May Recap

This month included some major European events as well as another round of the British Cross Country Series. 

The first race of the month was Round 3 of the British Cross Country Series at Glentress. I raced both the Short Track on Friday and the Cross Country on Sunday. The Short Track course was unusually long and featured mostly singletrack climbing and flowy descending. Frustratingly, I was gridded at the back again, so I knew it would be a tough race to work my way to the front. I had a strong start, moving into mid-pack by the end of the start straight. I kept pushing forward until two laps to go, when I found myself riding solo in fourth place, holding off the chasers in a battle to take 4th overall against a stacked elite field and finish 1st in the junior category. 

The Cross-Country course was tough, with a mix of singletrack and fire road climbs, a steep 45-second effort, and fast, flowy descents. I was gridded first and moved into the lead early. After some back and forth, I and another rider broke away on the second lap and stayed together until the final lap. I controlled the pace on the main climb, but Max attacked near the top. I held his wheel and won the sprint into the descent, where I pushed hard to open a gap. I carried that momentum into the final climb, extended my lead, and held it to the finish for the win. 

This win was especially meaningful to me, as Glentress is where I’ve raced for many years and developed as a rider. I also had the opportunity this month to help out at the Dirt Crits, where I started racing mountain bikes as an under 8, and to show the younger riders what is possible. The win really brought my racing journey at Glentress full circle. 

Next, I had a two-race block in Germany and Czechia with British Cycling. First was the Heubach Junior World Series, followed by the Nové Město Junior World Series at the Nové Město na Moravě World Cup. 

The Heubach course had some of the most climbing I have ever raced, with around 250 meters per lap. The descents were also challenging, and the course had almost no flat sections, making recovery very difficult. I was gridded on the front row and had a solid start, but I didn’t have the legs to stay with the front group over the climb on the start lap and dropped back into the mid twenties. I fought hard to move up and finished 17th. I was disappointed with the result, but I knew it was not a course that suited me and I was confident I could perform better at other events. 

Nové Město is one of my favourite courses thanks to its constant technical features, both climbing and descending. It includes many well known sections that really push both the riders and the bikes. I was gridded on the second row and had a pretty good start, staying near the front up the start lap climb.  

Unfortunately, I was taken out in a crash on the first descent, which dropped me back to around 60th and broke one of my shoes. I had to pit to replace it, which set me back further to about 80th. I started moving forward again, but stomach pain set in and limited my ability to breathe. I kept pushing, but I could not fuel properly due to the pain, and by lap four I completely ran out of energy. At the start of lap five, I decided to pull out. It was my first ever cross-country race that I could not finish, and it left me extremely disappointed. Still, there were a lot of lessons to take away from the event, and I am confident I can come back stronger from this result. 

Despite a strong start to the month, my European results did not meet my expectations. I am focusing on moving forward and I cannot wait to show what I am capable of in the upcoming races. 

Thank you so much to the British Cycling Cross Country Olympic Development Team, the Scotia Offroad Race Team, Pedal Potential, and, as always, my parents for all the support this month.