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After being on the GB Junior Academy the
natural step up from junior to elite would be to make it onto
Senior Academy. Throughout 2017 I always knew this was going
to be a tough jump and after missing out on selection for the
Junior European Track Championships due to a focus more on the
bunch races now, I turned my focus to the National Junior
Individual Pursuit. A race that has little to no other
influencing factors other than you putting in the hard work
and showing your strength on the day. I was now even more
motivated than ever and determined to prove myself as I knew I
was going well enough to have been selected had the focus been
slightly different with only five riders able to go. I worked
hard and was delighted to take the win in an event I knew I
could do well in. The training that went alongside aiming for
the IP meant I also had some good form going into the bunch
races. My confidence was rising and rising after just winning
a national title, I raced better than I had before. Deep down
knowing that I did deserve my place on Academy and I was
fighting to win.
I felt 2017 was one of the best years for me as I progressed
so much mentally, tactically and physically from the previous
year even though in 2016 I did make selection for the European
and World Junior Track Championships. After racing in
Apeldoorn at an international track meet at the start of the
year I was coming top five in all the bunch races and was so
proud of where I had come after being told I needed to
strengthen my bunch riding. It was a disappointment for me not
getting selected for Senior Academy but looking back on it now
I know I can be proud of what I achieved throughout the year
and should be happy with how I progressed.
With some strong road results the potential is there to ride
for a road team but with my focus being more towards track
that year I was in a bit of a tricky situation. My aim was to
have a good winter training on track with Welsh Cycling and
then target the track season, so Revolution, National Track
Champs and National Omnium Champs. Unfortunately I crashed at
the first Revolution meeting of the year in London resulting
in concussion. I had a month off over Christmas resulting in
my preparation not being enough for Nationals with both my
fitness and confidence levels in bunch racing taking a
battering. With my motivation struggling the crash in a way
forced me to have a break away from it all which I so
desperately needed.
Feeling like you'd gone back to where you were before with
things like my confidence racing bunch races was so hard for
me to overcome as I knew after my year last year that I was
capable of being up there and more than capable of being at
the front. It was made even harder by the thoughts that people
were watching knowing that they had made the right decision.
Not making the step up to Senior Academy came with many
challenges. Due to finding out late in the year spaces for
road teams had filled up and I had already had to turn
University offers down. Watching my friends from both cycling
and school either move onto University or the Senior Academy
made for a lonely few months feeling like I no longer had
shared experiences with people. Another major challenge for me
was having to find a part time job. I worked in a restaurant
close to my house, but it meant I had to be much more focussed
with my training as days off, where I was working were no
longer rest days as I was stood up for six hours on my feet at
a time.
I found being outside the pathway difficult with respect to
coaching as when I was in it, it makes you feel comfortable in
the fact that what you're doing is the right thing as you are
within a system. Of course there is not only one way that
suits everyone or one way to win, but from the outside it
makes it so much easier to question whether you are doing the
right thing which takes a lot of strength mentally. Going from
an environment where you could regularly compare yourself to
others around you to being one of the only girls training by
myself or with boys made it a lot harder for me to gauge if I
was progressing at the right rate or not.
Feeling bad every time I went out training and asking myself
why I was even doing it mid efforts in the rain meant I was
definitely in need of a break. I was struggling so much with
the fact that I felt I had sacrificed so much of my time to no
end result was how it felt. After a couple of months
completely off the bike coming to terms mentally with the fact
that I hadn't failed and whilst having one of my best years on
the bike I also obtained four good A levels and a national
champions jersey in the individual pursuit.
I felt I was now ready to come back into it and am approaching
my training in a much more positive way. I can see the break
was definitely needed and am now looking forward to the rest
of the season and the winter on the road and track alongside
studying Sports Science at University. |
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