GO GOLD Athletes

Unfortunately this season has not gone as well as I hoped. After my good performance at the CiCle Classic in March I have been off form and struggling. At the end of April I was unwell for 3 weeks and I have decided to take a break from racing for a few weeks so I can get some consistent training completed and find my legs again. National Championships are 7 weeks away which is enough time to get my head down and find some fitness.

Last weekend I raced the Cicle classic. This race is known for being the hardest race on the calendar due to its unrelenting terrain and off road sectors. I was surprised by my performance as I made it to the finish in 44th. Out of the 120 women who started 1/3 finish as the race is so hard. I am proud to have finished and this is a good sign for the season.

More Information: onform-racing.co.uk

Over the winter I have been competing in the British Cycling National Trophy series. In the last round I got my best ever result finishing 4th Elite and 3rd U23 after a very slow start. I worked my way through the field and I didn't realise I was racing for a podium. This good finish to the series meant I secured 4th in the Elite series standings and 3rd in the U23 series standings. It was a great way to finish the series and I'm glad that all my hard work has payed off.

This year I have had a really good start to my cyclocross season. I started with a win in the Scottish Cyclocross series before the British Nationals began. I had my best ever result with 4th Elite and U23 in round 2 of the National Trophy Series, which I then backed up with 3rd U23 and 6th Elite in round 3. I am currently sitting in 3rd place for the overall U23 and Elite standings at the halfway point in the season. I have been very happy with my start to the season and I am improving in each race, I am looking forward to finishing strong.

I recently raced the Midlands XC Midlands Championship where I won the Elite Women's category! It was a very tough race with a long 9km course. After the first lap I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain the pace I was going for 4 laps, I had a big gap so I settled down into an easier pace. During the race I was told I was going to race for 1 less lap than planned, which was annoying as I had paced for a longer race. It didn't affect my result but I would've raced differently. On the podium I won a cool log as a trophy which had previously been won by some very good cyclists.

I raced the National road Junior and U23 series in Witham. On first look of the course I didn't think it would have suited me with lots of short punchy climbs. During the race I found I was moving up on the climbs rather than backwards like normal. 3 riders got away and I rolled in with the bunch finishing 9th U23. Next time I will have the confidence in my current form to attack and make a move to improve my result.

This season I have moved up into the Elite category for the MTB season. II wasn't sure what to expect moving into such a tough category but I was chuffed to come away with a 6th place at round 1 of the British MTB series. Round 2 was a weekend later, and the competition was much tougher with our ex-Olympic MTBers coming back from the first world cup. I was super happy to bring home a 7th place after a rubbish start. 2 top 10 results in my first races as an Elite is a good sign for the season to come!

After a long 8 weeks of pre season training I did my first race of the summer season. I raced locally at a small circuit race to blow off the cobwebs. I was very happy with how my legs were feeling and how strong I felt. I spent half the race in the winning break and enjoyed pushing myself. I finished 7th and I am feeling good for the first big race of the season.

This was my first National Championship in the Elite category. I started much better than I normally do and I was well within the top 10. As it was the championship there were lots of people were watching which gave it an amazing atmosphere and it was pretty cool to be racing for a top 10 with a huge crowd. After a long and tiring race I finished in 12th and 7th U23. To top it off I won the team competition with my teammates so it was good to have a trip to the podium. Knowing we could win the competition we all rode our hardest and I was proud to be in the winning team. For my first elite championship I was happy with how I performed but next time I would like to finish in the top 10.

Over Christmas I travelled to Belgium to race the Kerste Periode (lots of racing in a short space of time). My first race was Heusden-Zolder where there were 116 other women on the start line. I moved up the entire race after starting on the last row to finish 68th. My next race was Loenhout with 100 women on the start line. This was a race of 2 halves where one was lots of running and the other half was fast and dry. I finished 60th. My final race was on New Years Day where I finished 37th my best result of this time out in Belgium. I loved the experience and it was cool to be racing the best from the world.

