The 19th June saw the top juniors in the country heading to Hetton Park (Sunderland) for yet again another round of the Junior National Series). Riding For The Progressive Cycle Coaching Development Squad was; Myself, Brock Duncumb-Rogers (http://brockduncumbrogers.blogspot.com/) & Tom Moore. Taking us all the way up the country was coach and team manager Dan Bennett (http://www.progressivecyclecoaching.co.uk). The circuit we were racing on turned out to be very exciting and was made a lot more interesting by the weather! The race consisted of 45 laps which made up 81KM. There were also sprint primes on the 15th and 30th lap just to spice things up a bit.
As I mentioned the weather played a big part in the race, it was absolutely pouring it down and there was lots of spray due to surface water on the track and there were a few large puddles which had grown since the beginning of the race. This left riders with the dilemma of keeping glasses on and not being able to see due to water on the lenses and them fogging up or taking glasses off and having grit and anything else that was flying around going in them. Brock opted for the latter which he paid the price for later on in the day. He pulled the biggest piece of dirt possible out of his eye in the service station, it looked like a slug... ouch!
Back to the race though; The start of the race saw some attacks up the climb but nothing was coming of them as it was too hard to stay away because nobody was working and the conditions were harsh too with the crosswinds in places. Unfortunately I punctured after 8 or so laps on my rear Tub which was frustrating but I was granted a lap out for a wheel change. The regular junior gearing however is a 52/14 but I was given a 15up cassette which put me at a disadvantage to everyone else with a smaller gear which would affect my race later significantly.
Unfortunately there was a crash on the decent with 2 laps to go which Tom Moore was caught in and came down and is now savagely cut up all up his left hand side. This split things up a little bit. The two remaining laps which followed saw a bit of messing around in the bunch with the pace coming right down and a few random attacks which I was able to cover. The last time up the hill Matt Holmes (OPD) attacked heavily but luckily Josh Papworth (ODP) chased him down and brought the bunch with him.
Coming into the last part of the circuit I was in the best possible position and attacked out of the corner and was leading by a few bike lengths with 100M to go as you can see in the photo. Annoyingly I span out way before everybody on what seemed tiny gear and Chris Latham (ODP) managed to get the win. You can also see by the photo how everyone came round me. I was devastated at the end knowing I would have won if I had the right gear. However i still finished 13th which gives me 11 National Points and my first Series Points of the year. Brock got 4th which was a really good ride so well done lad!
Next weekend there is another National Series race on Saturday which is another crit so I will be racing in that! The team will also be racing on Sunday in a SERRL event and I too will be there searching for a Win! The weekend should give me some good last minute training and form before the National Junior Championships the weekend after.
Other news: I will be arriving in the south of France in exactly two weeks for some Nocturne racing and a road race! I am very excited about this and also getting in some good training in the sun (a massive contrast to this weekend) before coming back up the country and into Belgium for a race and then heading home and resting up for a week before yet again another National Series (Bath Road Race)... a busy few weeks but I am enjoying myself greatly.
Finally i would like to thank Dan Bennett for taking us up to Sunderland this weekend and
British Cycling North East Region for putting on the race!
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