My last race in the UK was The Ryedale GP in Yorkshire. All the elements were thrown at us on this day - just atrocious conditions. I spent the majority of the day riding between the break and the bunch with good mate Reece Wood and Lawrence Carpenter. Reece and I were discussing in the race how different this was to where we started our year together in Sunny Girona.! However, frustratingly we were reeled in by Canyon....I finished this race a little disappointed as my legs had felt good.
After a tough Training camp with the Academy and the Wales Juniors I headed to Pembrey to wish Phil Jones MBE and James Golding good luck as they set off on the first leg of the 'Tour of Britain 1 Day Ahead' Challenge. I was accompanied by my teammate Ranggar Roberts and Rob Partridge. It was good to support their cause and to be in Pembrey 1 day ahead of the Tour of Britain.
A week later, I headed out to the last race of the season - The Olympias Tour in The Netherlands. It was an International Race with 10 Nationalities competing including The Wales Racing Academy.
To be honest with you, I cant tell you too much about this race as I spent most of it chewing my bar tape in the ferocious crosswinds edging nearer and nearer to the gutter... The parkours didn't suit me personally but I was out there mostly to help support Rhys and Joe in the mental 'bunch kicks'. All in all, it was a successful race for the team with a rider in the top 20 in 5 out of 7 stages. For me personally, I was most pleased with my stage 5A result getting away with a select group and getting 13th on the stage. However, right at the back end of the race I came down with a cold so wasn't feeling 100% and ended up DNFing on the last stage. A bit of a downer to end the season on. This race although not suited to my dynamic as a rider, I took a fair few lessons from it to roll into 2019.
On that note, this is my 2018 road season finito. It's been a smooth year on the whole with only a few rough patches. I am very ready for a bit of 'down' time now before the build into next season.
I'd once again like to thank the Academy for the fantastic calendar they have provided us with. Also a big thanks has to go to Rob who has been Epic in getting me in shape and keeping me on track during the year.