The 2016/2017 Cyclo-Cross season has finally arrived.
My first race was a small pre-season race at Mallory Park and was a good shake down on the bikes. The course was bone dry and very bumpy, but I came 2nd girl and 1st under 14.
My second race was at the West Midland Cyclo Cross league, I didn't really know what to expect as it isn't my home league. From the start there was 4 of us in a little group, I decided to attack almost straight away. I managed to hold the lead to take the under 16 and 14 win.
The third race I did was the Notts and Derby Cyclo Cross league, my home league. Hardwick Hall had always been one of my favourites but seeing a some mud made it even better! Again, I didn't know what to expect from the new faces of under 14s. As it turned out I had a lead on the first lap and kept it finishing 1st under 14 and 3rd under 16.
Round 2 of the NDCXLwas at Alfreton. Alfreton has never been on of my favourites but I still managed to win, improving my overall girl place by 1 (coming second U16).
I'm very happy with my start to the season and can't wait for the rest of all the racing.
I can't wait to be racing the best from the other leagues at the Nationals. I'm hoping to get on the podium at one of the National Trophies.
The 2016 season of Mallory Park has been the best season yet. I've learned how to work with teammates, how to use my strengths and what my weaknesses are. I even had the opportunity to ride in the yellow jersey for a week!
At the end of the season I finished in second place behind Amo Wayte. I managed to win 7 of the 19 races. Also, I won rider of the year! The MI Racing Academy won the team award, which was a season goal for the team.
Assen is a European youth tour in Assen, Netherlands. As my first year at Assen, I didn't really know what to expect. I had heard stories from previous years, the racing sounded really fun and different to home but scary.
The prologue was a short time trail. The course was fairly technical with some cobbles, tight 90 degree corners and long fast straights. When it came to my start I felt like a pro, with someone holding me on a ramp and having the count down fingers, just like the tour.
The second stage was a criterium. The race really gave me an insight of the racing, fast and furious. The start was a real learning curve, you really have to use your elbows if you don't want to be pushed to the back. This happened to me. The lack of experience, meant I found it difficult to move up, and hanged on for dear life for the first few laps. Luckily, I survived and I came in the middle of bunch.
Point to Point, what can I say such fun racing. Riding past cars stopped for our race felt awesome! I just missed out of points for the white jersey, but I had a blast. Again, I rolled in the bunch too far down to contest for the sprint.
My best stage was the 5.7km time trail. With all of my best kit I was on the ramp ready to ride. I had a strong start with the rider ahead of me in sight. Amazed that I had caught someone, for like the first time ever, I thought I would catch the other person too as he was in catching distance too! Coming over the line I was in second place, But dropped down to 13th overall and 3rd girl. My good result had pushed me up the tables and into third place girl. I was so happy with my performance.
The omloop was really fun. i had heard so many stories of crashes and punctures from previous years, I was ready or what ever the loop threw at me. I was down in the peleton the whole race but found my self leading on to the cobbles on the last lap I had a chance for the sprint. Unfortunately coming up to the last 2 corners I got swamped from the other side of the road. This was racing but I was over the moon with my last lap and managing to hold my third place.
The campsite crit was full of pain. on the last lap I got caught behind a crash. Fortunately I went through the gap and stayed just in contact with the bunch. however i was down and struggling to get up. the girl who was in forth got bonus seconds from the final sprint meaning i just got bumped for the podium. I was extremely happy my first year and never thought I would come home with fourth and not crashes.
It was a big step up from racing in the Under 12s to the Under 14s, it's faster, bigger gearing, and it's longer.
I raced first round of the four omniums the best I could, but I was deliberately on Under 12 gearing because that was what I was used to and was spinning my legs every time the Under 16s put up the pace in our combined events. I managed to secure third place, behind of Olivia Godsell and Hollie Owens.
I've been getting more powerful this year and so put my gear up to the Under 14s gearing for the second round. This really helped and I wasn't getting dropped. I raced even better than I did the first round, with my confidence growing every race.
The third round was my best. I had been upgraded a lot, with faster tyres and proper road cleats instead of my MTB cleats. I did the best track time trial I've ever done finishing first! In the elimination it came down to me and Hollie to do a match sprint, she went first, getting a gap on me. I pulled it back and finished second by about a wheel. This meant we were drawing on points! We raced with the Under 16s for the scratch race, which wasn't too bad as they towed us along! I finished second to Hollie. By the kierin I was getting nervous as I knew I could win overall. I gave it everything and I won! This meant we were drawing on points leading into the points race. I was a nervous wreck and just wanted to race. On the first set of points I went for a long sprint, starting it at 300 meters, kicking first, holding it, then kicking again at 25ish meters. I won the points setting myself in the lead overall, but my race wasn't finished yet. I did the same tactic for the next two sprints winning both of them, meaning I had won the omnium! By the time the fourth one came my legs were shouting at me to stop. I ignored it and managed to get maximum points again! I finished first overall and ahead of Hollie Owens. I was over the moon!
The fourth round was the next day, so I was shattered. I raced my hardest winning the timetrial, second in the elimination and scratch, with third in the keiren. I had to win three of the points to win. As it turned out, it came down to the last sprint, in the last race and a photo finish. I came second in the last sprint, which meant Olivia took the overall win. I was happy how I raced and had improvements to make.
This meant I have qualified for the National finals down in Cardiff!
I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. It was the day of riding the sportive of the tour of Flanders. We had done lots of hilly team rides leading up to this but I was still nervous of not making it up all of them. Especially, Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg (the two last climbs of the tour and some of the hardest).
