0:06

Welcome to the British Continental

0:08

podcast , the

0:10

show shining a light on stories about

0:12

British bike racing teams and riders

0:15

at the domestic level . Hello

0:25

and welcome to the British Continental podcast

0:27

. I'm Denny Gray and today's

0:30

episode is slightly different to the norm in that we have

0:32

two special guests alongside

0:34

me . Today , virtually at least First

0:37

up , we've managed to bag

0:39

one of the most inspiring women in domestic cycling

0:42

today . That's London

0:44

Academy team manager , Sarah

0:46

King . Sarah , how you doing .

0:51

I'm really good . Thank you for having me on this .

0:54

Great Well , thanks for coming , sarah . Absolute

0:56

pleasure to have you on . I should say

0:59

we also have Lincoln

1:01

Shears , finest Sean Botterley , an

1:03

inspiring woman in her own right , of course , who

1:05

rides for the newly merged UCI Continental

1:08

team , das Hutchinson brother

1:10

, how you doing , sean ?

1:12

Yeah , I'm really good , thank you .

1:13

Thanks for having me on and how are you feeling after

1:15

your first race of the season ?

1:18

Well , it was certainly a shock to the system . Yeah

1:21

, first trip to Belgium of the year for GP

1:23

Ottingen , which was it was 1.1

1:25

and it was my first race of that level . Yeah

1:28

, straight in , straight in with the big teams . There was something

1:31

like , yeah , eight or 10 World Tour teams and yeah

1:33

it was . It was really hard and good , good

1:36

to get going , good to kind of shock

1:38

the legs back into it , but yeah , it was a . It

1:40

was a hard race for sure .

1:42

Okay , good , good . Well , in today's episode we're

1:44

going to be previewing the Women's National

1:46

Road series , which of course begins

1:49

with the cycle classic this Sunday

1:51

, as well as looking forward to the cycle

1:53

classic itself . And we'll also be hearing

1:55

from last year's national road series

1:57

winner , monica Greenwood , who narrowly

1:59

missed out on the win at the cycle classic

2:01

last season and is on the start

2:03

list again this year hoping to set the record

2:06

straight . So first

2:08

up , let's concentrate on the national road series . I'm

2:10

going to start with a little bit of an overview , and

2:13

then we'll hear from Sarah

2:15

and Sean about the series . So for

2:18

those that don't know , of course the national

2:20

series , national road series is the premier

2:22

road racing series in the UK for for

2:25

men and for women . Today we're focusing on the women's series

2:27

, and I guess the easiest way to

2:29

think about it is that it's

2:31

like a domestic version of the UCI Women's

2:34

World Tour series , in that riders accumulate

2:37

points in each round of the series and the rider

2:39

with the most points at any given point in

2:41

the series gets to don the the

2:43

national road series jersey . There's

2:45

also a team competition and

2:48

an under 23 rider ranking too . It's

2:50

all organised by British cycling

2:52

. It's probably fair to say that

2:55

the series has suffered a number of setbacks in

2:57

the last few years , with the calendar slowly

2:59

shrinking . But when

3:02

British cycling announced this year's

3:04

calendar there seemed to be some hope . There

3:06

was an expansion in the calendar and

3:08

this year there are , so far

3:10

as it stands anyway , six definite

3:13

rounds of the women's series . We've

3:15

got the Cycle Classic coming up in March , but we've

3:17

got the East Cleveland Classic in April , the

3:20

Rafferlinking Grand Prix in May , lancaster

3:22

Grand Prix in July , the

3:24

Rydale Grand Prix in August

3:26

and the Kaleuk Cup in September . There's

3:29

also a stage race that's to

3:31

be confirmed for the end of September , although

3:33

my understanding is

3:36

that it won't be

3:38

a women's race this year . I

3:42

guess we'll hear more about that in the

3:45

weeks and days to come . Unfortunately

3:47

, the Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir

3:50

was also supposed to happen this

3:52

year , but that's been postponed until

3:54

2025 now . So

3:56

that's how it's looking . Last year Monica

3:59

Greenwood , as I said , was the , was the winner

4:01

, beating Robin Clay , who was the best place

4:03

under 23 rider , and

4:05

Das Hansling won the team

4:08

competition . It was a closely run thing

4:10

, with pro-Noptis Heidi Kielsen

4:12

, 200 degrees coffee , the team with the longest

4:14

name in the world , coming second

4:16

and Shahn's team , hutchinson brother UK

4:19

, running them close in third . So

4:22

that's my kind of spiel

4:24

over the overview . Let's

4:26

talk about the series First of all . I

4:28

guess it would be good to know , shahn , how

4:31

important is the National Road

4:33

series for a UCI

4:35

continental team ? How do you look at it ? Does it matter

4:37

? Where does it stand in the pecking order

4:40

of races ?

4:42

Personally , I think it matters hugely . I

4:45

think it plays a really big role in

4:47

the development of other rider and

4:50

not only kind of newer

4:52

riders to the sport like riders on a UCI

4:54

team . I think it is really important because it's a it's a platform

4:57

where we can

4:59

kind of practice team tactics at

5:02

a level that is very high

5:04

, because the racing in the UK is hard , it

5:06

is fast and it's aggressive , but

5:08

it is a step below

5:10

, I suppose , some of the races that we'll be doing

5:12

in Europe throughout the season . So it really

5:15

allows us to kind of implement

5:17

team tactics and practice kind of , you know , riding

5:19

as a team on

5:21

a level that is a bit more manageable , whereas

5:24

we go to , yeah , go to races

5:26

like the one I did last week in Belgium

5:28

and , quite frankly , we're

5:31

suffering really , and being

5:33

able to use those tactics in

5:35

higher level races is quite

5:38

a rare thing . So it does kind of

5:40

allow you to , yeah

5:42

, it does allow you to learn and practice

5:44

what hopefully you will at some point be

5:46

able to use at a higher level . And

5:49

I also think it's really important for

5:51

UCI teams to just

5:53

respect the series and respect the

5:55

UK racing scene , because I

5:57

think it would be easy for UCI

6:00

teams to have . The opinion of the

6:02

UK scene isn't as important because

6:05

they've got this UCI license and therefore the

6:08

main focus should be on the UCI racing . But I think

6:10

if every UCI team were to take

6:12

that stance , then

6:14

you potentially see kind

6:17

of less entrance in the national

6:19

series , because that potentially takes

6:21

a good chunk of riders , particularly now that

6:23

we've got six UCI teams . If all

6:25

six of those teams were to not really focus

6:28

on the national series , then the level in

6:30

that series is going to go down massively and then

6:32

with , yeah , riders

6:34

that are kind of coming up , it's

6:37

then an even bigger jump

6:39

if they want to take it to the next level . Because

6:42

, yeah , the national series it is really hard racing

6:44

, it is aggressive and , yeah

6:46

, it's a really great platform of racing

6:48

to learn and develop really .

6:51

And well , talking of riders coming up , sarah , you're

6:53

obviously in charge

6:55

I don't know if that's the right term but you're overseeing

6:57

riders that are kind of slightly

6:59

further down the development pathway compared to

7:02

some of the UCI continental riders . How

7:04

does a team like yours approach the

7:06

national road series and how do you view

7:08

it ?

