A Levels Finished, Let the Holidays Begin....

After a busy few weeks of exams and revision, which hopefully have gone well, I am now back training seriously again! I’ve jumped straight in at the deep end by going to race in Belgium which I knew was going to hurt, and definitely did. The first race didn’t go too great, at the end of the day I just wasn’t fit enough to match the standard of the other girls. However that was no surprise to me as I had barely been on a bike in the last month. I wasn’t too disappointed though as it was just a huge relief to finish exams and be back on a bike.

After the race I visited a war museum, and because the town we were in got completely destroyed in World War I, it was quite moving to read about the lives of the soldiers and people who lived there. My mood was quickly lifted as there was a European Rally on in the town, so I got to look at lots of nice cars, and also Lamborghinis and my dream car an Audi R8.  One of the rally cars was particularly brilliant as it was my own car, a Toyota Corolla, however that one looked slightly quicker and louder than mine L.

I decided it probably wasn’t the best idea to race on the Sunday, instead I went on a ride down the Schelde Canal all the way to Oudenaarde. The weather was miserable but I managed to get some great efforts in and felt great afterwards. Hopefully more rides like this will give me a good base for some form later in the year. I am really looking forward to being able to race competitively in a few weeks

 

After Sunday’s riding, I came home for my prom and had a lovely time with all my friends from college. After recovering from the previous few days on the Tuesday, I was straight back on the train to London this time with my boyfriend, Alex, for another week in Belgium. We arrived late Wednesday night and woke up to lovely sunshine and temperatures well above 20 degrees. We took this opportunity to go on the ride along the canal to Oudenaarde again, this time with more efforts and sprints in, and I felt noticeably fitter than the previous ride.

That afternoon we went to a music festival, Rock Werchter, in 32 degree heat where we saw Blink 182, Netsky, Skream and Skrillex. It was amazing, the festival had such a nice atmosphere and it was warm even when we were walking back to the car at 2 in the morning.

On Saturday morning we got up early and went for a ride along a different canal with Eve who had arrived the previous night. We threw in a few sprints to spin up our legs to prepare for the next few days of racing. On the way back to the youth hostel, we had the choice to negotiate a cyclo-cross-esque climb which was very steep and made up of dried mud. I managed to ride up it second time, after having to clip out and then go back to the start for a bigger run up the second time. Eve, similarly to me, had to clip out on her first attempt. For her second attempt she went into it in a much more determined manner, which resulted in her making it half way up the hill, before slowly toppling off the side of the hill into a handily placed bed of nettles. Eve Dixon, coming soon to a cyclo-cross race near you! 

After a couple more days of training we went to the Prologue of the Tour de France. Despite riding a bike for 7 years I had never seen a stage race on this scale before. We arrived early and the barriers along the finish straight were 2 people deep at least, and the atmosphere was electric. I was suffering slightly from the previous few days efforts, which meant I spent quite a bit of time sat down, but I still saw plenty of the riders. It was great to see Bradley get second to the monster that is Cancellara.

 I’m now spending the evening relaxing, before a few races in the coming days.

Love Mel

xxx

Got a Cold!!!!!!!! Its Only Just Gone and I've Just Won a Holiday

Our Belgium trip was an epic, lots of cycling, some star gazing and a week away from revision. One unfortunate gift I got partway through the week was a cold. This was the queen of colds the sort that makes you feel rubbish and unable to get out of bed, unable to eat and unable to concentrate.

I've had it a couple of weeks and I am just about over it however almost immediately I am dropping into my final A level exams. 2 more weeks at school, exams and then a holiday.

I planned at the beginning of the season to do some cycling, stop for my exams and then continue cycling once exams complete.

There is a small amount of cycling I have been doing which have proved quite profitable this year...Roller Racing. I won the local and national rounds of the  Rollapaluza National Championships and recently I was invited to a competition they were running for Levi's new Commuter Jeans.

http://eu.levi.com/en_GB/Sprint-King
 
The challenge was to put the fastest time down for 500m on the rollers between the 19th April and 10th May in the Levi store in London.

