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Some good news! So after two hard seasons of training and racing for the University team, I've managed to secure a place on the B38/Underpin team. I knew all the guys and it's a really good environment for us all. We plan on racing most of the Premier calendar races as well as some of the UCI ones, but we'll see. Here's to a good seasons racing! 
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After a mixed season last year I really wanted to excel at hill climbs in 2017. The ultimate goal was the National hill climb on Hedley Hill in Northumberland. After it was first announced to be on there I knew this would be my season. A four minute effort at 8% is basically ideal. I took this year a lot more seriously than other years, starting to shed excess weight in August to avoid peaking while losing weight which I’ve struggled with in the past. I’ve also recently graduated and started a new job which gets me into a nice training/working routine, really aiding everything unlike the haphazard distractions of university. One thing I’ve chosen to do in 2017 is to start racing later. Last year I did North Tyneside wheelers HC in early September and ended up beginning to burn out in the two weeks approaching the national. It was a really horrendous period of training; I remember being unable to finish almost every turbo session and was getting really demoralised. So this season I held back the racing to get a more defined peak in fitness. I started to transition the training for in the weeks following my last road race in August, but only starting to ramp up the intensity in late September and October. 4 weeks to go: I had a really tough weekend of training that week. On the Thursday I cycled 135 km to North Yorkshire Moors, the route had just under 2000m of climbing but with great views and a tailwind it wasn’t too bad. On the Saturday I did a loop up Rosedale Chimney and Blakey Bank; these are definitely two of the hardest climbs I’ve ever done with Blakey bank almost cracking me before the top. On the Sunday I had a hard ride tackling Sleights moor, Egton High Moor and Carlton bank. They were all pretty tough and especially on the third day of training I was worn out by the end. In the moors I rode 275km with 5800m of climbing, hopefully it set a good base for the weeks to come! 3 Weeks to go: To condition my body for the national I focussed on doing efforts close to 5 minutes and chose hill climbs aiming to replicate that. The weekend of Crown Point and the Rake hill climbs was my real season opener, I had several guests staying at my house with one competing with me. All four of us rode out to Crown Point in dreigh conditions. The weather was grim and there was a strong crosswind which didn’t allow for great times but after a haphazard warm-up at best, I got to the start line raring to go. I was conscious that the hill starts at the steepest point and gets easier as you reach the top so I planned to set out hard and hold on to the top. By the top I felt as though I paced it well but I wasn’t so tired that I had to dismount. It was just a case of learning how to suffer again! I finished in a time of 2:43.3 in first place, 16 seconds ahead of 2nd place. Not bad for a first effort!  The Sunday was my local climb of the Rake in Ramsbottom. In theory, I should know this climb back to front but due to its proximity to my house (and severity!) I rarely do it. Still, living so close gave me ideal conditions for a warm up and preparation. I arrived at the start line buzzing, aiming to go under 2minutes and 40 seconds. I held back at the start, knowing how it ramps up towards the finish and really let loose over the 22% gradients. The crowd was awesome, even my boss came out to watch and it gave me a real boost over the top. I felt perhaps a little over geared but dug deep to get the fastest time set so far. I was in the hot seat all day, until the last 5 riders who all beat my time, leaving me 6th overall. The climb isn’t ideal for me as it’s a bit short and steep but 6th against that field shows good signs for the weeks to come.  2 Weeks to go: One of my favourite hills: Nick O’ Pendle. Building on last week’s success I had a promising week of training and prepped well. I love this climb, the way the road splinters up the hill side never relenting. The views are spectacular and it's witchcraft history adds to the mystique of the event. I rode out there gently from home, signed on a recced the hill with my new friend Louis Symanski. This climb was a real test of my form for the national. The course is similar length but a bit steeper. I set out really well, died a bit in the middle but then driven on my my fastly approaching minute man smashed the last minute to come 2nd, 9s down on the winner but cheekily 0.5 seconds ahead of Lious. The joke was that I was definitely spurred on my catching my minute man who was on the same team as Louis. 1 Week to go: Ripponden Bank. It was a freezing day on a climb I'd never ridden before. I was gifted by a stupendous tailwind up the climb but was cold and never really got going. My power was down and I came in 5th place, 0.2 seconds behind Louis but way down on the top 3 who all destroyed the course record. I rode home knowing I had to get my warm up right next week but not disheartened. National hill climb: This year I felt like the odds were in my favour. The course was very rampy and inconsistent, suiting my climbing style. I'd done a "secret squirrel" recce of the course the week before and knew that with a good ride I could get up under 4:20. I'd been feeling great all week, I'd avoided all illnesses this season and smashed all the sessions on the final week. I was totally motivated and was doing hill reps in the pitch black of Autumn after work. I had prepped better than ever for it and was aiming for top 20 and top 15 if I rode out of my skin. I warmed up perfectly, everything was right. Watts were good and I felt as fresh as ever. I was pretty nervous all day and was calmed by a lovely marshall who wiped some oil from my nose on the start line. I knew the course would take a lot of pacing and I was very careful not to set out too hard, aiming to raise my effort in the last 600m. It was going pretty well, I hit the hardest section strong and hauled myself through the immense crowd. My mum was there to cheer me on as I hit 400m to go. The climb levels out with 300m to go and I stuck it in the big dog. I must quickly transition back to the Yorkshire champs here. In the ride immediately following that race somehow my orbea orca frame snapped. I actually have no idea how. I went to ride it on the following Tuesday and the seat stay was in two pieces. I'd not crashed, it had just broken and I'm still bemused to as how since I'd only had it 3 months. Alas, due to this I was on my dated Raleigh. It's not a bad bike but it's 3 years old and I was going to get rid of it. The point is that it wasn't as good as what I wanted to be on. Back to the big day. With 300m to go, my chain made a horrendous clanking noise when I was out of the saddle. I remained seated and with probably less than 100m to go my chain came off. Stunned, I tried to reship but it wouldn't go on. So I ran. Beyond devastated I remounted with 1m to go and crossed the line in anguish. I definitely swore and just sat down with me head in my hands. When my mum caught me up I broke into floods of tears. I was inconsolable. I'd lost 2.5kg, trained specifically for this for 3 months, climbed the equivalent of Everest 3.3 times and got let down by a 3 year old bike. I really appreciated everyone in the crowd who were consoling me but what can you say. I could never redo that effort. My main motivation this season was to beat with Paddy or Andy to get in the fastest team. I'd narrowly missed out the year before and wanted some glory and proper recognition from the team. I was on for approximately 4:15 but actually finished in 4:30.1 in joint 31st place. One better than the year before. I didn't think I deserved that and it'll take me a while to get over the disappointment. I would say I'm more motivated for next year, but I'm not.  |
The idea.
Occasionally I like to write shorts on a topic of choice. I'll post them here but it will be sporadic! Archives
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