Words by James Ion - Photography by James Ion
So you have probably heard by now, but if you haven't, here is the current situation. The UCI have announced that the Gravel World Championships will not take place in Nice, France!
"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships will not take place as planned in Nice (France) on 18 October.
The UCI and the City of Nice acknowledged the difficulties of organising the event in the capital of the French Riviera on that date, and in view of various constraints, technical and regarding the calendar, it was mutually agreed not to organise the 4th edition of the UCI worlds for gravel in Nice.
The UCI is currently studying various options to find a new organiser and a new venue. These, along with the date for the event, will be announced as soon as possible."
There had been rumblings about this, and there was a delay in announcing the dates for the event, but at the end of February, they issued a confirmation that the race would take place on the weekend of October 17 and 18 in Nice! Finally I could book my flights, arrange accommodation and also plan everything around our family holiday in the autumn school holidays! Then, only two days later on the 25. February, the UCI issued that statement! To say I was a little peeved would be an understatement.
So where does this leave me? Well, I am still going for qualification. Taking part in the World Championships was never the goal, the goal is to qualify, so my goal is still the same, although without the certainty of where the finals will take place. Knowing that I had flights booked added an element of motivation and increased my focus. I have reached out to the UCI to get more information, hopefully they will issue a statement with a new location soon. There have been rumours that it will take place in Kenya, which for me is just mind-blowingly stupid as with only 8 months to go, how would this be possible to organise, let alone have anyone attend? But, like I said, this is only a rumour!
Still despite all this I keep going, and going I am! Things have improved, my numbers are up, and my level of fitness has increased. According to my coach Toms, my daily Training Stress Score (TSS) has doubled since starting this project, he also thinks that my FTP is way higher than the last test result, which probably means I will have a test soon!
A big change is how much I love riding my bike, now that might sound a bit odd, as well, you might be thinking, 'did he not love it?' - well of course I did! I now feel like I have fallen in love with riding all over again and this comes from being consistent with my training. I feel good on the bike, in control of what I am doing and I can see results. So if you are feeling like you are just not getting anywhere, or feel frustrated at any lack of progress, take it from me, consistency pays off! If you look back at my first blogs, I talked a lot about self-doubt. I recognised that my biggest failing was not being consistent, I would string together a few weeks, then drop off and come back, and it was all over the place, to ever see any progression.
I have not trained this consistently ever before, and it is having such a positive effect, not just on my training, but my general mood and my nutrition as I think more about how I am fueling and how it is affecting my riding.
What's the difference? Well, having a coach. It is that simple. Having Toms and Kate supporting me makes a massive difference. Not just in terms of plans and guides but hollistically. They offer motivation, a sounding board for my questions or doubts, and they hold me accountable. It takes a strong individual to keep themselves in check. I am pretty good at understanding myself, and knowing where I went wrong and can be self-critical, the problem is I am also really good at not listening to myself! Having professionals like Toms and Kate to bounce off of really helps me stay on course and helps me see the big picture.
For example, I have been worried about the distances of my two main gravel races, Marly-Grav and Gravel One Fifty. If you check out my Strava you will see that most of my long rides are at 60 odd KM, so not that far. I talked to Toms about this and he laid out the long term plan for me. We have been building up my fitness, and strength in the gym so that with six weeks to go until Marly-Grav (11. May) the training will be more specific with longer rides, and more intensity. He also said that it might be a good thing to be under prepared for Marly-Grav as it is sometimes good to go so deep that I will "question my own existence" and that I will benefit greatly from this. So that will be something to look forward to!
I also have a Crit race planned! It's just a small event, but it is only down the road from where I live. On the 29 March I will be racing in the senior ranks (that makes me feel old!) at the Giro Glandorf - 28 laps of a 1.6km city center course. I have no aspirations for success and just hope to keep up! The aim will be to get a good training benefit, and as a nice bonus the day after I will ride a 100km gravel route!
I am also going to start documenting more of this journey on social media, so keep an eye out for that. I will be giving more information about fueling, about my training and gym work etc. These will be posted every Friday.
Is there anything you want to know more of, do you want me to discuss a certain part of my training? then let me know, just comment here or send me a DM on instagram, all your input is greatly received!
see you next time!
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