7:10

I kind of echo what Shana's just said

7:12

, but kind of from the other direction . So we use

7:14

kind of as Shana

7:16

said , using tactics and understanding

7:19

how to kind of race the team at a national

7:21

series level we can't do that

7:23

at Team Cup so a national B level and

7:26

then we kind of can use those learnings

7:28

to then try and develop our riders

7:30

into riding at the national series . So

7:32

it's our step up is just the

7:34

next kind of one down and

7:37

then hopefully those riders will progress

7:39

into national A and then become kind

7:41

of part of a continental team perhaps one day . Yeah

7:44

, we really use a series of something to aspire to

7:46

. I only have a handful of

7:48

riders probably that will race it this year . Maybe

7:50

four to six will have it each round , which would be great

7:52

. Maybe we'll get up to eight . I've

7:54

one seems very keen to do Lincoln . So

7:57

it's very much it's

8:00

seen as that series where it's showcasing the best

8:02

of the UK talent and

8:04

that's what it should be . Just as Shana said , like it's got

8:07

all those continental teams in it and

8:09

loads of aspiring teams and elite development

8:11

teams . It should show off the best

8:13

of our talent and in the UK . And

8:15

it is hard , like the racing

8:18

is aggressive , it's hilly , it's grippy . You

8:20

feel like you're in a washing machine the first two times you do

8:22

it , because you don't know when you get near the front and then

8:24

you suddenly at the back again . It's a total kind

8:27

of step up as well from

8:29

a NAPB and a Team Cup . But

8:31

yeah , as Shana said , it's super important

8:34

to our scene and I

8:36

think the racing has changed quite a lot since

8:38

, kind of I guess me and Shana were doing it 10

8:40

or so years ago . There's so many more

8:42

riders that you've got 140 riders

8:45

lining up some of these races where it used to be 60

8:47

or so . So yeah , it's

8:49

really developed as a series too .

8:51

Sean , what do we make of the calendar ? Obviously

8:53

it evolves every year and

8:55

as it stands , we've got six one day races

8:58

. What

9:00

do you make of the calendar ? Is it kind of where it needs

9:02

to be at the moment ?

9:05

I think it's . Yeah , there's

9:07

certainly a couple of things missing that have been

9:09

have been in the series over the last

9:12

few years . As you said , it does evolve year to year

9:14

and we are in a better place than

9:16

we were last year , with Crandite

9:18

being back on the scene . Personally

9:21

, I think it's a shame to lose races

9:24

such as Stockton because , well , personally

9:26

, I liked Stockton because it was a bit flatter

9:28

. But yeah , I think a

9:30

race like that they

9:32

made it a whole kind of cycling festival and

9:35

there was sportifs and all sorts going

9:37

on in the town over the weekend and that

9:40

, I think , kind of almost

9:42

opens the yeah , opens

9:44

the sport to the masses a bit more and it kind of

9:46

, yeah , the town can kind of get behind

9:48

it a bit more Because , yeah

9:50

, there'd be extra people in the area from doing

9:52

the sport if it potentially stay and stay and watch the

9:54

race , whereas you look at a race such

9:57

as Ryder , for example great

9:59

race but everybody that is spectating

10:01

that race is either somebody

10:04

that is riding in the afternoon or in the morning , depending on

10:06

which yeah , depending on which race and then

10:08

, yeah , or kind of parents or supporters

10:10

of people that are already there . It's not really

10:12

a spectator event Obviously

10:15

you can have like Lincoln , which basically

10:18

shuts the whole town down and yeah

10:20

, there's loads of spectators in the atmosphere . It's fantastic . But

10:23

I think we could do with more

10:25

races that kind of engage

10:27

the public a little bit more and kind of make it more

10:30

of a well known thing . Yeah

10:33

, I think it is . Hopefully it is

10:35

on the way up again with obviously

10:37

it's a shame that Troll the reservoir was on

10:40

this year and then now it's hopefully

10:42

going to happen next year . And then , yeah

10:44

, the stage race that you mentioned earlier

10:46

. I was hoping it would be the return of the Isle

10:49

of man and that it would be a stage race for men

10:51

and women , and obviously it's not really confirmed either

10:53

way yet . But yeah

10:55

, I think there are signs that it's on the way back

10:57

up , but at the moment there is still

11:00

, yeah , a little bit to be desired

11:02

, I suppose .

11:03

And , Sarah , from your point of view , does

11:05

it offer the kind of , I guess , variety

11:07

of terrains and racing that you'd hope

11:09

to get ? For you know , riders

11:12

like those on your team who are looking

11:14

to develop their

11:16

skills and their race craft .

11:19

I think so . I think it's

11:21

still quite centered towards it being

11:24

quite hilly races like , as Sean said

11:26

, having Stockton . That's not on the calendar anymore

11:28

, so it is quite a step up . I

11:30

think the thing that's helping bridge

11:32

it at the moment is races like the proper

11:34

northern series . They're helping

11:37

to bridge that gap a little bit because it gives hilly

11:39

a grippier racing . Team Cup

11:41

is usually a bit more rolling , so

11:43

really if you step from a team Cup although

11:45

you're going to ride it , it's quite

11:48

a . There's quite a set change in that . So

11:50

having the proper northern series sort of bridge that gap

11:52

a little bit , I think is helping . And

11:54

they also I mean we're down south and

11:56

like I'm also from Lincolnshire , so

11:59

the kind of where we have to travel

12:01

to get to these races a lot of them are at north and

12:03

it's a full I mean you know it's a full weekend

12:06

but that four or five hour drive home

12:08

on a Sunday afternoon when you've got work

12:10

the next morning is quite tough sometimes . So

12:13

it's great that we've got sickle classic and Lincoln

12:16

on the calendar

12:18

, but it would be great if there was something more

12:20

south eventually . That

12:22

would be great to see on the calendar . Yeah

12:26

, it would be great to have a two-day . I think that

12:29

helps to bridge then towards riders

12:31

stepping up above national

12:34

series level . I never did tour the res , but I

12:36

was heard that it was a pretty tough one to

12:38

get a second series . Shana's nodding there . I

12:41

heard , yeah , very much from the riders and I was doing

12:43

it that it was a tough race

12:45

but it would be great to have a two-day back

12:47

. We used to have a two-day as part of the team cup . It's

12:50

just a different style of racing

12:52

and shows off

12:54

other people's talents .

12:56

I guess having a TT

12:58

or something involved in that let's

13:01

have a look at some of the stories that we might

13:03

look forward to following over the coming weeks

13:06

and months . I'm intrigued

13:08

because we've gone from a position

13:10

where last year we had three

13:12

UCI continental women's teams obviously

13:15

Life Plus Wahoo who had

13:17

tended to race primarily on the

13:19

continent and haven't really done the series

13:21

. We only really had two teams

13:24

racing the series last

13:26

year . We've gone

13:28

now to a position where we've got six UCI continental

13:30

teams and Hess who

13:32

weren't registered with the UK last year but

13:35

had big ambitions , of course , of riding the Cycle

13:37

Classic . It would be interesting to see whether they are

13:40

more regular participants in the

13:42

series going forward . I'm

13:45

interested well from both of you

13:47

really . How do you think that change

13:49

in team structure and levels

13:52

will change the racing , if

13:54

at all .

