Having watched what has been a great month of pro racing with Strada Bianca and Milan San Remo as well as the Tirreno Adriatico I can’t wait to get back racing. Quite what that will look like I am at the moment unsure as at the time of writing this British cycling have not released their update on the way forward. However, what I do know is that I have 3 time-trials at castle combe which will also double as the team launch for 2021. I also have a race at Hillingdon which is the first round of the Miche west Thames Tuesday night series at Hillingdon. If I get accepted, I will also be racing at Oddown (one of if not my absolute favourite circuits to race on) for the “not quite the easter classic” and hopefully, again if I get accepted, I hope to be at the south region road race test event.
I am unexplainably exited to get racing again. It is what I live and breathe for. I am most excited about the road race because the once road race I did last year was the best racing experience I have ever had. It was just so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again. Especially as the course that the race is being run on- the Priddy RR course as used in the “A bridge to far Road race”. Having been doing lots of recon of it over the last few days, I think will suit me quite well. It is perhaps not quite as hilly as I would like but it looks to be a fairly rolling fast bur hard circuit with an interesting finish. The finish is on a very slight left curve likely to be a cross headwind coming from the riders left. What makes it especially interesting is that it comes around 500m out of what looks to be a fast but technical left-hand corner. There is also a fast flowing decent and an undulating climb that will most likely be a tail-cross tail wind where the group will get blown to pieces. Positioning will be incredibly important coming into the bottom of the climb as the start comes out a tight almost hairpin bend at the bottom of the decent. Being in the top few riders out of this corner will be crucial. I don’t think so crucial that it is a race winning corner especially with It being a long way from the line and the hill being more of a drag out of the corner than a big steep wall. I think it could be a place where from poor positioning the race could be lost by getting caught on the wrong side of a split on this corner. Even though the split may not be terminal the effort to close the gap may well be. The main climb on the circuit looks to be an undulating affair, a short steepish ramp of around 7ish percent which is a sub 1min effort still going very fast at around 40kph. This climb and the false flat over the top is where the race breaks up. I don’t imagine the race will become obliterated and come across the line in ones and twos, but this climb is where the splits are most likely to occur. In summary it looks like it’s going to be a hard fast race. Especially when the distance of around 50k is factored in. It is likely to be a very hard effort for just over an hour. In addition to the course looking really fun, the course is also used in the Junior tour of the Mendips so it would serve as good recon for that race which I am planning on doing later in the year. So, fingers crossed I will get in.
My training over the winter has been really great. I did a lot of just base endurance work with a midweek Zwift race. Over the winter The Nopinz Motip team smashed the WTRL Zwift league. We dominated and won every round. The next season starts soon, hopefully we can carry the momentum from last season and have a great season again.
Over the last few weeks, I have been starting to put in some sweet spot efforts in my rides. I have been doing them at the end of my ride to improve my fatigue resistance. I seem to be responding really well to the training and the past 2 weeks have been some of the best I have had on the bike. I am not super fresh I am just feeling really fast and strong. For that I have to thank 2020 cycling. I have been working with them since November and I have never been stronger. Am looking forward to carrying on working with them. My training is so much more focused and effective now so thank you.
The 2021 Nopinz Motip team kit also got delivered this month. It looks great, we have stuck with the pink fade from last year. The Nopinz kit looks and feels seriously fast and it fits really well too. I also got my Aerocoach gloves which are super comfy, I especially like them because they have very little padding on them which means that I can feel exactly what my bike is doing. They are also proven to be faster than standard gloves. As a team we have the fastest kit in the peloton thanks to our awesome sponsors. We also defiantly have the best-looking kit in the world. I absolutely love it. It makes me super exited every time I open my wardrobe and see my skinsuits hanging up ready to be raced in.
I am really looking forward to racing with my team this year, they are a great group of guys and have put their belief and support in me so thank you. Can’t wait to get my arms in the air again.