The fastest Male and female time won a weekend trip away to the finale of the Tour De France in Paris.

Dad worked some magic with my rail tickets and managed to get me First Class (apparently it was only an extra £3!). First Class was brilliant, lots of leg room, nice food and drinks and i felt like royalty. The competition was in Selfridges and after my cold I was unsure what speed I still had in my legs.

Well I only needed to do one ride, 22.9 secs for 500m not my best but I was happy with it. A long way off the fastest chap however I was well in front of the next female. The competition didn't close for another week so I had an anxious wait to see if my time was to be bettered (lots of checking of the Levi's website).

Well I have won myself a little trip to Paris! Return trip for two on the Eurostar, 2 nights in the hotels and 250euros to spend in Levis in Paris. How ace is that!

Speak soon
Mel

The Paris Roubaix (and a Go-Karting win)

Super day Easter Sunday...

16 mile short spin from Laarne to the town of Donk. There's not much there apart from a water feature in a pond. Eve nearly went over the handlebars trying some crazy manouvre (she thought I didn't see her....)!
We rode back to Laarne and then packed up to watch the Paris Roubaix at the Arenberg forest. On route we spied the course and also saw the Junior race - which rider from our boys team Chris Latham was riding - cross over the motorway bridge in front of us.
We parked up with the crowds and started to walk in the direction everyone else was walking. So many people had turned out to watch the pro's at Arenberg. Apparently Arenberg is an old mining area and the rumour is that a miner who rode the Tour De France found the route through the Forest that Paris Roubaix is famous for.
The cobbles are the nastiest I have ever seen, they proved difficult to walk on so riding a bike must have been horrendous.
The vehicles started to pass through and soon the helicopters following the race were almost above us signalling the bikes were nearly here. The crowd started to go mental so we knew the bikes were upon us. A group of 5 riders passed through with number 83 getting a puncture right next to us, the mechanic seemed slow to change the wheel and probably ruined the riders 5 minutes of fame.........

A gap of maybe 5 minutes and then the bunch passed through, the expressions on the riders faces a picture showing the efforts they were having to put in. 10 minutes later the riders were gone, the noise of the vehicles had cleared and it was time to go.
We walked down to the entrance to the Arenberg stage where the noise started again with many Flandrians giving it the beans for Tom Boonen who was having the race of legends. 50km to go he jumped off the head of the race completely destroying the riders behind him who had no answer to his power and strength.

Afterwards we went to the Go Kart at Koksidje, for some more racing :). The racing was over 12 minutes and despite the speeds being slow the course is really twisty and technical - pretty sure Icould get round it faster on a bike! I took 2 seconds of my lap time from last time I was here and managed a win! Eve has a special Go-karting style which isnt that quick but didn't crash once so big improvement from last time.....

National Rollapoluza Champs and day 1 in Belgium

On Good Friday we packed the car for our road trip to London (and beyond). I can’t believe we managed to fit all our stuff in the car – it was filled to bursting, although fortunately we have a Thule roof box and bike carrier!

We travelled down to London which took ages. Thankfully I got a Kindle for my birthday so I could read all the way down. We were slightly late for Hog Hill, but still got there in time to support Eve for most of the race. She’d had some bad experiences there with punctures in the past, so we were really keen for her to do well.

Eve rode brilliantly, keeping up towards the front of the bunch and looked comfortable and strong. There were a few attacks but the bunch largely stayed together. With 4 to go, a rider managed to slip off the front, quickly gaining 20 seconds whilst the bunch just looked at each other and it seemed the riders would be racing for 2^nd. The bell rang for the last lap, but the lone leader was nowhere to be seen. She had a bit of bad luck and punctured.

Eve attacks at Hog Hill

Coming up the infamous hill the last time Eve positioned herself well at the front of the group and absolutely charged up to lead the riders up the hill. This caught a lot of riders by surprise and it appeared to be the first 5 riders that had a chance of the win. Eve hung on and managed to place 2^nd over the line.

A fine ride and we were all so pleased for Eve!

+£50 spending money for our trip to Belgium!