13:56

Personally , I think a lot

13:58

of the teams , some

14:00

of the teams that have stepped up . It's not

14:02

like they're new teams and they

14:04

don't necessarily have loads of new riders

14:07

, but those teams were already at a very

14:09

high level last year , Anyway . So Take Pro Noctis

14:11

, for example . They were

14:13

more than challenging the UCI teams last year

14:15

. They just didn't have that UCI badge . I

14:18

think , like you said , the interesting addition

14:20

will be Hess , because

14:23

they have a lot of foreign riders that

14:25

haven't potentially raced in this country

14:27

before . That

14:30

will definitely be interesting to see how they get on . Yeah

14:34

, I think they're kind of the main

14:36

change , but I think that already last

14:38

year the level in the UK was

14:41

very high and

14:43

the year before it was also very high . But yeah

14:45

, I think last year it really did take a

14:48

kind of a big step up . But

14:51

yeah , I think a lot of the teams , although

14:53

the UCI yeah

14:55

, having six UCI teams , I

14:57

think it appears a very big step

15:00

up . I don't necessarily

15:02

think it is as big of a step up as it appears

15:04

on paper , if that makes sense . Like , for example

15:06

, my team from last year and

15:08

Das have merged to form

15:11

one team . So effectively that is a

15:13

team less before you even start

15:15

off . Life Plus , for example

15:17

. They are a continental

15:20

team , but I think we can all

15:22

agree that they are a step above

15:24

the rest of the continental teams

15:26

, and when the pro continental

15:28

tier gets introduced into women's racing

15:30

, which I believe is next year , I

15:33

would assume that Life Plus will go into

15:35

that tier , which then would potentially

15:38

take them out of the national series altogether . Yeah

15:41

, I think that the level is going to be kind of really

15:43

high this year and , yeah , I think

15:45

Hess will definitely add

15:48

to that greatly .

15:49

Sarah , what's your view ?

15:50

Yeah , very similar , and I

15:53

think that start list for a SQL

15:55

platform , for example , looks quite intimidating or

15:57

it can do to a new rider . Had

15:59

a couple of riders the other day and say

16:01

, oh my god , look at who's on the start list , and

16:03

I'm stood there too , which made them

16:05

really excited . That was cool and saying , like

16:07

right , I have the opportunity to stand on a

16:09

start line next to somebody who is in

16:11

the continental team . But

16:13

also , like it's what

16:16

I think has happened the last few years

16:18

is some of these teams are starting to work together

16:20

like work as a team , for example . So

16:22

like how you team pro noctis

16:24

Hutchinson , for example , in the last

16:26

few years they've been able to

16:28

have the numbers up at the front

16:31

of the race to be able to animate it and do

16:33

something . That's what's exciting about it and I

16:35

think that will continue this year

16:37

. So I wouldn't say it will step up . I just

16:39

think we , the way we do the racing and the way

16:41

the teams approach the racing , is starting to

16:43

become more developed

16:45

, I guess . But then there's

16:47

also room for like riders who

16:49

are known to come through . I think there's

16:52

always that every time you see riders

16:54

from smaller teams that kind

16:56

of have that breakthrough year and can play

16:58

up with with those continental teams

17:01

at that level . So yeah

17:03

, I think the racing yeah it

17:05

doesn't feel like a huge step up , the same as Sean . It's just like

17:07

we've got the same sort of mix as riders

17:09

, but I think they will we will start to develop

17:12

the actual racing we've got at this level and

17:14

like strengthen that . That bunch as a

17:16

whole becomes a stronger kind of bunch of riders

17:18

that then when they learn at that level

17:20

, moving on to like UCI

17:23

races that Sean's starting to race

17:25

in , you become even more prepared for

17:28

those .

17:29

I'm curious this is and this is a tricky

17:32

question and maybe impossible to answer , but are there any

17:34

particular individuals

17:36

, teams rivalries do

17:39

you think we should keep an eye on as the series

17:41

unfolds this year ? Sean ?

17:43

It's always a hard one . I think there'll

17:46

be plenty of plenty of individual riders

17:48

to look out for . Definitely , I

17:50

mean , looking at looking at the Cyclic Start List

17:52

alone , you've got you've

17:54

got three riders there that are individual

17:57

riders that have been on the podium

17:59

in the past Ella McDermott

18:01

, for example , really aggressive rider

18:03

and , yeah , kind of used to racing in Belgium

18:05

and and , yeah , was second in 2021

18:08

, I think . And then you've got , obviously

18:11

, monica who , yeah , we all know how

18:13

good Monica is . She's taken that , taken that step

18:15

up to , yeah , to the , the Coupe team

18:17

and , yeah , she hopefully

18:19

will be , will be present at plenty of the rounds and , as

18:22

you said earlier , she's got unfinished business

18:24

with the Cyclic , with how and , yeah , with

18:26

how close she was to to the win last

18:28

year and , yeah , I'm sure that

18:30

, as , yeah , he's kind of doing

18:33

doing a lot of bigger races this year , that , yeah

18:35

, hopefully , she will come back and do plenty

18:37

of the , plenty of the National Road Series and

18:39

because , yeah , it's always , it is always good to have have

18:42

riders that are on the

18:44

bigger kind of non UK based teams

18:46

and because , yeah , it's , I think it shows

18:48

as well the the quality

18:51

of the racing in the UK that riders

18:53

like that are happy to come back

18:55

and do all the UK races .

18:58

I asked Monica off air , after

19:01

I interviewed her , whether she'll ride any more National Road Series

19:04

rounds and she she said it was a possibility . All

19:06

depends on her calendar . But , as you say , it'll

19:09

be absolutely fascinating if she does come back , because

19:11

she could be a contender again , couldn't

19:14

she ? Particularly with the experience she'll

19:16

have riding in Europe . Sarah , what about you

19:18

? Are there any things in particular you're looking out

19:21

for in terms of individuals , rivalries , kind

19:24

of teams to watch ?

19:26

Yeah , I think it'll be interesting to see

19:28

how all the the new kind of newly

19:31

named continental teams play

19:33

against each other . I'm quite excited to see the fact that they've

19:36

all got full teams in , like what we're going to do . And then what

19:38

are the likes of the elite

19:40

development team so Loughborough

19:42

, lightning and Brother UK as well

19:44

like kind of bringing up

19:47

? How do those elite development teams start to

19:49

play in that area as well ? And most think having

19:51

the juniors . We've got loads of juniors and younger ones

19:53

and they just , I think you come from

19:56

the youth and junior ranks and you're pretty like

19:58

bouncy and pretty like ready to have a crack at

20:00

something and not really that scared , and

20:02

I love that in a rider . I think you learn a lot of that

20:05

when you're racing , as it is when you're younger

20:07

. I think that's probably how me and Sean came

20:09

, came through it and you kind

20:11

of just go in there and have a , have a shot

20:13

, have a crack at it , and

20:15

it'll be good to see how that should then hope

20:19

team get on too , because I've got a full , full

20:21

roster in as well . But yeah , it's those individual

20:24

riders like you should never underestimate

20:26

, like just being able to . I think you

20:28

can race really well as an individual in this , in this series as

20:30

well . I don't think it . You don't have to be in one

20:33

of those big teams to be able to kind of make your

20:35

mark in this series . That's . There's still a

20:37

, there's still a place for that in our national series

20:40

. It's not like you're always counting on that full team

20:42

of riders to help you get that win

20:44

. It's great and it's like a wonderful thing

20:46

to work with our teammates , but there's

20:48

still space for riders to sneak through and and

20:51

take those wins as well .

20:52

Yeah , that is interesting . You mentioned the juniors there

20:54

, because I think in the past we've seen

20:57

what national road series has enabled kind

20:59

of juniors to shine and

21:01

kind of they get some of their breakthrough rides

21:03

in the national road series . I remember

21:05

Zoe back said but obviously it

21:07

wasn't perhaps a breakthrough through ride for her because

21:09

she was just breaking through all over the place , but she

21:12

did an incredible ride in the cycle classic a couple of

21:14

years ago and

21:16

of course , shibdon , as you say , I mean they

21:18

just blew the race away in proper

21:20

Northern road series last year and the Cape

21:23

and Ray race where

21:25

Kat Ferguson won and all a whole

21:27

team of first year juniors that

21:29

were kind of giving it , giving

21:32

it some to the seniors . So that would be

21:34

interesting to see how they get on . As you say , sean

21:37

, how how much rivalry is there

21:39

between the teams ? I mean , how

21:41

how much do teams want to beat

21:43

the others when it comes to national

21:45

road series ?

