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The weekend gave me certainly extra motivation to put some extra miles in and in early February I convinced my parents to let me go on my first ever training camp to Mallorca where I was very lucky with the weather and got plenty of quality training in. On 15th February I flew back to the UK and the day after my father drove me to Belgium for my first Junior race – also organised by my club in a small place outside Tienen called Glabbeek where over 130 juniors took the start and I finished 5th.

One week later I raced in a place called Vollezele not far from Geraardsbergen where I missed a 10 man break and finished 11th.

As I have been chosen to be the Essex Talented Young Athlete of the year my school St Benedict’s College in Colchester gives me special dispensation to have time off from school to race in Belgium so long as I keep my studies up because this is my GSCE year and I cannot miss too many days so I travel back to England.

I rode the Crest Road Race in Ugley on an undulating circuit and I ended up in the winning break but unfortunately I punctured. When I had almost given up hope I got a wheel from a team mate that pulled out of the race but by that time I was nearly 5 minutes behind the break and over 2 minutes behind the bunch. I thought I must as well go as hard as I could for training and was amazed that a lap later at the bottom of the climb I had caught the bunch. I decided to go straight passed them. A bit later I had the break in sight but then the Commissaire drove next to me and told me to take another wheel from my father because has a junior am gear restricted and I must be overgeared because of the wheel swap. My father gave me another wheel but because of this I lost momentum and finished 19th.

A week later I started the Jock Wadley where after missing the break I ended in no-mansland for 3 laps. I decided to wait for 10 riders chasing me as I thought together we would have a better chance getting across but they didn’t want to work. The break rode further away and the bunch came back to us and I finished 22nd.

On the Saturday, via Dunton, Essex where I rode a 2/3/4 race and finished 2nd I travelled to Belgium to start in my first Belgium Cup event. Quite an experience with 30 teams of 5 riders each with their own team car, neutral services, motor bikes etc, a lot of wind, narrow road, rain and quite a few crashes. The legs felt quite good but I got stuck behind a big crash and ended up in the 3rd group. I managed to get across to the 2nd one but only finished 45th.

A week later I travelled to Borlo for a 5km prologue time trial on a completely closed circuit with the start of a ramp and the Team Manager Hugo shouting his orders over his load speaker and mechanic Tom Boonen hanging out of the car window (just like on the TV). Unfortunately Hugo’s English confused me somehow as when he wanted me to shift down he told me to shift up. I still came in 22nd out of 162 starters. By the afternoon the rain had stopped and under some mild sunshine we took the start of the 2nd stage for a big circuit of 71km and 5 circuits of 8km. Hugo had warned me that the break usually goes in the beginning so went after a few early attacks. Some useful riders made a move. I decided to go with them and a leading group of about 20 riders formed and I was in it. Instead of keeping working together some riders started to attack and 30km later the bunch came back and swallowed us up just when all heavens opened up. I was racing on my second hand Bora’s that I had bought with the savings of a few years. The day before the race I had polished them up to the limit and after a few minutes of snow, sleet and rain I tried to use my brakes but the wheels kept on turning, the silicone polish on the deep rims had run down to the breaking surface and did nothing for cornering on the five ‘wriggly, wraggly’ local circuits where riders with the posture of a bear were literally seizing up because of hypothermia. I still managed to come in a respectable 31st.

Day 2, nearly 100 riders came in out of the time limit but because of the circumstances the UCI Commissaires decided to fish about 70% of them back up just before the local circuits in Trognee . I had been in a 3-man break for a while and nearly the complete bunch caught us. I ended up in the second half and before I could work myself back to the front of the bunch split in half. I did all what I could but that was it. The next day I was going to take revenge in the quick stage through the Ardennes but the snow was laying 10cm thick and the Commissaires called the race off. I was very disappointed. On the Wednesday I started a race at Nechin, on the French/Belgium border near Roubaix. The Lithuanian and Bodysol teams tried to dominate the race. Moves kept going throughout the race. I was in a few of them but when a break went of about 10 riders I wasn’t. They took a minute on the bunch and with 10km I decided to put in an all or nothing attack. The break had shattered and kept going up and over, then with about 3km to go I saw the lead car in the far distance with a “yellow” rider 200m behind him and a “green” rider 200m behind him. I squeezed everything out of my body, caught up the “green” Bodysol rider who sat in my wheel came to about 50m of the yellow rider, asked the Bodysol rider for some help (which he declined) started a bit of an argument, looked behind and saw the bunch coming back and decided that a third place would be better than a possible 50th.

The weekend after I travelled to Abergavenny to take part in the Martin Ashfield Classic where I finished 8th in the prologue but managed to crash after 10km. In the afternoon road race, at first I thought I came out of the crash unshaved but after the race I discovered a swelling the size of a ping pong ball at the back of my knee. This swelling and the pain it caused troubled me for a few weeks. A week later I entered a local 80km ¾ race (another race in sleet and snow). I managed to win it but my knee still troubled me. The week after I was back in Belgium in Boutersem for a race with a quality field and 111 started. I ended up in what I thought to be the break but with a few kilometres to go it got too tactical and again we got caught. I decided to put in an all or nothing attack on the last drag because the finish was ‘dodgy’ – it was nothing as the 80 man bunch caught me in the last corner then about 20 riders came down. Some of the bunch were sprinting on the pavement and tried to get back on the road before the barriers finished. I finished 31st.

A week later I raced at Sint Gillis Waas (again over 100 starters) on a pancake flat circuit with the constant speed too high for someone to ride off the front. I finished 21st. 7 days later I started in another Inter Club event with 180 starters at Korbeek Lo on an undulating course that didn’t give you the chance of any recuperation. I tried to position myself near the front of the bunch most of the time and of course you guessed it the one time I ended up for a few minutes at the back the bunch split and I finished 52nd.

5 days later I raced at St Martens Bodegem near Brussels. I started at the back and after 200 meters we turned right into a narrow road, 6 riders rode off the front and for some reason nobody chased and by the time I got to the front I was too late and I finished 7th.

A week later I was back in England and school took priority. I managed a few wins and placings in 1/2/3 cat races, with revising taking top priority.


I am looking forward to going to stay and race in Belgium for the remainder of the season after my GCSE’s and hope that the results of those will be good enough for my parents not to give me a hard time.