Finsbury Park CC Road Race, 16 Apr 2023

Finsbury CC road race - Fast. Punchy. A heck of a lot of fun. 

Building off of the early season crits, I decided that it was time to enter my first road race, and this one seemed to be the right race for me! Going into the race I had two clear goals: one, to experience the race environment and absorb everything that was going on, and 2, hold on to the lead pack. Having no previous road racing experience I didn’t want to commit to ‘specific’ goals as in all honesty I had no idea what to expect of a road race!

The race followed a 5km roll out and an undulating 12km route (repeating 6 times) through the Cambridgeshire countryside. After the neutralised roll out the first few laps hit a relatively high intensity, which I was expecting, and I channeled my Zwift racing experience to stick with the pace until it eased. I managed to hold a good position keeping toward the front of the race group and react to any punches off the front.

On the third lap I managed to make a small breakaway group with around five other riders. However, we were caught relatively quickly. On the fourth and fifth lap a teammate of mine managed to make a break with another lady from the Hutchinson-Brother team (our ‘sister’ team), and I was able to work with the other Hutchinson-Brother ladies to control the front of the chase pack to create a strong lead for our team mates. Within the lead pack I still held a good position and I was able to ‘sit up’ and enjoy a slightly more relaxed pace!

The race concluded with a sprint finish between the 15 women who remained in the lead pack up the start/finish climb. I crossed the line in 12th, which I am unbelievably proud of, however, my sprint does need a heck of a lot of work!

Throughout the race I was able to draw on the VO2max sessions that I’ve been prioritising. I believe that these sessions have really helped me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and give me the confidence to control my efforts and respond to the race surrounding me. 

As always, I will be continuing to practice my sprint, and hopefully I’ll be able to pull off a sprint finish one day!

Anna Brearley