I think on the whole we can class the season as a great success, we finished by far the best team in the North East, had some outstanding results, and sent a team to compete in a UCI tour (Morocco). We’ve also had a presence at the Premier Calendar races and have a brilliant starting point on which to build over the next 12 months.

How’s the Winter training going, have you changed the plan since 2011?

I spent most of January in Australia last year, and I don’t think it worked that well for me, with it being there Summer and everyone being race fit, I did a bit too much quality and neglected base miles, and paid for it later in the season, don’t get me wrong though it was a fantastic experience and I met some great people.

I’ve completed re-evaluated my training this year and put a lot more planning time into it, each session now has a definite goal and there are blocks of specific work during rides, as opposed to going out and just riding.

What’s the team’s goals for 2012, there are loads of big races in the UK now, must be a lot of travelling?

We’ve made some good new signings which has really increased the strength on the team. We will be looking to transfer our regional success into national success. We are sending a six man team to the 10 Day UCI Tour of Morocco in March, which is going to help set us up nicely for the bigger UK races, I know that just from a brief look at the calendar, May is a big month.

We are aiming to ride the Elite Criterium series which we didn’t this year, and also looking to fit another UCI tour in that mid season lull so that we can finish the season strongly. There are a lot of new E/1/2 races popping up particularly in Yorkshire, and with the strength of the team now we can realistically have a split programme sending two good teams to two E/1/2 races.

I think the travelling is just part of parcel of the sport, a lot of races are northern anyway so we are quite lucky. We’ve got the team cars as well which really help.

Any new Sponsors for 2012, have the old ones been retained?

Bike food has come in to supply nutrition and Vankru frames have continued sponsorship. We also have a physio on board which will help in the multi-stage events.

It’s a big team at Velo29 this year, what’s the selection process for the big events?

I think it will be pretty simple, whoever is in the best shape will ride the bigger event, the others will race another event on that weekend. We have different riders with different strengths so this will all come into play when selecting the team for races, and if riders are performing well week in week out, it might create a bit of a selection headache for the management, but I think that element of healthy competition within the team will help push everyone forwards.

You guy’s must win every race in the North East, is this a good thing for local Cycling?

We had a lot of success this year but we didn’t win everything. It’s helped bring the whole area on and there are still other strong teams, who have signed some good riders over the winter and will be more competitive this season.

Finally, I see you are putting on your own coaching sessions now, what’s the story here, how’s it all going?

I have a degree in Sports Coaching, and sport is really all I know, I have various different sports qualifications but I wanted to start a cycling specific coaching setup that I could build on and progress over time. The weekly sessions at Prissick have proved popular and there is a core group of riders who have been attending week on week and really improving. It’s also been a good opportunity for lad’s who are looking at getting into racing and are a bit daunted by it, each week I’ve been focus on different racing skills as well as building fitness, so that when the races come around the riders will be well prepared for it.

I’m a big advocate of quality sessions even during the base period, it works for the Australians who race all year round and also GB Track riders, so as well as catering for the novice racers, the sessions have been a good opportunity for the lads who already race to drop in get a quality 2h00 session during the week, when normally they’d be on the turbo or resting.

If anyone wanted to know more about the session, you can find it at www.achievecyclecoaching.co.uk

The interview went as follows;

So, you’ve joined Velo29 for the 2012 season, what was it that brought you to the Team? 

Riding on my own in the premier calendar this year has been really challenging. The importance of being part of a Cycling Team in races of this calibre becomes more and more apparent every time you race in one. Although I raced well in the Premiers this year I felt that had I of been part of Team I would have really fulfilled my true potential.

 Joining Velo29 Cycling Team has been a really positive move for me. I first saw the Team in a race last year and couldn’t help notice they’re ambition to move forward. The Teams’ goal is to be a significant force in the Premier Calendar which fits it exactly with where I want to be. The Team itself is made up of a good mix of experience and Youth. Riders like Dan Smith and Matt Kipling will really help the Team become stronger.

 I can’t wait to get going with Velo29. There’s a real buzz around what this Team is doing and I’m sure we’ll achieve some great results in 2012. 

Tell us about your Cycling before joining Velo29.

 My dad got me into Mountain Biking when in was 13. I starting racing when I was 14 and travelled around the country competing in the NPS and Sams series. I converted to road racing when I was 19 and started racing when I was 20. I raced with cc Luton for four years and achieved some good results. I’ve moved up the rankings and raced in the Premier Calendar in 2011.  

 It’s quite a big squad of 12 riders, is this a good thing?

