Cross Season Over, Road Season About To Begin.

Apologies for the late update on my last cross race, been enjoying my time off the bike and haven't got round to writing up a blog post, but as it is my last day off before training resumes, I thought i'd better get on with the blogging!


My last race of the cyclo-cross season was the last National series round at Shrewsbury. It was probably my best result of the season, 17th, although I felt I could have and should have done better if I wasn't caught behind crashes, but thats racing. I really enjoyed the race though, I felt more involved, which is a nice feeling considering the lack of cross specific training I did during the Season. The course was really good fun too, mainly based weaving in and out of trees and on off camber banks, making it quite technical. Good news for the road season ahead though, is that on the long road section each lap I managed to gain time on the riders in front, proving all the power and strength work I've done this Winter has paid off.


Cross bikes are now hung up for another year, I am now comitted to the upcoming road season, looking forward to testing myself and improving on last years results, to prepare myself for my second year as a Senior and Under 23 rider.


Its looking like I am heading off to Lanzarote for a couple of solid weeks pre-season training with the Burtons, in the second week of February. I can't wait to get back into the swing of training, and starting off in Lanzarote is perfect to get it all underway. I am planning to start my racing season almost as soon as I get back, on the last weekend of February, to say i'm excited is an understatement.

I hope to be picking up my new Colnago team bike in the near future, that is making the upcoming season even more exciting, cannot wait to get my hands on it!

The Colnago M10 Frame I will be riding in 2012.

The Colnago I will be riding this year will be completed with Campag Super Record 11 groupset and FSA components.


That's all for now, keep checking back for my racing calender updates, blog updates and changes to the site.


Thanks


Taylor

National Cyclo-Cross Championships 2012.

One word to decribe my race is a dissapointment.  I begun the day, hoping for a good result, I felt a top five was realistic and achieveable but anything can happen on the day. This proved true, as I lined up on the second row of the grid, focusing on the first part of the race which is so important in cyclo-cross racing. The usual countdown began, 30 seconds...15 seconds....Then bam, the gun goes off and the race was underway. A decent start put me into the top 8 riders. The pace was high, lined out along the straight 200 metres after the start. As we approached the next corner, I tried to change down a couple of gears for the exit, however, there was a problem. My shifter had managed to get something caught in it on the start straight, some grit or something and I couldn't change up the block, so was stuck in my biggest gear until I could change bikes at the pits. Stupidly, I missed the first set of pits, they were based on a corner and I was too busy trying to fix the problem and whizzed past the pits, just realising how big a mistake I had just made. I was gutted, after such a good start, but I tried my best to keep my cool and lose as little time as possible before the next set of pits. I found it tough to stay in the front group in such a big gear, as the speed of riders like Steven James out of corners is hard enough to match with a choice of gearing.


I got to the second set of pits trailing the front group by around 15/20 seconds but that gap was significant on a course like this and would need a massive ride on my part, to get back into that group. It didn't happen for me, every lap that passed, I was losing time to the front group and I soon realised that I wasn't going to make the top five, however there were a couple of riders about 30 seconds in front of me who were fighting to get into that front group, and thought if I can get myself up to them then I am a step closer to the top five, but as with the front group, I was losing seconds here and there each lap and never really managed to make an impact into that gap. I spent a lot of the race working on my own, frustrated as the race pulled further and further away from me, but there was nothing really I could do, I was riding as hard as I could. The laps ticked by and with 1 lap to go I was still no closer to the riders in front of me, I rode on to finish in 9th place, dissapointed and feeling slightly sorry for myself, I tried to tell myself 'that's bike racing' but I was still really gutted. The only aim of my cross season, ruined in the first hundred metres of the race by some grit. It's hard to take but I have just got to move on and look forward to the road season ahead, which I am very much looking forward to, get some good results and see what that brings.




The last race of my cross season is this Sunday at the final National Trophy Round in Shrewsbury, I will still have a poor gridding position, but I hope I can push myself into the top 20 riders and finish the cross season with an acceptable result. The forecast is dry and very cold, but I've been told it's going to be muddy, not sure why if its dry, but I guess only time will tell.


Here is a link to pictures of the race, taken by Simon Parker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonjamonbda/6680229377/in/set-72157628826934605/lightbox/


That's all for now, thanks for reading!


Get Following!


Taylor

First race of 2012, Start as you mean to go on.

I'm pleased to say myself and Mick Bell got 2012 underway with a win at the Madison Cross at Herne Hill today. It was a great race, fun and enjoyable, with short fast laps preventing resting riders from standing about in the cold and rain for too long. It's not a particularly competitive race, however with the National Championships next week, its always nice for morale to get a win, of any kind. It means a lot to Mick who has such a great chance to win the Vets 50+ Jersey and I'd like to think I will also have a chance in the Under 23 mens race.


