Having secured the support of many new companies and backers over
the past few weeks, I've decided it would be a good idea to start a blog up to
keep everybody informed on what I'm up to.
So I guess a bit of an introduction would
be a good start. I'm a 23 year old triathlete from Stafford in the Midlands.
I'm in my final year of study for my Master's degree in Motorsport Engineering
at Oxford Brookes University. I took up triathlon in May 2012, and actually won
my first race (BUCS Super Sprint tri)! Since then, things have progressed very
quickly and I am now racing in the British Super Series and Castle Tri Series for the
TriPack Race Team, as well as a cyclist for Beeline Bicycles Race Team. Aside from
sport, I have been progressing my career, working on placement as a junior
aerodynamicist for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team up until just over a year ago
when I came back to uni to finish my Master's. Since then I have started up my
own little venture called CrossWind Aero. It is a spin off from my dissertation
where I investigated aerodynamic testing protocols for time trial bikes and
stumbled across a way to perform some pretty accurate real world aerodynamic
testing at a very low cost, win win! Drop me a message if you're interested...
So, what have I been up to? Well since it's my end of season break it's been very little on the sporting front and a great deal of coursework! I'm actually enjoying the break; I think it has been well earned, having raced over 60 times this season. My last race was two weeks ago; BUCS Duathlon at Castle Combe Race Circuit in Chippenham. After a disastrous run up to BUCS Hill Climb where I had hoped to be strong but fell flat the week prior, I tried a different preparation strategy.
So, what have I been up to? Well since it's my end of season break it's been very little on the sporting front and a great deal of coursework! I'm actually enjoying the break; I think it has been well earned, having raced over 60 times this season. My last race was two weeks ago; BUCS Duathlon at Castle Combe Race Circuit in Chippenham. After a disastrous run up to BUCS Hill Climb where I had hoped to be strong but fell flat the week prior, I tried a different preparation strategy.
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| BUCS Hill Climb Championship - A bad day in the office |
BUCS Duathlon is a race I thoroughly
enjoy. Hundreds of students descending on a small quiet race track always
produces a great spectacle. This would be my final year of smashing round
Castle Combe so I wanted to go out with a bang. My run training has been quite
inconsistent since coming back to university in September but I knew what sort
of pace I could sustain for the first 3km run, and I drilled it in to my head
that I would hold back for the first kilometre. Every year prior I have gotten caught
up in the crazy sprint off the line and arrived at T1 having dragged myself
through a horrific positive split. This year would be different. I stuck to my
guns and fired out consistent 3:15kms, feeling super comfortable getting in to
T1.
The bike. 15km. Fun time! Having developed
a few models for performance prediction over TT and HC courses and being
relatively experienced at time trialling, I knew pretty well how hard I could
go. I was soon up to goal pace and pulling in the leaders fast. I passed Rich
Horton and Sam Wade midway through lap 3, so knew I couldn't be too far off the
leaders. At the end of lap 3 I spotted Alex Matchett in the distance and
gradually clawed him back, taking him at the end of lap 4, giving me one lap to
put some time in to him. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Alex is a super
strong biker and had paced his bike well, managing to stick with me for all of
the final lap. I pulled in to T2 in 2nd place, nudging Liam Lloyd's back tyre.
A rapid T2 saw me head out on to the run in the lead. Unfortunately no amount
of wishful thinking would see me hold on to the lead for long, I'm not a top
runner (at least yet, watch this space!) so would have to work hard to limit
how many places I dropped on the second run. On a slight side note, the amount
of completely intentional drafting I saw on the bike leg was borderline
ridiculous. BUCS needs to step up the marshalling as it's ridiculously unfair
on those abiding by the rules, let alone downright illegal.
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| BUCS Duathlon - Smashing the bike |
I was sitting in 3rd place and a quick
look over my shoulder at 1.5km to go saw a few quick runners bearing down on
me. The women’s race had been set off late so I had to cut my way through the
backmarkers whilst trying to hold a good pace. Sam Wade came past with around 1km
to go and Luke Grenfell-Shaw with around 500m to the line. I knew there would
be a steady stream of runners nipping at my heels so I started to really empty
the tank. James Teagle drew level with me with 200m to go and I wasn't going to
settle for a lower position than last year! I've ran plenty of 800m races and
have a strong kick, although I rarely get to use it in triathlons and
duathlons. I kicked on and gapped James for a few seconds and closed in on Luke
but didn't quite catch him.
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| BUCS Duathlon - Emptying it on the finish straight |
5th place, exhausted, and delighted.
Having seen the quality of the field the week prior, I was a bit nervous about
how I could perform against what was a significantly tougher field than 2013.
My good friend Andy Dyson gave me an encouraging thought a few days prior; I
hope he won't mind me quoting him here! "They earned their reputations in
the water, but TTing around a motor-racing circuit - now they're on your
turf!" I was 38 seconds faster than 2013, had the fastest bike split by 46
seconds over the next quickest cyclist and 5 of the top 6 fastest bike laps (thanks to
my team mate Jason for smashing out a solo lap and taking the fastest by a few seconds!!). A good day. Results are
available
here: http://dbmax.racetecresults.com/Results.aspx?CId=16421&RId=2074&EId=3
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| BUCS Duathlon - Post-race team photo |
Since then I have managed to secure some
excellent support for 2015. I have signed with Beeline Bicycles RT, who will
provide me with both of my race bikes, as well kit, nutrition and support at
road races. Pedal Potential has agreed to back me for the coming season, giving
financial support and sage advice on how to progress throughout the year. Zone3
will be keeping me buoyant with their Vanquish wetsuit and Aeroforce Sub 220
trisuit. Bonk Triathlon have kept me looking on point all year, they haven't
organised their 2015 team yet but I hope to stay on board as their gear is
awesome! Custom Cycle Coaching will be setting me the most gruelling sessions
around and ensuring I'm progressing well with regular fitness tests. Beet It
Sport will be supplying me with the finest quality beetroot juice and beetroot
flapjacks, and BD Sports Massage & Injury Therapy will be keeping my body in
tip top shape throughout the year. I'd also like to thank Santander UK for backing my sports scholarship for this academic year. The funding has been
greatly received and been put to good use!
I best get back to my coursework and exam revision. My next update will be a bit of a season review as well as highlighting my 2015 plans. I'll sign off with one of my favourite quotes...
"It doesn't get any easier, you just get faster." - Greg LeMond
I best get back to my coursework and exam revision. My next update will be a bit of a season review as well as highlighting my 2015 plans. I'll sign off with one of my favourite quotes...
"It doesn't get any easier, you just get faster." - Greg LeMond
