National Clarion Track Omnium

That was awesome! Going into this event I had no expectations of where I would come, as it was my first ever track omnium. And certainly little did i know that i would have won the thing. It was a really hard set of races and I think that it was really close between me and Christopher Horden in every set of events. this was really tight and close racing on the track, something of which i had little experience. So as my first ever race it was really good! I will be back for more!

#crosshascome

Today was my first race as an under 16, me and my family went for an away fixture in the West Midlands CX league. The course itself was really different to what we expected it to be, with it being really boggy in certain places - I took file treads but the first thing we saw was a muddy bike.... I guess they will stay in the shed for another year! This was a perfect start to the season as the course rode really well and played to my advantages, even starting at the back of the field didn't stop me form finishing well inside of the top ten!! With this race done I'm really starting to get into the 'cross spirit and can't wait for my next race in my home league at the NDCXL. 

How To Make A Cyclocross Hurdle For Less Than £10

You can make a cyclocross hurdle really easily

Firstly go shopping for some 40mm press fit waste pipe. Make sure you get press fit or else it will fall apart.

Shopping list
2x 2m by 40mm press fit waste pipe
2x 40mm 'T' section
2x 40mm 90° section

Cut one of the pipes into 4x 30 cm legs with a 45° angle at one end with a hacksaw. Then cut 2x 10cm extenders one for each end then assemble like so by pushing it all together. This will give you a hurdle of about 35cm if you want a higher/lower one then cut some longer/shorter extenders.

Like so!

Mallory Park Road Race League 2015

As the Road Race season is drawing to a close I am going to tell you about my season particularly the Mallory Park Road Race League which is one of my favourite parts of the summer.  Mike does a brilliant job for all us youth riders.

About 2 months after the Cyclocross season had finished the Mallory Park Road Race League starts. This league is one of the biggest in the country and is 17 weeks long!! In the first race Ben Rouse, one of the Leicester Road Club riders, attacked and managed to secure the race win.  It was a wake up call to everyone that you need to defend as well as attack.  After having a mechanical in the second race I thought that my season was over because I broke my hand (see other post in this blog).  It was a disaster.

Two weeks later I was recovering really well and I strapped up my hand and put on a special glove that we had made to protect it.  I could change gear, brake and steer and so I gave it a go.  I finished third behind Alex Haines and Emile Alexander so was really pleased that I might still be able to finish the road race season.  

Over the course of the next few weeks Leicester Road Club started working really well together and make it really difficult to make a break work.  They were pretty awesome at times but I had Will Beech and Alfie Lofthouse from Nottingham Clarion who were brilliant team mates and I owe them because they really helped in some of the toughest races. Over the next few weeks me and Alex Haines shared the wins but I took the leaders jersey and held it for the rest of the summer.  

It was really hard work training to keep my edge over the Leicester Force and I have to thank my coaches at Nottingham Clarion and also Dean and Tom at Prestwold where I learned a lot.  

Mallory Park Road Race league video

Hello again!

My brother got a quadcopter and he decided to make a movie of one of my races at Mallory Park.  Thankfully I managed to win this race but it was really tough racing against Emile Alexander who I managed to outsprint.  My sister also won so we love Jack's video!

We think it's great - enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/132040481



Mallory Park Youth Racing June 2015 from Neil Mansfield on Vimeo.

I Broke My Hand

I broke my hand.  

I was training with East Midlands MTB team and I had a stupid crash.

It didn't hurt anywhere near as much as when I realised that my 2015 MTB season, which I had been working towards, was over before it had really started.

You can see my broken bone in my hand below my little finger.  My finger was twisted too.

NDCXL 2014-15

National Champs 2015 - Abergavenny

Welcome Back!!

Unfortunately my favourite discipline - the Cyclocross season - has just finished :(. But here is my round up of the Notts and Derby Cyclocross League 2014-15 in Under 14's. 

At the start of the season I was hoping to be finishing in the top 3.  In round 1 I came over the line in third place so it looked promising.  Way ahead was Jake Norton (Sherwood Pines SRAM) but in second was Alex Haines (Leicester Road Club), who I raced head-to-head all season.  My other rival was Tim Elsmore (Sherwood Pines SRAM) who I have been racing for lots of seasons now.  Alex and I shared race wins throughout the season and I have to admit he smashed me in the closing two rounds.  I needed to be strategic to make sure my overall points would take me to the league win and this meant that my National Trophy season was a bit off compared to NDCXL.  This really shows how different priorities can affect your season so Tim did better in the Nationals but that meant that I was stronger in the NDCXL.  

I feel privileged to have won the NDCXL U14s as I look at the names of people who have won it before and so many of them have achieved so many great things in cycling.