21:46

I think there's there's plenty of healthy

21:49

rivalry , to be honest , and ultimately

21:51

, we all want to be the best . We all

21:53

want to , yeah , we all want to win and

21:57

yeah , I think with . So , last

21:59

year , for example , um

22:01

, das and

22:03

AWOL were the only continental teams

22:05

kind of racing the national series

22:07

, and AWOL they rarely fielded

22:10

a full team , whereas Das were fully committed

22:12

and they , yeah , they fielded a full , strong

22:14

team to every race and I

22:16

think there was kind of the expectation that

22:18

they therefore would win

22:21

the team classification and kind of , yeah , do

22:23

very well at every round individually

22:25

, which obviously they did . And

22:28

I think for a lot of the other teams

22:30

it was , yeah

22:32

, kind of being

22:35

able to compete with Dasp was kind of one

22:37

of the main targets because , yeah , also , they

22:40

were so strong . Yeah , I think , on paper

22:42

, now that there are the six UCI teams , there

22:44

isn't so much of an expectation that there is going

22:46

to be one team that's so much better than

22:48

the rest of the teams and

22:52

it is going to be interesting to see how the

22:54

rivalries kind of develop . So

22:58

, alba , for example , one of the new

23:00

continental teams , they weren't

23:02

so much of a feature at the

23:04

top of the series last year . But yeah

23:07

, they've got some kind of strong

23:09

new signings . For example , beth

23:12

Morro and Matthews both came over

23:14

from Das and , although

23:16

they both had a bit of a kind of injury hit year

23:18

last year , yeah

23:21

, we know kind of what those

23:23

two riders are capable of and , yeah

23:25

, it's definitely a strong team and it would be interesting to see

23:27

how they get on . Yeah

23:30

, I'm constantly saying too much about

23:33

my own team . I don't want to seem kind of , you

23:36

know , I don't want to seem like there's too much expectation

23:38

there , but ultimately , the

23:40

team that I'm a part of now was two of

23:42

the strongest teams kind of joining forces

23:45

. So I'm hoping that

23:47

we'll be very successful and

23:49

, yeah , it'll be interesting to see how it gets on . I think it'll

23:51

be an interesting dynamic , as Sarah

23:53

said earlier , and the level is kind

23:55

of growing up and

23:57

how

23:59

the races are being ridden and the level of teamwork

24:02

is increasing all the time . So , yeah

24:04

, I think it'll be , yeah , it'll

24:06

be a really interesting year .

24:08

Sarah , what's your view ? Do you think it's right

24:10

that teams should be looking to Das

24:13

Suchins and brother to kind of

24:16

take the lead and kind of well

24:18

, perhaps , be the favourites in national

24:20

road series ?

24:21

Yeah , not to pearl the pressure on Sean , but I

24:23

reckon so . I mean , if you're going to

24:25

pass together two of the biggest teams or expertise

24:27

, we may as well show it off , but

24:30

that's the thing . I think that's what we want

24:32

out of the series . We want that and we want that

24:34

rivalry . Like it makes it exciting that we watch

24:36

. We watch the pro races and we watch

24:39

the pro women's races at the moment and there are

24:41

those rivalries and we talk about it like that and we

24:43

get excited . Like there's no reason

24:45

why we can't have that sort of excitement on

24:47

this level as well , because we're

24:49

really starting to form those

24:51

sort of things . And like pro notches , for example

24:53

, they are all kind of up there and we're watching

24:55

them work together

24:58

as a team and then seeing that versus

25:00

Das Suchins and not Albert or Jaden

25:02

or how do they ever ? How does everyone react

25:04

to that ? And like I'll have academy

25:06

riders looking to those teams

25:09

and I'll be giving examples . So I'll

25:11

watch how pro notches or Das attack

25:14

a race and in our debrief

25:16

or in my pre race briefing

25:18

I'll talk about maybe something that Sean's

25:21

team has done or how they've performed

25:23

it so that we can learn from it . Like

25:25

my ride is essentially a following wheels in

25:27

some of those races , and there the Sean's wheel

25:29

will be one of them maybe . So

25:32

, yeah , it's like

25:35

I expect those bigger teams to be putting

25:37

this stuff together now , because they've

25:39

put that out there to say they're going to be a UCI continental

25:41

team . So show us you can be and show

25:43

us the best of your racing .

25:45

Yeah .

25:45

Brilliant . I

25:48

think it's why not . The

25:50

scene is developing and we should just continue with it

25:52

and enjoy it where it is at the moment .

25:56

Well , I love your excitement , Sarah and Sean

25:58

, you're obviously going to have to look out for very sparkly

26:00

jerseys behind you on

26:04

Sunday . We've talked

26:06

about the National Road Series . We're going to talk about the cycle classic

26:08

in a moment , but first of all let's hear from last

26:11

year's National Road Series winner , monica

26:13

Greenwood , and I started

26:16

off by asking her

26:18

about her conversion to

26:20

full time racing kind of late on and

26:23

why for her it was a now

26:26

or never pivotal moment .

26:28

Yeah , I think when

26:30

I get the idea or get something in my head , it kind

26:32

of doesn't go away until I

26:35

follow it really . So I

26:37

wanted to race in a kind of more

26:39

committed fashion for a couple

26:41

of years really . And the

26:43

challenge with doing that job and obviously

26:46

trying to ride alongside is that there's blocks of

26:48

time where you're away for , say , two

26:50

weeks and you've got no bike . And

26:53

I'd run a half marathon , I'd

26:56

run 10Ks , I'd do bits and bobs , but

26:59

you just can't train consistently

27:01

. So there's a limit to what you can do . And

27:03

so you can race National Series , you can

27:05

ride round , no problem , but

27:09

even that you're getting on the turbo at six o'clock

27:11

in the morning it's really hard work

27:13

just to maintain a level of fitness and train

27:15

consistently . So yeah

27:18

, I guess , kind of

27:20

accidentally and not accidentally , got

27:22

fitter over a period of a few years

27:24

and really gradually actually over lots

27:26

of years , just ridden more and more and

27:28

more and

27:30

yeah , just enjoyed it and just really enjoyed

27:32

sort of being back in the races and having that experience

27:34

and

27:37

I just wanted to kind of see what I could do . And

27:40

yeah , I just felt like there was something more

27:43

to come from it and something more to experience

27:45

and I felt like I'd managed

27:48

to hit the goals that I'd set in coaching

27:50

earlier than I expected , basically , and

27:53

I thought , oh , we've maybe got a few years here where

27:55

we can go back and ride a bike , so

27:57

why not ?

27:59

And of course it ended up being I

28:02

don't know the breakthrough year is

28:04

the right term , but it was certainly a successful

28:06

year . You won the National Road Series , you

28:08

got some top results in some UCI

28:10

races in Belgium , kind of in the first half

28:12

of the year , and you won a round of the National

28:14

Circuit Series , et cetera , et cetera , et cetera . You

28:17

hit a lot of kind of high

28:20

marks throughout the year . How did

28:22

the season match up to your

28:24

expectations of what you were hoping to

28:26

achieve ?

28:29

Yeah , it was a really good , solid season

28:31

overall . It

28:34

was definitely I didn't expect to do as well in the

28:36

UCI races or like Ride

28:38

London , for example , so that was a surprise

28:41

to do as well in those races . But

28:43

then I was probably a little bit disappointed with the National

28:45

Series to have not won a round , to be

28:47

honest . But the series was

28:50

definitely a target and that was something

28:53

. And it probably changed a little bit how I raced

28:55

to race more conservatively , less

28:58

just all for one round , because the

29:01

way they've changed the point structure means that

29:03

you really have to be consistent in

29:05

each race . So I think

29:07

that probably impacted and that meant that I had more

29:09

top 10 results . But I probably

29:13

wasn't prepared to go absolutely

29:15

all guns blazing and then either

29:18

win or come 50th

29:20

.

