Season Wrap Up

As the 2015 season draws to close I thought it would be a good time to look back through the year, picking out the highs and the lows. For me the season got off on a different start as I went to Algeria for a month of racing the UCI Africa Tour. It could not have got off to a worse start however as I crashed on the opening day injuring my knee. This meant that I had to have nearly a week off the bike effectively ruining any hopes I had of picking up some early season results.

 On return to Belgium I resumed the normal racing diet of kermis races for the first couple of weeks, before the bigger Interclubs began such as Tweedaagse van de Gaverstreek, races like these were a great experience and ones I look forward to racing next year with the aim of getting a result at the end. My first block of racing ended with a 6^th place in a kermis, not a massive result but a confidence booster going into the next block of racing. After a weeks rest followed by some hard training I felt the form start to pick up at the end of May, this was proved as I placed 5^th out of 130 starters in a big kermis. I was then into some of the bigger races of the season such as Triptyque Ardennais and Menen Classic. Every week I found myself racing big Interclubs, if I compared myself to last season I was miles ahead, this year I have been able to get involved in the racing rather than just making up the numbers.

Photo: Martine Verfaillie

Photo: Bart Devriese 2015

I returned home at the end of June in need of some rest, the heavy early season racing had taken a toll on me. After a weeks rest I jumped straight into racing a road race in the UK for the first time in a couple of years, the week of rest must have served me well as I went on to win. The following week I raced the Stafford GP, although I didn’t pick up any result at the end I was happy to make the front group and be involved in the racing. On my return to Belgium my next big aim was the Ronde van Namen, first I had to race the Belgium Cup TTT, my first proper TTT resulted in a lot of suffering and grimacing at the wheel in front of me but I was pleased to still be there at the end. In the build up to Namen I raced a kermis in Lichtervelde, I managed to pick up my best results in Belgium to date, 4th. I was in the winning break of 4 including two An Post pro riders for half the race, I just ran out of legs with a few laps to go though. Unfortunately my Ronde van Namen ended on day 2 due to some of the hottest racing conditions I had ever experienced. Looking back it was clear I didn’t drink enough throughout the stage so that is something I will learn from for the future.

Photo: Jean Bollaerts

The final part of the season kicked off with Liedkerkse Pijl, a race I had been looking forward to riding, coming into the final it was down to a bunch sprint, I was well placed going for a top twenty when with 500m to go I got brought down in a big pile up. I had quite a lot of pain in my lower back and unfortunately I would have to go into the 5 day Ronde van Oost Vlaanderen with the injury. Due to this the first three days I was really suffering to even get out of the saddle so it was just a case of getting round. To kick off the final month of racing I started with a Belgium cup round in Adinkerke, a race renowned for its crosswinds. I tried to stay well placed throughout, after around 40kms the decisive split was formed, at the time I was just 5 places to far back and unfortunately I never saw the front again.

Photo: Wierlerfoto's Manou Ramboer

Photo: Joeri De Coninck

Looking back on the year I can see I have made a lot of progress. I have seen this in the results I have got and the way I have been able to race. I am looking forward to working harder than ever before to make next season even better. A big thanks has to go to everyone who has helped me along the way especially the Dave Rayner Fund, Brotherton Cycles and Mamil Cycling.

Check out the CT 2020 website - www.ct-2020.com/

My results page for the year - cyclingdatabase.com

Here's to an even bigger 2016!

Adam

Algeria Part I

After a hard winter’s training the start of March was finally time to head back over to Belgium to get the season under-way. However, this year my season has started in a different fashion, on Thursday 5^th March me and the team headed to Algeria for a good block of UCI racing hoping it will be a good stepping stone for the rest of the year.

Once we’d arrived in Algeria, first impressions at the airport were that it didn't seem much different to Europe, however that was soon to change, after a couple of hours hanging around waiting for a coach we were soon on the road. Equipped with a police escort we began to weave in and out of rush hour traffic, kamikaze style, barely slowing and literally rubbing against other cars wing mirrors. Somehow we made it to the hotel unscathed if not a little shaken. We then set about preparing for the race.

All smiles before racing got started.

The first race was the following afternoon, to travel to the races all the riders have to squeeze onto an old, worn out coach. We soon arrived at Algiers, where the race was being held, I was pleasantly surprised by the effort made by the organisation as it looked a very professional set-up. Big screen monitors set-up to show live racing, marquees full of race sponsors products and crowds lining the barriers. I was itching to get started on a course which should have suited me, 10 laps of a lumpy lap around the town. However I never got to test myself, in fact we had barely done 2km when coming from an 80kph decent into a sharp right hander, one rider locked up and went down, taking me out in the process. I got up straight away but as soon as I did I knew something wasn't right as I couldn't put any pressure on my left knee. I crawled back to the finish, praying I’d be able to start the tour the next day. The next morning came around and I could barely walk let alone ride a bike, I was forced to spend the day on the coach thinking what could have been. A very frustrating start to the trip for me.

