July Recap

This month was filled with two major events: the British Cross-Country Championships at Woodies Bike Park in Cornwall and the European Cross-Country Championships in Melgaço, Portugal. 

The British Champs featured two races, the XCC Champs on Friday and the XCO Champs on Sunday. 

The XCC course was fast, with flowy descents into short, punchy climbs and very little chance to recover. I was second gridded Junior, but since we started alongside the Elites, I was effectively on the third row. I had a strong start, overtaking some Elites on the start loop and positioning myself just behind what I expected to be the lead Elite group, also making me the leading Junior. The Elites set a fierce pace, and I had to dig deep to stay with them, but this pulled me away from any chasing Juniors and gave me an early lead. I worked hard to hang on, but with a couple of laps to go I dropped off the back of the Elite group, just as I was caught by a chasing junior. I stayed at the front of our junior pair, recovering slightly until the final climb where I attacked to keep control into the sprint finish. The sprint was close, as I sat up a little early and had to kick again, but I still managed to take the win and claim the British Champs jersey. I’m absolutely delighted to win this jersey for the second year in a row as I really love the Short Track event. 

Saturday was spent learning the XCO course and getting the bike dialled in. The course was made up of one super steep singletrack climb and a steep fire road climb, both about three to four minutes long. Between them were two fast, flowy descents with a few rock gardens thrown in. It’s a super fun course but also incredibly hard with the amount of climbing. I was second gridded again, but this time we had a two-minute gap to the Elites, so our race wasn’t affected by theirs. I had a good start and moved into the lead before the first descent, where I set a steady pace to keep the race together. I held the front until the fire road climb where another Junior pushed the pace and broke up the group. We traded control of the front for the next few laps until the penultimate lap, when he attacked up the singletrack climb and got away. I found myself in a pair fighting for second. I stayed on the wheel for the remaining lap and a half before attacking near the top of the final climb to come in for second. It wasn’t the result I was aiming for, but I was beaten by a strong rider, and I know what mistakes I made and how to improve in the future. 

The next day I flew out to Portugal with the British Team for a packed week of racing. My European Champs campaign included four races over four days. XCC Qualifying on Wednesday, the XCC Champs on Thursday provided I qualified, the Team Relay on Friday, and the XCO on Saturday. 

The XCC course in Portugal was fast and dusty. It looped around the start arena, down a very loose descent and then up a short, punchy climb into the arena again. The qualifying race was half the length of the full XCC and incredibly intense. I was gridded third and had a good start but got shuffled back, sitting on the tail end of the lead group. I struggled to move up due to the high pace, extreme heat, and the dust reducing visibility. 

The next day I lined up 17th for the XCC Champs. I had a decent start, holding position on the back of the lead group and constantly fighting to move up. With a few laps to go I started to fade and slipped back, eventually finishing 29th. It was a frustrating result and not what I came for, but my legs just didn’t have it. 

The Team Relay is always a fun event since it’s one of the rare occasions we race as a team rather than against each other. Each team includes one rider from every age and gender category, with each rider completing a single lap. Our team was strong and had experience in this event, and after some discussion it was decided I would go third, following our two Elite riders. Our first rider got off to a brilliant start, immediately taking the lead and building a gap, but halfway through the lap a busted wheel ended our race. It was hugely frustrating, but that’s the nature of racing sometimes. 

The final race of the month was the European XCO Champs. The course was relentlessly technical with short, punchy climbs and dusty, rough descents. The only smooth sections were the start-finish area and the pits. I was gridded seventh and got off to a great start, moving straight to the front and sitting in third into the first singletrack. Unfortunately, on the third corner I got caught out by the dappled sunlight and dust, which made it hard to see a semi-hidden dip. I lost the front wheel, crashed, and dropped a lot of places. My shoe also came loose in the fall, and I had to stop to fix it, costing even more time. After that I refocused and pushed through the field, moving up to 30th by the end of the first lap and continuing to climb through the ranks. I eventually finished 21st. It was far from the result I was aiming for and very disappointing, but the crash was my own mistake. All I can do is learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

The Euros was a frustrating trip, but I’m focusing on what I can learn from it and how I can improve. A massive thank you to the British Cycling Team for all the incredible support throughout the week. 

This month has been tough with some disappointing results, but there are still loads of positives to take away and a lot to learn from. Huge thanks to the Scotia Offroad Race Team, Pedal Potential, and my parents for the continued support all season. Also, big kudos to my Wilier Urta Max SLR for getting me through all these races perfectly and to Schwalbe Tyres for the last-minute tyre hookup. 

Photo Credit To: @ciclismomaistv & @rodrigorodriguesphotography