2016 round up

2016 has been my most successful season to date. I have been really happy with the results I have managed to achieve and the experiences I have learnt. I have travelled a lot more this season than previous years racing all year starting off doing a UCI track race in the Netherlands and I'm to be going to be finishing off the road season in Tuscany at a UCI race guesting for Zappi's. The experiences of travelling and different styles of racing have proved invaluable. Racing on the continent is very different to the UK in that it is very 'full on' and the riding style is a lot more attacking. I much prefer this to the very negative UK style of racing where everyone just looks at each other.

I started off the season as I before mentioned racing at a UCI track race in Alkmaar where I raced in all of the endurance events with my highlights being the team pursuit getting 5th with a new welsh record. I also got 5th in the elimination race which I was chuffed with and got a new PB for the 3km individual pursuit.

It was a few months before my next race which was the Betty Pharaoh E,1,2 road race where I managed to get 5th with a field packed with top riders. I was very happy with this; it was a big confidence boost for the rest of the season. Then the next race I had was another local regional race in Wales, The Abergavenny handicap, where I managed to get 3rd. Another confidence boost ahead of my national series campaign.

National series round up. For me this started with the junior tour of the Mendips where I managed to get 8th on GC, it was okay but I wanted more. There were lessons to be learnt from the different style of racing at a national compared to the regional races I had been doing. My next national series race was the cicle classic where I get 8th place. Once again I was very happy with this as it was not a targeted race and not usually my preferred style of course. Next up was the IOM junior tour which has always been one of my favorite races of the calendar. I ended up 5th here after 3 days of very hard fought and attacking racing. Next for me was Scotland national series which was a 3 stage race and was very testing with a lot of climbing. I was super happy to get my first national series podium here with 3rd on stage 2 and on GC after a breakaway.

Next national race came a long time after my last due to a European trip. It was the Bath road national in Milton Keynes where I crashed out pretty hard which was one of the most frustrating moments of my season. This hampered my preparation ready for my most targeted race of the year the Junior Tour of Wales. The penultimate race of the series was in Scarborough. I got a pleasing 6th place on a testing circuit where the race ended up with just a few select riders at the head of the race. Last but definitely not least was the Junior Tour of Wales this is the last national series race of the year and the most prestigious UK junior race. I didn't come into the race with the form I would have liked so I was a bit apprehensive. However, I managed to win stage 2 soloing up Rhigos mountain which I was overwhelmed with! This was my first win of the year and my biggest achievement as a Junior.

But after a hard race my bad prep caught up with me as I dropped from 2nd on GC to 4th by the end of the five stages.

After a season of up's and downs, only completing  6 rounds of the series, I ended up 3rd overall in the National Road Race series which I am very pleased with.

My European race season round up. The first European race of the year was Axel junior tour in Netherlands. It started well on the first stage being up near the front and in contention but I was involved in a big crash with 6km to go which ended my race abruptly. This was disappointing.

The next European race for me was for Wales in a big trip where we first raced in Belgium doing the Kontich stage race before travelling to do a stage race in Austria. Kontich was very fast and full on but more importantly for me it was flat so did not suit me at all. I ended up top 35 on GC but it wasn't my best race and I was looking forward more to Austria which was mountainous. The Austrian race had a very good field with most European counties represented along with American and Mexican riders. The stages were very testing with lots of climbing and challenging roads. It was very much my 'cup of tea'. I managed to come away with 16th on GC which I was pleased with but I also came 7th up the very hard summit finish on the Queen stage. This ended a successful European trip where I gained a ton of experience learning so much about continental racing.

As well as road racing I do a lot of time trialling. It probably works out that I do more time trials than road racing throughout the season. I do weekly Chippenham wheelers club 10 mile TT's. I like doing these as they work as a good hard training session but also a form indicator ahead of bigger races. I have done other events this year such as some hard riders TT's and DB Max Castle Combe 10 mile TT's. I have definitely seen a lot of progression in my riding over the years and this season alone from doing plenty of TT's.

I also like doing them as what you put in is what you get out, there are no real external influences compared to road racing. My PB for a 10 mile TT this year was on the Bridlington cc U718 event where I managed to get a 19:15. I was very pleased with this and it was a good confidence boost ahead of Scarborough and the Junior Tour of Wales.

Hope you enjoyed my first blog and a little round up of my year.