Saturday, I raced at Hoghill for the second week in a row, and I was convinced to do this race the day before. As I made some tactical errors the week before, my aim was to stick in the group and if anyone tries to make a break, I would follow the move.

I had a good start and was first into the corner. As we exited the corner, a rider went around me, so I quickly followed. We had a gap just before the descent,and I knew I needed to be careful that I don’t burn out too early in to the race. We regrouped on the bottom circuit and the pace was quite controlled. About 3 laps later we had a prime, and I knew that the bunch would most likely split up after the prime. I made sure I was positioned well for the prime so I would be in the right split. I was around 4th in the prime so nothing to shout about, but I did find myself in the front group. Unfortunately I was outclassed, and a rider from London Academy got away. I found myself in between the two riders in 2nd/3rd place and a small group of 6 behind.

The small group behind me did eventually catch me, and I did feel that the pace could have been a bit quicker . I decided to try something new in this race, which was learnt by a mistake I made last week. When we begun to climb, I decided to put the pressure on to test what the other riders were capable of at this point in the race. The group went from a group of 6 to a group of 3.

I repeated this for the following two laps on the climb, and I could see in the distance 2nd and 3rd place. Me and one other rider from our group tried going off the front from our group to attempt to bridge over, but unfortunately we didn’t. It was clear that we were not going to be able to bridge over and we were going to have a group battle for 4th. I decided to save my energy and be sure to be the first one to start sprinting from our group. We were given the 1 lap to go sign and my focus was having a good position for the finish. Unfortunately as we got to the bottom circuit I had a front wheel puncture, at the worse timing possible. I just about managed to stay up right and dismount from my bike. I then had to walk to the other side of the ‘bottom circuit’ to get to the hill, where I had to walk back up the climb and finish the race on foot.

I walked over the line in 11th place. Although I was frustrated to have had a puncture during the most important part of the race, I was able to take some positives away. It felt girl to be able to try something new after making a tactical error the week prior, and it somewhat worked by reducing the bunch. Plus, I still had a good race nonetheless, and I felt better on the climb this race too.

Tuesday was my first midweek race of the year (that’s how you know it’s almost summer!) and it was at Hillingdon. The race was only 30 minutes (due to the evening lighting) and unfortunately I’m not the best at shorter races. Plus, it’s been a few years since I’ve done a race that short. I knew that as the race was only short, and is on a fast flowing course, it would be a quick race. My plan was to stick in and follow the right wheels and hopefully get a decent result in the bunch sprint.

I managed to have a good start, and managed to get into a good position in the bunch. As we approached the small “climb”, my gears annoyingly begun to jump as I was switching gears. I unfortunately lost a lot of momentum as I quickly tried to get back into the correct gear to build up my speed again. At this point the bunch begun to get away, so I started to chase. However I couldn’t get back on because of the wind and the group was going too quick for me to be able to chase on my own.

Luckily, I caught up with a lone rider in the distance, and we begun to work together - almost a 2-up TT. We continued to work together well throughout the race, keeping the pace high and taking equal turns. Eventually the pace did ease up because of the stronger winds and just general fatigue. I knew that at the finish, I needed to be first to start sprint to beat the other rider.

When we got our final lap, it felt like we were playing cat and mouse, and annoyingly I found myself at the front- not ideal. As we approached the final straight, I was observing the other rider to see if she will make a move and catch me off guard. I started the sprint with about 300 metres to go. I managed to get a comfortable gap and finish ahead of the rider.

Another race which didn’t go exactly how I planned it, and a couple of days after this race I have unfortunately come down with some illness which also explains why I couldn’t catch back on to the group, on top of a slight mechanical issue. Hopefully all the bad luck has finished! It was also another race I enjoyed, especially working with the other rider so I weren’t in no man’s land. Plus, it’s another race under the belt! :)

Amy Harvey

Hoghill Crit, 20 Apr 2024 & Hillingdon Crit, 23 Apr 2024

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