November 2021

During November winter has definitely begun as well as winter training. 

November 2021

During November winter has definitely begun as well as winter training. Similarly to October I have just been clocking the miles and completing the training as well as continuing with my school work in preparation for January. 

Following on from October I have also enjoyed watching Alex Dowsett's preparation and completion of his hour record attempt.  

October 2021 

During October I have settled back into the school routine for my final year and have started preparing for my January exams. I have been getting the miles in and have also tried to make the most of the last few remnants of good weather and the slightly longer days however the weather has definitely started to turn towards winter. 

Since my off season I have been building up training steadily and have been preparing for 2022. I have started to see an improvements in my performance already and there is still several months before racing begins.

 I have also had time to reflect on my past season and have now created specific goals and targets which I am aiming for and hope to achieve throughout 2022.

I have been following the lead up to Alex Dowestt's hour record attempt and look forward to seeing how he gets on early next month.

September 2021

September has been a fairly quiet month for me with regards to training and racing. At the beginning of the month I began my last year of school and also began training under the supervision of a new coach. 

Throughout September I enjoyed a couple of weeks off the bike during off season before beginning winter training towards the end of the month. Before my off season, I raced a couple of cx races however I am now looking forward to getting my head down and focusing on training until the first races of the new season. 

Looking forwards, my race season has come to a close and the hard work and training is starting to begin in order to prepare for the 2022 season. I am extremely excited for the 2022 race season and have some new and great opportunities coming up. 

I'd like to thank pedal potential alongside British cycling south region for their support throughout the past season.

August 2021

Throughout August I have managed to race several times however I unfortunately did not gain a place in the Junior Tour of Wales which was one of my main races for the season which took place on local roads. Although I did not manage to race the JTOW, I had a good month training and racing.  

August began with Cheltenham RR which took place on a course riddled with potholes which made for an interesting and sketchy race. I managed to stay top 15 wheels throughout the whole of the race and was active trying to get into several breaks however on a relatively flat course no breakaways were formed. Throughout the closing stages of the race I decided to save my legs for the sprint on the uphill drag to the line. I was in a good position with several 100ms to go however as I moved out and was carrying all of my momentum and moving up towards the front a car was coming the other direction so I was forced to brake and lose all of my momentum and several places in the process. This meant that I lost the chance of a podium or top 10 result however I did manage to hold onto 15th place. This was frustrating as my legs were feeling good in the closing stages of the race.

The following weekend I travelled to Devon to race in the Tour of Witheridge Moor RR. This course was particularly hilly with several steep climbs. The course also featured a very dangerous corner where unfortunately several riders came down forcing me to avoid them and holding me up. This crash ultimately split the bunch in half and unfortunately I was on the wrong side of this split. I tried desperately to try and regain the bunch however I was unable to do so.  I then found myself in a group of 7 or so riders who all had the same trouble as me and crossed the line to finish about the 3rd group on the road after the drastically reduced bunch. 

My final race in August was the Junior Tour of Mendips. Stage 1 was an ITT around odd down. I was relatively happy with my performance during stage 1 where I placed 36th. Stage 2 was on a rolling course and I had a very frustrating and disappointing  day. There was a big crash in the peloton just in front of me but fortunately I managed to stay upright however I was forced to a stop and was forced to dismount my bike to get round the carnage. I was then left with a big chase effort in order to regain contact with the peloton. Just as I managed to regain contact with the bunch the race was then neutralised before eventually being stopped by the commissaires. This big chase effort hurt my legs meaning that when we did eventually begin racing again 10 minutes or so later, my legs were not feeling good. Frustratingly I then suffered cramps in both my legs and my stomach forcing me out of the peloton and rolling round in a small group until we reached the finish. The final stage, stage 3 was a brutal course with 4 climbs which were all around 1.5km in length and averaged over 10%. I was sitting comfortably in the bunch until we neared the start of the first climb where I then got swarmed and found myself towards the back of the bunch. As we turned left onto the climb the race exploded and unfortunately I didn't have the legs to follow the stronger guys up the climb. Nonetheless I had a good weekend of racing with the South team and learnt a lot.

Thank you to Pedal Potential and BC South region for their support.

July 2021

Throughout July my training has been very productive and I believe I am coming into some decent form for the last few months of the season. This is partly due to the increased volume of training I have been able to do since I have finished school. My motivation levels have been high this month as my training has come together nicely and I am looking forward to hopefully seeing my form transfer into some good results over the next 2 months or so. I made thee most of the good weather whilst it lasted and had some big days in the saddle including a 200k venture into the Brecon beacons with a group of mates. 