Then it was time for some roller racing at the Rollapoluza National Final! Racing on rollers is something I have done for many years and is a 500m effort against a clock (and an opponent).

We met up with some friends from Eastlands Velo - Mark and Carol Barry, Matt Rotherham and his dad Jeremy, who are massive supporters of cycling and have always been interested in me and helped me out when I was younger, which is proper nice! I qualified fastest lady (and faster than most of the boys) and ended up winning – hope I made them proud!

+£200 spending money for our trip to Belgium! (Belgium socks definitely on the way…!)      

The next morning (at 7.50am – far too early for college holidays) we got the Eurotunnel to France and travelled across to Piershil in Holland for a festival of cycling. Of course Eve and I slept in the car all the way ready for our afternoon crit race!

The course was really short 1.5ish miles, flat and with lots of sharp corners. After 30 minutes of roller warm-up next to the Belgium national team (I think they were impressed with my roller skills..!), legs felt rubbish after last night’s Rollapoluza - 50mph on rollers has a cost! There were 70 on the start line and gridding meant that we didn’t start in the best place. The race shot off at the start and within the first 3 laps we were both scrapping around at the back – we were not mentally prepared for how fast this race was going to be!

After 25minutes of racing we had got used to cornering at 30mph and pushing up through the race. Half the field had already been eliminated by the broom wagon and it was close to being our turn. All of a sudden there was a crash right in front of me. Fortunately we managed to miss it, but 10 minutes later an air ambulance appeared and it was curtains for the race. It was abandoned. It was a super lesson for myself and Eve as we now need to be ready for the race going off like a train - completely different to the race yesterday at Hog Hill.

Good news the girl in the crash was ok and we got a cracking workout! Off to watch the Paris Roubaix at the Arrenberg Forest! Its dry at the moment but the forecast is rain = carnage on the cobbles.

More pictures and reports on the way...

Mel x

Europe Bound Next Week!

I have to report that I am very excited that next week I am doing a spot of bike racing in Europe.

It all starts on Friday when I travel to the Rollapoluza National Final on Good Friday after watching the mighty Eve Dixon compete at Hog Hill in the afternoon. Both me and my boyfriend Alex have qualified for the final so not only will I being trying to win the women's event I also want to put Alex to the sword!

On Saturday we go under the channel sea via tunnel to France, drive through Belgium and race in Holland in a 50km criterium race, entry looks good and Eve and I will represent Champion Systems/Maxgear in the junior race.

Sunday we both get a rest and get to watch the fellas in Paris Roubaix, planning to watch the race through the Arenberg Forest and then get to the finish in the velodrome (this may change traffic dependent).

On Monday another race in Holland, Kermesse style 11 laps for Eve and I to get our teeth into. Quite a drive to get to this one so need good tunes on the Ipod and can see my record on Temple Run getting broken.

Tuesday = Day off and a little bit of site seeing in Ghent, Oudenaarde (Flanders socks to be purchased black lion, yellow background).

Wednesday = The big race! we are in the support event in Belgium for a Spring Classic. A certain Andy Schleck is entered (no.71) in the main race and we race before the main event drops into town. Champion Systems pro team are racing, so we hope to do them proud!

Got my new wheels to test from Paul Hewitt Cycles (after the rim blew up at the Team launch) and they feel great, hand built the same as Bradley's!

Thursday = a trip to the Mira observatory to meet Phillipe again (my other passion away from cycling is Astrophysics).

Friday another day off revising for A levels and hopefully enjoying the weather.

Saturday we are entering a Belgium Sportive which last year had 5000 cyclists enter which I think will be quite exciting. Its the first one I have done and we go up the Muur which is an epic climb in Belgium.

On Sunday I will race another in Belgium (not sure how my legs will be after the week before....) Still had a few decent results in the last few weeks so hopefully I should be competitive!

My win last week at Salt Ayre, Lancaster after great help from the rest of the team

Its Light In The Morning!

My beloved Orca is back out of winter hibernation and I'm very pleased to have some good weather to actually ride it!

