UCI World Junior Road Race Championships

Last week saw my junior career come to an end, as I raced the Junior World Road Race Championships in Florence. I was delighted to be named as a part of the four man GB squad; which also included Tao Geoghegan Hart, Matt Gibson, and James Knox.

The icing on the cake was when I spoke to Stephen from Dolan Bikes on the phone and he mentioned that they'd be sending me a new bike for the Worlds. I couldn't believe it when this beauty arrived..

My Ares SL with Sram Red and Mavic Cosmic Ultimate wheels.

I flew out to Pisa last Tuesday ahead of the race on Saturday. I got my first opportunity to ride the course on Thursday, as the roads were closed in order for riders to recce the circuit.

I had a good idea of what the course profile looked like before heading out to Italy, but it's always difficult to know how it will ride. The circuit was a little tougher than I had expected. Although the roads were great, I thought the course was pretty technical, with some tight bends to negotiate. Two laps of the circuit gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect come race day.

I began to feel a little nervous on Friday evening when we sat down for our pre-race meeting with ODP coach Matt Winston. The plan was that we'd work for Tao as team leader, and commit to positioning him as well as possible on the final lap, especially as we turned onto the Via Salviati for the final time.

We headed to bed pretty early, ahead of the 8:30 start on Saturday. 

Numbers pinned ahead of race day.

Race day had arrived, and 140km lay ahead of us. We headed to the start in Montecatini. It was a novelty heading to the start in the Team Sky campervan. We did the usual team presentation, ahead of the gear-check (my last ever!) and lined up on the start-line. 

The race set off at a quick pace, before settling down when the breakaway eventually formed. It went on to gain 5 minutes by the time we got to the circuit around Florence. With the break still 4 minutes ahead with four laps remaining, James Knox & myself started doing turns on the front in order to keep the break under control. We brought the time gap down 55 seconds in the space of a lap, however it was at this point that Tao had his mechanical.

It was a real shame that Tao's chain broke on one of the ascents of Via Salviati, meaning that he had to run the remainder of the climb and wait for a neutral bike. Unfortunately this was the end of his race. I started to suffer with around 45km to go, having gone fairly deep alongside James on front earlier on in the race. 

I stayed in the wheels and tried to recover as much as I could. It proved quite challenging with the circuit being as lumpy as it was, without any real respite. With two laps to go, the pace picked up as the French set a strong tempo. The front group was no more than 50 riders at this point. I had to dig deep just to stay up there, but went over the finish line in the front group with only 1 lap remaining. 

It was at this point that I started to suffer with cramp. Apart from the Junior Paris-Roubaix which I raced at the start of the season, this was my longest race of the year by quite a bit. I got distanced from the leaders around 750m from the summit of the Fiesole but managed to chase back on on the descent. Unfortunately the same happened on the Via Salviati, as I really started to hurt. 

I chased hard on the descent back into Florence and got across to the front group with 2km to go. By this point, Mathieu Van der Poel (Holland) had already made his winning move, breaking away on the Via Salviati. I sat in the wheels, biding my time ahead of the sprint. The group started to fragment as the pace lifted in an attempt to bring back Van der Poel. I jumped from group to group, finding myself in fifth or sixth position with 300 metres to go. The sprint opened up, and I went on to finish in seventh place. 

Although initially disappointed not to have made the podium, I think I can be fairly happy with the result knowing that I left everything on the road. The race capped off a successful season for myself and a great way end to my junior career. Race result:

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) 3-33-14
2. Mads Pedersen (Denmark) @ 3 secs
3. Iltjan Nika (Albania) "
4. Logan Owen (USA) "
5. Lorenzo Rota (Italy) "
6. Lucas Eriksson (Sweden) "
7. Scott Davies (Great Britain) "
8. Artem Nych (Russia) "
9. Sergey Shemyakin (Kazakhstan) "
10. Benjamin Brkic (Austria) all same time "

Photo with my Uncle Viv post race. 

Not only was it my last race as a junior, but also my last as a member of the Olympic Development Programme.  I've had a great year on the ODP this year, having learnt a lot, and having had some amazing experiences, whilst making so many new friends along the way. I owe a big thank you to Matt Winston for the support & opportunities he's given me this season. Sincere thanks also to Martyn Ashfield (GB Mechanic) & Rachel Murray (GB Soigneur) for all of their help too. I'm going to miss being a part of the ODP next season, however I'm sure as one door closes another will open. 

I'm also very grateful to Welsh Cycling for the support & opportunities they've given me this year. Sadly, my time on the Welsh Junior Programme has also come to an end. I'm especially thankful to Michael Heaven who has coached me for the past 2 years, putting up with so many of my late night texts and emails, ha! I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the training camps & race trips with the Welsh team this year. I'm now looking forward to seeing what next season brings. 

Lastly, I'd like to say a massive thank you to all of my sponsors for supporting me this year. I'm especially grateful to Dolan Bikes for providing me with some great bikes this year. I've really enjoyed riding the Ares SL this season, and would recommend it to anyone. Stephen, Terry and all Dolan staff have been so kind & generous to me this year, and I really appreciate it. I can't thank them enough. 

Thanks for taking the time to read,

Scott. 

