Congratulations to Sam and Stassi after a couple of excellent results at the weekend.

Sam MacDonald - N&DCA series round 2 - 15th April 2023

Round 2 of the series was held on one of my favourite courses - a 10-mile circuit at Naseby in Northamptonshire. It has a mixture of fast descents, rolling climbs and tricky turns. This means you need good power to weight, aerodynamics and bike handling to do well on it. I managed to come third with a time of 22:08, but I was only 11 seconds behind the winner. Hopefully I can keep on getting closer to the really fast guys as the season really starts to pick up. Full results can be found here: https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/race-results/25184#anchor

Stassi Bowler - Finsbury Park CC Road Race - 16th April 2023

I competed in the Finsbury Park CC road race on Sunday, 60 entrants and 51 miles (6 laps) of tough racing with a very strong bunch.

After the first hit out at the climb I was very aware I might get dropped, I vomited all over my legs and thought I was a goner. But with Shaun, Frances, Adam, and my friend from school all out on course supporting me I was determined to hang on for as long as I could. 

After 3 laps, a breakaway of 2 got away, and whilst my teammates and I were trying to get the group to work together to chase them, their teammates worked (annoyingly) well to sit on the front and slow us all down. I made a few attacks, one around a punchy little climb on an S bend that allowed me and another girl to get away, but we got reeled back in not long after. 

The finish was at the top of a 3 minute climb, and going into the final climb I was well and truly cooked. After about 45 seconds I fell off the back and ended up finishing 15th, although not my best finish. I'm really happy with my performance, multiple attacks and honestly just a lot of fun racing with such amazing, strong women.