Although throughout July my main focus has been training, I did manage to race A Bridge Too Far RR. Unfortunately I had an absolute nightmare of a race in a field full of strong cat 2 riders.

Looking forward,, August will hopefully be a month full of racing. I will start with Cheltenham CC RR, followed by Tour of Witheridge Moor RR which takes place on a very tough, hilly circuit. I am also hoping to then be selected to race both the Junior Tour of Mendips as well as the Junior Tour of Wales.

June 2021 

June has been a month packed full of racing. At the beginning of the month I had very little experience of bunch racing as a result of being unable to compete in 2020 due to Covid and injury, however I have gained a huge amount of race experience and confidence from this last month and am now comfortable racing in a bunch. I have also improved my race craft over the latter part of this month and once I have improved my endurance over the summer, and made up for the lack of big training weeks which I have been unable to complete due to school, I hope to gain some positive results towards the end of the season.

My first race came at Odd Down where I had a very disappointing race. Having been stuck on the turbo trainer at school I had been unable to improve my bike handling and cornering ability. This affected my race around a very technical Odd Down course and as soon as I got caught at the back of my bunch in this pursuit style of racing, there was nothing I could do to stay on the wheel and eventually the elastic snapped and I got spat. This made me realise that over the upcoming months and over the summer I need to improve my cornering ability.  

My second race of the month was again slightly disappointing however there were many positives to take away from my later races in the month. My second race was the PNECC RR. This course was very demanding and was very tough for my first RR.  For the first 40 minutes or so I sat in the bunch surfing wheels however as several riders began to get dropped I found myself slipping down the bunch until I ended up towards the back of the group. The nature of the course was such that immediately after the sharp left turns the road climbed. This made being at the back very tough due to the elastic band effect where riders are braking and then reaccelerating through corners and the effect is amplified down the group. I struggled to move up and remained hanging on the back for a further 15 minutes or so before the efforts I was being forced to make eventually took their toll and I was distanced from the bunch about halfway into the race. I was disappointed with this outcome however it was some consolation that only 20 out of the starting 60 riders finished and many other strong, experienced riders also got dropped. Nonetheless I did enjoy my time in the bunch and being my first road race I learnt the importance of being positioned towards the front of the bunch, especially on a tough course. However I did gain experience which I believe helped me in my later races in the month.

The following weekend I was given the opportunity by British Cycling South region to race at the Junior Tour of Yorkshire, which is part of the Junior National Road Series. This would be my first stage race and only my second road race. I arrived in Yorkshire on Friday evening and managed to do a course recce with south region team mate, Tom Williams, before the first day of racing on the Saturday. Stage 1 took place on the Saturday morning and was a rolling ITT. The course took most athletes around 8 minutes with myself posting a respectable time only a handful of seconds off of the average time. I was pretty happy with my time considering the strength of the field that I was competing against. 

Stage 2 took place on the Saturday afternoon and was a very frustrating stage. The 100km RR took place on a rolling course and once the temperature had risen. This heat would eventually prove to hamper my race. As the race began to unfold I got comfy in the bunch and was moving around well but with around 40km to go I ran out of food and drink and began to fade and become dehydrated. This then caused me to cramp out of the peloton and I was at the point where I couldn't put any power down without getting muscle spasms in my legs. All I cold do from this point was to crawl the last 40km to the finish. I was extremely frustrated with this as I was not dropped as a result of my race craft or fitness, just potentially my inexperience of stage races. I have gained experience and now know I need to fuel better between stages during stage races. 

Stage 3 was a very tough hilly course with a number of steep climbs. Immediately after the neutralised section ended and only a few minutes into the race, myself and many other athletes got caught behind a crash involving a number of riders. I thankfully managed to stay upright however this did mean that I was distanced from the bunch. Unfortunately the location of the crash meant that we were all scrambling to get back onto the bunch on one of the steep climbs on the course and the crash had caused us to all lose our momentum. My legs were also pretty tired from day 1 and I couldn't regain connection with the bunch. After struggling with several other riders to get back onto the bunch we eventually knew that we weren't getting back on so for the remaining 2.5 laps I ended up riding in a group of 5 or 6 other athletes who were in the same boat and we rode steady and finished the stage together. This concluded a frustrating but very enjoyable weekend of racing where I learnt a lot and gained yet more experience.