 Yes I believe it’s a good thing. The team has a 6 rider allocation for the Premier Calendar races so competition for places is going to be difficult. Everyone is going to be keen to ride the big races so it will make everyone work harder and hopefully make the team stronger.  Having a 12 man team will give us the flexibility to have two teams riding on the same weekend which will be good for getting the Velo29 name about. 

 What’s the race program for 2012, what are your targets?

 The Team is aiming to do the Premier Calendar Series, Elite Crit Series and 2 UCI stage Races.

 My aim is to achieve a top 20 or better placing in the premier calendar events. Having ridden 5 of the 7 last year I know what is required of me to achieve this. I’d like to do well in the Uci races too.  In between the big events I plan to ride the local National B races as well as supporting the team in the North East. I will be riding evening criteriums too as I always think its good get a midweek race in.  

Tell us about your preparation for next year, sounds like a long tough year is ahead, what are you doing different to last year?

Since Joining Velo29  my 2012 winter preparation has been a lot more structured..  In previous years I’ve hit peak form at the end of July which isn’t ideal really. This year I’m training a lot harder in November and December instead of cramming most of the training into January. In 2011 I partially trained myself fit and partially raced myself fit. This year I aim to be race fit for the first major road race of 2012 and hopefully hit peak form in April/May time.  

The UK standard is getting increasingly high, with 6 UCI teams it must be hard for the amateurs to complete at the highest level?

Punching above our weight is going to be the only option. The majority of the team have full time jobs so putting in the equivalent training and racing hours the UCI team riders will be difficult. The team is planning to ride two UCI stage races in 2012 which will of course give us a good springboard into the premier calendar races. The Team has also made some good signings which will bring the Team up to level required.   

Finally, I hear Velo29 are part of the Tour Of Morocco, are you part of the squad for this?

I hope so! I’d love to be a part of the Team going to ride the Tour of Morocco. It’s a 10 day stage race which will be really testing. I’ve been speaking to some of the other Team members that went this year and they it was a really good race. I tend to go well on hot days too so Morocco’s climate should suite me!   

Check back over the next few months to see how Anthony and the rest of the Elite Team are getting on.

The following weekend I opted to ride the Dalby On One Hundred MTB Maraton, an event that’s in its first year and hopefully one that will continue. This time I rammed my jersey pockets with as much food, fluid and spares as they could take, not wanting to make the same mistake I did the previous week. If you blow with 40km to go on open exposed moorland, that’s going to be a very hard, lonely journey back in a world of hurt. We set off at a fairly comfortable pace with 4 of us pulling away from the rest of the field. I soon realised that one of them was last years Kielder 100 winner!! Oh dear, this will be tough. We dropped the fourth man after 15 minutes and it was 15 minutes later when the two leaders started to edge a gap on me. Not long after I could see them stood still on the moor and when I came flying past one guy said his back wheel had dropped out! As I was thinking, man that must have been frightening I clipped a pedal and went crashing head first into the ground. A quick check of bike and body and I was off again, behind the leaders again. I soon realised that my pedal axle was badly bent but pushed on. The next incident happened on some single-track over Goathland, I had hit my rear disc rotor on a rock and had to stop to bend it back into some sort of working shape. This was shaping up to be a tough day for my bike. All alone on the moor top racing hard got me to thinking what mtb racing is all about. For some it’s about winning but for most it’s about pushing your body and mind to it’s absolute limits then seeing if you can push it some more. On every climb my legs were screaming for a break and I knew I was sporting my ‘race face’. That didn’t matter as I had some potent caffeinated gels in my pocket to get me through the last 30k. After stopping at the feed station to fill up on water I knew there was still 40k to go but it seemed to pass in a blur of fast fire-road and caffeine concentration. A long, steep fire-road climb compounded the fatigue into my legs and as I approached the finish line I thought ‘this can’t be it’ finishing in a time of 3 hours 34 minutes, 3^rd finisher in the 100k. I had to check the map to make sure I had gone the right way!  I know I pushed hard as it’s 2 days after the event and my hip flexors are still sore.

