So…. The morning of the 12th of March 2022 I woke up around 7 am and began packing all of my equipment into the car for my first race of the season at Darley Moor womens cat 2/3/4. The day before I made sure that my bike was super clean and that all my kit was packed into my bag. Unsure of how the weather was going to act as it’s very unpredictable their, I decided to pack for all types of weather which included a raincoat, leg warmers, arm warmers, gillet, skin suit, shorts, jersey and a pair of overshoes. Once everything was packed into the car we were on our way to the course. I know this course particularly well from the age of 11 I’d been competing their up until now meaning I knew where my strengths were on the circuit. There are 2 hairpins and a slightly uphill straight to the finish. The circuit isn’t complicated and it’s pretty much flat making it hard to get a break and maintain one. Once we arrived at the circuit I got ready and decided I was racing in a skin suit with long sleeves which turned out to be perfect ! Once I’d warmed up and gotten my gears checked it was time to race at 10 am.
The race was pretty short at 45 minutes so I knew riders were going to try and get away from the get go. From a previous month and a half of illness and no training the week before I knew I wasnt on top form so I decided to sit in and see how I felt at the start of the race. I was extremely happy and surprised with how comfortable I felt considering I had so much time of the bike. I always made sure I was positioned towards the front of the bunch to ensure I was onto any of the attacks that looked like they could get away. Later into the race I tried a few times to break away and bridge to other breaks with a few other riders, but none of them managed to stick. With about 2 laps to go I knew it was going to be down to a bunch sprint. From then on I sat in and positioned myself towards the front of the final lap. Before the long slightly uphill straight there is a hairpin so to be in a chance with the sprint you always need to be at the front of the bunch. I found myself towards the front and I was constantly gaining in the sprint. In the end I secured a top 10 result which I’m very happy with considering the past month.
I also got to race with 2 of my team mates Jacqui Kinsey and Charlotte Gibson! Coming up next for me is the British team cup and some racing abroad at the Omloop van Borselle!
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