First outdoor race was last weekend and I loved it! It was at Tameside near Manchester on a short circuit with laps taking just 1 minute. The loop is pan flat with 1 dead corner and another 3 which can be pedalled round! We had a full team riding which was great and it was fun warming up together behind the cars on the rollers.

2 riders slipped away early doors and schoolgirl errors by the bunch meant that they stayed away. Note to team is we watch for this next time.

Anyway the remaining bunch was whittled down through the race with about 15 contesting the bunch sprint. I timed my sprint well and managed to win the bunch kick for third.

I've been racing Friday night track league and its great to meet up with my team mates laughing about how hard we have just worked and how many times we failed to get our names on the scoreboard.

We're off to Belgium/Holland soon, doing 5 races in 9 days - very exciting. On the way I will be stopping off in London for the final of Rollapoluza! Bring it on!!

This coming weekend will be a training weekend with the girls, the weather's looking good!

On the college side of things, Maths and Further Maths continues to be a challenge but only 12 weeks left to go!

M x 

Not A Bad Few Weeks!

Lots of nice things are happening!

1) A Levels went well, results Thursday here's hoping that they are what I spent hours and hours revising for!

2) Thrilled that I have had university offers for both Manchester and Leeds, Manchester is my preferred option however exam results need to be brilliant!

3) My Meerkat toy has finally arrived!

4) Starting to find some fitness on the bike and form returning at Manchester track league. Really like meeting up with rest of the team, having fun in the races and then doing lots of laughing in the 'D' between races. We are starting to get some good results aswell!

5) Mersey Tunnel Time trial was great fun, I loved it! Unfortunately I lost my chain on the descent into the tunnel which I think cost me 20 seconds. A great event and one for the calender next year.

6) Race wheels fixed by Paul and his team at Paul Hewitt Cycles. New rims and spokes they look brand new!

7) A National record in the Rollapaluza Manchester regional qualifier. I didn't expect that! National final on Good Friday.

8) First Belgium and Holland trip organised, its going to be an epic........

9) 18 on Wednesday...... lots of nights out!

Snow, A levels and Sleep

The last few weeks have been interesting both off and on the bike!

Off the bike I have had two interviews at Manchester and Leeds University for next years education. Both interviews went well and I have now got offers from both. Now I need to work hard to make sure I get the right A level grades so they let me in! I've got 4 offers so its all down to me now.

I've had another round of exams in January and I think they went well.

On the bike has also been going well too...

The new Champion Systems/Maxgear/Kyklos kit arrived and looks the business and training is going well despite the weather doing its best to keep me inside on the rollers/turbo. I'm very lucky to have the Manchester Velodrome close which allows training and racing in the relative warmth.
The team launch in Northumberland was brilliant, I laughed lots and really got to know my new team mates. Nice, nice people! I did have a little incident with a wheel rim which exploded in my face! The team owner described the noise as a bullet from a gun. What happened was that my braking surface had actually worn through and the wheel had collapsed. I was lucky not to come off.
Luckily Paul Hewitt who originally built the wheels is rebuilding them with new spokes and rims because they were my favourites!
We have had a number of invites to races, both national and international and we are plotting our first foreign road trip for March.

Next event is the Vita cycles time trial through the Mersey Tunnel (shut to cars!) which Francis, Nicola and myself have been persuaded to enter. Exciting times! :)

Its the end of 2011 so rather than write lots of words I thought I would post some cycling pictures which are a bit different!

 The resident pig at our Youth Hostel in Belgium

 Me and Eve practicing Madison slings......we fell off at the nationals must try harder!

 Spaghetti Boonenaisse at the Cycling Museum, Oodennarde

 Photoshoot Castlefields, Manchester

 Training ride Lancashire

 Team Launch Wigan

Belgium cobbled climb......

Over The Handlebars!

Today I got it wrong!

Lots of snow and ice where I live continuing the 'its always wet here' theme.

Conditions suggested turbo trainer or cyclocross at Leverhulme Park

The cyclocross however was 10mins from my house and I thought it would be fun......

The good bits....

Close to home.
Good to see everybody.
My cycling kit looks great!

