The Ras de Cymru is possibly the biggest stage race for category 2 riders in the UK. Spread over 5 days the race travels over a lot of South Wales, it includes 6 stages covering a distance of 400km. My main aims were to do well on the overall by trying to avoid losing time where I could and if the opportunity arose to go for the KOM prize. I rode the race as part of the University of Warwick team, starting with four riders: the formidable Jack O’Neill, Elliott “the Boulder” Joseph, our friend Joe Atkins and myself.
Stage 1 TTT - 3rd
The Ras de Cymru 2016 started with a rolling 8.7 km TTT. On the day of the event one of our team (Joe Atkins) pulled out, sighting severe stomach cramps. This left us down to three riders lowering our chances of doing a good TTT.
During the warm up the weather turned to rain but I wasn’t too swayed, managed a great warm up on the turbo and felt awesome. Jack had been ill a few days before the start so wasn’t feeling too great so I made to call to do the first pull.
I kicked off hard pulling a really good 35s turn before pulling off letting Elliott drive the pace. The TT went phenomenally, everyone pulled more than their weight and we worked incredibly well as a unit. No one overestimated themselves and each turn was incredibly smooth. By the halfway point we were all hurting but ready to face the uphill block headwind back.
We shortened the turn times to 15-20s for the second half and just hammered it. We dug as hard as we needed to without blowing apart and sprinted for the finish as a trio. I knew it’d gone well as soon as we crossed the line and I sat up and clapped. It was only in the evening that we discovered that we’d actually managed to pull off third place in a time of 11:19, 15s off the winning team which included current 10 mile and Hill Climb national champion Richard Bussell.
After this result we were all buzzing and eager to get into the racing on the next day.
Stage 2 - 7th
Stage two started with 100 riders, all very eager to do well in the overall and the first 15 km was very nervous and clearly uneasy. The stage was 3 laps of a 25 km circuit with a summit finish. Once the bunch had calmed down for the second time up the long, gradual climb a lone rider broke away.
I kept safe at the front of the pack on the climb and even as the pace rose, just stayed calm waiting. Always waiting. As the summit approached I was in 5th wheel when I saw the 200m to go sign, just as we caught two riders who had gone off the front. This was my moment to strike and I opened up a sprint managing to take 3 points, starting me off on the hunt for the KOM jersey. The move had worked perfectly but taken quite a bit out of me so I sat back in the bunch and rested for the next two laps.
I made sure I was well positioned for both the main climb and a shorter but much steeper one halfway around the circuit. I even got into a couple of small breaks but nothing stuck for me. Jack on the other hand got into a tidy 8 man break which lasted all the way until the base of the final climb, which was a shame as it looked really strong.
I must also kudos Elliott for being a great domestique and chasing down what could have been a strong breakaway of Jack Stanton-Warren and Chris Childs, who made a move on the long descent.
For the final climb I was feeling good, but there was a break of two riders already up the road so the stage win was lost. I kept easily with the bunch as the pace wasn’t high until the end when it became more of a bunch sprint than a summit finish. With 500 m to go I found Jack’s wheel, I let him know with a shout of “I’m on your wheel Jack”. With 300 to go I was still there and we were across on the right hand side of the road but boxed in. Jack made a huge move through a gap, dragging me with him and into the clear with 100 to go. I lit up my sprint, just as the train on the left hand side did and I manged to grab a 5th place in the bunch finish and 7th for the stage which wouldn’t have been possible without the awesome lead out. Teammates do help.
Jack finish in 10th place with the same time but Elliott rolled in 7:42 down after his impressive domestique
duties earlier in the stage.
Stage 3 - Bunch finish
Stage 3 was again another rolling 85 km route with one KOM point on each lap before turning of for a gradual hill finish on a dual carriageway. The pace initially wasn’t too hard and I knew that the first KOM points were only 11 km out so I was positioned well hoping that no break would go. We rode over a set of cattle grids which indicated the start of the climb. As soon as we did this I got right to the front and sat in second wheel. There was a Cardiff Ajax rider in front of me, willing to set the pace. It worked perfectly, he didn’t look back once for help, just kept powering on. When I saw the 200 m to go marker I jumped, got a gap immediately and rolled over the line, taking the maximum 5 points available, taking me into the virtual KOM jersey.
After the effort I sat back in the bunch to recover what I could before trying again the next time up. While I was recovering a big break of 10 riders got away. I recognised two of them and was pretty gutted to miss it. I had a word with Jack who pulled a few long turns on the front to keep them in check. Once we hit the climb for the second time, I moved to the front to see what could be done. I pulled a couple of turns, as did Jack and a few others and the gap to the break got down to 10 seconds. About three quarters of the way up the climb I made a small move with two others to bridge across. It took us quite a long time and did really hurt but we made it. I sat at the back for a bit recovering until the bunch brought it back about four minutes later. Such a waste of energy!