29:20

Interesting , so is that desire

29:22

to target the series win

29:25

that ultimately dictated how you rode , perhaps

29:27

, the latter races , and did you go into 2023

29:29

with the aim of winning the National Race Series , or

29:31

did it happen more accidentally ?

29:34

I'd said the year before to my husband , we had a chat

29:37

and I said I think I could win the National Series

29:39

and he said , yeah , I think you probably could , and

29:42

because I'd missed a few rounds with

29:44

work the year before . So I've missed through

29:46

the Commonwealth Games , I've missed Isle of man , which

29:48

was a really big point score , and I thought you

29:50

know what I'm not that far off Like considering I've

29:52

not ridden . Yeah , so

29:54

it's something that just , I guess just the experience to

29:57

kind of wear the jersey the previous winners of

29:59

it have been really strong riders and

30:02

so the drawback was I got in the jersey , Lincoln

30:04

, probably too early , you know . To be honest , I enjoyed

30:07

wearing the jersey , but the

30:09

drawback is that then you're obviously racing , aware

30:12

of the fact that you're leading the series a little bit more

30:14

. So , yeah , like

30:16

it was , it was definitely a target

30:18

and it kind of became more

30:20

of a target through the season . You know , it was something

30:22

. Initially I thought you know give or take , and

30:24

then I was like , no , I really want to win this .

30:29

Monica , how , how important do you

30:31

think the National Road Series is ? I mean in

30:33

terms of rider development

30:35

and supporting riders to progress

30:38

? Where do riders and teams see

30:41

the National Road Series in the packing order of races

30:43

, do you think ?

30:45

Yeah , I think it's really important and

30:47

, to be honest , again , I think it's really important

30:49

. I've almost revitalized

30:51

my view of that because

30:54

through my experiences

30:56

now with racing , the UCI calendar , and

30:58

then also I coach some young riders who are

31:00

just , who have just come out of junior and

31:03

who are moving into that

31:05

senior space , so riding , I guess , similar

31:07

team setups to myself , you know , riding in continental

31:09

teams , riding UCI races , and

31:12

I think it's really important for those young riders

31:14

to to be able to have races to come

31:16

back to a good level

31:18

but they can be trying to win and

31:21

I think the yeah certainly like my

31:23

experience this year with the kind of early

31:25

season plastics is they are really hard , you know they're

31:27

really hard . So for those young riders to

31:29

keep their morale , to keep their belief

31:31

in themselves , I think to be able to come back

31:33

home and to race these races is absolutely

31:36

crucial . You know they are important and

31:38

it's also a chance for the domestically based

31:40

riders to . Obviously , you know

31:42

you get that mix of riders , especially

31:44

within the women's . You know you might have some riders come

31:47

back from world tour teams or continental

31:49

teams who have got more , you know , more foreign calendar

31:52

and they come back in and they race

31:54

and there's a domestic rider , you get to race against

31:56

them and I just think they're really good races . You know

31:58

, to me Lincoln Sickle

32:01

, you know , yeah , they're just fantastic

32:03

. You know less so rider , I mean , rider is

32:05

beautiful in picturesque but it doesn't suit me so much

32:07

. So I'm probably I'm probably

32:10

less , yeah , less positive about it

32:12

, but you know , the rounds are really good , it's really

32:14

good quality racing and I think it should

32:16

be something that's at the forefront of you

32:18

know , british cycling really .

32:20

Yeah , you meant obviously you've had a lot , a

32:22

lot more experience at UCI level this

32:25

year . I'll ask you about that in a second . But how

32:27

does the racing at National Road Series level compare

32:30

to UCI racing , Do you think ?

32:33

Yeah , I think it is different , you know , I think

32:35

racing nationally I

32:37

would say that the national series isn't

32:39

as aggressive , it's not as difficult

32:41

to position in the bunch . The roads

32:43

are generally , yeah

32:45

, it's much more comfortable to position . But

32:48

I think that depends on

32:50

your sort of age and stage of development

32:52

as well . You know , if you're new to it and it's

32:54

the first race you've ever ridden , actually trying

32:57

to position for Lincoln is really demanding , you

32:59

know . So it's all about what your experience

33:01

is up until that point and I think , yeah

33:03

, just the numbers that you get in those races

33:05

there is a demanding on position . That's

33:08

really good , but the reason is obviously still

33:11

everyone's crazy in the classic

33:14

stuff . So the level goes up

33:16

, for sure , and it gets more difficult . But

33:18

I think it's definitely a good stepping stone for

33:20

a rider in their development

33:23

.

33:24

Yeah , obviously this

33:26

year has been , I guess

33:28

, the season of first so far . You've got a new

33:30

team . You're doing a lot more UCI

33:33

road racing . How has the adjustment

33:35

gone for you ?

33:38

Yes , it's different . So , in terms of

33:40

you know , your usual

33:42

staple early season races

33:44

are all different . So you know

33:46

, before I would have started the season maybe with

33:49

a , you know , an Eddie Sowns , or a Peaks

33:51

2 Day or a Pimbo

33:54

, you know , up here in that B , and

33:56

that's obviously quite different . Starting the season

33:58

with , yeah , like straight into

34:01

a World Tour race , you know it's all

34:03

pretty much , I think , straight into a World Tour race . So

34:05

, yeah , it's obviously different and it's

34:07

hard to see those markers . You know

34:09

you can't compare year on year

34:11

because the race calendar's changed . So

34:13

then it's trying to put in some markers that you

34:15

can see where you're at comparatively

34:17

, which is actually quite

34:19

challenging . There's a lot less races

34:22

, a lot less like normally I'd do early season time

34:24

trials at this time of year , but there isn't

34:26

the same kind of time trials

34:28

around where I live that there would normally would be

34:30

. So yeah , it is quite

34:32

a different start but yeah

34:34

, I'm enjoying it . It's a really different challenge

34:36

. Obviously I had a taste of it last

34:38

year , but I'd say that you know , the classics

34:41

are another level above the UCI races

34:43

that I did last year .

34:44

Yeah Well , talking about classics , you're

34:46

on the start list for the cycle classic again

34:49

. Because , yeah , what prompted you to enter

34:51

?

34:54

I'm really fortunate . I've got quite a nice way

34:56

that my calendar's blocked . So

34:58

I had a block that finished with Oating

35:01

on Tuesday or Wednesday

35:03

, I can't remember what day of the week it was and

35:05

then I've got like three weeks back home and then

35:07

I go back out to Belgium for three weeks . So

35:10

it's a window . So I guess my approach

35:12

is quite different . I'm in a training block

35:15

, very much in a training block , this time in

35:17

Tosipo , whereas last year I looked

35:20

to reduce volume into it , and

35:22

so it's just a good opportunity

35:24

to do a race against . It's

35:26

a course that you know I

35:28

was really disappointed last year not to win , not

35:31

going to lie , I would have backed myself

35:33

to win that sprint , you know , nine

35:35

times out of 10 and yeah , I made

35:37

one mistake and that

35:39

was the difference . But

35:42

yeah . So and to be honest , just to do something I've done

35:44

before you know , in this early season I'm

35:46

doing so many races that I've never experienced before

35:48

Just to go back to a race I know will

35:51

be nice , and also I guess

35:53

the series isn't a focus , so

35:55

I can go and I can just roll the dice

35:57

and ride more freely

35:59

without having to worry about the overall

36:02

.