Grand Prix d'Oran UCI 1.2

I had to wait until the following Tuesday until I could race again, after resting up for 3 days my knee was starting to recover. It would be a 132km race comprising of 20 laps around Oran, with a long draggy climb every lap. I didn't really know what to expect from the race as I had barely ridding for a week, I just wanted to get race distance under my belt ready for the next tour. In the first few laps I felt fairly strong, so I had a few digs off the front of the bunch which ended up coming to nothing. A break then established itself and it was left to the only Algerian team that missed it to bring it back. They did successfully with about 5 laps remaining, by this point I was starting to suffer but there was only about 40 riders left in contention. I thought if I could hang in until the last lap I could still bag a good result, the bell lap came and I was still there, once again however luck was not on my side and I was held up in a crash, meaning I rolled in 34^th. On reflection, I should have saved the legs earlier on in the race, but I was pleased I got some km’s under the belt. Onto the next one as they say.

Grand Prix d'Oran UCI 1.2  

The Tour of Blida started Thursday and was a 3 day, hilly race. Day 1, was set to be a big test for the

legs and my knee. It was 140km with 60km flat, a 15km climb, then 65km flat to the finish. My plan for the stage was just to sit in and see what I could do up the climb, it was fairly comfortable until the foot of the climb which was where the fireworks were set off, I found that my knee was quite painful from the pressure so just rode at my own tempo until the top. Back onto the flat and I found myself and two other team-mates together, we rode hard for a good hour to get back to a group in front.  I crossed the line and was pretty tired, my first proper day of racing for 2015. The next two  days for me were just about getting some race miles into the legs ready for the next block of racing, I was able to do this successfully and found my legs were getting better by the day. Stage 3 finished up a 20km climb, climbing up to 1500mtrs above sea level, we started the climb in pleasant sunshine and 17 C temperatures, however by the top we was into the snow and could barely see 50m in front. A pretty incredible experience. 

Some truly stunning views on top of the climb on day 1

Some truly stunning views at the top of the climb on day 1

The final day of racing for this block in Algeria, was a criterium style race around the town of Setif. 30 laps of 3km greeted us. From the start the pace was high but my legs felt good, the best they have felt over here, after 7 laps a strong group of 3 riders got away. Me and a teammate hit the front to try and keep the race together for our sprinter. We were able to hold the gap, but we needed some more help to bring it back, this we received from Team Rwanda. With 10 laps to go the race was back together and the stop start attacks began. One rider from a strong Algerian team  was off the front with 5 to go, so I decided to make a big effort to bring him back, this took a lot out of me but I managed to reel him in. After this I was in the red so was just hanging onto the bunch, I rolled in to place 22^nd. 

Racing around a giant, golden flower.

Hitting the front!

I was pleased with how I was feeling after four days of racing, my legs felt better day by day. We have now had 4 days doing a few easy spins and lying around in the hotel to recover for the next block of racing which starts on Saturday. 8 days of solid racing are on the cards, I hope that this will be able to bring me on and get me prepared for the season in Belgium.

Big thanks have to go to the team for such a great trip so far, and once again to the Dave Rayner Fund for making the season happen.

For more photos take a look on the team’s Facebook page – CT2020

To keep up to date on the results – procyclingstats.com

Thanks for reading

Adam.

A Year in Pictures

So 2015 is here already, I thought it would be good to get the blog back going and I will attempt to keep it more updated this year. Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout 2014. Looking forward to 2015, I will be heading back out to Belgium riding for CT 2020, it looks set to be a great year ahead. I have been training hard ready for the season which is now less than two months away. Before it starts I thought I'd have a recap of last season through a series of pictures.

Team Bike for the season, ready for its first outing.

I was gratefully supported by the Dave Rayner Fund throughout 2014. They were a massive help to me and a lot of others this year.

The French love their bread, however eating endless amounts of it for consecutive days in a row started to wear thin by the end of the season.

Lined out in the gutter. Typical kermesse racing in Belgium.

Making the winning break in Wervik kermesse was a nice confidence boost before heading off to the Alps in June.

Loving life in the Alps. Lucky enough to witness some spectacular scenery while I was there.

On the attack at the National RR Championships in Wales. Photo Credit: David Perry

I had many experiences racing on the cobbles.

After suffering from illness during August the form picked up again towards the end of the season. This is from making the winning break in Passendale, going on to finish 14th.

One of my last races of the year and almost won it. I was caught 500m from the line. I was having nightmares about it for the next few nights.

Once the racing is finished, there are plenty of off season treats that Belgium can offer.

Until next time,

Adam.

Learning the Trade

So just over two months have passed since I made the move to Belgium, since my last post I have been mostly ‘learning the trade’ at kermesse races with a couple of Interclubs thrown in for good measure.