My next weekend of racing came two weeks later where I raced a crit around Abingdon airfield on the Saturday and then raced the Gillingham RR on the Sunday. The wind played a decisive part at Abingdon airfield and the first few laps were fast as there were many attempts by riders to form a breakaway including myself. Unfortunately I missed the winning break of 9 riders and despite my best efforts to bring the break back, only myself and 3 or 4 riders were willing to do any work to bring the break back so eventually the gap was too big to bring back. Once we all realised this we were then racing for 10th place. I was very active in the second half of the race attacking and also bringing back more breakaway attempts however it eventually came down to a bunch sprint for 10th place. I got my positioning slightly wrong on the last corner and ended up having to brake and scrub a little bit of speed before the home straight. Nonetheless I sprinted and came in the top few riders in the bunch sprint which secured me around 15th place out of the 50 or so riders who started.

On Sunday I raced the Gillingham RR on a rolling 80km course. We were all expecting rain however luckily the rain held off for the duration of our race. Throughout the race there were many attacks but all of them ended up being brought back. I was fairly active throughout the race attempting to solo bridge to one of the breaks but also helping to bring back some of the breaks. For the rest of the race I moved around the bunch tactically and comfortably and was conserving energy for the finish. Two riders broke away on the final lap and stayed away until the finish. The finish was on a different stretch of road which was not on the laps which we had previously done so I attacked from the bunch and began my sprint with about 200m to where I thought the finish line was, however as I turned the slight corner and ended my sprint, the finish line wasn't in sight and was in fact another 500m or so up the road up a hill meaning I finished towards the back of the bunch. This was a rather embarrassing but also very annoying mistake to make and occurred because I was unable to complete a course recce. Nonetheless I gained yet more experience and gained further confidence going into a summer packed full of racing. 

May 2021  

May has been a rather mundane month for me. I have been getting my head down at school and have completed my coursework for this year meaning I will be able to have a summer packed full of training and racing.  Throughout May I have been completing my training stuck on the turbo trainer as a result of the terrible weather and did not have any races. However I did manage to marshal at the FTP Racing 25 mile TT shouting encouragement at the team members..

May has felt like a very long month, however looking forward to next month there finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel not only with what seems to be the end of the bad weather, but also with the return of racing!

I will begin next month with a mid-week pursuit style race around Odd Down racetrack in Bath before I race at the PNECC RR on a rolling course the following weekend. I am then also pleased to confirm that I will represent the South region at the junior tour of Yorkshire the next weekend which happens to be the first race in the national junior series. One week later I will be travelling to Abingdon to race in the third race of their summer series before hopefully ending the month with the second race in the national junior series, the Junior Cicle Classic.

April 2021

April has been a fairly busy month for me. Throughout April I have raced the FTP 10 mile TT, made the most of the slightly better weather and longer daylight hours and had a new bike day. Unfortunately, about halfway through the month I had to abandon the better weather and stick to the turbo trainer as I began school once again.

April began with new bike day and thank you to Andy at BW Cycling for hooking me up with one of the fastest bikes around. A massive thank you must also go to MCL Logistics for helping me to be able to race on such an amazing bike. I will now be racing on the 2021 BMC Timemachine Road. My immediate thoughts are that the bike is very stiff and when sprinting all of the power goes straight into propelling the bike forward and no power is wasted. The bike is also very good at holding speed and when riding it, it just feels that the bike is wanting to go faster. The braking power that the disc brakes offer is also sublime and I cannot wait to test these out in road races over the upcoming few months.  

The first test for the Timemachine came at the FTP 10 mile TT.  Billy and the rest of FTP Racing team held a fantastic event on the rolling course that is the U7B. I got my pacing a little wrong and crossed the line still having energy left in the tank however I managed to achieve 4th in the road bike category behind some strong riders. It was also good to get a few rides in with fellow cyclist and teammate Syd Brown.

The good weather continued for the next couple of weeks and I completed some decent training, including some rides at dusk in the picturesque scenery. As restrictions are constantly being eased and group rides have now returned it was great fun to head out for a long team ride around Wales with FTP Racing.

Looking forward into next month I have another FTP test to gauge where my fitness levels are before I begin another training block building up to one of my main races for the season, the Portsmouth North End CC RR. This will be my first bunch race of the season but I hope to achieve a good result amongst a very strong field. I am also looking forward to watching the Giro next month and it should present some very exciting racing!

