As March draws to a close it's time to take a look back at what's happened. I've raced 3 times this month, all of which being Nat B's alongside my training.
I partook in the first 2 rounds of the Haus RT series down in Darley Moor. A really well documented series and lots of very good riders on the start line for both races I did there.
The first race was an okay race, I got in a few moves but didn’t have the best legs to make it stick. A move went after I was brought back and stuck to the end only 15 seconds in front of the peloton for the whole race. No cohesion with people riding for teammates including myself with Leon in it. Mad a few mistakes but got up for the sprint at the end and got 20th overall. Super windy and hard race to get right but it’s all learning for the bigger races coming up in April.
The second race didn't go so well for me, a move went off the start line so I jumped on it as I wanted to take the initiative and be on the front foot. We stayed away for about a lap or so before being brought back by a group full of Elites in it. I had spent way too much energy in the first move, so much so I had actually set PB power numbers for this year in the attack. After we were closed down, the group eased up for a lap before the attacks went off again. I was seeing stars at this point and all I could do was go into survival mode. It felt like I was breathing through a straw. The gap to the attackers grew and grew and grew. I just had nothing left in the tank. I finally found a group after dropping out of the line. I gathered myself after a pretty rough patch in the race. We started working well together and began to pick riders off that were blowing up from their efforts. We just kept rotating until around 3-4 laps to go where people starting racing. None of the attacks that happened stuck and we rolled in as a group. Looking back at it, I had picked up a bit of a flu or cold during the days before but didn't have any symptoms so raced on. But it knocked me for 6 and i spent the rest of the day fast asleep on the sofa.
The last race for me this month was another Nat B this time a different circuit and one I haven't raced on for a good couple of years now. This was my best race of the year so far, not only the result but also how I raced it tactically. I decided to take it easy for the first 10 mins or so before then seeing what the other riders were doing too. 2 of the strongest riders in the race DNF'ed so it meant the race was open for the taking. I got in a move with another rider, we were dangling off the front at around 10 seconds for a good 10 laps or so before getting brought back. I had burnt a lot of matches at this point so I was on the back foot for sure. A lapse of concentration as I slipped back to try and recover and another move went off the front. This time it was super dangerous but I was too far back to react. This time it stuck and they took up the first 4 places in the race. I had really good positioning coming into the sprint lying in 3rd wheel. I opened up the sprint and drew alongside the other riders before my legs began to tie up 50m before the line and I got swamped. I ended up 8th. Nice to be at the pointy end of a race again and score my first national points of the year.
Moving forward I have a massive month coming up. The national series begins again for the u23's, on the 7th down near Exeter. Following this is the 2nd round on the 21st and then the big one. The Cicle classic UCI 1.2. These are three amazing opportunities for me to show where the form is and to show myself that all the work that has been done getting back to fitness since last years misfortunes.
Finally, as always a massive shout out to Pedal Potential, Withington Physiotherapy and Cycle Service Course for the continued support this year :)
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