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This month has been one of big races, I had the first round of the British XC series and another UCI Junior Series Round in Germany. On top of this, I had the first couple of my Higher exams.  

After the last-minute cancellation of the first round of the British XC series at Cannock Chase, the first round became Kirroughtree a few weeks later. The race weekend consists of the intense 20min Short Track (XCC) on the Saturday morning then the longer cross-country race (XCO) on the Sunday afternoon.

I was gridded 2nd last for the XCC and then on top of that I missed my pedal at the start resulting in me being last off the start. The course was good, but with quite a lot of singletrack making it hard to overtake after my poor start. After a few laps of hard racing, I finally caught up to the group with the lead junior riders. I then sat on for the last lap before trying to overtake on the final straight however I was blocked by the riders ahead trying to do the same. In the end I finished 7th overall and 4th in the junior male category.  

The course for the XCO was excellent with a wide variety of features and terrain. Some of the major features included a KOM segment climb, the rock features and natural rooty technical descents. I got a great start getting the hole shot and then sitting in second for the first half lap.  I then took the lead into the top single-track section where I got a gap off the front. I then lead for a lap and a half trying to stay away until I was finally caught. I battled to stay with the other rider, but he got away on the hill. I then did my best to chase for the remaining laps but in the end, I had to settle for second place.  

Next, I was abroad for a UCI Junior Series in Heubach, Germany. The course was super hard with both climbs being super steep and some super fun descents with some big drops and wicked jumps. I felt a bit unwell that morning which effected my warmup and made the start of the race super hard. I was gridded 52nd but after getting held up at the start I dropped back a bit. I managed to catch up a few places by running part waiting riders at the top of the long start lap climb into the first descent. I then began my chase trying to move up as far as possible. Near the end of the third lap my chain came off causing me to lose some places but did end up catching a few back up. In the end I finished 33rd, not quite the UCI points scoring top 25 I was hoping for, but I learnt a huge amount and really enjoyed the trip. 

In total this month has been incredible, and I learnt so much from these races. Unfortunately, I miss the British second round due to my examinations, but I cannot wait for round 3 and my next UCI series race at the famous Nové Město na Moravě course in Czechia. 

I am also greatly honoured to receive Braveheart Cycling Fund support in honour of Rab Wardell. I benefitted from Rab’s friendly and excellent coaching at several summer camps, and he was an insightful and inspirational mentor for the Scotia Offroad Race Team riders before his untimely passing. I hope I can do him proud. #ridelikerab 

I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who supports myself (including Scottish Cycling, Pedal Potential, Braveheart, RideForCharlie) and the SORT team (Auxilium IT Consultancy, Bicycle Works and Riders Retreat).