Say the words "Curlew Cup" and another two words instantly spring to mind "The Ryals". If you're not familiar with this climb it's pretty infamous among cyclists, a 1.5km ascent with max 22% and average 5% gradients. The course is 3 laps of a 22 mile circuit and this was the second year where the women's race covered the 3 big laps, which also meant 3 ascents of the Ryals.....
The weekend started early on Saturday to travel up North to Stamfordham for a wee recce of the course. My legs hadn't been feeling in the best shape for going into a National Series race so I'm not sure I was in the best mental state feeling pretty tired (sorry for being a grump Simon!!). Thankfully we had one of our sports therapists with us, so seeing Phil for a massage always helps to get my legs in good shape to race the next day.
Being Scottish, tropical temperatures are quite a rare occurrence, but everyone found it really tough racing in the heat! That is by far the best weather I've raced Curlew Cup in, sunshine on tap and very little wind. The first lap was fairly subdued and I think everyone was maybe just thinking about the climb. I was having a bit of a mental battle in the first lap, probably a combination of being tired and not really feeling like I had good legs. There are days when you climb on your bike and instantly feel like your legs are floating (for want of a better word) on the pedals but then there are days when I have to ride into a race and just get through the first hour or so in the hope that my legs will give me a break and come good. Sunday was most definitely the latter!
Trying to hide my pain face up The Ryals...
There is a narrow stretch of road before you turn onto The Ryals, where positioning is key as there are limited places to move up. It was here that Jess, one of Team OnForm's juniors, riding her first National Series race, had a mechanical and was forced to drop back to the car for service. I was a bit further back than I would've liked as we hit the narrow road so gave myself a bit of work to do to move up the bunch before the first ramp on the climb. It's always good to be up near the front for a climb so you give yourself a bit of slipping room and can remain in contention. Cresting the top of the climb there was a bit of a gap to the lead group but as there were a few of us who had been gapped we got back on fairly quickly. Looking round I saw that we still had 6 of our 7 strong team, the mechanical at such a tough part in the race was to be the end of Jess' race. I was just glad to get the first climb out of the way and onto lap 2.
Cycle Team OnForm together in the bunch
The second lap saw a lot more action than the first. A couple of times small groups went up the road but were pulled back by the bunch. One of our team aims for the day was to follow any moves and get the series leader jersey as Sian was sitting second in the overall standings going into the race. A small but dangerous group got a gap before we hit the narrow road for the second time and maintained this onto the Ryals. The bunch were willing to chase though and they were brought back. Second ascent of the Ryals felt much better than the first, maybe because I knew what to expect (even though I've raced it before I think you sort of block it out). The bunch thinned out this time up and a reduced bunch raced back towards Stamfordham for the third and final lap. By this point I think I'd won the battle with my mental demons and had started to enjoy the race a lot more, probably because my legs had started to come good. I focused on staying up near the front with Sian and Alicia, ready to cover any moves that went up the road. Around half way into the lap Chanel Mason rode off Jen George's wheel. I jumped to follow the move and turning around saw that Hannah Payton and Georgie Panchaud had also come across. Getting straight into a chain gang we quickly got a decent gap. It's always so good in a break where everyone is willing to work to get away and this break worked really well together. By the time we hit the Ryals for the third and final time we had just over 2 minutes on the bunch, with Emily Nelson a lone chaser at 40 seconds. All I could think was "don't get dropped on the climb, don't get dropped on the climb!!". The last thing I wanted was to get caught by the bunch and all hopes of a good result to be gone. Georgie flew up the climb and rode away from the three of us. As we reached the top the team cars arrived to offer some advice and encouragement. It was then I started to believe that we would stay away for sure! We caught Georgie around 4 miles from the finish, fair play for such a strong ride up that climb! Still working really well together, my next thought was "I can't come 4th...". Pretty quickly we passed the 3km and 2km to go markers and all the while I was trying to stay calm and think tactically. I knew I didn't want to go too early in the sprint but also knew I'd have to be ready to react if one of the others went. As we neared the final slight bend before the finish straight Hannah opened up her sprint. I jumped to get on her wheel and then just sort of kept going, more out of instinct than anything else. I remember thinking "oh it's still quite a sprint to the finish, just hang on, hang on!!". I think I half expected the others to come past me but when no one did I took the chance to glance back and saw I had a bit of a gap. This was my moment to get both hands in the air and I think I crossed the line with a scream of delight and maybe a bit of disbelief! I'd just won my first National Series race, something I've wanted to do since I raced my first National Series in 2013. And it was the Curlew Cup of all races! Phil came sprinting over to me and gave me the biggest hug and then it was hugs all round as my team mates and our entourage all arrived in quick succession. That was definitely a very emotional moment and I had this huge cheesy grin on my face, while a few of our team support were a wee bit teary eyed shall we say! Seeing everyone's reaction was such a proud moment too, as it was clear how much the win meant to everyone.
Winning salute
A couple of interviews and photos later and it was the podium presentation. Standing on the podium it started to sink in that I'd won, it was most definitely one of the proudest moments in my racing career! Then it was champagne spraying time! I think the most nerve wracking bit was hoping I didn't take a photographer or spectator's eye out with the cork! And sorry Hannah for spraying you in the eye!!
Georgie, me and Hannah on the podium
Champagne spraying time!!
It's probably very clichéd but I'm going to say it anyway, thanks to my team mates and our amazing support crew, you guys are the best and definitely helped make this win possible!
Thanks for reading, over and out (all photo credits: Huw Williams).