Milton Keynes goes cross crazy!



The tough run up

So Milton Keynes World Cup was a success. It was a great day out. The sun even shone and there were loads of cycling bods that I bumped into on the day. Around 10,000 people turned out for the event - which is amazing. That has never happened at all in the UK - not even when cyclo cross World Championships were held in Roundhay Park, Leeds over 20 years ago.

It was just great to be able to walk around the different team camper vans and talk to the elite riders. They all seemed so amenable and friendly.

Helen Wyman loved it

For me, the highpoint was the women's race. I have to say it was a really momentous occasion standing on the long run-up watching women I knew battling it out against the world's elite. It seemed quite surreal.

I have written a few accounts of the event for Sportsister and for Cycling Weekly on-line and in the magazine, but I would just like to share other thoughts.

The course looked pretty mean as well. People described it as a more challenging World Cup course - more like a World Championship course. It's only when you see it for real that you get a full perspective of just how tough these courses are, how steep the hills are, and how muddy it can get. Even just walking around the course was challenging at times - I was worried I would slip and fall on the bankings!

The following day the National Trophy race was held on the same course, which meant us mortals could have a go on it. I had hummed and haa'ed about whether or not to enter it - then 5 minutes before the deadline a couple of weeks before I started my on-line entry. I typed in personal details, then I proceeded to the payment page and typed in those details. Suddenly I got a message saying "payment unsuccessful" - I was 30 seconds passed the midnight deadline and the system had rejected my entry. I don't think that was a bad thing!

As a spectator to the race last Saturday, judging by the looks on the faces of the junior men, who looked at times like they were going to cry, and even some of the women who looked exhausted going round, it was a good job I spared myself the humiliation and also the potential waste of £25 and the cost of a night in a hotel. I am not sure I would have got in even one lap before being pulled out of the race!

I have lots of quotes from riders that have not been used in my write-ups so I will put them out in future posts.


An exciting finale to a great race to the women's race

In the mean time what I have seen, which looks fun though is a clip of the race from Katie Compton's on-bike camera. She narrowly missed out on winning when Belgium's Sanne Cant pipped her on the line. Still, I think she did very well and was very brave to carry a camera on her bike in those slippery conditions!

(Photo: Bart Hazen)

 

One day one photo - 14

Tuesday 23rd September

I managed to complete my Sportsister review of this new cycling jacket that Proviz have provided for me to test. It's an innovative type of high viz clothing that could substitute the day-glo yellows and oranges that people usually wear. I quite liked the feel of it, though I think I could have ordered a size smaller in order to get a more tailored fit like what is shown on the product website. But hey, I guess it means I don't have to worry about it being too tight if I have a few layers on underneath or if I "expand a little" over time!

This jacket, the Reflect360, is apparently the world's first jacket that uses a 100% reflective outer shell. I didn't know that, but what I do know is that the jacket certainly has a funny glow about it in the dark. When I walked into the living room with the lights out, I noticed something glowing in the corner and it almost gave me a fright! The jacket was glowing in the dark like something you see in a sci-fi show! A sliver of light had come through the gap in the curtains and this light was instantly being reflected off the jacket to make it highly visible. The thing is that all I noticed first was the chair glowing! It was only as I got closer that that I realised it was the jacket that was hanging from it. That's what must have also been happening when wearing it at night while riding in the street. I'm sure there were a few motorists who were thinking "what in the name of God is that?" at first sight! At least it caused them to stay back and give me a wider berth when approaching, which is what the intended aim is. So that can't be a bad thing, even if it gives a Dr Who or a Red Dwarf moment!

One Day One Photo - 1

I normally have one month where I put in a photo of what I'm doing over a one month period. I should have started on 1st September, so apologies for the delay. (The missing 10 days will be included as well.)

Wednesday 10th September

So the dates of the Revolution Track Cycling series have been announced and the line-up, at least for the Lee Valley VeloPark London round on 24th/25th October, looks quite appealing. With the likes of Ed Clancy and Adam Blythe, plus my personal favourites, Laura Trott and Marianne Vos competing in this UCI points event it will make for an exciting couple of days of racing. I am particularly pleased to be able to get a media pass for the event. So I plan to do some reporting for Sportsister on-line magazine and any other outlet that wants me to! Media passes don't always come that easily - especially as I am not an employee of any particular media organisation so I always like to make the most of these opportunities. So, with a little luck and creativity I, and the people I interview will have interesting things to say over that weekend!

Interviewing a few good women

Things have been a little different in the last few months so I have not been able to write my blog as usual....

I am slowly getting back into a "normal" cycle but it isn't always easy. I am not sure if I can smile quite as brightly as I used to, or if humour is felt as deeply as before, knowing that someone who was such a bedrock in my life is no longer here.

Thankfully, I have had good support around me, and I have done a few things that have provided moments of pleasantness and positivity.

Among these moments have been the times when I interviewed some of the best female cycle racers in the world.

Photo by Andy Jones (Cycling Weekly)

Last weekend, I spoke to a few heavyweights of women's cycle racing for Cycling Weekly magazine - Britain's Olympic Silver Medallist, Lizzie Armitstead, Current World Road Race Champion, Marianne Vos, whose list of palmares extends as long as your arm, and Giorgia Bronzini, two-time World Road Race Champion.

They were both in London to compete in the Prudential RideLondon women's criterium race on The Mall. Laura Trott was the defending champion of this race, but the tactic was for her and the rest of Wiggle Honda to work for Giorgia Bronzini to get the win. The plan certainly worked, as the feisty Italian spectacularly got past the mighty Vos in the dash for the finish line.

 I think this race was a great advert for women's cycle racing because it was an active race with an exciting finish, all in an iconic location. I hope we can have more such races, and also longer races in Britain (to add to the Women's Tour).

Photo by Andy Jones (Cycling Weekly)

And I must say, both Vos and Bronzini were very amenable, nice girls to talk to. It was a real pleasure to meet them.

On the same weekend I was very pleased to interview Laura Trott - Olympic and Commonwealth champion - for Sportsister magazine. She was down in London for the RideLondon events in her role as Prudential ambassador.

Photo from Prudential RideLondon

I remember Laura Trott racing in a couple of London Women's Cycle Racing league events a few years ago, representing Welwyn Cycling Club. So it was quite surreal seeing her photo splashed on the front of the national papers after clinching gold in the Commonwealth Games.

Also in March, I interviewed another "local" for Sportsister magazine - Olympic, World and Commonwealth track pursuit champion, Joanna Rowsell. (This took place shortly before I was told my mum had fallen seriously ill.)
Joanna was at the Manchester Bike and Tri show fresh from gaining her World Championship title, and was promoting the benefits of training on a Wattbike. It was great to interview someone I had seen as a schoolgirl racing in the same local races as me. Of course, she was always way up at the front where I was at the other end of proceedings!

Photo by Aodan Higgins

That aside, I am very happy to have had the opportunity to interview a few of the most respected women in sport, and look forward to meeting others in future.