Posted: 26/08/2022
2 August 2022
Today, was an invitational 60km criterium in Kapellen, Antwerp! I have always loved crit racing, and after my short, but mighty trip to Italy, I felt very motivated for this race. The crowds here were amazing, which made for a very fun racing atmosphere.
The race started fast and with sprint primes every lap, meant that the pase was full gas the whole time. Originally, a small break of six went within the first 10km, which I managed to be in. This break was then reduced to three riders with 40km to go and the three of us took turns at getting the sprint money. With three laps to go, unfortunately, I lost the wheel as the other two sprinted for the 100 euro prime. So, I was left on my own just hoping that the bunch wouldn't catch me. In the end, I finished third, smashed heaps of power PBs and had so much fun!
9 August 2022
With a bit of a pause in the UCI races, a kermesse in Brugge was on the cards! I caught the train to Brugge and with an Airbnb booked, settled in for a relaxing night!
My positioning in this race was very good, I felt very active in the race following moves and tried my own attacks. This was also my first race with Prudence, a new girl in our team from NZ. So, it was good to learn how she raced and work together here!
15 August 2022
GP Yvonne Reijinders 1.2 UCI. Rain was forecast, however, we anticipated it would hold off because of the perfect blue skies. Damn! We were all wrong!
The race started very fast paced and was strung out after 10km. I was still in the peloton still, but after 40km, the race was cancelled due to a big down pour of rain flooding the finishing straight and other parts of the course. We struggled to see the road ahead of us, the rain was just so heavy! Unfortunately the race had to be cancelled, a safe decision based on the conditions of the day.
18 August 2022
Today, I turned model for the day with a photoshoot for Cois Cycling, a sponsor of IBCT. It was really cool to be involved. Over three hours I modelled their range of clothing and casual, which I got to keep!
19 August 2022
Kortrijk Koerse 1.1. seen some big teams on the start list over what was to be a challenging course.
My legs felt really good today, and my positioning continues to improve. I was very active in the race following moves and being in a few little breakaways. With 20km to go, we realised it was definitely going to be a sprint finish. Luckily Prudence was racing with us because she's our sprinter!
My job was to get her to the 300m mark, so she could sprint. I successfully fulfilled my role within the team, but unfortuntately, there was a crash on the last corner. I was left to finish off the sprint after just leading Prudence out. The flipside is that I finished 27th overall, which is my best result yet in a UCI race and I'm very please about that!
21 August 2022
Merxem Classic 1.1. is a city style race in Antwerp featuring many different corners, cobbles and tram rails, making for more than a few crashes!
Unfortunately, I had a mechanical 10km into the race and had to change to my spare bike. Despite the similar set up, I am not used to riding it! The race was very fast paced, and our team was present in all the breakaways. It was great to ride so well as a team!
I'm now off the France to complete in the Kreiz Breizh UCI 1.1. and GP Plouay UCI World Tour Race before heading to Ireland early September. Stay tuned for my next blog, it will be exciting as I have a busy month ahead!