Kermesse racing consists of around 120km’s of flat out racing on circuits ranging from 4km to 12km’s long. It certainly requires some time to get your head round the tactics of these races and who to follow (as most of the time there are over 200 guys lining up on the start line), there is a little bit more to it than two and a half hours of full gas racing although this could provide a quick summary of how these races are. Typically the first hour of these races will be the hardest until a break finally forms, it can be hard to know which break to get into as you think any of them will stick it to the end and then inevitably the one you don’t go with ends up staying with.

Over the past couple of months I have been learning this process and have had mixed fortunes in these races, my best result being 15^th out of 230 riders in Torhout.  From there it went slightly downhill results wise as I was involved in two crashes, the first not too bad (just a few scratches), the second took me a week or so to fully recover from as I was forced down a drainage ditch at 60kph and came out with a fair few cuts and bruises. However over the past couple of weeks the form seems to be coming back and I have been moving up the results sheet again, my latest being 24^th last weekend in Heule.

Besides from the diet of kermesse racing I have also competed in two interclubs, the Handzame Challenge and just last week at the GP Wouter de Wilde. In Handzame the weather gave us all seasons in one and was decided by plenty of crosswind sections. Lotto Belisol and the Omega Pharma U23 teams had fun splitting the race in the winds while the rest of us suffered in the gutter just hoping to hold the wheel of the rider in front of us. I managed to finish in the peleton though and came 5^th in the bunch kick at the end something which I was pleased with. Last week, the GP Wouter de Wilde was another interclub, I spent the first hour of this race trying to get into a break and used up quite a lot of energy. Typically the break I didn’t end up going with ended up being the main one of the day, from then on I did as much as I could for our teams sprinter and finished in the front part of the peleton.

Coming up over this weekend I will be competing in Pittem at another kermesse, following that I will be preparing for my main goals in the last couple of weeks of June. Thanks again has to go to the Dave Rayner Fund for supporting this year, without them this wouldn’t be possible for me and many others that they support.

Adam.

The hardest kermesse of the year at Ledegem, over 70 guys ended up not finishing.

Bandaged up at Ardooie

Heule

Paris - Evreux

After a week of getting settled and learning my new surroundings for the next seven months, last Saturday marked the start of my 2014 road season. The race, Paris – Evreux was a French National 1.12. The team left for the race on Friday afternoon to make the three and a half hour trip to Evreux.

8 o clock was wake up time on Saturday morning to head down to breakfast, a typical French breakfast greeted us when we arrived downstairs, an all you can eat buffet...of bread.

After we had eaten enough bread to last us a year we headed off to the start, signing on we saw that many big teams would be racing including Big-Mat Auber93 and the French Army. Once I had done the usual things sign on, pin the numbers on, there was just enough time to go for a quick spin to loosen the legs and then on to the start line. We started at 12:30 and headed out to do two local laps of around 18km, before a further 130km of lumpy roads. With this being a long race and bigger teams able to control it I imagined that a break would go early on, get a lead, and then be wound in. However, my imagination could not have been more wrong as from the gun we were lined out doing 45-50kph in the gutter. Looking down at my Garmin I dont think my heart rate dropped below 160bpm for the 1st hour.

The main split of the day happened coming into a small village from a descent, unfortunately I was too far back to make the front group as we negotiated the technical corners. We chased and held the front group at around 30seconds for a number of km’s, but when we hit the valley the bunch just sat up and let them go. Not content to stay in the bunch for the rest of the race, I decided to show my face at the front and attacked with about 60km to go, I was soon joined by a two French riders, and later on another and fellow Dave Rayner supported rider Eoin McCarthy. Soon enough we had a decent lead and the peleton were out of sight behind.

As we entered the two finishing circuits we still had a good gap but it was only me and Eoin really contributing to the group and soon enough two French riders dropped back leaving just the three of us to plow on. It was a tough little finishing loop, windy and with a drag up to the finish. It was the wind that eventually played its part and we were caught at the start of the final lap. I managed to stay in the bunch but didn’t really have any legs left for the sprint and came in 41^st. Overall I’m happy with my performance and with a local kermesse lined up this weekend hopefully I can aim for a good result.

Coming up the finishing climb for the first time

2014, Big Year

2014 is upon us and is set up to be a big season for myself. For 2014, I am pleased to announce I have signed for Terra Safety Shoes (formerly Terra Footwear - Bicycle Line) meaning I will be based over in Belgium from the start of March. The team is a very professional outfit with a very good race programme lined up consisting of many UCI one day and stage races.

New team kit for the season, staying in black and yellow

I am also pleased to announce that for 2014 I will be proudly supported by the Dave Rayner Fund. A fund which enables riders like myself to race and live abroad, to give them the opportunity to attempt to make it to the professional ranks. Without the help of the fund I would not be able to experience living and racing in Belgium. I hope to obtain some top results as a way of saying thanks for the support received.

 I also have to thank Paul Wright from Brotherton Cycles for supplying me with some specialized kit to use out in Belgium. I will be posting regular updates throughout the season to keep you updated on how things are going over in Belgium.