Cycle Show, TOB and other news…

 

Yanto & Darren


Please accept my apologies for such intermittent blog updates. Here is a picture of what I have been doing this week. In the photo me (left) Darren Moore right and middle. We spent the day at the Cycle Show at the NEC yesterday which was great. An opportunity to speak to everyone under one roof. It did feel a bit like a pressure cooker with people I wanted to speak to every 10 paces but was very pleased to have got everything done that we set out to do.

The main story I suppose was my signing for the UK Youth team with Magnus Backstedt. I am so excited, we have talked about racing together for years and I’m so pleased that next year will be the one. The team line up look s great and I am so excited to be back up to international UCI level. After co-presenting on ITV4 for the TOB (Tour of Britain) it was great to see the home based guys getting stuck in and mixing it with the big boys over from the continent.

Another interesting thing to talk about maybe, is this time of year. Its end of the season and were all looking to next year with more articles of who’s signed for who coming out every day now and is set to continue as the last riders find their places. But its not over yet. Part of the season is the end of the season. A time to look back and asses the performances of the year for both myself and other riders, especially up and coming ones. I’d like to give a quick mention of some to watch next season.

I think best improved rider of the year is Tom Last (Sigma sport Specialized) The Richmond GP (last premiere) was where I really noticed the lads strength. At the top of the last climb we were down to about 12-15 riders left in the group and Tom was there giving it big licks in the finale. A real talent and one to watch next year.

Ride of the Year for me was JTL (John Tiernan-Locke) on stage 5 of the TOB attacking and dropping some of the best riders in the world up the climb to Hay Tor in Devon on home roads, with home crowd and on the most glorious day. Made me proud he did as I watched from the lead car. Thoroughly deserves a proper world tour team contract.

Most Charismatic rider. For me Mark Cavendish is head and shoulders above the rest. He is a megastar. Even before the worlds win he was getting such a warm and positive reception every stage start and finish on the TOB. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple of times on the race and thought he was such a good personality for the sport in this country but for the world of cycling too. Cav if you read this keep up the good work you are a hero to many.

Nicest guy in the peloton. Alex Dowsett, But also the smoothest pedal action too which helped take stage 8a at the TOB along with many more wins to come. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes but in the case of Dowsett its not true. If you do get to say hello you will go home glad you made the effort.

I could go on and on here, so will save a bit for later which will also give me a reason to keep up dating this blog.

Thanks for reading.

Take care, ride safe,

YB
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

National Championships

Jody Cundy riding at the National Championships – Image ©Copyright Kelkel

 

National Championships

by Jody Cundy MBE
Good news everybody!

We finally have a World Championship for 2010/11! The UCI have found a new host for the track Championships which were cancelled earlier this year. Montichiari in Italy will play host to the UCI track World Championships in February/March of 2011, added to this the UCI also announced the 2012 Track Championships. Los Angeles will play host in February 2012.

After a really quite year for racing I managed to get stuck in with a full program at the National Championships which took place at the Manchester Velodrome at the end of September.
On Day 1, I won my first senior able bodied National medal by riding to bronze in the Team Sprint with fellow team mates Andrew Kelly and Dave Readle. It was a tough night of racing having to do 3 rounds of Team Sprint as man 3. Not for the faint hearted!

Jody Cundy competing at the National Championships, Manchester – ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Day 2 was the Paracycling 1 km Time Trial, and although I was some way off my best time (think the previous nights racing took quite a bit out of my legs), however it was good enough to earn me a silver medal.
Day 3 and the shortest race on the schedule, the flying 200, an event I don’t get to do often, so after some encouraging times in training the week before it was something, I wanted to do especially well in. I managed to set a new personal best, at the same time breaking the C4 World Record (WR) with a time of 10.970, an average speed of 65.633km/h or 40.785 MPH.

Day 4 was uncharted territory for me as I was to be riding the 4km Pursuit. A pretty daunting task in its self, but made even harder by the fact that all morning I’d been curled up on the sofa feeling pretty sick, obviously not the best preparation. However, I managed to get on my bike and race, coming away with a Bronze medal and a new British Record (BR) time of 5:03.826.
The final day of competition was one of frustration. Riding the 4km Team Pursuit with team mates from scienceinsport.com Alistair Rutherford, Adam Duggleby and Tim Lawson, it was clear I still wasn’t feeling well but without a replacement rider I would do my best for the team. After leading the team off and getting them up to speed I sat in behind the other 3. Unfortunately my legs weren’t up for it and after my 2nd turn I had to pull off leaving the 3 remaining riders to post the time. To my surprise we qualified fastest, which put us into the gold medal ride off.

In the final we took the decision of using me as an expendable member, my job was to get the team up to speed and stay on the front until I couldn’t go anymore, this way the team would get more rest and I will of contributed more in my weakened state. This worked brilliantly,
as I did 3 and a quarter laps, leaving my team mates within sight of the opposing team. Then disaster struck, we got within 4 metres of the competition, (you need to be within 1 to take the win), Tim caught the wheel of Alistair and came crashing down. With only 2 riders left on track the race was over.

A great but tough few days of racing, being pretty successful with 3 Bronze, and 2 Silver medals, a WR and BR.

Next stop for me is the Cycle Show in London’s Earls Court on the 10th October, where I’ll be on the British Cycling stand meeting people and signing autographs.
Then on the 14th of this month, I’m off to Kaarst Buettgen, in Germany for the Europa Cup, a 2 day Paracycling race meet, where I’ll be busy again, racing the Pursuit, Kilo and Team Sprint, against some of the best Paracyclists in the world. Hopefully I can find a bit more speed by then.

That’s all for now, happy cycling.

Jody

All images ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

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