Soon after that was brought back another break went which I missed and it went onto take the win, mopping up all of the KOM points meaning I could tuck in now until the end. The bunch was slightly reduced but it basically came down to an uphill sprint finish in which I just stayed safe and made sure I didn’t lose time. I rolled in 31st place on the same time as the bunch but a minute down on the break.
Elliott had a shocker puncturing after 40 km then wasn’t able to properly get back into the bunch so did most of the last 40 km on his own, rolling in 28 minutes down!
Stage 4 ITT - 5th
In the afternoon after the RR there was a short 8 km rolling ITT. The course starts with a short climb before setting down into a more rolling course. There were KOM points on offer for the quickest three times up the initial hill so I was inclined to go for that. I warmed up ok and felt reasonable, so went full gas from the start. I did the hill in 2:40, I thought it was more like 2:30 but that was still 5s off the fastest times making me miss out on the points.
For the rest of the effort I focussed on being as aerodynamic as I could be, prioritising that over raw power, especially on the downhill sections. I raised the pace on the last climb before sprinting to the finish, giving me a time of 11:17:43 giving me the 5th fastest time; something I did not expect. I beat Jack by 2 seconds,something I’ve never down before and was only 3 seconds down on Richard Bussell and 4 off the win. This put me into 8th overall.
Stage 5 - Bunch finish
Stage 5 was designed to be a classic sprinters stage; six laps of a rolling course with one steep hill every lap. My initial plan was to take the first KOM points giving me the lead and then relax for the rest. Naturally this fell apart when a break went straight away mopping up the points.
A did try a couple of times to get away on the climb but nothing ever looked like sticking. It was on the 5thtime up the climb when the stars aligned. There was no break up the road and I was right at the front of the bunch for the climb. I sat in second wheel as a Cardiff rider (Ryan Brain) seemed to up the pace, I let him until he started to slow and I attacked. A punishing 10-15 second burst of power instantly gapped the field letting me gather the maximum of 5 points giving me 13 overall.
Once I got brought back on the descent I sat in to wait for the bunch sprint. I did no work, but had to narrowly avoid two crashes which took down about 10 people in total. Two strong riders had got away on the last lap and won by 30 seconds. For our bunch sprint I really wanted to stay out of trouble. It was clear everyone was tired and the bunch was a bit nervous, I managed to get a glorious draft off an Ipswich rider I think, up until 500 m to go when I was left on the front. I made the call to stay safe and powered to the front, parallel to Richard Bussell but one wheel behind. I kept the pace high, and with 200 m to go thesprinters went while I dropped back staying safe and getting the same time.
It was with 10 m to go when a guy cut me up, I managed to avoid coming down but my wheel hit his rear derailleur causing me to annoyingly break a spoke.
Stage 6 - 16th
The final stage involved 3 laps of a circuit before turning off to go up the famous climb of the Tumble. With the first KOM point being only 18 km into the stage I kept to the front and marked the man in the KOM jersey. For the climb I sat right on his wheel until a few of us managed to get a gap when I pulled a turn to maintain the distance over the bunch. With 300 m to go he jumped and I couldn’t close the gap quick enough, causing me to come second only getting 3 points taking me up to 16.
I eased up over the top, just as a small breakaway passed me. I didn’t know what to do, do I join them and potentially make it, or do I drop straight back into the bunch? I made the call to stick with it but pull poor turns until I had recovered. Inevitably, it got brought back and I slotted neatly back into the pack.
For the second time up the climb a break away went, including the KOM leader. I wasn’t willing to get into it and he mopped up all the remaining KOM points while I recovered to have an effort up the Tumble.
The pace increased with 2 km to the base of the climb and I tried to stay as close to the front as I could. I was a little further back than I’d have like but not so far. We hit the climb hard, and the bunch immediately splintered. I kept towards the front but as riders would drop out of the front group they would cause a gap which I had to close. I couldn’t keep doing that and eventually I got slightly distanced. I still kept a nice hard pace, stopping myself going into the red. Unlike my team mate Jack O’Neill who after 8 minutes fell apart. I’d never seen him like this before. He was all over the road after sticking with the leaders for too long. I managed to bridge to him, towing 4 other riders with me. Once we caught him I shouted out to keep going, he got a second wind and tucked in behind me.
Once the climb eased off I got off the front and tucked in, this was a good call because there was a headwind which I limited my time facing. The group of fast men was only 25 seconds ahead of us but we just kept the same pace as them without gaining. With 200 m to go I flicked it into a harder gear and tried to drop Tom Swingler who was 8s in front of me in the GC. I got 6 seconds but not the 8 I needed. Jack followed me, as did a rider from Bath University and we rolled in on the same time, dropping the others. I got 16th on the stage with Jack in 14th placing us 10th and 11th on GC after losing and gaining some spots over other riders.