Not quite as good bits......

It was very cold, and I mean really cold.
I crashed on a descent narrowly missing a tree and went over the handlebars (top chopper cyclist that's me!). It hurt so much I cried for 5 minutes and then carried on.
Rode really slowly because I was cold.
Broke my gear shifter (only a plastic bit so its still works).
Women's changing rooms locked at end of race so no shower, shivered all the way home.
My body is damaged by handlebars (legs and stomach).

I'm glad I got out in the sunshine, although it was really, really cold and crashing (and thawing numb hands and feet) hurts more than an hour on the turbo! Plus I wouldn't need to clean the bike either ;).

Melissa x

Its Still Raining!

Training is going well!

Have been hit with a cold and forced to take a few days off but nothing too serious.

Have been on rollers, have used turbo trainer, have raced on the track at the velodrome (got a win on Friday hey look at me.....there's enough girls now to give us our own group which is brilliant).

I have even done another cross race a bit different this one it was a Madison cross.

Madison in cycling basically means a relay and its supposed to happen on the track. Alex and I paired up at Clayton Vale for Phil Braybrooke;s Christmas event and I rode in the 70s purple kit which the Midland riders of Halesowen profess to be proud of!

Short fast laps for an hour through long grass and mud followed by a technical section into the finish. The conditions, the kit and dad on the microphone made it an interesting day! Actually in terms of training it was really quite hard.

Have now got interviews for university's to prepare for and also exam set number 3 for A levels so life is quite interesting again!

Speak soon


Melissa

Winter Training

Well its dark and cold.........

Not a great start to a blog however this is how days are in Bolton. Its always raining, about to start raining or just finished raining....

Race bikes are hung up on their hooks, its time for my winter bike, track bike and my cross bike!

The plan for the next few weeks are long slow rides on the winter bike, track league on Friday nights at Manchester velodrome and then a few cyclocross events to sharpen up my bike handling skills.

I also plan to have a few off the bike strength sessions too build up my core strength.

My first cyclocross for a year was at Stadt Moers near St Helens and I can report although I am not great, I really quite enjoy it. I managed to stack it on the first lap coming down the first descent much to the dismay of the riders behind me, still nothing but pride damaged. Then for the next hour I slowly rode around the course managing to stay upright and not getting lapped by too many riders. For learning to ride a bike, cyclocross is a great sport.

Friday night track league is always fun, very busy at the moment, track cycling clearly popular! 5 groups of twenty five racing and I am in group 3. The pace is higher than it used to be (or I have slowed up..) and its nice to get the legs spinning again on the boards.

Done 4 long rides so far in November since returning from my break and tomorrow there is a group of us doing 50 miles around the peak district which should be good fun.

Just starting to think about next year and have just received my first invite for a race in Holland.


See you soon


Melissa

The Orbea Orca goes into Hibernation

Last week I had my winter bike prepared for the poor weather and now its the turn of my Orbea Orca race bike.

Before it goes into hibernation (it doesn't like the cold or the wet) Paul Hewitt Cycles give it a good going over to ensure all is ok. The good news was that all was mechanically sound. A few small jobs, however, were required (chain, cables, bar tape and a rear tyre) and then the bike was given a perfect bill of health. The bike is about to be stored on its hook for a few months until the weather improves (could be a while!)

Revolution but not on the track!

Last night I went to the Revolution track cycling event at Manchester Velodrome not to race but not to watch either....

Instead, I was there to display 'The WASP'!

The WASP (Wattage saving, Aerodynamic, Speed Products) is, the new prototype skinsuit by Maxgear/Champion Systems designed to minimise resistance and maximise speed.
The skinsuit had never been seen before in the UK and certainly drew some positive attention, with people flocking to see the kit. This made me even more self conscious, already riding a skintight WASP in the middle of the packed Velodrome. However I did get a 2hr roller training session in....

By name and nature, the speedsuit even looks like a WASP, in bold black and yellow. It was also great to watch the Maxgear team performing well and mixing up the future star races from where I was riding. I love the speedsuit so much that I really hope I can race in it next year. The WASP saw its first competitive outing at the National Hill Climb Championships, worn by my team mate Nicola click here to see her blog.

