Seems like ages since I last wrote a post on here, loads has happened in this time, as the racing has well and truly got underway. The results have also started to come in and I have finally got my 2nd Cat licence!
The team have been racing at Salt Ayre regularly and we have been able to put all of the work we have done on the training camps into practice. In the first round at Salt Ayre, we had a rider in every break and I got in the break that stuck, which then went on to lap the field. 8 riders went up the road including myself, Simon Wilson, Matt Cronshaw, Jack Pullar. It then split into a group of 4 which I was a part of, and went into the last lap clear. I was thinking how on earth am I going to beat 3 elite riders?! I had conserved my energy and let them attack each other for the last 60 minutes. We came round the final corner and the sprint kicked off & I started at the back of the 4 man group and soon went past 2 riders. I was coming up the inside of Cronshaw and gave it everything with it ending in a photo finish. The win went to Cronshaw (see picture below).
 |
| Photo Finish with Matt Cronshaw at Salt Ayre |
Junior National Series (March 2012)
Last Sunday, I competed in the first round of the National Series. This was the biggest race of the season to date and it was very important for the team to make our mark on the Junior racing scene. We rolled into Aberganevy at around 9:00 am and were greeted by Gary Sadler (Team Manager) who gave us our new Carrera Helmets and Sunglasses. Thanks to Ken Jones for sourcing them for us, they look the business!
I was very nervous going into the race, as I wasn't sure what to expect; I went in open minded and knew I had to ride up near the front. The race was 70 miles long around a rolling circuit with a hard climb up to the finish. We were to have a man in everything that went up the road, Tom Armstrong got into the first break and stayed out there all day! The laps were ticking down and it was soon down to 3 laps left (30miles) & then the attacks started. I knew I had to get in one of them to then get across to the break which was looking likely to stay away. With 2 laps to go most of the ODP riders had left the bunch and were up in the break. I managed to bridge across with Chris Lawless and we quickly got up to the break. There were a few solo attacks on the last lap which saw the 3 riders stay away on their own to the finish. The break was tired and wasn't going to chase them down. I was feeling really good and knew I just had to wait until the final climb as the 3 riders weren't coming back. The sprint kicked off about 200m from the top/finish and quickly saw the break in pieces I finished 5th which I was really pleased with!!! It was a great day, all round, weather was good, new kit, and a great team performance. Hopefully I can carry my form into future National Series races, the next being the Tour Of The Mendips.
Last Sunday, I competed in the first round of the National Series. This was the biggest race of the season to date and it was very important for the team to make our mark on the Junior racing scene. We rolled into Aberganevy at around 9:00 am and were greeted by Gary Sadler (Team Manager) who gave us our new Carrera Helmets and Sunglasses. Thanks to Ken Jones for sourcing them for us, they look the business!
I was very nervous going into the race, as I wasn't sure what to expect; I went in open minded and knew I had to ride up near the front. The race was 70 miles long around a rolling circuit with a hard climb up to the finish. We were to have a man in everything that went up the road, Tom Armstrong got into the first break and stayed out there all day! The laps were ticking down and it was soon down to 3 laps left (30miles) & then the attacks started. I knew I had to get in one of them to then get across to the break which was looking likely to stay away. With 2 laps to go most of the ODP riders had left the bunch and were up in the break. I managed to bridge across with Chris Lawless and we quickly got up to the break. There were a few solo attacks on the last lap which saw the 3 riders stay away on their own to the finish. The break was tired and wasn't going to chase them down. I was feeling really good and knew I just had to wait until the final climb as the 3 riders weren't coming back. The sprint kicked off about 200m from the top/finish and quickly saw the break in pieces I finished 5th which I was really pleased with!!! It was a great day, all round, weather was good, new kit, and a great team performance. Hopefully I can carry my form into future National Series races, the next being the Tour Of The Mendips.
 |
| Me crossing the line 5th At the First Round of the National Series |
 |
| New Carrera Razor helmet, how I put my name on it below... |
This weekend we received our team kit from Bioracer, it looks amazing! Thanks to Ken Jones from Onimpex-Bioracer for designing and sourcing the kit. I spent most of yesterday afternoon putting my name in shorts and jerseys. I got creative when putting my name on my new Carrera Razor helmet. How I did it... Printed my name out, cut around it and stuck it onto double sided sticky tape. Then stuck it to the helmet and put 3-4 coats of clear nail varnish over the top to waterproof it. I think it worked quite well, what do you think?
 |
| Ken Jones with the new kit |
Also thanks to everyone who has supported the Mountivation Academy to date, especially Gary Sadler (Team Manager) who has worked non-stop getting everything sorted ahead of Gorey.Thanks for reading
James