A huge thanks again to MCL logistics and BW Cycling with regards to the new race rig and thank you to Pedal Potential for their continued support.

March 2021

March has been a month of ups and downs for me but the prospect of racing returning to normal has motivated me to train harder in order to prepare for these races. Throughout March I have had several mechanical problems which are now resolved but I have also entered several upcoming races and even raced my first race of the season. 

March began with my return to school and returning to the turbo. I had two successful and consistent weeks of training  including two long rides up some of my favourite climbs in the Welsh mountains. The slightly warmer weather made training a lot more enjoyable and the first signs of summer began to emerge.

The second half of March has been a little frustrating due to several mechanicals hampering my training however I did manage to test out a 'rocker plate' for my turbo trainer which was designed and built by fellow team mate Jamie Garrett. At first the plate felt strange and unstable however as I adapted to it, it felt a lot more realistic to outside riding.  I would definitely recommend this training tool to anybody who does the majority of their training on the turbo.  I have also enjoyed watching the professionals race and the racing has been more than exciting to watch. Strada Bianca and Milan-San Remo to name two have been fantastic to watch and I am also very excited to watch the Tour of Flanders next month.

To round off March I raced the DB MAX 10 mile TT around Castle Combe. I was a little rusty having not raced in ages however it was good to get the first race of the season out of the way. Looking forwards to April I will be racing in the road bike category at the FTP TT in early April and later in the month I will be racing in the 'Return to racing - test event' in the Mendips. Being the first bunch race in over a year the field will more than likely be very strong but I am excited to pit myself against some strong athletes and test different race tactics.

February 2021

February started pretty well for me with an FTP test and an 18w increase compared with my last test a few months ago and continued to get better as the month went on. I have had 4 weeks of consistent training and in the last week the weather started to change and the sun came out! With the government's recent announcements, it seems that the prospect of racing may return in the near future. Having said this my form is coming along quite nicely thanks to FTP Cycle Coaching and by the time racing is fully underway I feel that I will be in a very good position. During March I will be returning back to school which means I will have access to the gym again which will compliment my training and I am looking forward to the prospect of group rides also returning in the near future.

Thank you to Pedal Potential and FTP Cycle Coaching

January 2021

January has been a month of mixed emotions for me. From hitting the deck on a piece of black ice to a very successful week of training feeling very strong followed by a period of time resting and recovering from illness January has been a month of highs and lows. Despite these less than ideal events, I did manage to ride up to Gospel Pass to take in some of the incredible views from up there. 

Looking forwards, I am hoping throughout February I will be able to complete a month of uninterrupted consistent training as we hopefully edge closer and nearer to races and the race season beginning again. 

Thanks to Pedal Potential and my family

December 2020

December has been another step forward for me as I got to race my first 'proper' race back from my injury back in January. This was the Chilly Duathlon around Castle Combe. It was freezing cold and was pouring with rain. Due to Covid 19 measures there were no transitions as the zones were neutralised. I got extremely cold throughout the race and struggled to get my shoes on in 'transition 2' but I enjoyed being back racing nonetheless. I am looking forward to the upcoming months and hoping for the prospect of racing to be back towards the summer in 2021.

December also saw me attend one of the South-West triathlon academy's training camps where we completed a long mountain bike ride followed by a decent swim session in the pool at Bath Uni. 

I have completed a fair few base miles this month and I am really excited and feel that I will be ready for when racing finally does return.

November 2020

In the short amount of time I have been training with FTP Cycle Coaching I have already seen some substantial improvements. In just less than 5 weeks, we have managed to improve my FTP by 16 watts and there are lots more improvements to come before next season! I also did a baseline 5k TT just to see where my run fitness was at. Although my time was very average, I will accept it bearing in mind I couldn't run for about 7 months of this year and have only started running in the past 2 months or so. Over the next few months I hope to increase  my running mileage and try and regain that run fitness as well as training consistently on the bike. If restrictions allow, I will be racing the Chilly duathlon around Castle Combe in early December before beginning a big block of training going through into the new year. 

Thank you to Pedal Potential, Tenola and everyone who has helped me through this year so far!

October 2020

October has been a fairly positive month for me. I have begun training with FTP cycle coaching and I am looking forward to seeing some big improvements and preparing for next year and hopefully a typical race season. Unfortunately as I am back at school I can no longer go out on long rides except on Sundays but I feel that training is going well with FTP Cycle Coaching and I cannot wait for races to begin so I can hopefully gain more race experience as well as trying out different race tactics.  

