Wyre Forest Challenge Road Race, 9 May 2021

I raced the Wyre Forest Challenge road race at the weekend - one of the test events British Cycling have been putting on to try out a return to larger fields and longer races. It was a rolling course and the distance was 87km. The neutralized start was not so neutral and was incredibly surgy, this was the theme for the whole race.

I spent the 2 hours and 9 mins we were racing for in the bunch, picking off places throughout the race. I was forced off-road into the gutter which was pretty scary at 50kmh but bunny hopped back on. After that I kept further out to the right. I also got caught up behind a massive crash so had to put a monster effort in to get back on which i just about managed. I thought my race was over at this point, but sat in and tried to recover the best I could.

On to the last lap. Now to think about positioning, the right side was faster but more risky with oncoming traffic and less wheels to sit on. The last part got hectic and I got myself on a good leadout train. I had good legs and dug deep, cutting quickly up the inside. Unfortunately i had to stop pedalling as a line of riders blocked the left. In terms of lessons for next time, the route I take when sprinting is really important, I should have gone to the right and maybe would have had clear road, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I believe 2 guys were up the road so this puts me in 10th place which I am very happy with, given it was the first longer race, and the first road race this year.

Ollie Maynard

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