Been a while...

Haven’t blogged for a while. The main reason being I haven’t really had anything interesting to say!

I’ve been training hard over the past couple of weeks. Lots of 3-4 hour rides.

I felt pretty motivated after the Wally Gimber RR. I had good legs and I was strong right until the finish! Can’t wait to get some more racing in now. I think this has been my first season where I have delayed the start of my racing. I’m usually racing flat out towards the end of the winter but after stepping back away from the racing and concentrating on getting quality training in, I can definitely see a difference.

I had a very different winter this year to what I normally have. Instead of gritting my teeth out in the wind and rain in the UK, I have been jet setting around the world competing in the World Cup Track series. I used to do a lot of track racing when I was working my way through the younger age groups. But when I didn’t get onto the BC Olympic Development Plan, I pretty much sidelined the track and concentrated on my road racing. Well, that’s a bit of a lie. As a first year Junior, although I was training I didn’t really take it too seriously and to put it simply I was crap!

I pulled my finger out that winter, when I started working with my current coach Sean Yates. The work payed off and I had a much better year. Won a few races with the Irish Junior Team and competed in the European and World Road and TT Championships. The biggest thing that has changed me as a rider was being given the opportunity to train with the Men’s Track Team in October. It gave me a chance to prove myself in front of the new track coach, and meant I was able to spend the winter training hard full time on the track and road with riders who were stronger than me. The new coach Andy showed me how much I could really hurt, with some sessions on the track that seemed like torture at the time.  Combine that with Martyn tearing my legs off on the road and you’ve got a good winter in the legs!

My best place in a World Cup was in Colombia where I finished 12^th in the scratch race. I don’t think I’d ever been as nervous before a race! It was my first World Cup and we’d travelled across the World to be there. The race went ok, but I definitely raced within myself and didn’t push as hard as I should have. I was terrified of not being good enough to compete. Now I know what I can do, I would really like to get a top 5, or even a medal next year in one of the World Cup bunch races.

But now the track is finished for the year and I am concentrating on trying to win road races! This weekend is the Dengie Marshes Tour. Looking at the field, it’s pretty much a premier calendar field. Going to be really tough, but hopefully I can get myself up in the results! A good ride would really put me in good stead for the Tour of Flanders the weekend after!

Right, time to head out on the bike. Just spent the last 20 minutes rambling, so sorry for wasting your time if you’ve just spent time reading it!

Adios