On the following weekend, the 8th of March, was round one of the Junior National Road Race Series in Hatherleigh. The course really suited me, with its undulating terrain and punchy climbs. The sensations were much better this week, which I put down to a longer activation ride the day before—something my coach and I have been experimenting with. The break went early and didn’t include any particularly notable riders, so I sat back expecting it to be brought back. Spoiler alert—it wasn’t. I did what I could to help organise a chase, but with little cooperation from others and no teammates in the race, we weren’t able to bring it back in the end.
My final race of the month was the CiCLE Classic up in Melton Mowbray. I definitely had some unfinished business there after turning the wrong way last year with just 1km to go! I felt super strong again on the day, and my positioning was near perfect, making sure I stayed in the top 10–15 wheels at all times and was where I needed to be for the crucial sectors.
It was a hard race, just as expected, and the main split came at around 50km, leaving a front group of around 30 riders. Coming into the final kilometre, I’d taken the penultimate corners on the front and was in prime position for the sprint. Carrying so much speed through the corners and being able to take our own lines meant that me and four other riders opened up a small gap to the rest of the group. Unfortunately, in the final sprint I was taken down and hit the barriers hard.
I was absolutely gutted to come so close to the win, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes. More than anything, it’s filled me with confidence knowing I can get to that point in such a hard race and still feel strong at the end.
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