2020

Welcome back to my blog in 2020!

A lot has changed since my last post, so this blog will be a run through of what’s happened over the autumn/winter months and what will be happening over the next season.

Once I finished my racing season in September, I was given the chance to have a fitness test with the guys at trainSharp as they were looking for riders to join their junior team in 2020. I went along and I met Jon Sharples (who is the Director and Founder of trainSharp) and I met Alex Welburn (who is trainSharp‘s head sports scientist) and it would be Alex who coached me through the fitness test.

I was very impressed by the facilities that trainSharp has and their knowledge is world class.

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After a long while of waiting, I got an email in October saying I had been given a place on the team which was an amazing feeling. I couldn’t say anything until the team allowed me to say something (when the team was officially announced!) which was hard as I was very excited to get to work with the team and to have someone of the expertise as Alex as my coach was a real privilege. I’d like to say a personal thank you to all of the sponsors of the trainSharp Junior Development Team. Bio Racer, SRM, Scott bikes, Today’s Plan, Secret Training, Continental Tyres, PRO Sports Lab, Stuart Hall Cycling Holidays, SIDAS, CRB Construction LTD, Sykes Harley Davison .

With me being in the trainSharp junior development team, it did mean I had to tell my coach Tim Ramsden (Blackcat Cycle Coaching) the news of me being in the team which meant he and I would no longer work together. Tim was very supportive of this and I thank him very much for taking the news well and helping me throughout the 2019 season. Tim was my first proper coach and I have the upmost respect for him not only as a coach but as a person as well. I wish him and all his clients at Blackcat all the best for the future.

My decision to be a part of the trainSharp team also meant that I couldn’t race in the colours of VCL for 2020. This was a hard decision to make because VCL made me fall in love with cycling again after some hard times in 2016. Everyone at VCL made me feel welcome and part of their family and this is something I will be forever grateful for. I could never completely leave VCL after what the club helped me through so I will stay a member of the club (2nd Claim) for quite possibly the rest of my life. There is not one individual I would like to thank from VCL but the coaches play a huge part in making VCL what it is today, such as Alasdair Mangham, Olivier Nilsson-Julien and Mark Patterson to name a few. Thank you to everyone at VCL.

This is only the start of my journey with trainSharp and I hope we can have a successful 2020 and beyond together.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Lance