Thank  you to Pedal Potential and Tenola for their support

September 2020

August 2020

  July 2020

June 2020

During June, I have been continuing to build the fitness up again and have been building up the miles on the bike again. I have also been building up the swimming again using the bungee cord. Fortunately, it seems that we are through the worst of this pandemic and as some restrictions have been lifted, I have been able to meet with some other people for rides which brings back some sense of normality. However, the roads are now noticeably busier than they were in the heart of lockdown but the weather has made these long rides more enjoyable.

Thanks to Pedal Potential and Tenola for their support.

May 2020

Throughout May I have taken full advantage of the almost deserted roads and I have been building a fitness base again. I have been doing a lot of Zone 3 riding to build my fitness back up again. I have enjoyed just being able to get out on my bike and ride as opposed to completing a particular session, however I look forwards to starting training properly and completing sessions in the near future and when my body feels ready. 

I love the new FTP racing Nopinz kit which arrived this month and I cannot wait until racing resumes and I get to race in it.! 

Also during May, I managed to get back in the water again, although it was using a bungee cord, it still felt so good to be back semi-swimming for the first time in over 4 months!

Thanks to Pedal Potential for their continued support!

April 2020

April has been the best month so far this year for me, mainly because I have been able to ride my bike again.  After being given the all clear to do some form of exercise again, I have been doing some easy rides to build my fitness back up and after over 3 months of no exercise this has been so so enjoyable. This has been made better by the fact that lockdown has pretty much cleared the roads of drivers to allow me to do my one exercise a day on silent roads. 

With the racing season being put on hold due to Covid-19, this has offered me a chance to build my fitness back up before the race season commences, whenever that may be. 

Thanks to Pedal Potential for continuing to support me through these uncertain times.

March 2020

March has been another frustrating month and recovery is going a bit better now. I am walking and back to full mobility. I would have been racing at the European Age Group Duathlon Championships this month but unfortunately I am sidelined. However, on the livestream, I got to watch fellow athlete and friend of mine, Reece Ashfield race in the elite race where he competed against Alistair Brownlee, Mark Buckingham and Tyler Mislawchawk to name a few. My new 76 Projects computer mount has arrived and its brilliant.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has meant that my remaining races for the foreseeable future have all been cancelled, meaning that hopefully once I'm back training, I will have a good amount of time to train before my first competition. I am really excited for next month becuase hopefully i will be able to start training again.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me in this hard time.

February 2020

February has been another frustrating month and recovery is slow but the good news is that I am now walking again without crutches. However I did manage to marshal at DB MAX Chilly duathlon which was fascinating as I was given the chance to see a race from the organisers point of view.

I have spent this month getting my bike race ready and although I will not be able to ride it until late April, I will be more than eager to ride it hard and fast. I am also looking forward to getting my Nopinz FTP Team racing kit as well as some new kit from Tenola.

Unfortunately, the list of races which I will have to cancel and miss includes; European Duathlon Champs, British Duathlon Champs, National Triathlon Performance Assessment and the Easter Classic road race. So due to the events of the last two months,  I have had to reassess my season and reset my goals dramatically and as everyone is saying, I will come back stronger than ever and I sincerely hope this is true. 

Thank you to everyone involved in my rehab and to everyone who is helping me through this extremely tough and frustrating time.

January 2020 

January and the first month of the new decade hasn't gone entirely to plan. The month started quite well with a 10 mile TT around Castle Combe but then two weeks into the month, I slipped over whilst out cross country running and ended up in A&E having my knee stitched back together in two places. 

My recovery has been slower than hoped and we do not know when I will be able to return to racing and training. However, recently I have seen improvements and have been able to put pressure on my leg and walk with the assistance of crutches which is positive. It has been very frustrating as there is only one month until the European Age Group Duathlon Champs and only two months until the National Triathlon Series Performance Assessments. I'm doing everything I can to speed up recovery and hope to be back training ASAP. 

On a very positive note, I am extremely happy to say I'll be racing for FTP Racing in all my cycling races this year, and I cant wait to race alongside some very fast athletes. I'm also looking forward to my next delivery of Tenola kit which should arrive very soon!

January has been a very tough month and I'd like to thank my family for helping me through this and also Pedal Potential and Tenola. 

Roll on February! 

