Cobbles and Climbs

The flavour of April was cobbles and climbs. The official team presentation to kick things off. Starting my first race with professionals in Portugal whilst riding over some of the roughest cobbles I've ever seen. Races are getting longer (and harder!) Galicia is beginning to warm up for the summer!

To kick this block off in Spain we had the team presentation. An afternoon spent welcoming and thanking the sponsors for the support they give the team throughout the year. It's evident to see how it wouldn't be possible without the people who support this team as the miles covered and cost of getting to a race is enough by itself.

Only a few days after arriving in Spain we were gearing up for our first race of this period. It was nice to have a short journey for a change as this race was only an hour south into Portugal. The race was Clasica Viana do Costelo. Described to me beforehand as a cobbled classic which definitely lived up to the expectations. The car park before the race was an incredible eye opener. The first time being in the presence of Pro Continental teams, and they have some kit! The team buses and setups were on par with World tour. However, after being blown away by the setups it was time to line up next to them.

107 mile day with multiple cobble sectors, climbs and a finish across the sea front. It was a fairly calm race for the majority. We traversed the cobbles well, and were under control by the continental teams who controlled the race all day. Everything was going well until the final sector. I have never seen anything so rough. Having ridden junior Cicle classic, Cobbles in Belgium, France and Holland I thought I might be well prepared. This was different.

A 10 mile stretch of hell. It was a farm track road that had twists and turns every couple hundred meters, bricks, slate and rocks sticking out of the ground in all directions. It was a nightmare. As you can imagine there were crashes, punctures, and people flying everywhere. It was that rough I somehow lost all the pressure in my brakes. Trying to avoid the carnage, and riding on the worlds roughest road proved too much after 90 mile as I was pulled coming through the finish. The race had to do a lap that would come back down the cobble sector. Which I'm partly glad I didn't have to do again, and so was my bike.

After the disappointment of being so close to the finish but not being allowed to. All I could do was get a strong week of training in before the next test. We clocked some good miles in the week with the highlight being a 100 mile ride into Portugal with over 10,000ft of climbing in 5 hours.

Next up was Clasica De Pascua (Easter Classic) which was postponed to the Tuesday after Easter due to a storm of terrible weather that had hindered us all week. This Classic was another 100 mile race but far more climbing than the last one. It was held in Padron which is very local for us so another short drive which is far better than the 10+ hour trips we had at the start of the year. It was a good race heavily controlled by Cortizo as it was their home race. I could handle the pace up the climbs, and was feeling good all day. We had a cobble sector each time we came through Padron, but nothing compared to the monstrosity in Viana.

The final climb of the day was one previously used in La Vuelta. 13% gradients for a few miles it was a tough one. Proving a bit too much for me so late into the race but I slotted into a group and finished around 69th. Not a bad day out for me with so much elevation at 8,000ft, but still searching for that extra bit that carries me through the last couple miles to the finish.

The final race of this period was another Copa España. The creme of the crop here. This one was in Valladolid an area that I'm very familiar with having raced there as a junior twice. The route was identical to the junior editions however we had an extra 20 mile to complete. Going into this race I knew what to expect. The focus point of the day would be the cobbled climb that passes through a citadel. We were challenged with doing it twice like once wasn't enough! Its a very steep cobbled climb which is challenging as its also narrow. There is a climb leading into this one that softens the legs.

I got round the majority okay. Avoiding the usual Copa crashes and trying to survive the climbs. Heading towards the finish in unchartered territory for me. The last climb was approaching. Entering this climb at around 90 mile was a killer, and I was on the rivet the whole way up with the group edging into the distance. I made it to the finish about 10 minutes down but was deemed out of the time cut. They really dont give you much in the one day races which is a shame. Having made it so close to the finish.

Something that I've learnt from these past few races is I need to find a bit more for the last section of the race. Having stepped up from junior the maximum distance was 80 mile its surprising how much can change in that last 20-30 mile. Especially when most of it is uphill.

Another week of training is ahead where I will be focusing on changing that.

As always thanks to everyone that supports me. Much more racing to come in the coming weeks and hopefully it helps me along.