Regional Championships Road Race, 1 June 2025

This weekend we headed over to Derbyshire for the Regional Champs. I went into it with mixed feelings - the course didn’t necessarily suit me with a fairly long climb each lap, but my club (University of Nottingham CC) was hosting so it felt like a good opportunity to do well.

I’d been struggling with my legs during the week, but was happy to realise during my warm up that they actually felt okay!

The climb to the finish would come quickly after the roll out, so I knew I needed to be near the front from the off. I positioned myself at the front for the neutral, and was sitting third wheel going into the climb. As we got onto the first of the 9% gradient ramps, I felt good, following my teammate and trying to conserve energy as we went through the finish for the first time. We rounded the corner at the top of the climb and began the sweeping descent back down. I was mid pack at this point and quite happy following wheels and trying to be confident down the fast descent.

Annoyingly I hit a manhole cover on the descent, and my front wheel went spongy, and then incredibly flat. I changed my wheel out for my spare, but unfortunately by the time I got moving again the bunch was long gone on the fastest section of the course.

I solo’d for a lap behind one of the team cars, hoping to see the convoy ahead, but the gap was just too big. I waited for a few riders that had been dropped before my puncture, and we worked together for the remaining 4 laps before we got pulled on the line.

Not the outcome I wanted, but in the short time I was in the bunch I managed a few of my goals, putting myself into the right places, and it was good to have good sensations in the legs.

Tilly Gurney