Mel Bury - Lloyds TSB Local Hero!

On Tuesday I went to the Lloyds TSB Regional processing centre with my race bike and rollers. I am part of the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes programme which supports young athletes in their sport, so the visit was to meet the staff and introduce them to my sport and explain how Lloyds TSB support my sporting ambitions. I met with lots of great people and demonstrated riding my bike on rollers, which always creates a bit of a stir!

The questions from the staff were great (I think they were being kind and not asking really tough ones!). When I got home I had a lovely e-mail thanking me for my visit. It's always great to do these events, as I really enjoy meeting people, introducing them to my sport and inspiring people to get on their bikes.

Mel x

Preparing my Winter Bike for training

I took my winter bike to Paul Hewitt Cycles in Leyland today to get it prepared for winter miles. Paul's team have always been great with me, genuinely interested in me as a cyclist and always doing a great job with my bikes (much better than dad!).

My bike needed a new chain and cassette (must have been my power, maybe not!), cables, brake blocks and bar tape.
All I need to do now is put some miles on it. Paul and the gang will service my race bike next week ready for hibernation over the winter.


I have 1 week of rest remaining and then I will put the warm clothing on and start to explore Lancashire on my bike again. Off to LloydsTSB bank processing centre on Tuesday to demonstrate my sport to the staff at Lloyds and then modelling new champion systems cycling kit on rollers at the Revolution next weekend!

Race weekend in Belgium Part 2 - The war museum and Izegem

Saturday night we travelled to Ypres, a town made famous during the 1st world war for the number of servicemen that died there in the war. We ate and then watched the Last Post at Menin gate a memorial to 54,000 soldiers who lost their lives during the 1st world war whose remains were never found. Every night at 8pm since the end of the first world war this 15min remembrance service is performed. It was very, very moving.
A Youth Hostel in Kortrijk provided an interesting overnight sleep with Johan waking us insisting we show for breakfast. Germain Burton is a regular we see in Belgium and he told us he got 10th same as me on the Saturday.

After breakfast we went to a war museum which explained what had happened in the local area and the horrific conditions the soldiers fought in (a full scale mock up of an underground dugout where soldiers lived for many months). We then found some original trenches right in the middle of an industrial estate which had been recently discovered. It must have been absolutely awful for the soldiers.

The next race was at Izegem was 30 minutes from the trenches and I wanted to be at the race 2hrs prior to the start, the Sat Nav ensured that arrival was fine despite a number of roadwork's on route!

Izegem was the European centre for shoe and also broom making until 20 years ago when manufacturing moved to the far east. Sundays race was a much shorter course round a city centre with barriers – rather like the City crits in the UK. Two cars were unceremoniously removed from the course by low loader and the racing began. Prizes every lap kept speeds high and the short laps meant that the 34 laps made me dizzy! I felt great and took most of the primes (lap prizes), thinking that the prizes were euros. What I actually won was:
A blank CD, a pizza cutter, a tee shirt, another tee shirt, a rucksack, another rucksack, a Sudoku game, a shoulder bag, a set of glasses (with one missing), another set of glasses, a box and a Pyrex dish! I did also win a rather nice watch (confirmed as not from the market but from a high class town centre jewellers) for winning the most lap prizes.

Into the bell lap and I was placed about 6th. Around the course I hit the front with half a lap to go. Into the final bend I was still on the front. I was on the front with 100 metres to go, 50 metres to go there's a rider alongside me, I sprint like mad. Over the line there's a rider in front of me. Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Still I got 2nd place which is my best result in Europe so far.

40 euros prize money, a box full of tat (apart from the watch and maybe the Pizza cutter), a top 10 and a 2nd made for a really good weekend and roll on A level results on Thursday, the track nationals next week followed by another European adventure in two weeks time!