As we started our ride everyone was buzzing to get to the first climb Koppenberg. As we approached I felt scared and nervous but excited. Hitting the cobbles I had a good tempo and I was smashing it! Up ahead I could see a wall of stopped riders, well walkers, no one could get by. Walking up was attually really hard because the cobbles were wet and it was steep. Luckily, as it flattened a little I could get back on and ride up th climb at a fast pace until I realised that the top was further away then I thought!
53k in to the ride we had gone flying down the descent and reached Oude Kwaremont. I felt better about this long one then all of the others because I had ridden it before. I started with a steady tempo and kept it going. Unfortunately, my waffle I had been saving (from the feed stop) fell out my pocket, so when I came to finish eating it I couldn't 😜.
Paterberg as my legs were started to burn. I kept a tempo and tried to do everything I've been taught. As it kicked up, I stood up, my legs burning. I made it, I climbed the Paterberg! I was so happy!
It was a wet day making the course slippy and windy. It also ment that my field was really small so we got to race with the boys. Racing with the boys is very different to racing with the girls as there are more attacks and the pace is a lot higher.
I got dropped by the bunch very early on forming a small group, (of about 5 people), where the boys did loads of solo breakaways, but the girls stayed together. After we had caught the boys back up the one of them attacked again which I went with. Luckily, it stuck so we caught the group ahead of us, who were lapped so I didn't have to worry that there were some girls in there. I attacked again hoping the boy who I came with will come with me but he didn't, so I was out on my own for 2 laps. He caught me up with another girl hanging of the back. As it came up to the last lap and the sprint, I sprinted I overtook the boy and came to win the U14 girls!
This is me sprinting for the finish!
This was a big win to me because Milton Keynes has a very strong field of riders. As it turned out, the girl who came second I had lapped, which I was also extremely surprised at!
It was a good end to the mini series! Overall I won enough points to finish in the top 3 (we think 2nd but not sure yet).
I've had a good season so far, coming 5th in race one, and 7th in race two; this was race three. My goal for the race was to get better positioning in the bunch. It's really hard as I'm an under 14 racing with the under 16s.
I did a long warm up and my mind was raring to go. The course was the same as race two, coming down the hill round the back and up the other hill to the finish line. The positioning really mattered, if you were on the wrong side on the corners you may get stuck on the apex of the corners also if you were behind on the climb the gap would only get bigger - at the front you could go slower!
By the time lap four came along I had already achieved my goal, I was up near the front almost every lap. Although, the racing was more aggressive then I was used to. This helped with gaining confidence for Assen (this is the big European race I've entered for the summer). Fortunately, every time someone decided to attack the group would swallow them up quickly and slow meaning I could close down the couple of meters gap that had opened up.
5 laps to go was a exciting lap as there was a crash so everyone was being cautious and riding slow, this helped me recover! The whole group coming slowly down the hill woth 4 to go felt funny as none of us new whether the rider had got out of the road of the dead corner. They had.
When the bell rang out I was still sitting in the group (positioned farly well) coming up the hill everyone was sprinting fast and I wasn't used to sprinting in the group. I came over the line 16th out of the under 16s and 8th out of the under 14s.
The run and ride winter classic at Cannock chase was a great course. It had short steep banks, even steeper descents, lumps and bumps and fire roads.
I got a good start and I was where I should be. As we came into the woods we had already caught up the back end of the beginners Men's category, therefore, it was stop and start. My mech was playing up, it seemed as if I broke it. Luckily, I hadn't. As we reached the top of one of the steep climbs it happened again, unfortunately, my chain snapped. My natural race instincts kicked in - I started running. It turns out I gained a couple of places by running, they didn't last long!
From watching people in cross, I naturally coasted down the descents, jumping on and off all the time. I had already decided I didn't want to pull out as I approached the main aren. So, when people said it wasn't worth carring on, I told them I wanted to finish.
A thought popped into my mind as I was running into a lumpy bumpy part of the course. It was to drop my seat down low and to turn my bike into a sort of balance bike type thing!
My favourite part of the course was so much fun when you didn't have any pressure on you. I flew down the long descent having the time of my life!
The best thing about breaking your chain is that everyone cheers you on!
As I entered the home straight I pumped my legs as fast as they would go, hoping that the girl behind me wouldn't catch me up. As it turns out, I didn't come last, I came 9th out of 10. It turns out I'm actually quite good at running!
This week was my exam week for 3 days. As I have had a 2-3week rest after the cyclo-cross season I have only just started training. I am using the turbo Tour of Sufferlandria as a training block.
On Monday I had a maths exam, I did revision for my other exams in the evening and fitted my new bike computer, as we lost the important parts for the old one when I changed bikes back in the summer of 2015. Instead of doing a session I did about 5 mins just checking it was working ok.
On Tuesday I did an easy cadence session. I did:
- 8 min warm up
- 30seconds at 18mph, ramp up to 20mph for 5secs
- 25s easy
- 30s at 18mph, ramp up to 22mph for 5secs
- 25s easy
- 30s at 18mph, ramp up to 24mph for 5secs
- 25s easy
- 30s at 18 mph ramp up to 22mph for 5 secs
- 20s easy
- 30s at 18mph, ramp up to 20mph for 5secs
- 5min warm down
On Wednesday I had a rest as all my exams were finished. On Thursday I did some MTB skills on the garden with Finn. I practiced my wheelies and did a full round the clock for one of the first times.
On Friday I was at a friends birthday party, although I did some core work.
Today (Saturday) I did the second stage of tour of Sufferlandria which was revolver. I also did a fun roller video making cookies- they were very nice!