December 2019 and Annual Update

December: 

December has been a pretty frustrating month for me in terms of training - I lost a week or so due to illness  but I have  enjoyed the holidays with my family and I am ready to begin a big block of training throughout January and 2020!

2019:

 Reflecting back on 2019 it has been an amazing year. Highlights of the year have to be racing for GBR Age Group Team at the European Duathlon Championships in Romania. Another highlight also has to be staying with fellow athlete and friend James Fletcher where we had a good few days of training together on the Isle Of Wight. I also had an amazing time racing in duathlons, triathlons, road cycling races and TTs as well as a family holiday to France where the cycling was incredible.

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential, Tenola, my family and everyone else who has made 2019 so great. I'm looking forward to 2020 and another great year and race season

November 2019 Update

I competed at Castle Combe chilly duathlon where I managed to achieve 4th overall against a strong field of adults. I found the first run a little tougher than usual but I felt strong on the bike. However, during the bike leg, there was a major incident leading to the race being stopped. I had already dismounted my bike by this point so my race wasn't affected. I then had a strong run off the bike and I'm pleased with how my running off the bike is coming along. DB Max and the event marshals were amazing in the professional way that this incident was dealt with. 

During this winter season, I have been concentrating on my swimming technique and stamina and I am looking forward to the longer swim legs in next year's events.

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential, Tenola and my family for their continued support.

October 2019 Update

 Boardman Performance Centre held an open day throughout October and I managed to attend. We listened to talks about aerodynamics and positioning on the bike and even got to go in the wind tunnel, not with our bikes unfortunetly though! I also got to listen to a talk by Chris Boardman and managed to meet him and discuss his achievements.

Winter training is now well and truly underway and I can't wait until next season.

Thank you once again for the support this previous season from Pedal Potential, Tenola,  Sundried and my family. 

September 2019 Update

During September, I competed at the Season Finale triathlon, attempted to gain a place on the regional triathlon academy and took a little bit of an end of season break.

I finished the triathlon season with a race at one of my favourite race venues, Dorney Lakes. I felt good in the 800m swim and had a good T1. I then had a pb bike split where I took about 2:30 minutes off the 20km bike split as opposed to when I did it in May. I was also pleased with my run split. It was a very good way to end the season and I was really pleased with my split times and happy to grab 1st overall.

One week later, I travelled to Bath University for the South West Academy trials where I was tested on a 200m swim TT and a 1500m run TT. This was quite frustrating for me knowing that I would not be tested on my strongest discipline (bike). Unfortunately, I did not gain a place on the academy as my swim wasn't quite up to their standard. 

However, I am ready to have the best winter's training ever and prepare for the National Triathlon Performance Assessment Weekend about 6 months from now. 

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential, Tenola, Sundried and my family for all their support this season.

August 2019 Update

August has also been a very quiet month for me in terms of competitions. I haven't had any races so I've just been training in preparation for the Regional Triathlon Academy Trials this coming month. 

I managed to travel to the Isle Of Wight for a few days, where I stayed with a friend and fellow triathlete James Fletcher. We managed to get a solid couple of days training done together as well as exploring the Isle Of Wight and its beautiful scenery on a long ride. We also did an open water swim session in the sea as well as a little bit of a brick session. 

I also enjoyed riding up the Tumble and doing some riding with Paul in some lovely welsh hills as well as Sunday group rides. I have had a big month of Swimming training preparing me for the trials next month.

I'd like to thank my family and Pedal Potential for continuing to support me.

July 2019 Update

In July, I have had no races except from a small local cycle race on a Thursday night which was about gaining experience. Apart from that, I have just been training and enjoying the sport. I have been lucky enough to go to France with my family for two weeks where I have been enjoying the french countryside whilst going out on rides and having a rest from any structured training. I have loved the french weather and landscapes as well as a little rest from structured training. I am now focused and rested, ready to get a very good block of training in over the next 5 weeks. I don't currently have any races booked in August, so my next target is the South West Triathlon academy Trials in September as well as a sprint triathlon in one of my favourite race venues to round off the triathlon season before winter training begins.

I'd like to thank my family alongside Pedal Potential for their continued support.

June 2019 Update

In June, I competed in my first international event, the ETU European Age Group Duathlon Championships. This was an absolutely amazing experience and I am grateful for the opportunity. 

The first run was taken out very quickly but I managed to keep with one of the chasing packs and enter T1 in a good position and amongst some other athletes. I had a good T1 but when I mounted my bike, I immediately felt very terrible.

