Today saw my first race of the 2017 season at the Velopark at Stratford, although it has come early in the season the race will be a good indicator of where I’m at with my training. We arrived at the Velopark around lunchtime after picking up George on our way. It was a very cold and blustery day but stayed mostly dry.
After we arrived we changed and got ready for a practice lap after the under 12’s race had finished, we did not arrive in time to take part in the earlier training session before the first race. I was racing alongside my team mates, Jake Darragh and George Crocombe, it was George’s first Junior race.
The race was over 7 laps but they were not too long, around 10 to 12 minutes per lap. As I had not been able to attend a previously arranged fact finding training ride earlier in the year due to my exams I decided to ride on Mitas Scylla tyres but also brought the Hyperions with me in case the conditions needed a different tyre. I got a good start and felt comfortable throughout the race, my lap times were consistent and I finished the race in sixth place which was a good pointer to where my training needs to be tweeked at this early point in the season.
Overall it was a good day and there were some good results by all the Hadleigh riders, in my race Jake came 3rd, I came 6th and George 9th. Thanks to all our sponsors, Mitas Tyres, Hardnutz Helmets and a big thanks to Chris from Cyclewrap who came along today for his support.
Rob Staines – 26th February 2017