Giro Della Lunigiana

Following the Tour of Wales, I travelled to Italy to race Giro Della Lunigiana; a four day stage race based around the Toscanna region of Italy. I was pleased to have been named as a part of the 6 man ODP squad, which included Tao Geoghegan Hart, Germain Burton, Gabz Cullaigh, Matt Gibson & Chris Lawless. The intention was to use the race to prepare for the World Road Race Championships, which will be held in Toscanna at the end of the month. I flew out from Bristol last Wednesday, ready to start racing on Thursday.

The view on a pre-race ride with Germain.

Stage 1 - 05/09/13

Stage 1 was 96km long, with a 4km summit finish. The stage started in a little hilltop town, which we could eventually race back up towards for the finish. We knew beforehand that positioning ourselves towards the front of the bunch as we neared to final climb would be key. 

Final climb, 300 metres to go.

The stage itself was very chaotic, the bunch seemed to be very un-easy, and so there were a few bad crashes. Myself, Matt Gibson & Gabz Cullaigh were all caught up in a pile-up 30km into the stage, luckily I managed to stay upright and get back to the front of the race. Chris Lawless & Matt Gibson did a great job of keeping us topped up with bottles from the team car, as the temperature rose to over thirty degrees.

The break was eventually brought back, and the bunch approached the final climb intact. The race started to split as soon as we hit the climb. Germain Burton and Tao Geoghegan Hart positioned themselves slightly further forward than myself towards the bottom of the climb. They both worked well together to gain a gap, setting Tao up for the stage win, taking the leaders jersey in the process. I climbed at my own pace, gradually closing the gap & finishing 5th on the stage, 7 seconds down.

Stage 2 - 06/09/13

Stage two was considered as the 'sprint stage', 106km with only one significant climb midway through the stage.

The ultimate goal for today's stage was to defend the leaders jersey. The plan was to talk on the road, and possibly set up Germain or Chris for the bunch sprint. Denmark controlled the majority of the stage, as they also had the stage win in mind. It was important that we were aware of any potential attacks on the climb, and that no one that could threaten the GC gained any time. We kept the pace fairly high up the climb, deterring any serious attacks from the rest of the GC contenders.

The decent from the top of the climb was fairly tricky, before we dropped down to complete 4 laps of the finishing circuit. Denmark controlled the tail end of the race pretty well, ensuring the speed was kept high. Unfortunately I punctured with 5km to go. A quick wheel change from Martyn the GB mechanic meant that I got got back in the bunch with just over 3km to go, therefore maintaining 5th on GC.

Unfortunately the sprint didn't workout for Chris & Germain, however we achieved our main goal which was defending Tao's leaders jersey. 

Stage 3 - 07/09/13

The third day was considered as the 'queen stage' of the race, with a summit finish that would decide the GC. 

Again, the main goal for today's stage was to defend the leaders jersey, whilst also maintaining myself and Germain's position on GC. A break formed early on, Matt Gibson & Chris Lawless kept a close eye on it, riding on the front for the majority of the stage. Both put in a solid ride in what was a very tough stage. 

As we neared the final climb, Chris put in a strong turn on the front to position Tao & myself well. I ensured to pace was kept high for the next 4km, in order to deter any attacks. 1km from the summit, Robert Power (Australia) attacked & Tao followed. I went on to finish 4th on the stage, and moved up to second on GC. The good news was that Tao maintained the race lead ahead of the final stage.  

The view from the summit on stage 3.

Stage 4 - 08/09/13

The final stage was 101km long, with a long climb 15km from the finish. I was pretty apprehensive before the start of the stage, having moved up to 2nd overall behind Tao the previous day. The plan for the stage was to keep the break under control, and for me and Tao to position ourselves well on the climb, ensuring that nothing slipped away.

Chris, Matt & Germain all did a great job of keeping the early break under control, meaning that no one was up the road as we approached the climb. As the group was gradually worn down by the climb, myself & Tao ensured that no serious moves got away. I was unfortunate to crash 2km from the summit, but managed to get myself back to the front of the race pretty quickly. 

The final kilometre to the finish was particularly hard, as the gradient increased significantly. Robert Power of Australia committed to a big attack meaning that Tao followed. Feeling a little gassed from my chase back on, I continued at a steadier pace, bridging across the gap on the descent.

The descent to Lazzaro proved to be pretty technical, with narrow roads & plenty of switchbacks. Myself, Tao, Robert Power (Aus), Mads Pedersen (Den), and Ghebremarian of Eritrea led the descent in a move that stayed away to the finish. The pace dropped slightly as we approached the finish, and allowed Pedersen to attack & stay away, taking the stage win in the process. Tao finished second on the stage, myself 5th.

A novelty riding in the leading foreign rider's blue jersey, as Tao led GC.

I was very relieved to have held on to second overall, whilst also defending Tao's leaders jersey. It was a great show of team work, and a testament of how well we've performed as a team this season. 

Upon reflection, I'm very pleased with how Lunigiana went, especially considering that past winners include Vincenzo Nibali, Danilo Di Luca and Damiano Cunego.  I'm also delighted to have been selected to represent GB at the Junior World Road Race Championships at the end of the month, and hopefully I'll be able to build on the success I had in Lunigiana.

Link to the results here.

Sincere thanks to Matt Winston, Rachel Murray & Martyn Ashfield for all their help & for a great trip; and the the whole team for their camaraderie. 

Thanks for reading,

Scott.

Photos: duzimage & www.ciclismoblog.it