My year in review

Thanks

I would like the thank the following people for helping me during this year:

Pedal potential for helping and supporting me through this strange year.

Everyone at Ribble Weldtite, sponsors, riders, and staff. Dan, Grant Bigham and Wattshop for aero help. James Huntley and the other photographers for helping me have great quality content for social media and helping me with a few ideas. VeloUK and Larry. Zwift Community Live, Nathan and Dave. E-Stallas. Everyone at team Draft, especially 'Gino'. And all the race organisers volunteers from all clubs and organisations that put on races during this year. Especially Nova Raiders Cycling Club, Wrekin Sports and Banbury Star Cycling Club. And my family of course.

2020, it's been a strange year for everyone. People would have called you mad if you started saying, this time last year, that 2020 would be a year of a new normal because of a global pandemic. Almost like the plot of a film.

The start

My year started with a training camp with my team in Calpe. Specifically Benissa in a huge footballer style mega villa. This was a really cool experience, first it was a place I had always wanted to go and ride a bike after being told by countless people it was the place to go, second it was a sunny place and it was February and thirdly I could meet the team and get some miles in.

The Calpe area did live up to the hype (mainly of my friend Will Lewis who lived there for months), amazing roads, great climbs, coffee, cake. And tons of other cyclists, teams such a CCC and Sunweb were a common sight.

After this week in the sun (it was only a week for me as I was still at Sixthform) I made my way back to the grey and cold UK for some early doors racing. This is where I got my first ever road race win at the Severn Bridge road race near Bristol. This was awesome, after all the times of just finishing within the top 10 or 2nd I finally did it. A breakthrough moment. I will never forget just after the finish my dad and our mate Steve, that we all call Teddy Smerkx, were just driving to the finish. We had already finish... Just gave them the thumbs up and that was that. We went to the Gloucestershire services on the way home, for those that know, for those that don't, it's basically a national trust style service station, expenive but nice.

The week after this I rode the Evesham road race, I had a spot of bad luck crashing out on the last lap, this also impacted my last road race of the year Roy Thame cup. I can remember a werid atmosphere at the last race of the season, almost like when a thunderstorm is coming. The week after everything was called off because of lockdown.

Zwift and covid

Our lockdown obviously lead to race cancellations, where a lot of riders took this opportunity to just do more training or do some wacky challenges such as a 24hour I took this opportunity to race. This platform I raced most was zwift. Racing almost 3 times a week, doing which ever event Zwift Community Live was commenting on, with Nathan and Dave from the USA.

It was during this time I became a guest member of an American E-Racing team called E-Stellas with my team mate Olly. We rode the virtual Tour of the Gila, and Joe Martin together. Both US national races, and both crazy hard and great fun.

This lead to where I am today, racing for team DRAFT in the Zwift Premier League. The first official zwift league with price money, which is equal for both genders. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity that Draft have given me, it's great that such a group of people who are so enthusiastic and caring towards each other and the wider zwift community so a special thanks to them.