36:02

Yeah , is it a case of unfinished

36:04

business at all ? I mean , I was looking at the back end results

36:07

in 2021 . I think you came 20 seconds

36:09

10th in 2022 . Obviously

36:11

the near miss last season . Is

36:14

it something you'd like to have in your poem , iris

36:16

?

36:17

Yeah , yeah , and I

36:20

actually the last . The first two years I rode

36:22

it I punctured it . No , my wheel

36:24

fell out at 10 K to go the first

36:26

year and so I had the bike change and

36:28

then chase back on . And

36:31

then the year after I punctured

36:33

after the last gravel sector so I

36:35

changed bike and chase back on . That's

36:37

still got 10th in the spring and I only got back

36:40

on at 2 K to go , I think , and

36:42

last year I actually got round on

36:44

the bike all complete . So

36:47

you know , there is a bit of a roll of the dice of it

36:49

. You know , you don't know what the , especially with now

36:51

it's moved to early season . You know whether

36:54

you got to look after the bike and try and get that

36:56

round . So yeah , we'll see , but

36:58

there's not . I don't think there's a pressure , but yeah , of

37:00

course , like I'd like to go on with it .

37:03

I mean , how do you , how do you think you'll have

37:05

to adjust racing given that you won't have any teammates

37:08

this year ? Does that impact

37:10

on the way you kind of prepare and think

37:13

about your strategy ?

37:17

I think the nature of the course means

37:19

that the positioning is really important . You

37:21

know , like last year we had

37:24

strength in numbers but it

37:26

didn't actually work out as a benefit , because

37:29

I think Danny and Emma did make the

37:31

break but then got dropped from the break , so

37:33

actually it didn't change anything . It

37:35

was me against the

37:38

other teams in there . So I think it's

37:40

just about being adaptable and sort of the

37:42

different circumstances . You know we've got an interesting

37:44

start list . You know , like obviously Hesse are coming

37:46

with a team and you know with them we've got the British

37:49

space team . So I'm

37:51

quite happy to just have

37:53

a bit of a free role , to be honest , and just

37:56

, yeah , I guess , watch and see what they do , interested

37:58

to see how those teams take it on to .

38:01

Great and looking beyond cycle

38:03

kind of what are your goals this

38:05

year ? What would a successful 2024

38:08

look like for you , monica ?

38:10

Yeah , I'm not sure to be honest , just

38:13

taking opportunities when they come , you know

38:15

so , in and trying to push

38:17

the boundaries of what I can do and

38:19

what I can achieve . I

38:22

like getting stuck into the World

38:24

Tour teams and trying to take them on and trying

38:26

to throw things at them if I can . So

38:29

, yeah , that's good fun . And

38:31

then coming back and racing in the UK and , just

38:33

like I say , enjoying the freedom just

38:35

to come back and have fun racing in the UK

38:37

. But definitely , you

38:40

know , I would like to have podium

38:42

in a UCI race . You know I got close last year with

38:44

fourth and fifth , so

38:46

I'd like to do that . I'd like to win a national series

38:48

still . So there's still lots , lots

38:51

to achieve and do . But more than anything

38:53

, you know , I wanted to race this

38:55

level of bike race when I was a 15

38:57

year old kid and I'm really just

38:59

doing it because that's what I wanted to do and it was something

39:01

in my lifetime that I wanted to do . So I'm

39:04

enjoying that experience and

39:06

I think it's making me a better coach long term

39:08

in terms of my understanding of the sport

39:10

, the demands and

39:12

just to race at the pinnacle . You know something

39:14

I really enjoyed coaching at the top

39:17

level . You know that's , and so to then

39:19

be able to ride at the top level and see

39:21

up close . You know , from the team car you can't

39:23

see what's great about some

39:26

of these riders , but when you're in the bunch with them and

39:28

you know , and I just for

39:30

a bit I'll follow someone and just watch what they do , how

39:32

they move , and you go okay , yeah , they can

39:34

do something really good and you're just learning

39:36

all the time from that and I'm learning as a coach as

39:38

well , as this is a rider really .

39:42

So great to hear from Monica Greenwood there . Obviously

39:44

she's on the start list for the cycle

39:46

classic and has unfinished business

39:48

, as we've already said , and she

39:50

she's spoken about in the interview . There

39:53

She'll be , I

39:55

guess , one of the favorites at

39:57

the race . But let's have a talk about

39:59

the race itself , of course , because it's a very unusual

40:02

parkour . There's

40:04

no other race like it in the UK . Of

40:06

course it's famed for its off-road sectors

40:09

. It's kind of Belgium roadside

40:11

atmosphere , as it were , and it's I think

40:13

it's fair to say it's a cherished part of the British road

40:16

racing scene now . But recently

40:19

the date for this race has moved . It used

40:21

to be in June , it's

40:23

now got a new March date . Last year was

40:25

the end of March and this year it's even earlier

40:28

, and that , I guess , changes things because

40:31

first of all , the conditions

40:33

are different , the weather's different . It

40:35

could be particularly rainy and muddy , which

40:37

will make it more challenging , I guess , for you

40:40

, sean and Sarah , your riders , but

40:43

also it means , I guess , we don't really

40:45

know what anyone's form's like . It struck

40:48

me that actually this is the first national

40:50

road race for women we've had in the UK this

40:52

year . There's been no national

40:54

B road races at all . So

40:57

riders are really being chucked in at the deep

40:59

end here , aren't they , sean ? What

41:01

would you make of the change of date , and

41:03

how does that change things for

41:05

you and your team ?

41:08

Personally , I really like the fact that

41:10

it's now in March . From

41:12

a personal perspective , I think it makes it more challenging

41:15

. Obviously , the conditions are likely

41:17

to be worse . Yeah , last year was

41:19

pretty cold and although it didn't actually

41:22

rain for our race , it rained a lot in the morning so it made

41:24

it real kind of wet and muddy . Yeah

41:27

, it did make the conditions really challenging . So

41:30

in that way I do prefer

41:32

it . I do think it makes it very unpredictable

41:34

because , yeah , as you said , there's not

41:37

been any racing yet

41:39

in the UK . So it'll

41:41

be interesting to see how it plays out . And

41:43

I think it will probably

41:45

start off quite kind of nervous and hectic

41:47

because everybody yeah , everybody's

41:50

kind of raring to go and everybody knows

41:52

that the off road comes pretty quickly

41:54

and the roads in Rutland are pretty narrow

41:56

. So , yeah , the pressure will be

41:58

on to be at the front pretty

42:00

early . And , yeah , I think

42:02

with the June date

42:05

it wasn't necessarily quite

42:07

as stressful in that regard because

42:10

, yeah , everybody was a bit more used to racing

42:12

, Everybody was into the swing of things , Whereas

42:14

, yeah , for a lot of people it's going to be the

42:17

first real race of the season .

42:19

I know you've had , I guess , contrasting experiences

42:21

of racing the race itself in

42:24

the past . Sarah . You raced

42:26

it a while back , didn't you ? And tell me how

42:28

did you find it ?

