Last week Elinor Barker and I won the national Madison title. We were fabulous. Others were also fabulous but we managed to be fabulous at all the right times.
Then, as individuals, we were second (me) and third (El) in the national omnium the next day, with Laura Kenny taking the win.
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The coolest ride was from Elinor, who had gone into the points race finale in sixth place after some mishaps in the previous races, only to close a 14-point deficit to bronze. The most impressive ride was from Laura, who spent the day almost unchallenged. The most red-in-the-face ride was from myself, which is still something to be proud of.
That’s likely me filled up on omniums for a while, but I want to be selected to ride the Madison at the Canada World Cup not this weekend but the next (October 26-28).
Of course, it was the Paris World Cup first (October 19-21), but I wasn't there. We’ve split our squad so that half tackle Paris and half Canada.
The Canada team is myself, Laura Kenny, Elinor Barker and Ellie Dickinson. Plus that lot who only go hard 200m at a time, and some team pursuit men folk. You’ll have to look for the official British Cycling communiqué to find out exactly who, my apologies. I do expect it’s a list of belters.
The Canada World Cup is, however, the same weekend as Six Day London, which I’m therefore missing. I feel guilty and a little angry that earlier in the year there was some advertising that implied I’d be there.
I’ve known for a long time I wouldn’t be able to make it because of the clash, which is a real shame; Six Day London is a very, very good race.
But if you’ve bought tickets don’t expect to see me there.
Buy a pint on my behalf if you will, and if you would have cheered for me I would like those efforts passed on to the most desperately attacking rider present, please. If you planned to boo, this will need to be handled through Twitter instead. I appreciate your cooperation.
Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL7 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
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