It has certainly been a hectic year. Chaotic at times. But a lot of fun. Before I review the year I would like to thank all my sponsors and supporters for their time, effort, money and motivation. It means all the following highlights of the year happened and I am truly grateful. So thank you!
January:
I started the year as a Cat 2 rider, straight in from Youth, This meant that my year could kick off with some circuit racing at the Olympic Velopark and at Hog Hill, Redbridge. My first win of the season came in my first race, a 2/3 at Lee Valley VeloPark. Bridging across to the breakaway, I managed to beat ex- Lee Valley rider Alfie Salmon by less than a tyre width in a two up sprint. Not a bad way to start the New Year
A couple of weeks later it was time for Senior National Track Champs. My first time racing with some of the best riders in the country. I was racing against guys with Olympic and World medals. My goals were to qualify for the finals in the Scratch and Points, and post the best Kilo time I could. I made it to the Points final, but a pedal through my wheel stopped my chances in the Scratch, and unfavourable conditions on the track meant I could only do a 1:08 Kilo. This aside, I was pleased to have made it to a National Final. I gave it my all, but sadly I wasn’t quick enough yet. An amazing experience and I had to learn to sign autographs!
February:
I only did one race in February, as I spent a week in Mallorca on a team training camp, and had a big training block. However, the race was a Kermesse in Belgium, Vlamertinge to be precise. On reflection I didn’t race it in the most tactical way, as I wanted to test my legs against some of Belgium’s best after my week away. I attacked on the first lap, and was solo until the last two laps, where I was caught by a group of eight. We worked well together for the remaining couple of laps, before we started racing, and I crossed the line third. Not a bad way to test the legs.
March:
March started with a double header of Kermesses in Lierde and De Klijte, before the racing got crazy. In Mid-March was the Guido Reybrouck Classic, a race previously won by Remco Evenepoel, Jasper Philipsen and Dylan Groenewegen amongst others. The first stage was a windy and technical Time Trial, about 11 km in length, I finished 48th, and Top 20 in the first years category. The second stage was 123km with about 10 cobbled secteurs. The race was going very well, and I even managed to get off the front on a couple of the secteurs, before being swallowed up by the bunch again, until with 500m to go I had an issue with my bike, meaning I crossed the line on foot, not far behind the peleton.
The weekend after was the Cicle Classic. England’s answer to the Belgian Cobbles: muddy farm tracks. I got away on the first secteur, and staying out long enough to claim the KOM jersey, before crashing out after I’d been caught by the bunch.
March was a busy month, but also an enjoyable one.
April:
April was nowhere near as busy as March. I only raced twice. The first was a local race: The Ike Saul RR, where I came second in front of a home crowd. The second was the Ster Van Zuid Limburg UCI stage race. A 4-day race based near Maastricht, on the far side of Belgium. I made it round the first three days and was sat in the top half of GC. However, the fourth day was one of the hardest I’ve had on a bike. It had it all. Hills. Wind. Splits. Echelons. It was a baptism by fire. Eventually, the group I was in (which was the third group on the road) got pulled by the commissaires. And that was that. Four days of hard racing to be pulled and not get a result. Disappointed but I didn’t just feel that one in the legs.
May:
In May I set a couple of firsts. I did my first 25-mile TT, which was surprisingly enjoyable. I came third, in a time of 57:20. I also was able to race against a hero of mine, Alex Dowsett. Top man! I also got my first National Series Top 10, with 9th at the Yorkshire Classic. It was even more surprising, as there was 1,850m of climbing, and I’m not exactly the lightest guy in the peloton. I made a move with a few laps to go, and luckily some class riders came with me. We worked well as a group, catching the front of the race, before riding more or less as a group until the last lap, where the race was blown apart. I dug in and finished 9th, which I was delighted about.
June:
Not long after my first National Top 10, I got another. Namely, 4th at the Hatherleigh RR in Devon. It was a very uneventful race, except from the three-man winning break getting five minutes on the bunch. I won the bunch gallop, one of the first times I’d done that.
I also competed in the Herne Hill Team Champs, riding for Ward Wheels/Welwyn TL. We ended up very pleased in second place. Thanks John, Tom, and Sid!
July:
I started July off with the Acht Van Bladel UCI. Four stages of the flattest roads I have ever raced. Not even 100m, over the four stages. It was amazing, but incredibly quick. We averaged over 42km/h in total (26mph). I tried to get stuck in on the cobbles, and found that I could move up at the start of a lot of the sections, as everyone tried to ride the gutter, but putting down a bit more power and bombing down the crown of the road seemed to work for me. In the end I finished top 10 in the sprint competition, but not as high in GC as I would’ve liked, mostly due to crashes.
The weekend after I was back racing on the track, as it was the Brixton Supermadison. I was riding with James Ambrose-Parish, so we were pretty confident. To cut a long story short, we won every race except one, which we came second in, making it a rather successful day out.
