Trofeo Karlsberg Nations Cup

Having recently raced Axel Tour in the Netherlands with the Welsh team, last week I was selected to represent GB at Trofeo Karlsberg, a round of the UCI junior Nations Cup. I travelled to Germany with the team on Wednesday ahead of the first stage on Thursday afternoon. Trofeo was a four day race with five stages, mainly based around Strabenrennen. After a pretty long journey & a quick ride, I was  glad to get to bed that evening. 

After a  quick recce of the hilly time trial course on Thursday morning, we rode to the start of the first stage at 4:30 in Erfweiler-Ehinglen. We did the usual team sign-on & presentation before a gear-check & lining up. Racing got under way in what was a fairly straight forward stage. With about 17km to go, I decided to try and get up the road just before the approach to the finish. Initially I got a gap on my own before being bridged to by a Russian, Norwegian and an Italian. We worked well together, opening up a gap of up to 32 seconds on the bunch. For the last few kilometres, I could see the bunch as I glanced over my shoulder. With just under a kilometre to go, the gap had reduced significantly, and unfortunately for me I was caught with 350 metres to go. 

Despite my initial disappointment having been caught so close to the line, the team still came away with a good result with Chris & Germain both finishing on the podium. We also won the team classification for the stage. 

Bad weather on Friday certainly made for a tough stage, with the rain making it especially hard to see in the bunch. Some real fast descents became even more unnerving whilst trying to slow down on wet carbon rims. The stage was fairly straight forward, with a few breaks going but nothing gaining any substantial time. By the last lap, all the breaks were brought back ready for the bunch sprint. After a good lead out, Chris won the stage which meant that the time bonus put him in the yellow jersey. It was also a bonus that we held on to the team classification lead. 

Saturday was a double day, with a 11.6km TT in the morning, followed by a 80km road stage in the afternoon. It was a fairly hilly TT compared to what I've raced in the paced, with some fast descents too. The TT went ok, however not one of my best performances. I finished 17th in that stage, which would shape the GC for the rest of the race. Fellow ODP rider Matt Gibson had a stormer, finishing 9th on the stage.

Thankfully, the weather had improved for the afternoon stage and we set off from Homburg. Again, this stage came down to a sprint finish. We did an good lead out from around 2km out with Chris finishing 2nd and Germain 3rd. We also won the team classification for the stage.

 The last stage on Sunday was 100km, starting & finishing in Walsheim. The main aim was to defend both Chris & Matt's top 10 position on GC, and for Tao & myself to hold on to a top 20 finish. We also needed to ensure that Chris won the green jersey by making sure the intermediate sprint points were not won by the rider in second place in the sprint competition. The last stage had some tough climbs in it, as some of the course was the TT in reverse. One threatening breakaway got away towards the tail end of the stage, however we were represented in it with Tao Geaghegan Hart. That break was eventually brought back and by that point we knew that Chris had won the points jersey. As we approached the finish line for the final time, things started to heat up with around 1500m to go. Unfortunately, Germain & Joe were caught up in a crash during the final km, but luckily they were ok. Tao positioned himself well & took 3rd on the stage. We also won the team classification for the stage, however lost out on the overall team classification to the Danish team. 

Following the podium presentation, we headed back to the hotel to change & for a quick meal before beginning the long journey home to the UK. Although a bit sad that Trofeo was my last Nations Cup as a junior, I really appreciated the opportunities I've had to represent Great Britain this season. A big thanks to Matt Winston, Martyn Ashfield & Kathryn McClelland for all of their help in Germany, and to Dolan bikes for all of their support.

My next aim is working towards selection to represent GB at the Junior World Track Championships in Glasgow, and the World road & time trial Championships in Italy during September. 

Thanks for reading,

Scott.