42:30

I haven't finished it . I raced it

42:32

twice . It came onto the calendar kind

42:34

of as I was stopping , I guess , doing

42:36

as many national series , so I haven't had

42:38

that as many shots at it . Yeah

42:40

, I crashed out the first time . I did it within the first 2K

42:43

so there was a big old . I don't

42:45

know if you remember that , sean . The start

42:47

has changed since then so it's not down

42:49

that same road , but ending

42:51

up from a ditch 2K and wasn't my

42:54

favorite thing to be doing on

42:56

a Sunday afternoon at my local race . But

42:59

yeah , I haven't actually finished it before . In

43:01

terms of it being an early date , I think For

43:05

academy riders and

43:07

teams on newer teams or teams that are

43:09

riders that are coming into the series , I think it's a really

43:11

tricky one for them to enter because they

43:14

might not . It doesn't really need to be your

43:16

first national series race . It's quite

43:18

a tough one to throw yourself into . You sort

43:20

of need a bit of other racing behind

43:22

you before you go and enter it . So I

43:25

think the early date can put off newer

43:27

riders . But , having said that , we've got 120

43:30

people on the start list , so

43:33

people are still entering , which

43:36

is great . It is cold , it's

43:38

hopefully a bit muddy , and that's , I think , what people are excited

43:40

about . I've done it as

43:42

an academy team . We've got our junior riders

43:45

and our younger riders because they're so excited

43:47

about it , or they've done a season across and now

43:49

they want to go and do a

43:51

race that kind of ties those two

43:53

seasons together . It's

43:57

one of those races that's a bit of a game of luck I

43:59

think Monica kind of mentioned that as well like getting

44:02

those punctures and things . You kind of can

44:04

make it all the way to that last sector , get

44:07

a puncture and then realise your team car or anything

44:09

is stuck in another narrow road

44:11

somewhere and you can't get a wheel and

44:13

it's race over . So , thank

44:16

you , you've got to have some good luck on the day , I

44:18

think too , as well as some good legs .

44:20

Yeah , sean , you had a well

44:24

an excellent ride last year , didn't you ? You

44:26

were in the winning break . You finished fifth in the end . From

44:30

riding the race over the years

44:32

, what have you learned about your approach to

44:34

the race ? I mean , maybe you don't

44:36

want to give away your

44:39

trade secrets here , but what have you learned about how

44:41

to approach and tackle the race ?

44:44

I think it's a really

44:46

challenging one because of the

44:48

parkour . I don't just mean the

44:50

kind of difficulty of the off-road bits

44:52

and how narrow it is and stuff . It's like

44:55

if you look at the map of the race it's

44:57

carnage , it's everywhere . I'm

45:00

not going to deny the fact that I think I

45:02

have a good advantage kind of

45:05

knowing the roads and kind of being from the area

45:07

, because I can ride to the course

45:09

in a little over an hour . I

45:11

know all those roads like the back of my hand and

45:14

I know at any

45:16

point in the race I know what's coming next and

45:18

there are so many pinch points that , being

45:21

from four hours away , you wouldn't know about . But

45:23

yeah , I am kind

45:25

of aware of where I can

45:27

kind of save energy and which

45:29

bits of the race are important that aren't just

45:31

the off-road bits as well . So

45:34

yeah , I think my

45:37

approach and what I'll kind of try

45:39

and help my team to do

45:41

, I suppose , is just try

45:44

and know as much of the race as you

45:46

can , try and kind of study the course

45:49

as well as you can in preparation

45:51

for it really , because I think , more

45:53

than any other race on the series , it's

45:55

so important to be positioned

45:58

well at the right time , because

46:00

if you , yeah , like

46:02

Sarah said , it is a bit of a game of luck

46:04

as well , but by preparing properly

46:06

you can make your own luck to

46:08

a certain extent . So

46:10

, yeah , I think that's really important . And

46:13

going in blind , having not

46:15

done any like not done

46:18

a recce of the course the day before or not kind

46:20

of looked at the off-road sectors or anything

46:22

, I think you're kind of potentially setting yourself

46:24

up to have

46:26

a bit of a hard time really .

46:29

I was struck when talking to Monica

46:31

about the fact that she said

46:33

that it didn't necessarily

46:35

make too much difference for her kind of

46:37

riding solo as opposed to being on a team

46:40

this year , because she felt

46:42

that actually team strategy didn't actually

46:44

come into it or didn't particularly help her

46:46

last year . Is that something

46:48

that of you that you share , Sarah

46:51

? Do you feel like it's important to have

46:53

a team approach this

46:55

race , or can you be successful

46:57

as a solo rider ?

46:59

I think both can work . I think

47:01

there's merits in both . Completely I think from

47:03

Monica's point of view , she's a seasoned , experienced

47:06

racer who is aware of what

47:08

teams could be doing and also can

47:11

handle herself in a bike race pretty easily

47:13

. She knows where she needs to be , she

47:15

knows what the course is like and she would have done all of

47:17

that preparation so

47:20

she can absolutely excel

47:22

as a solo rider in that . I

47:24

guess what that falls down is if all these UCI

47:26

teams come full guns blazing with

47:28

a bit of a plan and they've got their

47:31

riders in the right place at the right time , from

47:35

an academy point of view , I've got four

47:37

riders in and we won't be , I

47:40

guess , will we looking after each other . Obviously , if

47:42

someone needs somehow for a wheel

47:44

to jump back onto them , they'll do that . From

47:48

my rider's perspective , it's learning

47:52

what Sean said . I will

47:54

give a briefing that talks about where

47:56

to be in those first initial

48:00

kilometers of the race , how

48:02

you should be positioned and where your best shot is

48:04

to get yourself to the point where , when it does start

48:06

to split up

48:08

, the pressure comes off a little bit . Once the race

48:10

starts to split up , it's like that first 40K of

48:13

us being on it . It's

48:17

not just riding your bike . You need to be mentally

48:19

switched on for

48:21

that first section of the race to

48:23

establish where you're going to be . Then

48:25

you can be like oh right , I've made it through

48:28

that next bit of the race . Where's

48:30

the next bit of off-road ? Then you start

48:32

to tackle that . I think that's where my

48:34

riders are coming in at , whereas Sean's perhaps

48:36

won't even have that next level of appreciation

48:39

of where's my teammate . What do I need to do

48:41

next ? Is there another plan that I need

48:43

to execute

48:45

to help my teammates ?

48:48

Yeah , are there particular teams

48:50

or riders ? You're going to have your eye on , sean . I

48:53

mean , I expect you're going to say you'll just ride it

48:55

, you'll have your team plan and you'll stick to that . You

48:57

won't worry about anyone else . But at

48:59

the back of your mind , looking at the start list , there must

49:01

be some teams and riders

49:03

that you think their wheels I need to

49:05

follow if they make a break . Or these

49:08

are danger riders .

49:10

Yeah , definitely . I mean , I think we've

49:12

already discussed a couple of

49:14

the individual riders to watch , obviously

49:17

, monica being one of them , and

49:19

yeah , I reckon , not only from

49:21

us but from any of the

49:23

bigger teams , if

49:26

Monica moves them , we need to be there as well . But

49:29

, yeah , I think the thing with the breakaway

49:31

that we had last year was that

49:34

all of the bigger , more competitive teams

49:36

were present in that , and

49:39

I think , whatever situation happens in the

49:41

race this year , we're

49:43

going to need to make sure

49:47

that we cover any dangerous moves and

49:49

make sure that if anything is

49:51

going up the road , then we're there , because

49:54

, yeah , as we've already said , the teams are

49:56

so strong now that

49:59

we can't miss a trick really . So

50:01

, yeah , I think any of those continental

50:03

teams and some

50:05

of the smaller teams as well , like Loughborough , will have

50:07

a very strong team , for example , as well , and

50:10

I think , because it's so early in the season and

50:12

such an unknown , I think there's going

50:15

to be a lot of dangerous people to watch definitely .

50:17

Yeah , I'm intrigued . We mentioned

50:19

Tess earlier and I'm intrigued by their

50:22

inclusion because they've got some

50:24

really strong international riders on

50:26

that list , including Mio van Kaluwf

50:28

, who's , of course , a very

50:30

, very experienced Belgian classics rider , has

50:33

done well in races

50:35

like the Samin , so

50:38

does that add a bit of spice

50:41

, do you think , sarah , for the race ? I

50:43

mean , how are your riders kind

50:45

of feeling looking at the start list and seeing

50:47

kind of riders of that calibre there

50:50

?

