Clanfield CX: a highlight for me in this year's CX season. It's not often I get to race with so many people supporting me and on a course I know inside out too, it really makes all the difference. For me the build up to the event was more nerve racking, I felt I had a pressure to perform well as its my training ground but on race day I was so overwhelmed with excitement ,I just wanted to get racing. I finished 12th on the day and “made the best out of a tricky situation”. After countless hours of training at Clanfield I knew the course didn't suit my strengths with lots of climbing involved, I just had to play to my knowledge of the course, ride as much as I can to reduce running and really make the legs hurt. I actually surprised myself with how I rode in the end, ticking off big goals like hopping 30cm hurdles. More importantly it was amazing having so many people supporting and cheering ,what an unforgettable experience!! To be able to watch this event come together over many months/years of hard graft from Simon Pattinson and all the SPYCC volunteers, it was so sick to finally see it all in action. See you all next year for Clanfield CX 2.0, we’re already working on new additions to the course! Cyclopark National: So December brought rain and mud…finally! Cyclopark is a course that suits me, with lots of offcambers, ruts, corners and generally techy stuff. I have found that I ride quite well on double race weekends, often getting into a rhythm of racing more on the second day, having raced clanfield the day before I was still on a high. A good start set me up in p4th, knowing the first lap is where groups form I really kicked hard to stay up close to the front and eventually settled into 8th racing with the Hope Tech girls. I felt comfortable following their wheels and actually relatively strong but as soon as you let your guard down it goes wrong. A silly mistake on a slippy corner lost me the wheel and from then on I was chasing until the finish. Another 9th place finish for me and I couldn't be happier, slowly but surely dedication and commitment will pay off :) The Montezumas Team riders worked our Pit Crew hard, changing bikes every half lap as the mud was picking up so much (and pit lane was much faster to ride through), so kudos to them for staying on top of things- thank you! Training Camp: Once again Covid had us cancelling plans due to heightened restrictions and travel becoming very complicated/expensive, meaning we couldn't travel abroad for Loenhout, Diegem and Baal during the xmas CX period. I'll be honest it was super disheartening as I look forward to that week of racing the whole year and for the second year now I've had to bail on travelling and watch them all from the TV instead. In replacement, as a team we did a big Training camp based from Clanfield, finishing off our last block before National Champs. It wasn't quite the Spanish sun and smooth roads that most people imagine from a training camp; the southdowns delivered torrential rain, potholes and a lot of mud instead. However, the team morale was high and we made it round. I couldn't have done it alone and it certainly proves how much good company makes when training.
Happy New year everyone! 2022 brings exciting opportunities and I have lots of exciting things in store which I cannot wait to share :) Thanks for reading Amy :) x
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