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Latest News

April - June

 

Where to start, a lot has happened since my last update on here. After ZlM we stayed out in Belgium for the 4 day Ardennes challenege, unfortunatelly for me after the nations cups I picked up quite a heavy cold and due to this I missed most of the racing in the Ardennes. I managed to start the last day though which was nice to be back racing although it felt horrendus at the time. Following this we returned back to Manchester for the first time in over a month which was a nice change of scene. Next up on the agenda was the 2 day Prem tour of the reservoir which takes place in Northumberland. Again unfortunatlly for me the race didn’t go to plan at all and I crashed out of the break on the 2nd day. I was in the front group of 6 riders when I had a front wheel blow out on a corner and went down instantly.  It’s never nice crashing especially when there is nothing you can do about it! On the plus side I came away quite lightly with just some genral road rash but the race was over for me.
 
After a solid week of training back at home I flew to Belgium and then travelled across to luxembourg for the 5 day UCI 2.2 Stage Race Fleche de Sud. Stage 1 was a short 80km Kermesse style stage in the evening. In the end it came down to a bunch kick where I managed to place 5th and as a result ended up in the best young riders jersey for the coming stage. The next stage was another bunch kick but it didn’t really go to plan and I finished 11th. Over the next few stages we worked for Simon as he was well placed on the overall but on the same time as many other riders and the overall positions would be decided on countback of stage positions. We managed to set him up well over the next few days with him taking a 3rd and a 4th. In addition to this I also finished 2nd in the intermediate sprints jersey. On a whole it was a solid week of racing for me and the team on a whole            
 
Next up was the An Post Ras again another UCI 2.2 stage race but this one being 8 days long. This was my first trip to Ireland so I was unsure what to expect. Fortunatelly for us it wasn’t sterotypical Irish wether and we raced in the sun every day. For me personally the race went really well and I won the points jersey and finished 2nd, 5th, 6th, 6th, 8th, 8th, 11th and 12th on the stages. Ironically I was 13th overall in the general classification, 3rd in the young riders and we won the team prize. This was one of our strongest peformances as a team yet and it showed in the results.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Following this I had a bit of time to recover and prepare before travelling to the 8 day Thuringen Rundfahrt. This is a UCI 2.2U race which means that it’s for u23 riders only and so attracts all the top u23 teams and riders, here’s a quick summary of riders who have ridden in previous years
 
 
  • 2012 saw Rohan Dennis (now Garmin-Sharp) take the overall over Johan Le Bon (FDJ) and Marc Goos (Blanco) while Nikias Arndt (Argos-Shimano) and Danny van Poppel (Vacansoleil) won stages.
  • 2011 saw Wilco Kelderman (Blanco) take two stages and the overall win while Tobias Ludvigsson, Nikias Arndt (Argos-Shimano) Luke Rowe (SKY) and Jay McCarthy (Saxo-Tinkoff) won stages
  • 2010 saw John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) win the overall with Barry Markus (Vacansoleil) winning a stage.
 
As you can see from the above this is one of the top u23 races of the year and is a big goal for the whole team. Coming from the race the morale was good and we were riding well as a team. My personal aim for the race was to take my chances in the bunch kicks and be involved to set someone up for a strong overall.  In the race I was 9th in one kick which was a bit disappointing as I misjudged my sprint. Coming into the last day the race had been going okay for me but I was still missing the result I had come here for so was really up for the last stage. In the final the lads set me up really well and I managed to take out 3rd  in the bunch kick. Again as a team we rode strongly taking another 2 podiums on stages and Simon finishing 10th overall.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
My last race from this busy block was the national championships up in Glasgow. Originally I was down to ride the time trial but coming out of Thuringen I decided to opt out and focus solely on the road race as the course was more to my suiting. I was really looking forward to the race and also the chance to compete on the commonwealth games road course for 2014. I have to say the crowds really made the race and there was a great atmosphere around the circuit. In the end I finished 17th in the race and was 2nd in the U23 competition behind Simon. I was really happy to finish this heavy block of road racing on a high. I’m currently sat in my hotel room in Portugal preparing for the U23 European track championships, I will be competing in the Individual Pursuit, Points, Scratch and Madison with the aim of gaining qualification points for next years World Cups. Sorry if the update is a bit long but a lot has happened since my last post! I will try and make sure the next update doesn’t take as long
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Take it easy
Ow

