Junior Tour of Wales

Last weekend I rode the last round of the British Junior Road Race Series; the Junior Tour of Wales. I was delighted to be entered as a member of the Welsh team. We arrived at Brynmawr on Saturday morning ahead of the first stage, a 7.5km hilly time trial which finished on the top of the Tumble. 

Day 1 - 24/08/13
The course for stage 1 is pretty unusual, with rolling roads and a mountain top finish. After discussing it with Michael Heaven, the Welsh Cycling coach, I decided to ride my TT bike rather than a standard road bike. This proved to be a good decision in the end, as I won the first stage by a narrow 1 second, from Sam Oomen, the Dutch Time Trial Champion. This meant that I was the race leader going into stage two that afternoon & would therefore wear yellow. I also managed to clock the fastest time up the Tumble & therefore lead the King of the Mountains classification. 

My team mate Stevie Williams also did a great ride, finishing 8th in the TT & within 40 seconds of the race lead.

(L-R) Rob Westwood, Joe Wiltshire, Dylan Kerfoot-Robson, Owen James, Stephen Williams, Zach May, Gwyn Lovibond.

Stage 2 was a 72.4km road stage which concluded with a mountain top finish atop of Llangynidr. I've ridden the climb in the past & was mindful that my 1 second lead could be jeopardised if I lost my focus. Fortunately, I had the support of my Welsh Cycling team mates for the entire stage, as they kept things under control.

As anticiapted, other riders were very active early on, ahead of the break forming. Fortunately, Stevie managed to get himself in the break, meaning that the pressure on the team was eased somewhat. Gwyn Lovibond, Dylan Kerfoot-Robson, Joe Wiltshire & Rob Westwood did a great job of keeping the time gap at bay for the mid part of the stage. As we approached Llangynidr mountain, Owen James & Zach May put in strong turns to keep the bunch strung out whilst also bringing the break back within sight. This worked out perfectly as we caught the break on the lower slopes of Llangynidr.

I ensured that the pace was kept fairly high at the bottom on the mountain to deter any attacks early on. This split the bunch, leaving 6 of us at the race lead. 1km from the summit Sam Oomen attacked & gained some ground on myself & James Knox. I lifted the pace gradually, bringing Oomen back towards the flatter section of the climb. James used it as a springboard to attack and took a good stage victory. I placed second, and most importantly held the race lead going into day 2.

Day 2 - 25/08/13
The second day is not considered as a day to gain a lot of time on GC, but more a day where you can loose a lot of time if caught off guard. Sunday was another double day, with a 30km crit around Parc Bryn Bach in the morning, followed by a 72km road stage based around Abergavenny in the afternoon. 

The crit is a challenging circuit, covering 10 laps and a tough climb each time. Fellow ODP team mate Chris Lawless put in  a strong attack during the first lap which set the pace for the remainder of the stage. Welsh team mate Gwyn Lovibond also put in a good attack mid way through and was away solo for a few laps. With 2 laps remaining, Chris attacked, forming the winning move. This was something I was prepared to let go as it didn't jeopardise my race lead. On the last lap, Sam Oomen put in a committed attack up the final climb. I managed to close the gap towards the top of the climb and retained my race lead going into stage four.

I was more concerned about stage four than any other due to the time bonuses available. Six, four & two seconds for both the intermediate sprints, and 12 seconds for the stage win. The team knew that the ideal situation would be for us to allow a breakaway to go up the road and sweep up all of the time bonuses. 

A breakaway of 12 formed, which included 2 of my Welsh team mates; Owen James & Joe Wiltshire. The time gap grew to 1min:50sec before we started to close it down. Zach, Dylan, Stevie & Gwyn gave a strong chase bringing the break within sight with 15km to go. We knew beforehand that the ideal scenario was to allow the break get to the finish just ahead of the bunch, in order to ensure that none of the GC contenders gained the 12 seconds on offer.

The plan was a success, meaning that I held the race lead by 1 second going into the last day. Owen, who was in the break did a great ride, finishing 3rd on the stage & Joe finished 7th. 

Day 3 - 26/08/13
The last stage, finishing up the Tumble climb, is regarded as being the 'Queen stage' of the Junior Tour of Wales. During last year's race, I dropped from 3rd to 5th on GC during this particular stage and was very aware that I could loose the race lead. With bonus seconds available at the intermediate sprint, the team was prepared to leave a break go in order to ensure they weren't won by any of the GC contenders. 

This tactic worked, however Eddie Dunbar who was placed 4th on GC attacked solo from the break, gaining 1min:10sec over the top of Penderyn Moors. All of my Welsh team mates reacted, and brought the break back within 15km. They kept the pace high for the remainder of the race, deterring anyone from trying to attack. Owen James put in a cracking turn as we went through Abergavenny towards the Tumble, stringing the entire bunch out. As intended, the peloton got to the bottom of the Tumble with no riders up the road. 

