06/09/2026
UCI Graean Cymru Gravel Race. Flippin eck that was tough... A great weekend in Wales. A bit of a caffeine and sugar fest!!! Tough race, 65 miles off-road racing with 6000ft+ of climbing through the Welsh forests. Full gas from the start, took a fall 15 minutes in and lost the back of the lead group, bit of a sore shoulder but all good. This left me a bit solo and exposed in headwinds for a while. Unsurprisingly repeatedly got split and then repeatedly kept bumping into Nathan on course. First lap was 2 hour 8 minutes and went really well. Got cramp in hamstrings in the second lap, fortunately got over that. Second lap was a tough slog, particularly in the climbs, about 2 hours 30 minutes so slower than first. Buddied up with Nathan in the forests and crossed the line together with a cheeky sprint finish! We finished about mid-field in age category overall. Fantastic well organized race, complely stress free, good camping, great company, stunning Welsh scenery, van went well and so did the bike. What would I do differently? Skills felt good but I think if you want to be competitive in this sport more training and racing at actual race pace for long 2 hours plus efforts would massively help. Tyre choice is tricky, I went big tyres which was really fast on the flat terrain and on the descents but maybe a bit slow and heavy on the climbs. A full course recce would also really help. Overall a lot of fun and a very memorable weekend. 🙂
