Our guest writer/rider Alex Jones talk to us about his last experience at the National Para TT Championships.
National Para TT Championships
As soon as I returned from Manchester it was time to start preparations for the National Para Time Trial Championships. Time Trialling is not an area where I have had a lot of experience but I had not done badly in the World Cup so I was motivated to keep training hard. The course was a rolling 36kms in the beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. We travelled up the day before so I could at least drive the course a few times and get familiar with the tricky bits and try to make a plan. We were lucky with the weather on the day, with bright sunshine and next to no wind. I was slightly nervous to see that the current National Champion was setting off a minute behind me so I knew that I would have to be strong mentally as he sailed past me and resist the temptation to chase him down at a speed that would be unsustainable and make my legs die on me before the end of the race. I put everything into my performance, with GB coaches there watching our every move once more, and at the end of the race I had no idea if I had medalled or not as the times seemed very close for 2nd and 3rd places.
Checking the results board I was genuinely over the moon to see that I had come second, earning a silver medal, proving that every second of effort counts. I went away inspired by the other riders and whilst I continue my physio exercises I know that I can continue to overcome my muscle stiffness to improve my position on the bike for next year.
It has been a very long and exciting season for me but it is not quite over as my first ever Track International competition is coming up in November so I have been training every week at the London Velodrome so I can attempt more pbs and improve my racing technique.
The SD Team thanks Alex for sharing his cycling experiences with us and all our followers. We wish well and we look forward to hear more interesting stories.Good Luck for the rest of the season.
SD TEAM.
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