Hi everyone,
Since my last blog, my racing has been a bit up and down.
After my good form in early April, where I finished in the
winning break in the Tour Doonhame and came 11th overall, it’s been
a difficult couple of months.
I had a chest infection in April, followed by my annual May
allergies so I have struggled to gain the results I was hoping for in the big
races during this time. It was quite frustrating as this was the main part of
the British season when many of the top races are on.
This had a major effect on my performance at races I wanted
to do really well in like Tour of the Reservoir, Lincoln GP and the Scottish
Champs. Whenever I went on the attack or made a big effort it took me too long
to recover and I would either get dropped or miss the key moves, therefore I
had to ride accordingly, do my best and get on with it.
I have recently undergone tests and help from the Scottish
Sports Institute which should help me get through my bad patches in the long
run.
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| Lincoln GP where I finished 30th |
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| On the Michaelgate cobbled climb |
Tour Series
Over the last 5 weeks my team and I have been competing in
the Halfords Tour Series. Its TV coverage is brilliant for the team’s sponsors.
While it is not a target for me, it is great speed training if you can hang on
and it’s good for the close bar to bar racing skills!
I was involved in some crashes in the first two races, but I
feel I improved and got faster in my more recent ones as I was able to keep up
with main group to the end.
Considering we aren’t experienced Crit riders at that level and
many of the team work full time as well, the team have done well and we all
learned a lot from the series.
 |
| An early round of the Tour Series Crits - with a few wounds! |
June and
Onwards
I am starting to feel much better now that June has arrived.
I recently won the Anderside Classic which was a good boost for my morale and
shows my strength and fitness are going in the right direction.
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| Anderside Classic break ( Pic by granitecityrt) |
 |
| The finish on Eaglesham Moor (Pic by granitecityrt) |
I am looking forward to the end of June, as I am gearing up
for last few important races of the British season, which includes the British
Championships. Last year, I kept in contention for the U23 title until the
100mile mark of the 120 where my legs blew, but this year I am a lot stronger
for it.
A week after that I will be racing the Beaumont GP and then
the new Premier Stockton GP on July 8th. As that marks the end of
the British season, I will be heading over to compete in the Basque Country for
the rest of the road season.
I was there for a couple of weeks last summer and I enjoyed the
tough hilly racing in the Elite and U23 races. My best result last year was 10th
in an Elite race. I am staying for longer this time and I am confident
I can beat that. Teams like Caja Rural and feeder teams to Team Euskaltel race
in them as well, so I am looking forward to competing against them again.
Hopefully the weather there will be more Spain-like for this year!
Thanks for reading
Robbie
Good Report on Anderside Classic here: http://www.vcastar.co.uk/?page_id=241
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