Hoghill Crit, 27 Jul 2023

Thursday evening I again made the last minute decision to race the Hoghill circuit race. Just like last time, only two of us showed up so a bit disappointing to see such a small field, however I knew that we would be combined with the men’s race (our results being separated) so this was going to be a good ‘race training’ type of ride. My plan was pretty much the same as the last time I raced here, stick with the men for as long as possible to get a gap ahead of the other lady and if I get dropped (which I did) then I need to keep the gap.

Warming up on the rollers, my legs felt good, which gave me a bit of a confidence boost. But, I still didn’t put any pressure on myself and just focused on seeing if I can improve on my ride since the last the time I raced here. I had a good start, was in the top 5 going into the first corner (although I did take a dodgy line so I probably chopped up a rider or two!). It was then full gas to the descent, where of course a couple of the men overtook me. The first time up the climb I felt good and even found myself pushing a harder gear than usual- probably not the smartest thing to do on this course though. Second lap was even better, on the climb I managed to make up quite a few places and get up the climb quicker than some of the men- that’s a first! Third lap in I just hung on to the back of the men’s lead group; the pace was crazy at this point. By the fourth lap, so about 15 minutes into the race, I could no longer keep up with the men so I knew the rest of the race was going to be a solo TT. I was glad to have seen an improvement already compared to the last race, I survived a quarter of the race keeping up with the men’s lead group! Going up the climb my dad shouted to me the time gap, I was 1 minute and 15 seconds ahead of the other lady. This was a little relieving to hear as I had a decent gap early into the race, however being able to keep it is a different thing. The headwind on the climb was getting stronger as the race went on, but I was still feeling good.

I continued to do my ‘solo TT’ and I eventually lapped the other lady with about 15 minutes to go. This again was relieving as I had a comfortable win bagged up. But I decided to keep pushing and see if I could extend the gap further. Firstly the other lady sat on my wheel and then went in front of me and drove up the pace. I didn’t mind this as such as it meant I had some company while having a lap advantage. I knew that if she stayed with me then she would probably out-sprint me at the end.

But, when we got to the climb I made sure to be at the front and kept the pressure on. Over the top of the climb I noticed the other lady was no longer in sight (and out of mind) and I made sure for these last 4 laps to keep my head down and resume my solo TT. Everything then went a bit confusing. I was shown the 2 laps to go sign but the following time up the climb I had no bell. The comms had the finish flag behind his back. As I crossed the line I could noticed the men finishing their race and as I looked behind, the comms waving the finish flag. At this point I had no idea if I finished or had 1 lap to go. I assumed I was finished as I was caught by the men by the line (turns out I did finish on the right lap so that was reassuring).

Despite the little bit of confusion at the end, I thoroughly enjoyed that race. My legs felt really good and I could see the improvements I had made since the last time I raced there. I even had a couple of men praise me for my ride which was a first. This was good practice for my next race on Sunday at Naseby for the next round of the women’s team cup race.

Amy Harvey