 For the first half of the bike I was feeling very nauseous and I was suffering from dehydration. This caused me to miss a very strong group of cyclists which were closing down the leaders. I felt a little better later in the bike portion and got into a large group of cyclists where we all worked very well together. I entered T2 among these cyclists but as I set off on the second run, I instantly felt even worse than before. 

As a result of dehydration, I was battling with stomach cramps throughout the whole second run and this was extremely frustrating as my usual run time would have landed me a podium position. Nonetheless, I was pleased with 4th at my first ever international event and thoroughly enjoyed the incredible experience.

I also raced at Cardiff Supersprint Triathlon with a choppy swim and very congested and technical draft-illegal bike leg where I achieved 1st place. However, I wasn't pleased with my split times.

I am really grateful to Giant Bristol for all of their technical help getting my bike ready and boxed up ready to fly. I'd also like to thank Pedal Potential alongside my family for supporting me in my first international event.

May 2019 Update

Darley Moor Duathlon, ETU Age Group Duathlon Championships qualifier - QUALIFIED

Once again, the rain came lashing down on race day. The first run was extremely wet and windy and the ground was littered with stones, gravel and rocks. I had a pretty average transition and got out onto the bike fairly swiftly. The race track was covered in surface water which made the bike leg very treacherous. The headwind came with quite a force throughout the bike leg which made it even tougher. My T2 was a little slower than I would've liked as I didn't get my shoes on that smoothly but then I was quickly onto the second run. The second run was very tough as the wind was still howling throughout the race track but I managed to finish 2nd in my age group and qualify for next years race.

Throughout May, I also competed at Eton Sprints weekend where I finished 1st in the Supersprint distance.I also had great fun at one of the races of the Castle Combe summer road race series and I look forward to entering some more of these races in the upcoming weeks.

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential alogside my family for their continued support.

April 2019 Update

April marked the start of the proper race season. This included the British Duathlon Champs, Bath Duathlon and my first triathlon of the season. 

The first run at the British Duathlon Champs was blisteringly quick as the standard of athletes racing was very high. The conditions were wet and windy so getting in a pack was vital. I had a quick transition and got into a group of about 3 athletes and we worked very well in the tough conditions. I did a lot of the work within the bike pack so when we hit T2 my legs were just exhausted. The second run was very tough but I was happy to take more than 3 and a half minutes off my time from last year.

A week later I raced at Bath Duathlon where I had a strong performance and took home 2nd place in the Youth race. I also beat my time from last year by more than 3 minutes.

My first triathlon of the season was Burnham-On-Sea supersprint triathlon. The wind was incredibly strong and sketchy on race day. I had a disappointing swim, followed by an average bike ride which was more about trying to control the bike and stay on it than about speed and going really hard. The run leg was extremely windy on the way out which made the run very tough. I was really frustrated that I finished with some energy left in the tank knowing that I should have raced harder!

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential, Giant Bristol and my family for all their support

Alistair 

March 2019 Update

March has been a month of primarily cycling. At the beginning of the month I competed in my first crit. The race was going well up until my wheel got caught up with someone else's causing me to very almost crash. 

A few weeks later I competed at Odd Down cycle circuit in a very big and strong field of cyclists. At the start of the race, I got caught at the back behind some slower riders and missed the main pack which broke away. As a result of this, I was caught in no-mans-land for about 20 minutes all by myself in the very, very windy conditions. I managed to catch and work together with someone in the closing stages of the race but it was too late. I learnt a lot from that race and will bring this experience into the fast approaching race season. I have had a good block of cycling training this month preparing me for the start of the real race season in April.

I'd like to thank all my support from Pedal Potential as well as my family.

Alistair

February 2019 Update 

February has been a fairly quiet month for me in terms of competitions. However, I did compete at the "Chilly Duathlon" held at Castle Combe. I had competed in this race a couple of months prior and was happy with a PB this time round. This shows that my winter training has been successful to a degree but I also have a lot of work to do before the real race season begins.

The first 3km run at Chilly Duathlon was taken out very quickly by some of the BUCS athletes. I had a good transition and managed to climb a few places before commencing onto the bike course. As always with Castle Combe, the bike course was windy but this time the wind was extremely strong. Throughout the 10 mile bike leg, the wind seemed to come from every direction except from behind me! I had a solid bike leg and came into transition right behind one of the stronger riders. I had another quick transition and made up yet another few places and came onto the second run ahead of some of the stronger riders. The second run was tough, only to be made even tougher by the vigorous winds. It was a good race nonetheless and I was pleased to get a PB in tough conditions by about 40 seconds.