So following my easy June month it was time for the next 10 hour mtb race at Galloway Forest Park in south west Scotland. The last two of these events Jason and myself have done as a pair have been awful weather, so I was remaining optimistic with a good forecast. Win’s don’t come by very often but we had won the event last year and hoped to repeat our success. The competition was certainly high with lots of shaved legs on the start line! When the lead out car had pulled over I had to fight a strong urge to chase the guys at the front of the race, they were really pushing. Pacing for these events is key, you can’t win on the first lap but you could certainly loose it by going too hard early on. After 5 hours racing there was 20 seconds between the leaders and us in 2^nd. But that’s when it all changed, we kept putting in consistent lap times (my last lap being my fastest) and the other teams started to fade so that by the end we had a winning margin of 16 minutes. A very sweet victory on the best mtb race course I have ridden all year. Some friends had come over from Selkirk to ride in the trios category and they came over to our camp after the race and 6 smelly, sweaty mountain bikers squeezed into Jason’s camper van to avoid the midgies and enjoy a beer. Buzzing from the race, alcohol and caffeine we chatted till past midnight recounting incidents from the race. Collisions with trees, falls into mud, mechanicals and broken saddles all featured in what was the best race weekend of the year so far.

Epic is certainly one word I would use to describe the events of 20^th/21^st May 2011. After Jason and myself won the senior pair’s race at last years 10 @ Kiroughtree I was hounding him through the winter to attend 10 Under the Ben, the first race in the series on world class trails near Fort William. For anyone unfamiliar with the format it’s a Mountain Bike Endurance race for 10 hours, teams of 1, 2, 3 or 4 try and complete as many laps of the course in the 10 hours. Tough, but very rewarding. A last minute change of schedule meant we could make it so we headed up on the Friday morning towards a met office weather warning of heavy persistent rain. 7 hours later we arrived and a short break in the weather meant we could set up camp. We decided against a practice lap and headed up the swaying gondola to get our free pasta meal. The rest of the evening was spent in the van talking tactics and laughing at the heavy rain and strong winds. If we didn’t laugh we would have been crying!

The following morning the weather gods must have been in a good mood as they let us start the race without rain but someone must have angered them and once it started it set in for the day making the course wetter and muddier by the minute. My first lap was a bit of a mare as I got tripped in the le-mans style start and lost a minute or so to the leaders. I fought my way towards the front but was aware of 10 hours more racing so tried to keep it steady. We had decided on a lap-on-lap-off strategy and I was soon handing the timing chip to Jason and getting cleaned, fed and rested ready for my next lap. It went something like this. ‘Go on Jase, have a good lap’. Back to van, clean drive-train, lube drive-train, get muddy kit off, get clean, put clean kit on, get food & drink, stretch, make warm drink and listen to motivating rock music, make drink bottle, eat energy bar, put wet muddy cycling shoes back on, get to course, take dibber and smash another lap. That was pretty much it for 10 hours, I had a big dip in motivation after lap 2, thinking ‘this is just stupid’ but some encouraging words from Jason (thanks mate) and some banana bread lifted me back up and we pressed on. The course got quieter and quieter throughout the race as competitors pulled out and some just stayed at camp deciding the conditions were too bad to continue. Muddy sections of the course got taken out as the rain continued to pelt down, making the going harder and harder. We completed 6 laps a piece taking our total to 12. Not having any support meant we knew nothing of our position and were just happy to finish and get cleaned up. On un-steady legs we headed over to the main tent to find out where we finished. A long wait for the leader-board to go through the categories but one worth waiting for when we found out we had come 2^nd, 1 lap behind the winners and 6 minutes in front of 3^rd place. A well deserved pint of Belhaven best went down very quickly while we waited for the podium presentations. One of the hardest races I have done to date and not one I will choose to repeat next year if the conditions are the same.

The previous weekend was the Nutcracker Round 2 which doubled up as the North of England Championship race. A good ride by Alan Nixon to take the gold in the masters race with me taking 2^nd, the silver medal and the series lead. No races for 4 weeks now but with a holiday, rock festival and dry trails there is plenty to look forward to.

