This year I received support from JHMT to help me race in Europe in some of the biggest junior races. I was originally planning to go to Bilbao to race with a team that a mutual contact had put me in touch with. However, a few days before I was due to fly one of the races got cancelled which made the trip unsuitable for achieving my goals for 2023. So unfortunately, I had to cancel the trip but fortunately I was able to get a refund from the flights. I stayed at home in July to focus on finishing the UK racing season strong (more in the next blog!).

In September I got my next opportunity to race in Europe. I was invited to ride the Keiser de Juniores in Belgium, this was a 2-day stage race with 3 stages, 2 road stages and 1 TT. The first stage went over some of the most iconic climbs in Flanders such as the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg. 15 minutes before the stage started the rain started and it didn't stop for the rest of the day. We began with 20km on a main road, we had a tailwind so we were consistently above 55kph which got a bit scary at points when you can't see due to the spray and your brakes don't work very well in the wet. I was poorly positioned going into the series of climbs which left me a lot of work to do. Through the next 30km I was riding really strong moving my way between groups and getting closer to the front of the race. As we got onto the final climb before we went back onto the flat, I could see the front group no more than 30 seconds ahead. Over the top of the climb I got a rear wheel puncture and with all the chaos of wet weather and twisty roads the service cars were at the back of the race, so I waited to get a spare wheel but that stage was finished then my only concern was making it to the finish inside the time limit while using the least amount of energy.

Stage 2 was a 5km TT. It was a flat course across the fields of west Flanders, not very technical so all about power and aerodynamics. I'm a light rider so I don't have much power however I have done a lot of work on aerodynamics. I rode the TT well apart from 1 of the corners where I went a bit too fast going in and came out on the grass on the edge of the road but that will only have cost me a few seconds. I finished the stage 39th, 25 seconds behind the winner.

Stage 3 was in the afternoon after the TT. It was a kermesse style race, 100km around a city on a 9km circuit with short climbs and tight corners. I struggled a lot on the stage being a smaller rider I don't have a lot of power to use when accelerating which meant I was getting overtaken by most riders and eventually I was at the back of the bunch where it is even harder as the bunch is like an elastic band so the gaps form quicker, and riders lose the wheel in front. I survived about 60km of this until 5km to go where i lost contact with the bunch, I finished about a minute behind the winner.

Not the best weekend with bad luck and courses which didn't suit my style of racing but the experience I've gained from it will be really useful next year. I also spent the weekend with a group of my mates living in an airbnb together so it's not just the racing that I'll remember from that weekend!

Without JHMT this trip would have been hard to do as the travel, food and accommodation all cost quite a bit of money for a stage race in Europe so the help I receive from them means I can make the most of these opportunites.