British Championships

Adventure is a big part of cycling. You are thrown in the deep end time and again. The British Championships is one such adventure. For me doing it un-attached I have a lot to worry about when I go to this race: Transport, bike, timing etc. Things are never optimal and one can never fuss about. No electrolytes  Water will do. No carbon wheel: aluminium is just fine. It goes like that. It would be tough for the spoilt brats of cycling to just get on with it, they'd drop out, not turn up, etc. Luckily I was well educated at Tavira -no primadonna there.

I met many great people at the race and the support was heart felt and overwhelming. I am not a big fish, but have been only a domestique in my career so far. All I can say is thank you and I may honour people's support with good performance.

I missed the initial break by a bit as I was badly positioned at about mid pack. Sky did a text book move on the the only hill in the course which was beautiful to watch, but frustrating also. I set of up the field winding my way through the carnage on the hill and got to the group just behind... Alas just a bit short of the Sky "train". All credit has to go to Jez Hunt in that he was the one that stretched the bunch before the climb allowing his colleagues to get away and eventually win the race, sacrificing himself in the process.

Racing for scraps, I tried to get away, possibly even up to the group. Unusually for a domestique I seemed to be heavily marked. I myself had my eye on David Clarke of the Endura squad as I knew he was as strong as an ox, a good worker in the break and the know rider sure to try for it. This meant that time and again I got dragged back. Anyway bored of this I just sat in. watching people go up the road in drips and drabs and coming bad in similar fashion. I sprinted at the end to went to soon and got passed 50m before the line. I came 32nd in the results although I had though I came approximately 21st. I must not have been paying enough attention at a some point.