Woooooooooooooah we're half way there!

..and yes, I am living on a prayer! The season's half done and compared to this time last year I'm much more settled in to racing. Thankfully my form has started to creep in a little earlier and I've been getting some OK (nothing drastic) results so far. I'll be targeting races mid August now as this is when my next batch of solid RR's comes about, as well as some season finales in September.

(C) the eternally talented Ellen Isherwood - check her out on Flikr!

The half-way marker came this weekend when I returned to Pimbo this weekend. A large field (over 60 apparently on the original start sheet!) with some top quality riders in there meant it was always going to be one where I'd have to keep all of my wits about me to stay in a comfortable place in the pack. Some amazing leadership from our team mate Alison and some all round great sportsmanship from everyone in the team meant it was a satisfying race. I didn't feel quite as fresh as I have done over the last couple of weeks so my personal plan was to maybe put a few digs in, last year I spent a lot of time trying to do the same, but hide a little more to make sure I was fresh enough for the sprint. Luckily I managed stick in and by the end felt pretty ready to get out of the saddle and give it a good blast. Unfortunately the bunch was split a little and slowed after an incident (possibly a touch of wheels?) up ahead. This meant I had to rethink coming up to the line as quickly as possible and so settled on a wheel I knew was strong, unable to quite get around her meaning I finished in 26th place. I'm a little gutted as I was 19th here last year and really wanted to improve on that, however it was a very large field and the pace was always driven throughout the 20 laps, so I'm glad we all stayed upright and finished well in the bunch.

SO this brings me on to the seasons results so far - I thought rather than report it it might be nice to display them in all their glory, as compared to last year I've come on a lot so visualising that progression might be quite cool! Note, TT results are out of ladies only, local races are result out of all genders/cats. 

Time Trials 

7th (1st mixed) 3-up 25 TTT 

1st 25mile

2nd 10mile 

3rd 10mile

1st 25mile Manx National 25 Championships

1st 10mile

2nd 10mile

1st 10mile

2nd 10mile Manx National 10 Championships

27th Holme Valley Wheelers ITT

Road Races

Unknown result - York Sport

46th - Pimbo 1

33rd - Capernwray (that horrific hilly one!!)

DNF - Bickerstaffe (another cold)

8th - Salt Ayre

31st - Overall GC Holme Valley Wheelers Stage Race

5th - Birkenhead Park

26th - Pimbo 2

Local Mixed Races

16th - Nick Corkill 

Unknown - Handicap

54th - Handicap

39th - Handicap

As you can see, the time trials have been going really well. I'm loving the Champion Systems speedsuit I've got this season as I'm convinced it's been helping me reach these targets, it's super comfy and extremely form fitting so makes for an unhindered ride. Plenty of podiums had in the purple so far so now my focus is to try and win the 10 league overall.

With road races my ability in the bunch has come on much further than last year however I'm still making some overenthusiastic mistakes (like trying to get off the front when I'm clearly not going to get anywhere and busting myself!) - as the season goes on and my need for points becomes more of a priority I think I'm going to have to start playing it safe and just try and focus on getting the best results for both myself and the team. Luckily, as you can see from the list, my usual form build over the summer months is in full swing so it's looking good for now.

All in all, feeling positive, loving racing with the gals at VCUK PH-Mas - everyone's been working so well together and after racing with these ladies (both as team mates and friends) for the last couple of seasons its lovely to see everyone develop into their own niches in races, it's getting pretty proper! Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for all of us. 

Over and out for now!