discovering Life on the continent
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1/30/2020 0 Comments January and February round upJanuary was a very productive month for me, it all kicked off with a small training camp in Léoncel, France. It was the second training camp with my new team Van Rysel - AG2R La Mondiale, the main focus for this camp was mechanics based. The first activity we did was to build up our new race bikes with as little help from the mechanic as possible, and to be honest with you I was pleasantly surprised with how well I managed it considering I'm an amateur at mechanics haha. After we all had our bikes built and had learnt the ins and outs of the new Di2 group sets we had a brutal two days ahead of us to get in some quality training ! The whole trip was a great experience for me due to the mountainous terrain we were surrounded by, it was like a whole new world for me as I'm used to the 5 minute climbs of the Lancashire lanes not the 40 minute climbs of Léoncel. Once I had returned to the UK I decided to make the trip down to Matt Hallam at Crimson Performance where I had a professional bike fit on my new race bike in preparation for the season ahead. I couldn't rate his services highly enough, I contacted him regarding knee pain I was experiencing and since the fit all pain has been erased and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike as well as achieving an aerodynamic advantage. His services are trusted by the pro's, one of the most recent being Tour Down Under stage 6 winner Matt Holmes. For anyone experiencing pain/discomfort whilst riding or even someone just wanting to save a few extra watts I would highly recommend you check out Crimson Performance. To round off a very productive month of both training and race prep for the upcoming season, I raced my first race as a junior at the HSBC UK | National Track Championships. My first goal of the season was to qualify for the scratch race final, so to pull it off I was really happy and it showed the work I had put in over the winter had paid off! February was a very quiet month to begin with, mainly consisting of lots of hours of training. However, on the 21st February I headed out to Cambrils, Spain with my team. The camp was part of our final preparations before the season starts for us on 12th March at the Danilth Nokere Koerse UCI race in Belgium. The camp lasted for a week and it was the perfect way for me to get some solid hours in the saddle and boost morale heading into the biggest race of my young career so far. The camp was not just about training though, it was about bonding even more as a team and creating a great relationship with every one of the riders and staff. For me it was tough due to suffering from illness the week before but I loved every second of it and I feel it will play a key part to my performances in the early part of this season.
I'd just like to say a massive thank you to all the staff of Van Rysel - AG2R La Mondiale for a great week, and to all the teams sponsors for providing us with some of the best kit available which will help us achieve our goals. To finish off this blog I'm happy to announce that in 2020 I am going to be supported by Pedal Potential alongside my team and its sponsors. I'm really grateful for the opportunities I am being given this year as it wouldn't be possible without them both!
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