Plans

Last Sunday, the older half of my squad got together at our base in Crawley to thrash out our racing calendar for the first half of the season. There wasn't a great deal in going further than that, as June is a long way away, although I'm sure it'll be here before we know it. In fact bring it on, despite the mercury getting back the right side of zero this week, I'm definately a +10 kinda rider! Anyhow, the coming months really are looking busy, with either a race or a sqaud get together every weekend until... who knows. After our next race at Hillingdon, we have our presentaion at the Cumberland Hotel, Eastbourne. Where, all being well, our new bright orange (think dutch!) kit should ready to shine. We also have Nico Mattan coming to add a touch of class, as a former classics hardman and 2005 winner of Gent-Wevelgem. Which outside of the four monuments of cycling (Milan-San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix and Liége-Bastogne-Liége) is one of the biggest one day races on the professional calendar. So I'm massively looking forward to meeting him. On the right I'm posing for an old friend of mine Sean Hogan (of my old club Addiscombe), he'd just raced in the earlier race and had a tough time of it. Sadly his father passed away this week, luckily he was able to be with him, but it is an untimely reminder that there is indeed more to life than cycling sometimes. On a lighter note you may have spotted the three tower blocks in the background... even when its not frozen over Hillingdon is hardly the most salubrious of racing locations! It is basically Southall of course! Anyway, back to the point of this post... the calendar:

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January:

Saturday 24th - Imperial Winter Series at Hillingdon E/1/2/3 - 50km

Feburary:

Sunday 1st - In Gear Development Squad/OneLife Presentation Cumberland Hotel, Eastbourne

Sunday 8th - Perf's Pedal Race E/1/2/3 - 70km, This is the traditional road season opener in England, and always has a high quality field and ferocious racing. Former winners include Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Sean Yates to name but one.

Sunday 15th - Calshot Track Session - This is the 4th of 5 session over the winter where the squad has been brushing up on our track skills, or in my case, learning from scratch!

Sunday 22nd - Calshot Track Session

March:

Sunday 1st - Squad Training Day - This is really just an opportunity to get together and train, then have a tutorial on some aspect of cycling after, I believe this week is to be on how to win races!

Sunday 8th - Jock Wadley Memorial Road Race E/1/2/3 - 134km, the season starts in earnest with this race based near Colchester in Essex. It is traditionally contested by some top local riders so it is sure to be a tough race.

Sunday 15th - Dulwich Primavera - Walley Gimber Trophy E/1/2/3 - 130km, another fierce race often domianted by a top level national team.

Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd - Belgium - This weekend will see the first racing trip to Belgium of 2009, this is a first for me. Though I am quietly anxious about what it'll be like over there, I can hardly contain my excitement at the thought of racing on closed roads in races that are really a level above what the UK has to offer. So bring it on!

Sunday 29th - Dengie Marshes Tour - ''Hell of the East'' E/1/2/3 - 122km, so named after the Hell of the North (Paris-Roubaix) this race is run on a tight course, with narrow roads, and in some cases over rutted farm tracks. I haven't raced this event before, but I already cannot wait to sign on for this race. My manager Alan thinks it could suit me, and secretly I really want to win it!

April:

Sunday 5th - Cycle Kingdom Spring Classic E/1/2/3 - 121km, I don't know a great deal about this race, however I think the course for this race while all on tarmac, is meant to be pretty tough. So no doubt it'll be a test.

Friday 10th - SCCU Good Friday Track Meeting, The traditional good friday track meeting will see almost the complete In Gear squad take to the track for a day of fixed gear fun. At the moment, I'm not to keen on the thought of track racing, but it's important for the squad and potentially I could be a decent track rider. So I'm going to work hard on the technical side in the hope that I can at least be competitive.

The rest of the Easter weekend will see trips to Belgium, in what shape or form I don't yet know. So long as we get out there, I don't mind.

Sunday 19th - The Archer Grand Prix, The Archer is the closest Premier Calendar race to me, so it would be great to ride it. However, there are many potential issues! Firstly, it might not even happen yet due to an un-cooperative police force. Also I'm the only 1st cat on the sqaud as yet, so potentially won't have any team to ride with as it E/1 only. In which case there is a morning E/1/2/3 support race which we would ride, but if one is cancelled it's likely they both will be. So watch this space regarding this weekend...