Race weekend in Belgium part 1 - Bekegem

12th to 14th August saw me visit Belgium for two 60km races, Bekegem on Saturday and Izegem on Sunday. On Friday we travelled south to Dartford to a Travelodge (£15 was saved through a voucher on the internet, Google is definitely your friend). Pizza Express at Bluewater shopping centre closed a fairly uneventful day, although I did see a fox when I walked to find the Thames river!

Saturday morning early rise, a quick dash to the 24hr Asda for provisions and then off to the Eurotunnel for the 09.24 crossing. Delays had been reported on the internet but thankfully by the time we checked in all delays cleared and we arrived in France on schedule. The race in Bekegem was an 1hr 30mins from the Channel tunnel and we planned to arrive 2hrs before race start to set up the bike, check the course and warm on Cyclops rollers (good job we have fold up rollers, otherwise we wouldn’t have fit them in the car!). The drive to Bekegem was very wet and I was worried about the safety in the race if the rain continued... Luckily it didn’t and on the recce we found Bekegem to be a typical Belgium Kermesse (4km loops through a town centre, disappearing into the local countryside before returning into the centre via a sharp right turn and some fairly friendly cobbles).

Signing on proved fairly ok (sometimes a challenge in Belgium because of our lack of Flemish) and was also very busy. 61 riders signed on for the 2.45 start with many quality riders from Belgium, Holland and me the only Englander..... No instructions issued in English but I’ve learnt some of the basics for left, right and the odd swear word! Most of the riders speak good English anyway!

As usual the race started very quickly! At the end of the first lap 20 riders had been dropped from the leading bunch. I was safely in the middle of the leading bunch. As the race went on riders continued to be swept up by the Broom wagon (last vehicle following the race usually signified by carrying a brush = riders being swept up!). I felt good and was very active at the front of the bunch, my Maxgear/Champion Systems kit really looked the business amongst some rather garish European kits! The cobbles proved challenging with some riders electing to clip out of their pedals to ensure their safety around the sharp bend. When the race got to the business end 2 riders managed to escape of the front of the race and with the bunch not working properly together the two escapee’s were not to be seen again. The riders back in the bunch set up for a bunch sprint for the remaining places. Two girls didn’t fancy the sprint for the line and managed to kick out of the bunch early surprising the pack and stealing third and fourth position. Thirty riders then contested the bunch sprint from the cobbles to the filmed finish line. Good positioning over the cobbles saw me finish in 6th in the bunch (I wasn’t quite as brave as some of the other riders), 10th overall. I was very pleased with this not yet back up to full fitness since Glandular fever earlier in the year.

My recovery from glandular fever and Belgium breakthrough

I’ve had a pretty rough start to the 2011 race season contracting glandular fever taking me out of action for the early part of my first year racing for Maxgear RT.

By mid season I’ve pretty much recovered from glandular fever, so I’m slowly building up back into racing and training again. This started off with just some really easy rides, and just really riding my bike for enjoyment. Then I showed my face at Tameside for a few weeks which started to get some strength back in my legs with all the sprinting out of corners. I rode the junior national RR, however at that point my fitness was pretty bad, so I got dropped after a couple of laps, but I saw it as something to build on. I also rode the Stoke on Trent town centre crit, which if I’m honest I was disappointed in my performance as I got 6^th last year, and got lapped this year.

However the turning point came when I went over to Belgium for the first time after my illness. I had a bad cold for about a week beforehand (Music festivals aren’t the best idea mid-season) so I went into the race expecting to be out the back first lap. Because of this, I think my mentality of the whole race changed, and I made sure I was always in the top third, to make it as ‘easy’ as possible for myself. I was therefore extremely surprised and relieved when I heard the bell and the words ‘laste runde’. I think I rolled in at the back of the bunch I was in, in about 17^th. I was over the moon with this, as to me it meant
that I was finally getting better, and improving.

Alongside this, I have also done a couple of 10’s. The first one I did without a bike computer, so I was extremely pleasantly surprised when I smashed my PB by a minute and a half, to do a time of 25.18. I also did another 10 last night, they changed the course and I felt really sluggish, but I ended up doing 24.25, so I’m hoping that I can improve my time trialling further.