Abingdon Crit, 19 Feb 2022

After having another good week of training this week, I was hoping for a better race than last weekend. The circuit I raced at, Dalton, was on an airfield and was very flat, so I thought my legs may do better this week.

I wiggled my way to the front on the start line, and my plan was to get a good start and get sheltered quickly before the first corner, where there was a massive headwind along the back straight. I did exactly that, my start was good and I managed to sit in the middle of the bunch and was sheltered going into the headwind. It was a pretty quick first lap but I knew that the wind would break up the bunch so I needed to just stay in for as long as I could. The second lap was still pretty quick, not as fast as the first, but I knew I needed to hold my position. There was an attack going into the headwind which was horrible but I managed to stick in and I could see people in the bunch struggling to lose the wheel in front of them, I was jumping on to the back of other riders’ wheels and overtaking. Things calmed down halfway down the back straight- thankfully!

The third lap again had a second attack in the headwind, and I did struggle to stay in the group, I wasn’t too far behind (roughly 30-40 metres) so on a less windy day I would be able to get on far more quickly, but with a strong headwind thanks to Storm Eunice, I wasn’t sure if I could get back on. By some miracle I managed to push through the wind solo, and get back on to the bunch. I knew I needed to get back to the middle of the bunch and get sheltered quick so I can recover quicker.

However on the fourth lap I didn’t take a good line on the corner that took you straight into the headwind, which resulted in me losing a wheel in front and having the wind straight at my face. This time I was unsuccessful in making it back to the group.

From here, I still had 40 minutes left, so I went solo and tried to catch up with people that may get dropped from the group. Lap after lap, I started to catch up with the odd rider here and there and I managed to ride past and get a gap in front of them that was never closed. I did this for the rest of the race, but with the wind picking up and the rain absolutely pouring down on the last 3 laps, I couldn’t quite catch two other riders in front of me.

I finished 14th, which I was happy with. My form is slowly coming back, as you could see with my lap times (they were fairly consistent).

Amy Harvey

Steve Cartmel