19th of June 2021
Abbey represented Suffolk Youth Race Team team in the National Youth Series event at Hillingdon on Saturday.
The weather was okay, not particularly warm and a bit damp in places. Abbey prepared well for the race, although the race was delayed by some 15+ minutes due to a nasty accident in an older category. Abbey adjusted her warm up accordingly and got her self on the front row of the grid. As the race started, Abbey had a nasty slip while trying to clip in, which caused her to drop off the back of the Peloton.
Abbey chased back on and rode back to the front by the exit of the second corner. As the riders rode the back section of the course that dropped to the left down hill and then turned sharp right, Abbey had a bit of a moment and her rear wheel slid out. When she came around for her next lap, she was a bit cautious and found herself pushed off the course by an other rider. This lead to a race long problem with the corner, whereby Abbey would go into the down hill section at the front of the group, but by the time she had climbed the hill from the exit of the corner she was about 10 seconds off the back before coming onto the start finish straight. Its normal for riders to get dropped on the up hills, not so common to get dropped on down hills. Most laps Abbey had to ride down the start finish straight trying to catch the peloton. Each lap she achieved the ‘catch’ and by the time they got back to the hill she had moved back to the front. By half race, Abbey had lapped the second place girl.
Abbey showed very good strength and fitness and we felt she could have been more of a problem to the boys if she wasn’t “getting back on” each lap, but instead attacking.
Abbey came 1st and winner of the NYS U12 Girls race. I had some camera issues, so we do not have many photos, apologies. If anyone publishes any, I’ll share for both riders.