50:51

No , I think , yeah , that does give excitement . I mean , that

50:54

gives excitement , hopefully , to Sean's team

50:56

and all teams of that level too . It's

50:58

just like you see that name , you're like , oh right , what's going to happen

51:00

here . And I mean I had it . I

51:03

spoke to one of our youngest riders , who's

51:05

just his first year junior , and

51:07

I think she opened up the start list last week

51:09

and had sent it over kind of with

51:11

no notes and perhaps I should have added a few notes in

51:13

it when I said it in the group chat . But

51:16

it was like I think there was a bit of a shock of , oh

51:18

this is my first step up from a

51:20

youth rider to a junior rider and look who I'm on

51:22

the start list with . And I think their initial thought was

51:24

to go , oh , I can't , I don't know if I can do this

51:26

. And then we had a chat with some

51:29

of our older riders and people have

51:31

done a few seasons and said , no

51:33

, that should make you really excited because

51:36

you know the standard of racing is really high

51:38

and look where you get to mix yourself into

51:40

. And as a

51:42

rider in their first year junior

51:44

, you can look to that rider and say , well , maybe I'm going

51:46

to be there . At one point Perhaps

51:48

I'm stood on the start line with them , but one day

51:50

I want to be stood in their shoes on

51:52

that team doing what they're doing . So

51:55

I think it gives a . It's super inspirational

51:57

and kind of something to aim

52:00

for , and that's what . That's what the series should

52:02

be like , and that's kind of what's happening now , I guess , in

52:05

women's cycling as in general , with like having

52:07

the women's tour now back

52:09

. It's like that's we've

52:11

got something to look at . And so that's where I want to go

52:13

, and we're starting to create that

52:15

in the UK , which is is

52:18

great .

52:19

Okay , we're going to have to wrap up soon because I

52:21

mean , I'm sure we could carry on talking forever , but

52:23

we , for the sake of the listeners , we should

52:26

probably look to wrap up . So I'm going

52:28

to put you on the spot now and ask

52:30

for your predictions . I

52:33

did give you about 30 seconds warning

52:35

or fair , that I was going to ask you this , which is

52:37

probably very unfair . But

52:40

, sarah , let's go to you first . What are

52:42

you ? Make a wild prediction

52:44

? What do you ? What do you think is going to happen ? Who's going to win

52:46

?

52:48

Oh , this is putting me on the spot

52:50

.

52:52

Wish I come to show on fast . Shana

52:55

, you prepared with an answer .

53:01

I do think that Monica is going to be hard

53:03

to see past really . And then there's

53:05

also Jess Vinnie , who won last year and

53:10

the race I did in Belgium the other day . Jess was

53:12

really strong and , yeah

53:15

, she always pulls out a good performance when it matters . So

53:17

I think , yeah , I

53:19

can't really pick one , but yeah

53:21

, I think those two are going to be pretty competitive .

53:24

Great Thanks , Sean . Sarah , how are you

53:26

getting on with your deliberations ?

53:29

I mean I still think we still got juniors to watch

53:31

. I think we should watch some of these juniors . To be honest

53:33

, I don't think I could pick one because they're all a bit fresh , but

53:35

I feel like we should clock

53:38

for a junior . I think Monica is going to be

53:40

up and where she needs to be , like

53:42

you know that maybe some of them from the Hessemen

53:44

. We need to look out for what Hesse are going to be doing

53:47

and

53:49

also , I mean she's

53:51

on the podcast with me . But I think , sean

53:53

, I mean it's your local race

53:55

. It's one of those ones that I think like I mean I

53:57

have it in the back of my mind , like I've

54:00

always wanted to win the national series , but it's probably

54:02

never going to happen , but it always sits in the back of your mind

54:04

so I can see like Sean's been talking

54:07

about is her local race and there

54:09

would be no reason why she wouldn't be getting for it .

54:12

No pressure Sean .

54:13

Well , I definitely am , so thanks .

54:16

I should ask you I will make my prediction in a minute , sean

54:19

will there be designated team leaders in

54:22

your team ?

54:23

I think we've got a lot of strength and depth in our

54:25

team really . So

54:27

I think it really proved last

54:29

year that , yeah

54:31

, anything can happen . And

54:34

yeah , with that breakaway that ended

54:36

up going away with me and Tommy and I don't

54:39

think I would ever put myself well

54:41

previously . Anyway , I don't think I ever would have put myself in in

54:44

in that position . And

54:46

yeah , we , yeah , we kind

54:48

of discussed it as a team after the race and , yeah

54:50

, me and Tommy definitely didn't ride particularly well in that

54:52

breakaway Like we did . We did far too

54:55

much of the work and I know there was two of us , but

54:57

the thing to

54:59

do probably would have been for Tommy to have done the

55:01

lion's share of the work for the two of us and I should have

55:03

sat on the back and not done a tap . But ultimately

55:06

I got quite excited in that situation

55:09

and , yeah , worked a

55:11

bit too hard and then , yeah , ultimately

55:13

I know I've got a very good sprint and at the end

55:15

of that race I should have been able to put a

55:17

good sprint in , but I had absolutely nothing left whatsoever

55:19

. So , yeah

55:22

, I have definitely learnt from that , hopefully

55:24

for this year . But , yeah , I think

55:26

the yeah , the long and short of it is is

55:28

, anything can happen and with

55:31

the unpredictable nature of the race , I think even if we went

55:33

into it with a solid team plan and a solid

55:35

team leader and , yeah , it would probably

55:37

all change on the day anyway . So I

55:39

imagine , yeah , without

55:42

giving away too much not that we've particularly

55:44

discussed it yet , anyway but

55:48

I think the main plan will just be , yeah

55:51

, to kind of keep safe , keep

55:53

, yeah , keep kind of aware in those in those versus

55:55

UK and kind of let what happens

55:57

happen , because I think we'll be , yeah

56:00

, we'll be strong enough with enough options

56:03

that , yeah , we can kind of almost

56:06

take the race as it comes and adapt

56:08

on the road . Really , Brilliant .

56:10

Well , I guess I should say best of luck to

56:12

both of you , sarah , for your luck

56:15

, good luck to your riders . I hope they get

56:18

out of it what they want to get out of it , whether

56:20

that's just having an amazing experience

56:22

and learning about racing

56:24

at that level . And , sean , obviously you've

56:27

got those hopes of a potential win , whether

56:29

it's for you or for your teammates . I

56:32

hope that goes well for you . I said I'd make a prediction

56:34

, so I better say a name . Obviously

56:38

, as you said , it's a horribly difficult one to predict , not least

56:40

because it's an unpredictable race in itself and

56:42

we don't know really what the form

56:44

of all the teams and riders are yet . But

56:47

I will go for Maya Van

56:49

Galoof . As I've mentioned already , she doesn't know

56:51

the course , I guess , which is going to be a disadvantage for

56:54

her , but she's so experienced

56:56

racing these types of races I

56:58

think she's going to be someone to watch . So

57:01

we will have

57:03

to wrap it up there , just

57:06

to say before we do that , our reporter

57:08

, joe Hudson , will be at the roadside . So

57:11

keep an eye on Instagram

57:14

stories , on our channel , for race updates , and

57:16

there will be a report on our website , of course

57:18

, afterwards , but

57:21

other than that it remains for me to

57:23

say thank you to Sean . So thank you very much for

57:25

joining us . Sean , thanks for having me

57:27

on .

57:28

Thank you , it's been a pleasure , and Sarah thank you , thank

57:31

you .

57:31

Definitely looking forward to getting back in that race Car

57:33

park of the week and our echinancy and where everyone's at . So

57:37

yeah , we've done .