Tuesday 21st - Crystal Palace E/1/2, it seems like an absolute age since last August and the last time I raced at Palace! But I love it, and it's a great mid week race to blow the cob webs away. Fast and furious doesn't come close to an apt description! Plus, I desperately want to win there!!

Sunday 26th - Les Ingman Memorial Road Race E/1/2/3 - 123km, organised by the local club Norwood Paragon, of whom I have many friends, this would be a fantastic race to show well in. So we'll see. That said, it has been won by professionals before, so it certainly won't be easy. Plus the course, around Bletchingly, is a touch on the hilly side for me!!

Tuesday 28th - Crystal Palace

Thursday 30th - Surrey League Handicap - Kitsmead Lane E/1/2/3/4, every year the Surrey League run an evening handicap series. This is basically a road race where all categories race in one race, but are started at different times according to ability. This is usually based upon actual fitness however, and not what category licence you have. The idea being that by the last lap, all the groups should be together and it is usually a straight sprint for the finish. They're great fun, there's no real prestige to them other than a few real good riders that usually make them tough to win. Sometimes though the slowest groups manage to stay clear and contest the win, then sleep sound in the knowledge that they just beat some of the regions fastest riders!

May:

Saturday 2nd/Sunday 3rd - Chas Messenger Stage Race - Premier Calendar E/1/2. This is likely to be my first Premier Calendar (A national road race series, contested by 'almost' pro teams) race. So it'll likely be little more than a steep learning curve, but who knows. There's a 6km time trial to begin with on the Saturday morning, followed by a 140km road stage. Then on the Sunday a 160km road stage. It's this sort of racing that should hopefully see me eclipse the fitness levels (and results hopefully!) I reached last season.

Monday 4th - Ixworth Criteriums E/1/2, another race I'm not too familiar with, but I'm told its a very tight and twisty circuit that will test my bike handling to the max! May not happen if the rest of the weekend is too hard!

Tuesday 5th - Crystal Palace, again, dependant on what happens at the weekend. It's unlikely I'll race 5 days in a row!

Thursday 7th - SL Handicap

Sunday 10th - Lincoln Grand Prix - Premier Calendar E/1/2 - 136km, billed as the toughest one day race the UK has to offer, it is certainly the most prestigious, aside from the national championships. So learning is the key word again!

Tuesday 12th - Crystal Palace

Thursday 14th - SL Handicap

Saturday 16th - BUCS (BUSA) Road Race Championships E/1/2/3/4 - 130km approx. This is a major target for the season, having raced this last year I am determined to win. BUCS, or British Universities and Colleges Sport as it stands for is bascially the University Road Race. It would be a great race to have on my CV, and a fantastic legacy of my time at uni. It also has a pretty decent role of honour too, so it's right up there in my sights. The previous few weeks of elite racing should put me in a good position to be competitive too.

Sunday 17th - Hillingdon Grand Prix - Elite Circuit Race Series E/1/2 - 80km. This is a maybe really. The day after a long hard road race is probably not the best day to start my first elite circuit race. In addition, racing round Hillingdon for 80km fails to excite!! I get a little bored after about 20km there if I'm honest!!

Tuesday 19th - Crystal Palace

Thursday 21st - SL Handicap - and my birthday! And... it's my old club Addiscombe promoting, so I'll be super motivated for the win!!

Saturday - Monday 23rd/24th/25th - SERRL Stage Race. Details get ever more sketchy now. Assuming I'm still a 1st cat by then, the South East Road Race League run a stage race over the second May bank holiday weekend. As a local stage race, the squad will no doubt want to be competitive.

Tuesday 26th - Crystal Palace

Thursday 28th - SL Handicap

Sunday 31st - South East Regional Championships E/1/2/3 - 130km. Held again, down in Kent. The regional champs are the most prestigious race in the south east to win, as a result team manager Alan wants us to win it! It certainly won't be easy, but we have the strength on our squad so I don't think its unattainable.

So that's it up to the end of May at least, it's a pretty busy calendar. It's also quite step up compared to the same period last year. But I think I'm ready for it and it's all part of the process of making it to the continent. The biggest challenge of course for this period of course will be making sure I'm passing my degree too of course! Just ask my Dad!! It's doable though, it will just take organisation. Thats a skill I'll continue to need though if I make it to the professional ranks.

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Ok, it's been tiring just thinking about all that racing, so I'll leave it there for the moment. More training this weekend then before we rip up Hillingdon on the 24th! Oh, and just for my sister... another picure of me and my shiny white shoes... yeah!