In all it was a great event that I could see myself doing next year if I have the opportunity. I’m thrilled to have come 3rd in the KOM classification and 10th overall.
Stage 1 TTT - 3rd
The Ras de Cymru 2016 started with a rolling 8.7 km TTT. On the day of the event one of our team (Joe Atkins) pulled out, sighting severe stomach cramps. This left us down to three riders lowering our chances of doing a good TTT.
During the warm up the weather turned to rain but I wasn’t too swayed, managed a great warm up on the turbo and felt awesome. Jack had been ill a few days before the start so wasn’t feeling too great so I made to call to do the first pull.
I kicked off hard pulling a really good 35s turn before pulling off letting Elliott drive the pace. The TT went phenomenally, everyone pulled more than their weight and we worked incredibly well as a unit. No one overestimated themselves and each turn was incredibly smooth. By the halfway point we were all hurting but ready to face the uphill block headwind back.
We shortened the turn times to 15-20s for the second half and just hammered it. We dug as hard as we needed to without blowing apart and sprinted for the finish as a trio. I knew it’d gone well as soon as we crossed the line and I sat up and clapped. It was only in the evening that we discovered that we’d actually managed to pull off third place in a time of 11:19, 15s off the winning team which included current 10 mile and Hill Climb national champion Richard Bussell.
After this result we were all buzzing and eager to get into the racing on the next day.
Stage 2 - 7th
Stage two started with 100 riders, all very eager to do well in the overall and the first 15 km was very nervous and clearly uneasy. The stage was 3 laps of a 25 km circuit with a summit finish. Once the bunch had calmed down for the second time up the long, gradual climb a lone rider broke away.
I kept safe at the front of the pack on the climb and even as the pace rose, just stayed calm waiting. Always waiting. As the summit approached I was in 5th wheel when I saw the 200m to go sign, just as we caught two riders who had gone off the front. This was my moment to strike and I opened up a sprint managing to take 3 points, starting me off on the hunt for the KOM jersey. The move had worked perfectly but taken quite a bit out of me so I sat back in the bunch and rested for the next two laps.
I made sure I was well positioned for both the main climb and a shorter but much steeper one halfway around the circuit. I even got into a couple of small breaks but nothing stuck for me. Jack on the other hand got into a tidy 8 man break which lasted all the way until the base of the final climb, which was a shame as it looked really strong.
I must also kudos Elliott for being a great domestique and chasing down what could have been a strong breakaway of Jack Stanton-Warren and Chris Childs, who made a move on the long descent.
For the final climb I was feeling good, but there was a break of two riders already up the road so the stage win was lost. I kept easily with the bunch as the pace wasn’t high until the end when it became more of a bunch sprint than a summit finish. With 500 m to go I found Jack’s wheel, I let him know with a shout of “I’m on your wheel Jack”. With 300 to go I was still there and we were across on the right hand side of the road but boxed in. Jack made a huge move through a gap, dragging me with him and into the clear with 100 to go. I lit up my sprint, just as the train on the left hand side did and I manged to grab a 5th place in the bunch finish and 7th for the stage which wouldn’t have been possible without the awesome lead out. Teammates do help.
Jack finish in 10th place with the same time but Elliott rolled in 7:42 down after his impressive domestique
duties earlier in the stage.
Stage 3 - Bunch finish
Stage 3 was again another rolling 85 km route with one KOM point on each lap before turning of for a gradual hill finish on a dual carriageway. The pace initially wasn’t too hard and I knew that the first KOM points were only 11 km out so I was positioned well hoping that no break would go. We rode over a set of cattle grids which indicated the start of the climb. As soon as we did this I got right to the front and sat in second wheel. There was a Cardiff Ajax rider in front of me, willing to set the pace. It worked perfectly, he didn’t look back once for help, just kept powering on. When I saw the 200 m to go marker I jumped, got a gap immediately and rolled over the line, taking the maximum 5 points available, taking me into the virtual KOM jersey.
After the effort I sat back in the bunch to recover what I could before trying again the next time up. While I was recovering a big break of 10 riders got away. I recognised two of them and was pretty gutted to miss it. I had a word with Jack who pulled a few long turns on the front to keep them in check. Once we hit the climb for the second time, I moved to the front to see what could be done. I pulled a couple of turns, as did Jack and a few others and the gap to the break got down to 10 seconds. About three quarters of the way up the climb I made a small move with two others to bridge across. It took us quite a long time and did really hurt but we made it. I sat at the back for a bit recovering until the bunch brought it back about four minutes later. Such a waste of energy!