Come on guys, at least be quiet when the commissaire is talking even if your not going to listen. Ok, let’s roll out. Shoot, I’m a bit to close to the back of the bunch, I need to move up. It looks quite steady on the front, I will move up soon. Ah, the first climb of the day, now I can get through the bunch, it’s not too steep, nice and steady. That guys looks very twitchy, get past him, whoa we touched handlebars, get as far away from him as possible. Ok I’m near the front now. A few solo attacks there, happy to let them go, they will come back. Excellent, a steep fast descent, I can have some fun here!! Cool, that was fun…….where’s the bunch?? Ok, me and this other guy can work to get up to the front of the race. A few more guys have joined us to work together. The gaps only small but were having to work very hard to close it. Right, we have about 8/9 good riders here, we could make this break work, just keep tapping through, keep the pace high. Man, I’m suffering here, I’ve forgot to eat and drink, ok get a bar and sit at the back to recover, sorry guys can’t come through just yet, it’s hard enough hanging on! Ok feel better now, will start going through. Feel quite good now, must have hit a climb a bit to hard earlier on. Wow, this road is really pot holey, could do with my mountain bike. 2 laps in, shoot, the bunch have nearly caught us, might as well sit up. That’s a surprise, the bunch is only about 20 riders big, a lot have been dropped. A big attack off the front, can’t go with that, I need some recovery. The bunch seems to be moving fairly quickly, is this the last lap? Hang on, we are going the other way at this junction, stay near the front. Dam that’s a steep kicker, dig in, I’m loosing touch with those guys a bit, can’t push any harder……arrrggghhh! Phew, try and recover a bit, get the gear going. There are 3 guys in a break about 1 minute ahead and 3 guys about 20 seconds ahead of our group of about 10. There’s Tom, looks like he has a mechanical, he was going well there. That looks like a big old climb, ok get into a rhythm, keep a good cadence. This is my sort of climb, hang on, is anyone else going to do any work? Oh well, I’m not slowing down, if we drop a few then less to sprint against at the end. Ok, that was a false summit……so was that one! This must be the top. Those 3 guys still have a good gap, lets work together. I recognise this road, we must be near the finish. There’s the 1km to go sign, I might as well have a dig, I can’t sprint. My legs didn’t like that idea, I’m at the back of this group now, where’s the line, they are leaving it a long time to sprint?! I count 7 guys in front of me, with the 3 up the road that makes me 11^th. Not too bad but not great, I should have eaten and drank more, I know better than that!

Since my last blog I have competed in the first round of the North East MTB Nutcracker Series. A strong field of 40 riders lined up in the master’s race and I used my experience to get on the second row. I managed to get into 2^nd before the single-track but could not go with the pace of the leader Jamie Sharp. The course was at Catterick on an Army Training ground and was a mix of main tracks, short steep climbs, some sweet single-track and a big ‘soak spectator’ water splash. I maintained 2^nd place until the 2^nd lap where Anton Wouters passed me on a short steep climb asking ‘are you in second’ to which I replied ‘not any more’. A gap quickly opened, I kept racing hard but was unable to bring him back. I maintained a strong 3^rd position and even managed to soak some kids standing too close to the water splash, they must have been playing double dare. The speed is starting to come and I hope to get another podium at the next round in Richmond. We’ve had fantastic weather this spring, I hope everyone has been enjoying riding their bikes.

If I could use one word to describe the Dalby course it would be ‘brutal’. Steep, vicious up-hills and tough technical descents means it’s a true test of riders fitness, technical skill and pacing. A grid position on the 2^nd to last row meant I had my work cut out trying to get through the field. My main advantage came on the descents, where riders were going down the ‘chicken’ routes I would blast the steep drop offs and claim a few places. The encouragement from the crowd was fantastic but I did get the feeling they were hoping for a crash!! Five times up the worry gill and medusa climb meant I was really happy I didn’t ditch the granny ring as I made very good friends with it throughout the course of the race………I foresee a good relationship blossoming. A decent pacing strategy saw me finishing nearly as fast as I started, claiming a couple of places on the last lap where I think people had underestimated the physicality of the course. 11^th is a respectable results for my first national masters race but I’m certainly more suited to endurance/marathon events. Fellow master racer and friend Nick finished 30^th and Jason claimed 24^th in the Veteran race. A great days racing and a pit-stop for ice cream and beer on the way back was a refreshing end to the day.

The weather was not quite as spectacular on the Sunday with low cloud and a stronger wind but the more I race, the less the weather bothers me. The Whinlatter Mountain Bike Challenge is only in it’s third year but already attracts 550 very keen mountain bikers of all abilities. I saw that Rob Jebb’s name was on the start sheet and knew the pace at the front would be quick, very quick. Knowing the various abilities of riders in the event I got myself on the front row and checked out the competition. A group of 8 or so riders set a good pace at the front and I settled into my rhythm. My inclination was right and half way up the first forest road climb Rob hit the front and simply rode away from everyone, leaving the rest to pick up the pieces. One of the things I love about off-road racing is there are no tactics, you ride as hard as you can for the duration of the race and feel suitably spent and satisfied at the end. The course was 31 miles with 6000 feet of climbing with a good dose of rocky, singletrack descending, a really great course but not one to be tackled without some sort of training. A highlight for me was the gargantuan cheers from Sophie, Carol & Helen as I passed them at the bottom of a descent………thanks girls. I made a new friend in Greig Brown who I pulled around the whole of the second lap and was repaid with him jumping me to take 7^th, 1 second in-front of my 8^th with a 2 hour 33 minutes and 6 seconds, a time and position I’m very happy with. Greig confessed to his hamstring cramping quite badly on the last climb, if I would have known that I would have tried to up the pace! The rest of the crew trickled in over the next hour or so with stoney looking faces that said ‘man that was hard’, no words needed. A great way to start the 2011 MTB race season and 5 suitably tired mountain bikers headed back to the North East for some rest and recovery.

