UCI World Cup | Val di Sole and Vallnord

THE FORM WAS THERE, BUT SO WAS SICKNESS. Our U23 British Champion has not had things his way for the last two weeks. He came into Val di Sole on the back of a successful training camp and ready to lay down a great result. His 18th place result is by no means a disaster – in fact, top 20 in the World is pretty impressive – but we know that there is much more to come and that for some reason he just couldn’t get it out on the day. The frustration of the race was soon forgotten as we traveled to Andorra. New week, new chance. Unfortunately hopes of a top result were dashed when Frazer fell ill in the week with stomach troubles and sickness. He felt well enough to race on Sunday, but the illness had taken its toll and he could only manage a 51st place. On to the next ones now; we know a great result is on its way soon.

PERFECT PREPARATION BUT BAD LUCK FOR RAPH. With the weeks prior to Val di Sole spent training in Italy, Raph was confident that good preparation could deliver another World Cup displaying progress and promise. Annoyingly, crashes and mechanicals pay little attention to a rider’s preparation, and they play havoc with their potential. A fast and unforgiving crash at the start of the race in Val di Sole left Raph with a huge rip in his shorts, some skin missing from his arms, battered knees and a big chase back into the race. He fought hard to place 62nd in the end, and handled the whole situation with admirable pragmatism. Onto Andorra and bad luck struck again with his chain coming off three times during the race causing a huge amount of lost time and a battle to pass back through the riders that had overtaken him. Again, Raph pulled out a solid 61st place which is rather amazing all things considered! Next month is his home World Cup and we hope the bad luck has passed and the home advantage will help him to a great result.

LEG STRONG AND HEAD STRONG; THE RESULTS WILL COME. Martin is in flying form this season and he came to Italy with the smile of a confident and content man. A bad start in Val do Sole, compounded by a track that creates a huge bottle-neck, left Martin in chase mode from the beginning. By the finish he had climbed constantly through the pack to record 49th place. It was not what he hoped for, but he had only moved forward and that is a great indicator of strength. Vallnord, at 1900 metres elevation, has never been a friend of Martin’s; his body responds particularly badly to the altitude and sadly Sunday was no different. He suffered like hell and finished in 68th position. The form and the motivation is there; we are excited to see what he can do in Mont Sainte Anne!