I first started racing bikes when I joined Hunt back in 2017. At that time, it was the office's Sunday winter activity of choice: heading around the Southeast, getting covered in mud, and then going to the pub for a post-race debrief.
I loved being around people who were passionate about bikes and racing. The Monday chat in the office was always about how the race went and where we were heading the following weekend, which almost certainly would be Herne Hill, the stomping ground of the London CX league. The reason I would always encourage people to try CX is that it doesn't matter if you are at the front of the race or not. There is always someone of a similar ability or fitness to race with, and you can get that same buzz as being at the pointy end as you battle your nemeses from the previous rounds around a muddy field.
When I started racing, I was very much a mid-pack warrior, battling away and then waiting for the race results to be posted online a day or so later to see how I was getting on. During my first years of racing, I made steady progress, not taking it too seriously but trying to make sure I commuted a lot to build my base fitness, and that seemed to do the trick.
Coming from an MTB background, the muddier and more technical the courses, the better I would do. A real standout moment was a race we had at Redbridge Cycling Centre, which turned into an absolute mud fest. However, I managed to nurse myself and my bike to my first-ever podium. At the time, this felt like a really big deal and helped me appreciate the pureness of CX. It’s so much more than just trying to go flat out for an hour—it's about conserving energy, looking after your equipment, and getting it through the race.
The biggest step in terms of performance came when I started working with a coach. I made the decision to work with Chris Mac Performance Coaching, a local trainer, ahead of the 2022 National Champs, which were held just down the road from the office in Ardingly, just south of Crawley. I did manage to get on the live feed while getting lapped with a dropped chain. I gelled pretty quickly with the process of structured training. Having someone give me a plan to stick to and seeing growth through my numbers gave me the drive to get out on the bike or the turbo, even when I didn’t feel like it.
I wish I could give a secret sauce to CX, but I don’t think there is one. The biggest tip I can give is that consistency is key. When people start training, they often go full bore and over-commit to a level that isn’t sustainable for their lives. It's much better to train consistently for 6 hours a week than to aim for 12 hours, only doing 2 hours one week and 16 hours the next to make up for it. So, my golden tip is to train consistently and stick at it, and you should see the results.
When I started racing CX, winning the league wasn’t even something I thought was possible. I looked up to those guys, thinking they were gods with the speed they went past, and now to think I’ve managed to reach that level is an amazing feeling. But I still have aspirations to achieve more. Since joining Magspeed Racing, I’ve been setting my sights a little wider, competing in the National Championships and heading over to race against the big dogs in Belgium once a year. Getting my name printed in the results section of Het Nieuwsblad was another WOW moment.
Looking back over the season, I had two main goals. Firstly, to win the league, but I knew this was probably one of my last chances with some very fast young guns coming through. With how dry the start of the season was, I thought it would be a challenge, but I had a pretty consistent season, taking a fair few wins when things got a bit more slippery. The second goal was to beat my best National Champs result, which I also achieved with a 28th place in a very cold and sloppy Cyclopark in Kent.
Now that the CX season is over, I’m looking forward to swapping the letters around and cracking on with some XC training and racing. I’m moving up to elite this season, which is another new challenge for me. Right now, my goals aren't set yet, as moving up a category is a big unknown, and I don’t know where my level will be.