This was a good warm up for my next race, the Bath Road Club National, which rather confusingly was nowhere near Bath. This was where I wanted to get my first National Series Podium, and go one better than last time. My plan was to conserve energy until the last 20km, where I would just race as hard as I could. As all of you know, these type of plans never usually work. However, they’re even less likely to work when, with 100km to go, I got bored and decided I wanted to bridge across to the three-man breakaway. Five minutes later, it was a six-man breakaway containing yours truly. Not long after, another four riders joined us, and three got dropped, leaving seven for the last 80km. Luckily, it was seven of the strongest riders in the race, and we all worked well together, so that by the finish we had seven minutes on the chasers, and ten minutes on the peloton.
With about 2km to go, we all started looking at each other, weighing up who had the legs to win. The guys who were the fastest on paper were sat at the back of the break, looking at each other. The others were all sat in front of them, looking back at them. And I was riding off the front while no-one was looking. One bike length. Two. Five. Ten. Twenty. And then they looked round. But it was too late. Being one of the biggest (and heaviest) riders in the bunch sometimes has its advantages. Especially when between you and the finish is a downhill, then a flat bit, then a short steep kick up to the finish. With a tailwind. And that was that. My first National Series win. I was over the moon.
To say July was packed is an understatement. On the next Thursday and Friday, I was back at Herne Hill, this time for the UCI South London Grand Prix. There were some pretty big names there, Will Perrett, Rhys Britton, Alec Briggs, just to name a few. Safe to say I just had to give it my all. Which I did. Sadly I didn’t come away with any medals, but the experience of racing some of the best in the country, with 600 people shouting and cheering, is pretty special. And it was a good warm up for my next race.
The Junior National Track Championships. A week away in sunny Newport. Where I would be spending most of my time indoors, either racing, watching, or resting. My first race was the scratch. I was nervous, but excited, and felt ready. It was full gas from the start, not unlike the previous week’s racing. Ben Marsh took a lap early on, which doesn’t often happen in scratch racing, meaning its quite a good tactic. Later on in the race, with about eight laps to go, I felt it was my turn. If I got round, brilliant, if I got stuck out in no man’s land, that’s not the worst. If I got chewed up and spat out, at least I tried. It was very nearly the latter, but I just managed to hang on for a silver medal, equalling my previous best National result. It’s safe to say I slept well that night. The next day was the IP, an event I’d only done three times. An easy PB then. I did the 3km in 3:26, leaving me in 9th place, less than 0.1 of a second off qualifying for the finals. It was hard to be so close, still a PB though. And then that lead to the final day, where I got taken out in the warm-up… Battered and bruised, I completed my Kilo in a time of 1:07, three seconds off the time I wanted. I had to go back up for the points race in the afternoon, but my body was stiff, and my head wasn’t in it, meaning I didn’t make it round. At least I got a medal to take home.
August:
I started my August by being dropped. I was racing in the Ardennes hills, at the Aubel-Thimister-Stavelot Classic. Three days of climbing, with very short descents, before suffering up the other side. Just what a guy with my build needed. I spent most of the first day hanging onto the back. And the same for the start of the next day. Until my Di2 ran out. I made it to the first feed zone before the comms car pulled me. I was disappointed, but not surprised. I was tired from a long season, bruised after my crash, and not suited to the parcours.
I finished my August with the five day Junior Tour of Wales. The most notable result for me was 20th on the crit stage, the most memorable moment being the ice cream I had at the end of the last stage atop the summit finish, The Tumble. I had spent the day in the early break, before rolling in 20 minutes after the winners. At least I’d finished.
September:
September marked the start of Year 13, and the wind down to the season. After a weekend of puncture-riddled kermesses, it was time for off-season. A nice week away in Wales, completing my Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition. Walking 15-20km each day, with a 25 Kilo backpack, with everything I needed to survive for the next week. And I loved every minute of it. Yes it was tough at times, but I found the hardest part was sitting in school the next week, trying to focus on my work, while my mind wandered back to the beautiful views, the incredible wildlife, and the simplicity of it all. Just what I needed after a long and tiring season.
October:
October was steady away. I raced once, a local Track League, with my best result being a third place. I slowly got back to training, preparing myself for the next season. And we had a little family holiday in Dorset. The bikes came with, and I kept training up until I fell off and mangled my gears, and that was the end of that.
November:
I got a few track meets in during November, a couple of thirds here and there, but nothing ground-breaking. I had an amazing time at Rouleur live, where thanks to my sister I got to work on the event and hang out with some really cool guys and look at some stunning bikes. I also did my first coporate event for GOSH, this was fun, it was nice to be doing something that supported such a great charity and the dinner was to die for! I also returned to Cyclo-cross for our annual Club CX race. I managed to get into the first corner, first but after that it was a bit backwards. But fun all the same!
December:
In the run up to Christmas I was in Manchester for a GB camp, three-and-a-half days of Team Pursuit, and half a day of Madison, where we got to test ourselves against the Podium squad. It was a great experience, and good to learn off them about how to become a World-Class bike racer. Myself and my partner even gained a lap in one of the races, meaning we came second! So a nice way to round off the year.
And that was my 2023. Thank you for all your support, it means I can keep this crazy dream rolling onwards and upwards. Happy New Year to you all, and expect big things in 2024!
Gilbank Racing 