Also in February, I managed to test out my new Yonda Ghost wetsuit which is incredibly fast and flexible. Additionally, I am excited to be working with my new coach and I can't wait to see what the new season holds. 

I'd like to thank Pedal Potential alongside my family for all of their support.

Alistair

January 2019 Update 

Ashridge House- ITU World Age Group Duathlon qualification race- QUALIFIED

The weather was atrocious and the rain and snow came down, as a result the transition times would not be counted. This was a disadvantage for me as I pride myself in having quick transition times. Nonetheless, I tried to pace myself as hundreds of athletes tried to negotiate the slippery, treacherous grass section of the 2-lap run course. We merged onto a gravel track laden with puddles before joining another tarmac stretch which took us out the front of the beautiful Ashridge House. We had to surpass the identical lap made even more treacherous by the 300 athletes following my footsteps on the first lap. As transition times weren't counted, I took my time in transition, taking an energy gel, and hydrating.

 After a few minutes, I set off on the 2 lap 22km bike course which was hilly and a little technical. The first couple of kms were very fast and were littered with potholes and speed bumps. The road opened up and that allowed me to get into my aero position, put my head down and cycle hard. I tried to use my strongest discipline to my advantage on the steepest part of the course. We continued to climb as I made up places. Another pause in the race as dead transitions continued, and unfortunately this caused my legs to seize up in the freezing temperature. This made the second run very, very tough. Nonetheless, I qualified and will be racing at the 2020 ITU World Age Group Duathlon Championships. I achieved 2nd in my age group and 14th overall in a very, very strong field of athletes.

January also held the 3rd round of the DB MAX Castle Combe Winter 10 Mile TT series where I had an absolutely appalling race and having previously won my age group in the last two rounds, I felt very disappointed.

I also competed at the Avon Schools cross country event. Having previously placed 2nd at Bristol schools, I qualified for Avon Schools. The race was on a very wet and slippery day. I needed to finish in the top 10 to qualify for the next round but unfortunately I finished in 11th place missing out by seconds.

I'd like to thank all my support including my parents and my sisters.

Alistair

2018 Triathlon Season 

The highlight of my season is definitely qualifying to represent GBR at the European Age Group Duathlon Championships in 2019 in Romania.

This comes at the end of a season of mixed results with highs and lows. A win at Cardiff Super-sprint mid season was a high, however a lesson learned at Bedford duathlon with my first penalty for inadvertently touching a rack in transition - not a mistake that I intend to repeat!

Another high point of my 2018 season was my 100 mile individual charity bike ride which I did to raise money and awareness for Gloucestershire Young Carers charity. In doing this I raised over £700. I completed the centenary ride in Northern France and thoroughly enjoyed cycling through the french countryside.

A few days after my charity ride, I competed in the Castle Series Château de Chantilly triathlon. This was an interesting course - avoiding floating plants in the Castle lake, cycling on the opposite side of the road and dodging the gravel on the run into transition. Despite all this, I won my age group and finished 13th overall out of 498.

I opened the season with a 4th place finish at Bath duathlon, the first race of the South-West triathlon series, round the Odd down cycling circuit on a wet and slippery day. 

My first open water swim of the season was Cotswold's Super-sprint triathlon. This was a cold start to the day with an open road cycle leg.

I always enjoy competing at Eton Dorney as it's a great venue and fantastic atmosphere. The race was in clear water, then onto a fast bike course, all on a hot day!

London triathlon was a great event despite being another hot day. The swim in the docks, followed by a closed road cycle around the streets of London and a closed circuit for the run was all a unique experience. It was  great to watch the Elite mixed relay later in the day and It was also interesting to talk to other athletes on the stands. I must thank John Brame and Marsha @RGACTIVE for their time and advice.

The weather was terrible and pouring with rain for the duration of Oxley triathlon. The bike and run portion of the race were fairly hilly and also long in comparison to the swim, both of which suited my style. I had a good race and finished 4th overall. 

My last couple of multisport races were Hever Castle triathlon where I achieved 12th overall out of 729 and 2nd in my age group, Castle Combe duathlon where I came 13th out of 291 and 1st in my age group. Alongside the mentioned events, I have also competed in a number of other races.

My winter training has begun, as well as the cross country season and a few DB MAX 10 mile time trials at Castle Combe.