, getting a reasonable ride in to replace the lost race. Life goes on and its no good moaning about the weather when I am lucky enough to be out doing something I love for hours a day. I managed to capture a cool scene in the forest during a quick pee stop:

Thursday will bring an attempt at some birthday celebrations with all my mates, its going to be water for me and champagne for them! By Saturday I will be entering the world of credit history and voting, lets see what happens...

Maybe I will also take this chance to publicly thank my family for dealing with me for eighteen years, however much of a nuisance I can be. Thankyou!