Last weekend, I was back on the starting line of a race for the first time in just under 2 months and the first time racing in Spain at the Junior Campeonato de Madrid.
An early start on Saturday for me and my coach Cesar Neira for us to go to the race in plenty of time to have as calm as possible race build up.
The race was a 63km blast around the old formula one track Jarama. I was very impressed to see how seriously the Spanish teams take junior races with team radios, team cars and very professional setups. As I was by myself, I didn’t have any of this, so I did everything I normally do in the UK races and with the help of Cesar, I went to the startline.
This race was also broadcast over YouTube live and this meant my family were able to watch me from the UK. I felt calm on the startline as I went into this race with no expectations and took all possible pressure off and went into the race to have fun.
The race was a fast one with breakaways always trying to get away. 1 big break did get a good gap and I was on the wrong side of it. Even though it was only me working, I got on the front and dragged the peloton back to the breakaway to give me another chance to get a good result.
With one lap to go I was highly placed, on the right wheels and getting ready for the sprint. I got slightly boxed in the sprint, but I managed to get out but just a little too late for the win. I sprinted as hard as I could, and I came 5th out of the 175 starters.
I was happy with my performance, but I wasn’t ecstatic as I knew with my ability the win was possible but I’m not disappointed with my first Spanish race.
Muchas gracias Cesar, este fue el primero de muchos buenos resultados para nosotros.
My result last Saturday was good for me as it’s led to me being invited to my first UCI stage race in 2 weeks guesting for a Spanish team which will be a very good experience for me. It has meant I had to withdraw from The Tour of the Mendips in the UK but this was just too good an opportunity to miss so thanks Mum for changing my flights and cancelling races in the UK.
Thank you to Pedal Potential, Cesar, trainSharp and my family for their continued support.
Thanks for reading and see you in the next blog
Lance
Lance Childs 