Kitzbuhel ETU cup and a new racing team!!!

My 2nd european cup went better than the first, i didnt crash.

Having qualified in Wales finishing 11th i was eligible to race again for GBR at the Kitzbuhel ETU cup, the format for this race was a 2 day, qualifier and final.

The first race was an individual time trial, which started with a running dive into a freezing cold lake in the rain which i loved, coming out the swim i had caught 2 people who started 15 and 30 seconds ahead of me, i then buried myself on the bike to post the 5th fastest bike split and ran at tempo speed to secure a start the next day in the final finishing 15th in the qualifier,

the next day did not go as well, legs feeling dead from the day before, i took my position on the start pontoon and within 5 strokes of the klaxon i was under the water with people swimming over me.

Not a good start.

i made up a lot of time on the bike again however i did not have it in me on the day, finishing 25th in a field of 30 finalists however many had not qualified and i was pleased just to make the final.

Exciting news, for the 2016/17 season i will be racing for Yonda Racing team!!!

ETU European cup Quateira, Portugal

Last weekend i raced in my first ever international race representing GBR in the european cup race in Portugal. Prior to this race i had been ill and was worried that this may effect my performance however i tapered well for the race and once i was out there i felt fine.
I was excited but also nervous as this was the biggest race i had ever competed in however after watching the elite men i was looking forwards to a chance to see where i was in comparison with the best Europe had to offer.
On the day the wind speed was low, the temperature was high and i felt great, however being number 71 meant i had limited option of where to start on the start line ( we were called forwards in race number order and in a field of 76 i was the 71st to be called).
after "choosing" a position very wide the commentator said "on your marks" and then the klaxon was heard.
I sprinted into the waves however this was my first ever sea swim and i struggled with the waves and aggresive nature of the swim, coming out mid field i was just behind the 2nd pack.
I worked hard on the bike with two riders from the Netherlands and managed to get myself into the 2nd pack where i sat comfortably for 3 laps.

On the 4th and final lap of the bike i clashed with a belgian rider at the front of the pack and went down, 9 other cyclists went down with us causing a large unavoidable pileup, most managed to get back into the racing however my bike and body were damaged.
With help from an irish triathlete i managed to get back on my bike and finish the bike/run despite my injuries.
Despite it all, it was a great experience and i look forwards to more chances to represent my country!!
Thanks to my sponsors:
Beetit for helping me with pre-race nutrition
zone3 for my race suit which survived the crash
 Ucan for recovery drinks post-race

Winter grind, sponsorship and racing 2016

For the 2016 season i have been training very hard over the winter with an increase on last year in both the quality of my training and the quantity.
My highlights of the winter has been winning the middlesex schools cross country champs at the bottom of the age group, coming 2nd at the middlesex champs and winning 2 out of 3 cyclo cross races, I have also taken part in a 2/3/4 road cycling race and contested the sprint.
All of these races are geared to the summer and are a key part of my programme,
My swimming, running and cycling are coming along and i am very much looking forwards to the summer now.
I have recently been on a training camp with the London Academy to Spain and have also been offered a training camp in Banbury, Oxfordshire with the National squad. Due to last years performances i am also a reserve for a European Cup Race in Portugal.
For the 2016 season i have been offered a 2nd year of sponsorship from Zone3 and a new sponsorship from BeetIT and would like to say thank you to them for the support this season.

Liverpool,London and the u20s festival

In my last 3 triathlons of the year I have been making improvements, Liverpool I was top 20, London top 15 and in the U20s festival I was 12th. Improving my position coming out of the swim and managing to stay in the front pack on the bike has helped me to finish higher and I am starting to get used to the longer distances which I struggled with at the start of the year and now with my season over I have a lot of analysis and changes to my training schedule to make.
This winter I am planning to race in cross country, cyclo cross and swimming galas but I will mainly be putting in a lot of training to get even stronger.

JBF sponsorship

Thanks to JBF( the jack boericke foundation) for sponsoring me and helping aid the financial side of my sport, they have really helped me to carry on progressing in the sport and i look forwards to a long partnership with them as a foundation athlete!!

Trinity Triathlon

At the trinity school in south london i raced in the earliest starting triathlon this year,
i arrived at 5am, signed on, set up in transition and began warming up at 6am,
the race was a very confusing one with 6 laps on the bike and 7 laps on the run.

i was the 2nd to go on the swim which was 300m, i went out hard averaging 1.06 per 100m and caught the swimmer ahead of me, i then had one of my best T1's of the year coming out in 1st, i hammered the bike and stretched my lead over 2nd place and then after a good T2 went into the run with good legs finnishing with a fast run.

i felt strong throughout the race and won another London league race, this has boosted my confidence and helped me gain experience for the bigger races to come.

West-GHS national qualifier

On the 21st of june i raced in my 3rd ever 10mile time trial in the national 10mile qualifier, to qualify i had to be in the top 3.
The course was very hilly and slow with a strong headwind for a lot of the race, i didnt know what to expect in terms of the competition because i had never done it before, however when i saw the national champion turn up i realised it was going to be tough,
i got talking to the team manager from one of the uk's largest cycling teams ( catford equipe-banks) and he gave me a lot of invaluable advice for training and my future,
i had a good 45minute warm up on my turbo before being set off 10th,

the course was 2 laps of a 5mile circuit and my first lap was just over 11minutes, i realised that if i could keep it up although the 2nd lap was longer i would beat the fastest time from last year so i kept pushing harder.

Across the Finnish line my time was 23.39 which although 45 seconds off of my best time, put me in 3rd position where I stayed, i had qualified for the nationals!!!
1st place did the course in a time of 21.58 and 2nd place in 22.45 which meant I was not far off the national champion, I am very much looking forwards to the nationals where i can compare my times to the fastest junior cyclists in the country on a very fast course and go for a pb, I will be aiming for 21.30.
Thanks to zone3 for providing my glasses and for JWCT for helping pay for my racing bike and other equipment.