Having arrived 2 days before the race started we had a tourist spin round Knysna itself followed the next day by a ride round the single tracks we would be racing on. What a place. Riding along through the forest on some fantastic single track that even I loved then popping out onto a cliff path with some amazing sea views. We marked out the course with a couple we were staying with, hence the 3 hours to do 25km!!

Following a pre race pasta munch and briefing we were keen to get going early the next day; well I was after a strong coffee and rusk from Mug and Bean! My partner Nicci was looking slightly nervous at the start… wasn’t sure if it was with what was ahead of us or that I had gone missing in a toilet queue the size of Heathrow’s Security line!! Feeling at home in the tight packed ‘peleton’ along the road we soon settled into a comfortable pace on the first climb and headed into the single track we had marked yesterday in a decent position. I legged it ahead so I could walk down a few drop offs and we came out onto the coastal path together. After the next welcome feed stop there was more open tracks and slowly we passed a number of guys that had set off too fast. On each of the descents we found each bend had a sand section that provided the entertainment of the day sliding through almost on top of each other with no control and plenty of girly screams!! The last 10km did nearly crack us… going wrong once then finding some really steep climbs followed by some equally slow single track descents it seemed to take forever and we were both glad to emerge onto the finish field. 95km, 1700m climbing, 4hr58, 13th overall and 1st woman’s team we were both pretty chuffed and confident with our lead.

Following each stage we were given lunch by Mug and Bean then dinner later on. The food either got better or we were just getting more hungry, whichever it was it was delicious especially the Malva pudd and custard!! Staying at Nicci’s friends 100m from the sea I also headed there after each stage to lie in the sea, well that was the idea until a wave knocked me flying one way and my bikini the other… luckily there weren’t many people around and I was able to pull everything back to where it was supposed to be without been seen!!

Day Two was 98km with around 2000m of climbing. Most of the route was on open tracks and roads and after participating in a pile up in the deep sand at the start we just missed a free ride on the back of a big lead group. It was a long day with a lot of climbs and got extremely hot for a Yorkshire lass. It didn’t help that my back brake was binding and my back itself from a crash last week was cramping up! Still the views were worth it and we again motivated each other when pulling back the guys that had set off too fast. I managed a record munch ride for the 4h30 we were out: 1.5 bananas, 1 jel, 1 Pepsi, 3 soggy rusks, a protein bar and 3 bits of sponge cake and still managed a huge lunch and dinner once back. Finishing a similar position to Day 1 we were now 12th overall and had a lead of nearly an hour over the next woman.

On the final day the effort began with a ride to the start, only 15km but over a mountain and with one of those ultra fit chatty guys who manage to spin twice as fast as you and still half wheel and talk the whole way there. Still, wheel spinning free the ride today was total pleasure. We rode in a fairly big group long some open roads and tracks taking full advantage of sucking wheels, my excuse been that if I went to the front I’d have no idea where Nicci was and that I was also a woman and therefore would show the guys up if the camera went past and I was dragging everyone along! I managed to get ahead for the single track climb through the forest so I could plan my route and not get wrapped round a tree stump. Emerging at the top in the mist was pretty daunting with some steep gravelly descents ahead. Surviving those and taking in the views too it was an amazing ride and to top it off chunks of malva pudd at the feed stop!! Just as I’d said those fateful words of ‘we’ve cracked it now’ Nicci’s chain jammed and just as I was contemplating running the 10k left a guy stopped and yanked it out.

We soon forgot the nasty finish down the single track again when crossing the line we were given a glass of champagne and oysters! I’ve never tasted anything so good and could have eaten and drank the whole lot but thought better of it and instead rode home slightly tipsy but very chuffed. It was so nice to complete such a tough event with such a great partner who I discovered was as competitive as me even when we had such a comfortable lead. My only complaint that it was only 3 days long and not more (though I’m not sure Nicci felt the same about that!!)

Catherine Williamson