By this point, the team had done a great job and it was now up to me to finish it off. I kept a close eye on Oomen & Knox as we climbed towards the cattle grid, mid-way up the climb. With 1km to go, it was just the three of us at the front of the race. With 500m to go Knox attacked & I followed, dropping Oomen in the process. James won the stage, one second ahead of myself. I was delighted to have pulled it off, and become the first Welshman to win the Junior Tour of Wales.

I owe a huge thank you to my team mates Zach, Owen, Stevie, Rob, Gwyn, Dylan & Joe for all of their help & selfless riding this weekend. All contributed to a great team victory & I am extremely proud to call them my team mates.

Thanks also to Michael Heaven, Julian Winn, Robert Rowe (Finely Tuned Ride) & all of the staff at Welsh Cycling for their support this weekend & throughout this season. Huge thanks also to Talbot Thrush & the organising team behind the Junior Tour of Wales, it is a great event. 

Finally, massive thanks to all of my sponsors, I really appreciate the support. 

Link to British Cycling report here.

Photos: Guy Swarbrick & Robert Rowe.

Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt & Trofee Van Vlaanderen

Last week I rode the International Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt der Junioren (UCI 2.1) in Germany, as a part of the Welsh Cycling Junior Programme calendar. We travelled to Germany a day before the race got underway, arriving late on Thursday evening. 

Friday morning, we went for the usual pre-race spin around some of the local lanes with our coach, Michael Heaven. The first stage was a short one, only 66km based around Wallenhorst. I was fortunate to do the same race last year, and had a good idea of what to expect. The first stage was short but intense, with narrow lanes stringing the bunch out. Positioning was pretty important in this stage in order to avoid getting caught behind any crashes. Breaks were frequent along with crashes, I was lucky to avoid the crashes and stay upright. Despite getting myself in a few moves and positioning myself well at the front of the bunch. A late break stayed away to the finish, gaining 34 seconds on the bunch. 

Team presentation ahead of stage 1. (L to R) Stephen Williams, Joe Wiltshire, Gwyn Lovibond, Owen James, Zach May, myself.

Stage 2a was a short 9km TT. The course was a fairly flat one, with a tight turn to negotiate. Having lost 34 seconds during the first stage, I knew that I'd need to do a good TT in order to move myself up on GC from 31st. The TT suited me well and I posted 12:31 on the clock, finishing 9th on the stage, 11 seconds down on the stage winner. I was pleased to gain my first top 10 at an International race and also moved up to 14th on GC ahead of the afternoon stage.

Heavy showers before stage 2b meant that the wooded sections of the course would be damp and slippery. Some of the sprint teams were out to keep the race together for the second road stage and ensure a sprint finish. Despite this, a few threatening breakaway were let go. With 25km to go, I found myself in a break of 12 with a 40 second advantage over the bunch. Unfortunately a strong chase from Denmark meant that the break was brought back on the fifth & final lap. The stage finished with a bunch sprint, and I managed to move myself into 13th on GC.

The final stage was 114km, over 3 laps. The final stage was notably hillier than the previous two stages, with two categorised climbs. The stage was fairly straight forward as the Danish team who had the race lead kept a close eye on the breakaways. The stage finished with a bunch sprint again, meaning that GC remained the same, meaning that I finished 13th overall. 

From Germany, I travelled to Belgium to ride the latest round of the Beker Van Belgie (Belgian National Series) with the South East cycling team. I was dropped off at the hostel by the Welsh team on Sunday evening. We had an easy day on Monday, ahead of the race on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning we drove to Reningelst where the Trofee Van Vlaanderen was based. We'd race the 122km over 12 laps. The race had a strong field, with Avia-Crabbe, Kon Balen, Davo & the Alberto Contador Foundation team lining up. The circuit was fairly technical with narrow lanes, bottlenecks & a decent climb up the finishing straight. The weather worsened as we arrived at the Sports centre, with heavy rain forecast for the race. We signed on and headed the gear check in order to place ourselves as far forward as possible on the starting line. Luckily for us, we started at the very front, meaning the normally chaotic few kilometers would be a little less stressful for us.

Lining up 30 minutes before the start in the pouring rain took its toll on my legs, making the first few kilometres particularly painful.

Myself, Jake Scott & fellow ODP rider Gabriel Cullaigh managed to cover the majority of the early breaks as breakaways started to form. The majority of which were marshalled early on by the Avia-Crabbe team. As the race progressed, the strong crosswind and narrow lanes took its toll splitting the bunch over the course of a lap. The bunch shrunk to around 40 riders at one point, with myself and Gabriel Cullaigh in that group.

We covered the majority of the breaks, bridging across to a few threatening moves. Despite our efforts, the race came back together within the last few kilometres and ultimately came down to a sprint. I placed 21st in the end, with only 77 of the 171 starters finishing. 

I'm pleased with how the last few races have gone and hope to carry on building as I prepare for the final round of the National Junior Series; the Junior Tour of Wales. 

Sincere thanks to Michael Heaven, Karl Nielsen and Robert Rowe for a great trip in Germany, and to John Barclay and Dave of the South East team for the opportunity to race in Belgium.

I'm currently half way through a training camp with the Welsh Junior Programme in Newport; in preparation for track National & the Junior Tour of Wales - thanks for reading.