The day after I raced in Belgium, I was back in the UK racing the East Midlands Championships in Derby. As we stood on the start line the snow started to fall coating the course in a layer of snow. The snow did not stop for the entire race which made for an unique race. I started off slowly but moved up into second racing for 1st place. With 3 laps to go I got a gap and dug in to make it stick. I lasted to the finish winning the championships! This win was made incredible by the snow and it being my first ever senior win. I had an amazing 2 days of racing in Belgium and the UK, it was awesome become Champion of the East Midlands.

I travelled out with my team for Kortrijk Urban Cross in Belgium. The course was like no other with it being in the city centre. I started badly but quickly moved up into the top 30. After a few laps I was comfortably in 26th place. I made it onto the last lap but I had a rear puncture. I finished the race in 27th Elite and 5th U23 - my best finish over in Belgium.

4 weeks after recovering from COVID I was back on the National start line racing up in Sunderland. My start was not the best and I spent the first lap chasing onto the leading group of 12. Once I made it I raced in the group and ended up racing for 8th place. I was super happy to finish 10th. 10th place means I receive valuable UCI points to improve my gridding. I am really glad I could race for a top 10 so soon after COVID.

This Cyclocross season I have moved teams to Montezuma's Race Team.

I started the season with 7th elite at the first round of the National series in Derby. The week after I travelled to Belgium and the Netherlands for my first taste of international racing this season. It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to get back out there to improve on my results. I then had a disappointing race at the 2nd round of the National Series finishing 17th. I was hit with more disappointing picking up COVID, I am recovering well and back racing!

This weekend I raced in Wales. I started well and I was sitting in 5th before the end of the first lap my chain got jammed. I had to stop and free it losing 1 and a half minutes and 2 places in the process. I rode hard to regain the 2 places I lost with a mechanical. This race was one of the best performances I have done - I was able to keep pushing all the way to the end and I kept moving forwards rather than backwards. I ended up finishing 5th place in the Juniors and 10th overall after catching most of the Elite riders who started ahead of me. I was extremely happy with my result with a stronger field than in Cornwall.

For the first time since 2019 I was on the start line for a MTB down on the Cornish Coast. My race was pretty good for the first race back, but I still have work to do to reach my goals for this season. I started badly and I had lots of work to do before the first downhill which came quickly on this course. I spent the first half of the lap loving up to the group racing for 3^rd, as the race progressed the group split apart, and I was sitting in 5^th. I went too hard in the early laps leaving me empty for the final lap the rider behind me caught me and I could not stick with her pace. I finished in 6^th place feeling broken – everything hurt due to the brutal course.

Over the last 6 weeks I have been sitting exams for my A levels while still trying to keep up with my training. Now that my exams are over I can up my training and start entering more races. Next up on the calendar is the first MTB National in Cornwall followed by the first road national in Yorkshire.

Last Saturday I raced my first road race since before the first lockdown. During the race I was aggressive and attacked as well as chasing down other attacks. I managed to jump across to a lone breakaway rider and got into a breakaway for half a lap, unfortunately we got bought back to the group but it was fun to get into a break. I was really well positioned going into the final corner, however I got swamped on the chicane just before the finish. I sprinted to 6th place and 3rd Junior with room for improvement. I am confident that I can improve on my result in the next race in a couple of weeks. This race gave me confidence in my ability and was a great start to the season!

I'm excited to say I got selected to represent Great Britain at the World Cup in Belgium. Unfortunately due to COVID my race got cancelled so I wasn't able to travel and race. I'm gutted it got cancelled but I'm really happy I got selected and I'm excited for the next opportunity!

This weekend I raced a small local league race where I came 2nd overall and won my category! Due to COVID the race was 10minutes shorter than normal so I focused on attacking out the corners and I rode really hard. I haven't had much racing this year so it was amazing to be back on the start line. The course really suited my style of riding so I am really happy with the win!