Back to the race today...Mick was the starting rider in our pair and got a decent start, sending me on my way after a lap in 4th a couple of seconds from the front. I came back around the next lap slightly ahead and from then on the pair of us gained seconds here and there every lap, comfortably positioned in 1st. It wasn't assured though, as the 2nd placed team kept us on our toes but on the last lap we still had a good 15-20 second gap, and we held it to the line with Mick taking the victory celebrations.


The next time I will be riding my cross bike will be at the National Championships next weekend. The nerves are starting to kick in now as I feel I have a genuine chance of a good result in the closing weeks of the cross season. I will need to be riding at my best though, to have a chance of a good result, as there is some tough competition in the under 23 category, but hopefully all my hard work over the past couple of months will pay off.




Picture from today's race, taken by Pauline English.

Good luck to everyone riding the Championships next weekend, I'm sure I'll see some of you there.

Taylor

Last post of 2011.

As it's the last day of 2011 I thought I would write up a small post to round out the year. 2011 was my last year as a Junior rider as I now move up and into the under 23 and Senior ranks. To say I'm excited about the prospect of next year is an understatement. I can't wait to start my preparation for the season and sort out my racing calender, it's going to be a big year for experience, as I will be racing in big races home and abroad, testing myself and looking for results in my first year as a Senior.


The new year also brings a new Colnago bike,  supplied by Windwave through De Ver Cycles, I really look forward to getting my hands on it, will post pictures and info when I get it.


My first race of 2012 is tomorrow, the Madison Cross race at Herne Hill. I am pairing up with the legend that is Mick Bell, hopefully we can both start 2012 with a win!


I decided to ride out to Richmond Park and do a zone 3 ride for my last ride of 2011, not too nice a day out but hopefully there aren't too many of those left in the next couple of months. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137784713


Happy New year everyone, when it comes. Hope you all have a great 2012!


Taylor

Last real test before Nationals.

This being the last real test before the National Championships on 8th January, I was hoping to put in a good performance. This didn't quite go to plan, I had a pretty poor start, getting to the first corner outside the top 10 and struggling to get myself into the front 4 or so riders which would dominate the first lap.


After a lap or so of getting through riders, I got myself into a group of 4 riders just behind the top 3 and settled into a pace. I was riding pretty strong, although lacked some zip and speed which I needed to move into the top 3 and seperate myself from the group I was in. As the race wore on, a couple of riders in the group dropped off the back, I kept the pace as high as I could trying to make up ground on the riders in front, but failed to get much closer and finished disappointingly in 5th place.


I didn't have the result or performance I was looking for, but being the third day into a tough 4 day training block I can't expect much more, and with a bit of rest next week, I am confident I can put in a good performance at the National Championships, which will be the only race I look to get a result in as my focus predominantly now lies on the road.


If you want to check out the results, report, pictures and possibly a video of the race check out: http://www.ukcyclesport.com/


That's all for now, I might write up another post in the next few days so stay tuned if you're interested!


Thanks


Taylor

First win this season at Herne Hill!

Where to start!

I've been looking forward to this race all week with the anticipated great atmosphere, testing course and all-round great event organised by the Ben Spurrier and the ViCiOuS Velo crew. Herne Hill is where I started racing with Herne Hill Youth CC so I always enjoy racing there with so much crowd support, although I don't think the course suits me so well, but I seem to do okay (I won the Senior race there last year aswell).




To the racing, two starts later and the race was off (First start, course tape wasn't moved in time, so we all headed to the line to start again). There were the usual 5 or 6 riders vying for position at the front of the race, with such tight tracks round the back of Herne Hill, its vital to be in the first 2 positions in a small group, to avoid getting held up by back markers, or wasting energy trying to stay in contact with the riders in front through tight corners. Anyway, for the first couple of laps I was sitting in 2nd or 3rd with the first 6 or so riders starting to spread out over about 20 seconds. Destroyed rear mechs and punctures played a part in most riders races today, with many riders in that front group either suffering from punctures or busted mechs, including myself (get to that later).

After about 5 laps, the race started to take shape and spread itself out. I was still at the head of the race with one other rider who has won a couple of the London League's this season so he's no slouch. We stayed together for a couple of laps, one of which I did on a flat. As it was so muddy, I was running pretty low pressures anyway but realised I was constantly riding on the rim and clocked that I had a flat. I did the best I could and only managed to lose about 10 seconds in the whole lap, I got to the pits changed bikes and caught back up fairly quickly not willing to give up the chance of victory.




This was now 2 laps to go, with time running out, I got to the front and raised the tempo. I managed to get a gap soon after and from then on built my lead to win by over 30 seconds I reckon, a nice win that I was pretty pleased with and another indicator that my form continues to improve as we get closer to the National Championships.

It's been a while!

Other than the racing, the atmosphere was brilliant, far better than any National event this season and it always is at Herne Hill, incredible. The prizes were impressive too, with vouchers up to £20 in the money pit on the course and festively wrapped prizes for riders including my prize, SPAM!