Soon after that was brought back another break went which I missed and it went onto take the win, mopping up all of the KOM points meaning I could tuck in now until the end. The bunch was slightly reduced but it basically came down to an uphill sprint finish in which I just stayed safe and made sure I didn’t lose time. I rolled in 31st place on the same time as the bunch but a minute down on the break.
Elliott had a shocker puncturing after 40 km then wasn’t able to properly get back into the bunch so did most of the last 40 km on his own, rolling in 28 minutes down!
Stage 4 ITT - 5th
In the afternoon after the RR there was a short 8 km rolling ITT. The course starts with a short climb before setting down into a more rolling course. There were KOM points on offer for the quickest three times up the initial hill so I was inclined to go for that. I warmed up ok and felt reasonable, so went full gas from the start. I did the hill in 2:40, I thought it was more like 2:30 but that was still 5s off the fastest times making me miss out on the points.
For the rest of the effort I focussed on being as aerodynamic as I could be, prioritising that over raw power, especially on the downhill sections. I raised the pace on the last climb before sprinting to the finish, giving me a time of 11:17:43 giving me the 5th fastest time; something I did not expect. I beat Jack by 2 seconds,something I’ve never down before and was only 3 seconds down on Richard Bussell and 4 off the win. This put me into 8th overall.
Stage 5 - Bunch finish
Stage 5 was designed to be a classic sprinters stage; six laps of a rolling course with one steep hill every lap. My initial plan was to take the first KOM points giving me the lead and then relax for the rest. Naturally this fell apart when a break went straight away mopping up the points.
A did try a couple of times to get away on the climb but nothing ever looked like sticking. It was on the 5thtime up the climb when the stars aligned. There was no break up the road and I was right at the front of the bunch for the climb. I sat in second wheel as a Cardiff rider (Ryan Brain) seemed to up the pace, I let him until he started to slow and I attacked. A punishing 10-15 second burst of power instantly gapped the field letting me gather the maximum of 5 points giving me 13 overall.
Once I got brought back on the descent I sat in to wait for the bunch sprint. I did no work, but had to narrowly avoid two crashes which took down about 10 people in total. Two strong riders had got away on the last lap and won by 30 seconds. For our bunch sprint I really wanted to stay out of trouble. It was clear everyone was tired and the bunch was a bit nervous, I managed to get a glorious draft off an Ipswich rider I think, up until 500 m to go when I was left on the front. I made the call to stay safe and powered to the front, parallel to Richard Bussell but one wheel behind. I kept the pace high, and with 200 m to go thesprinters went while I dropped back staying safe and getting the same time.
It was with 10 m to go when a guy cut me up, I managed to avoid coming down but my wheel hit his rear derailleur causing me to annoyingly break a spoke.
Stage 6 - 16th
The final stage involved 3 laps of a circuit before turning off to go up the famous climb of the Tumble. With the first KOM point being only 18 km into the stage I kept to the front and marked the man in the KOM jersey. For the climb I sat right on his wheel until a few of us managed to get a gap when I pulled a turn to maintain the distance over the bunch. With 300 m to go he jumped and I couldn’t close the gap quick enough, causing me to come second only getting 3 points taking me up to 16.
I eased up over the top, just as a small breakaway passed me. I didn’t know what to do, do I join them and potentially make it, or do I drop straight back into the bunch? I made the call to stick with it but pull poor turns until I had recovered. Inevitably, it got brought back and I slotted neatly back into the pack.
For the second time up the climb a break away went, including the KOM leader. I wasn’t willing to get into it and he mopped up all the remaining KOM points while I recovered to have an effort up the Tumble.
The pace increased with 2 km to the base of the climb and I tried to stay as close to the front as I could. I was a little further back than I’d have like but not so far. We hit the climb hard, and the bunch immediately splintered. I kept towards the front but as riders would drop out of the front group they would cause a gap which I had to close. I couldn’t keep doing that and eventually I got slightly distanced. I still kept a nice hard pace, stopping myself going into the red. Unlike my team mate Jack O’Neill who after 8 minutes fell apart. I’d never seen him like this before. He was all over the road after sticking with the leaders for too long. I managed to bridge to him, towing 4 other riders with me. Once we caught him I shouted out to keep going, he got a second wind and tucked in behind me.
Once the climb eased off I got off the front and tucked in, this was a good call because there was a headwind which I limited my time facing. The group of fast men was only 25 seconds ahead of us but we just kept the same pace as them without gaining. With 200 m to go I flicked it into a harder gear and tried to drop Tom Swingler who was 8s in front of me in the GC. I got 6 seconds but not the 8 I needed. Jack followed me, as did a rider from Bath University and we rolled in on the same time, dropping the others. I got 16th on the stage with Jack in 14th placing us 10th and 11th on GC after losing and gaining some spots over other riders.
In all it was a great event that I could see myself doing next year if I have the opportunity. I’m thrilled to have come 3rd in the KOM classification and 10th overall.
