discovering Life on the continent
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6/28/2021 0 Comments June Race Round-upFinally my season has gotten properly underway! I kicked it off with the classique des alpes at the end of may (see last blog to see how it went) and since then I have managed to get 4 more races in the legs which has been great for my form and great for me mentally if i'm honest. To be back in the racing mentality after so long is such a good feeling! I kicked off the month racing for the departmental committee of Charente-Maritime. This was my first race in their colours and second race of the season, which was pretty cool! The race consisted of a 8km uphill TT in the morning followed by 130km road race in the challenging terrain of Brittany. Personally results wise I was not where I wanted, or expected to be. After a very disappointing TT I was fired up for the road race, and proved my strength to everybody. The result doesn't reflect my performance in the road race after I rolled in 24th from what was a heavily diminished peloton. After my fair share of efforts throughout the race I was happy with the result although on paper this isn't what I should be aiming for. One of the negatives of riding for one of the best teams in the world is that you are heavily marked and in these kinds of races you have to be on top form to be able to stay clear of the peloton and for me I just lacked the extra little bit of fitness that the others had gained from the early season races. My team/house mate Yanis Seguin finished a great 4th place which was a great result after a tough race! After leaving the race a little disappointed with my results, I looked at what I was missing and realised it was just that top end race fitness so entered myself into 3 more races over the next week. The first being Trophee Maxime Mederel. It was a nightmare of a race for me after going the wrong way on the first lap and having to chase from the get go. I then had to stop and re adjust my handle bar position after hitting a pothole just after regaining contact with the peloton. I then got back to the peloton to find a breakaway had gone clear of 8 riders. I managed to then bridge across to them with 1 other rider and after working well with the group, riders were getting dropped each lap. By the final lap there left 3 of us to fight it out for the sprint which won by a comfortable margin! It was a great feeling to get my first win of the year and my first win since 2019!! Although not the biggest of races all the extra efforts I had to make during the race gave me a big confidence boost. This race was the confidence boost I needed and I carried the good form through to my next race "Le Nocturne De Niort." Off the back of my previous win all eyes were on me. However, I played this race to perfection and raced it as if I wasn't bothered about loosing. I played the waiting game and just as the main breakaway had been reeled in I made my race move. None of the other favourites were able to follow and i quickly gained a comfortable advantage on the chasers. From here I focused on nailing all the corners on the more technical corners of the 1km circuit. At the finish I won with a 1 minute advantage and insight of the rear end of the peloton! It was definitely a shock to the system racing a criterium again, the intensity in these races is something like no other race Finally I headed to GP Nieul-Les-Saintes for my final local race in my preparation for my upcoming UCi program. As favourite for the race I had to race with my head but it didn't start well. I found myself 1 minute behind the main peloton due to playing too much cat and mouse with the other riders who were marking me. After a long chase and finally some cohesion from the other riders we managed to get back up to the front. Once arriving into the front group I decided to instantly test the legs of the other riders and pressed on through a set of corners but was only followed by one other. Due to the strong winds the group looked to be suffering so we decided to press on. we were joined by one other rider 2 laps later and as a three we pressed on and the gap extended each time we passed the line of the 4km circuit.towards the back end of the race we lapped the peloton and that's when I made my move and went solo again arriving at the finish 30 seconds ahead of my other 2 breakaway companions to take my 3 third win in 7 days. Its fair to say winning never gets old! Off the back off all this racing I went directly to a training camp with my team (AG2R Citroen U19 Team.) We focused on getting some decent climbs in the legs and a bit of TT testing done. Other than the miserable weather the camp went well and the team is really like a family this year, we work great together and the ambience is great!! The camp was really good for me to get to know my form on a national level after my wins regionally and it looks like i am definitely on the right track ! As I am writing this Its just days before the start of a tough few weeks of racing, I have prepared as best I could now all I can do is hope that my best is enough and that I can pull of a result that I know I am capable of on an international stage! Below are the races i've got coming up in the next few weeks:
1st - 4th July XXVI Bizkaiko Itzulia (Spain) 11th July Menen - Kemel - Menen UCI (Belgium) 18th July HSBC UK Junior National Series rd3 (Bath, UK) Thank you to Pedal Potential for their continued support, Benjamin
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