You guessed it..Spam!


...And this set of wheels.




A set of Shimano RS80 C24 wheels!



This was by far the best prize I have ever recieved at a race and couldn't quite believe it when they were handed to me...Along with the Spam.

Very pleased with the day and looking forward to the race at Footscray on the 27th, another win? We will have to see but I will do everything I can to repeat today's result.

That's it for now, if I don't 'blog' before next Sunday, Merry Christmas everyone!

Taylor

National Trophy Round 5, Bradford.

Sorry for the late post on this race, I won't bore you with excuses.


So, as predicted this race was a quagmire. Waking up on Sunday morning with the rain splashing off the window, I knew it was either going to be a slick, slippy race or a tough, sloggy hour in the mud. By the time the Elite race began it was the latter.


Once again, I was gridded on the dead last row trying to gather a tactic to get through the mass of riders quickly, to avoid any hold ups. I had a crap start, and having a crap start on the last row of an elite cross race leaves you in last place. This only lasted for a couple of hundred metres though and I soon found myself amongst the riders where I feel my level is at the moment, roughly the top 20 at Trophy's I reckon. It was going well, a crash on the steep and slick descent raved about after last years heroic crashes lost me time and places. Its so tempting to bang on about excuses for why I crashed but hopefully you can see (from the video at the bottom) that the first crash wasn't really my fault. Anyway, I got going again and found myself getting back into the group of riders chasing a top 20 position. In a race like this, aswell as power, strength and fitness you need to use you're head and keep you're cool. Deciding when to run and take you're time can be vital in tough sloggy races where decisions like these can lose you minutes over the duration of an hour. Personally I feel that I made some poor decisions in this race, for example I rode a part of the course which was so sloggy and slippy that it was probably quicker to run. I put this down to a lack of cross racing this year so my head is still not quite 'in the game' but i'm getting there.


I corrected some poor decisions mid-race and started to move up the field, not as high up the field as I'd like but I showed a marked improvement from Derby a couple of weeks back. I settled in around 30th place for the last 20 minutes of the race and finished in 28th position a fair whack of time down but in races like that, seconds can become minutes almost instantly.


The race was a long one, 10mins longer than it should have been for the winner but it was a great event. I always find myself going strongest in the last half of races anyway so I could have gone round for 2 hours and might have won... There were a few complaints afterwards about the length of the race but I won't go into that, don't agree with those complaints to be honest, that's all i'll say.


It is now a month to go to the National Championships on the 7/8th of January in Ipswich. It should be a good event, the course map has just been released http://www.ip-cross.co.uk/cx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=18. It's all go in terms of training now, these last few weeks can be the most vital in the build up to the Nationals, staying fit and healthy aswell as getting some proper hard training in. I really can't wait to see how my form comes along in about 3 weeks time and then having no gridding disadvantage at the Championships is perfect, so will be looking forward to testing myself against the best in Britain when everyone wants to raise their game to come out on top.

Steep Muddy Bank, hardest part of the course, tough enough to walk up let alone run..with a bike on your shoulder.

Here are a couple links you may be interested in:


Video of the crazy muddy descent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT0kNL-wV0I&sns=fb My late bid for crash of the day was a favourite!


Full report, results and pictures of the day: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclocross/article/cyx20111210-Report--National-Trophy-Round-5--Bradford-0 Corine Walder's video is pretty cool, recommended!


That's all for now, keep an eye out for any more blog updates but for now you can follow me on twitter @TaylorJohnstone


Adios


Taylor

Regional Championships!

After another decent weeks training and a harder ride yesterday I wasn't sure whether I would recover enough to go for the win. However, two practice laps and a good warm up later I was feeling pretty good but was unsure how I would go with no real indication of form since last weeks result at the National Trophy. Starting on the second row was a nice change from past races as it gave me the chance to get to the front of the race straight away instead of trying to fight my way through a mass of riders.


Within a lap, I managed to move into second place and was sitting fairly comfortably, but a crash a couple of laps later meant I lost contact with Jaime and he powered away.This sure enough led to a battle between me and Darren for second place as Jaime soon gained a lead of close to thirty seconds. In the last few laps this gap was halved but it wasn't enough as Jaime pushed on again and held that lead all the way to the line with Darren gaining a couple of seconds over me in the last lap. I am confident that if I hadn't of crashed then I would have at least kept up with Jaime, but mistakes can shape bike races and all I can do is learn and look to my next race.


I was pleased with my performance though as it proved to me that I am getting fitter and stronger every week and it gives me a lot of confidence heading into the final month before the National Championships in early January.


Check out this link for pictures of the race by Phil Jones. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30401683@N06/sets/72157628278427063/


Next week is the 5th Round of the National Trophy Series up in Bradford, it has always been my favourite course so hopefully I can get myself a good result!


Thanks


Taylor