Nations Cups

A lot has happened since my last post and all the Nations Cups have been and gone. In the weeks beforehand the team had been riding well picking up another 3 wins and 5 podiums in various races across Belgium and Holland. I also finished 2nd by 2000ths of a second in another dutch race the Omloop Van Braakman. Unfortunately for me this is the smallest ever recorded margin between 1st and 2nd in Holland, the saying close but no cigar springs to mind. The first race in the series was the u23 Tour of Flanders, the race takes in many of the same cobbled climbs used in the pro version including the Molenberg, Eikenberg and Tainenberg. The race itself didn't go to plan with bad luck effecting the majority of the team through punctures or crashes. I myself had 2 punctures the first early on and the second about 10k before the Steenbeekdries the first cobbled climb of the finishing circuits. Unfortunately for me when I punctured there were no team cars because the race had split to bits so I had to get a wheel from Neutral Service and get back on myself. This took a lot out of me and I just managed to make the front group of 30 coming into the finish. I tried to lead Yatesy out but it was a messy sprint and he lost my wheel. In the end I finished 13th and Simon 20th. It wasn't the result I was hoping for but it was good to have been in the front group and in the racing but more Importantly I had picked up some nations cup points which count towards the number of riders a nation can enter for the world championships at the end of the year. Next up was La Cote Picardie, the name of the race says it all...The Picardy coast. Taking place in the Somme department, the race winds its way around the primarily flat, windy region. Luckily for us it was a fairly still day with not to much wind. As a team we rode a really strong race covering all the big moves and controlling the race when we had to. Coming onto the Hilly finishing circuits we went about setting Simon up to attack by keeping the pace as high as possible, in the end he finished 3rd. This was great result for Simon and the whole team after everyone worked so hard for the team. Again this meant more points and moved us up to 7th overall in the rankings. The 3rd Nations Cup race of the week and final one for a while was the ZLM Tour, a race around the Oosterscheide, an estuary and the largest national park in the Netherlands. Situated in the provice of Zeeland, the race started in the city of Goes winds around and over the Oosterscheide and then loops back into Goes for two finishing loops. On the day of the race the wind had really picked up and from the gun the race was in bits. For the first 100k of the race I rode through and off in the 2nd echelon on the road always just behind the front group but when its as windy as it was 100m may as well be a mile. With about 70k to go finally the front group sat up and a few of the groups came back together. Entering the finishing circuits I started going with moves before eventually getting in the front move of 17 which would fight it out for the win. Coming into the finish 2 riders got away on the run in and then I took 2nd in the group sprint behind meaning I finished 4th. It would have been nice to have got on the podium but its still a result im happy with and a good way to finish off the first block of nations cups. In addition to this we moved up to 4th in the nations cup standing. Next up for myself and the team is a 4 day stage race in Belgium before heading back to the UK for the 2 day Tour of the Reservoir. Hopefully myself and the team can continue the strong run of results we have picked up already this year

Thats all for now, cheers for reading
Owain

Belgian Holiday

As preparation for the upcoming UCI u23 Nations Cups myself and the rest of the Great Britain u23 academy have relocated to Belgium for a block of Racing. So far its going well and everyone is keeping fairly sane although there are 9 of us sharing a house together aptly dubbed 'the mad house'. The weather is far from ideal at the moment but it does make for more character building racing. So far its been quite a successful trip with Yatesy and Belly getting a 1-2 in Harelbeke, and myself coming 4th in the meeus race in Holland on sunday. Our first big goal is the u23 Tour of Flanders which starts on the 6th of April. This is a race I hope to do well and am looking forward too already. Below is a list of the upcoming Nations cups

​

6th of April - U23 Ronde Van Vlanderen (Belgium)

10th of April - Le Cote Picarde (France)

13th - ZLM (Holland)

15th - 20th - Toscana (Italy)



Hopefully next time I write on here myself and the team will have some more results too shout about



​Cheers

Ow









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