News – Alex Paton Pleased with 2nd in Trophy

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One of the revelations on the road in 2014, Trainsharp coached rider Alex Paton, has had a good winter too with second in the National Trophy

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News – Alex Paton Pleased with 2nd in Trophy

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Alex writes “With Christmas and New Year over, it was time for the final round of the National trophy Series in Derby. As a nice treat for the final round, it was not only super muddy, but exceptionally cold too. The course was very similar to last year’s national championships race. I liked it and it was good fun to race, lots of tricky sections and some good straights too.

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For me, the race was mostly about securing my 2nd place overall in the series. To do this I need to beat Jody Crawforth and finish within a few places of Ben Sumner. As the gun fired, I managed to get a pretty bad start, with my foot slipping on the salted road. Early on in the race, I was riding just inside the top 10, a little further back than usual, but with three Belgians racing and all the top British riders, it was a reasonable place. I was racing with Jody and at points he was riding clear of me, but I used the long open sections to my advantage and stayed in contention.

By 2/3 race distance, I was still racing Jody within a small group, we were not miles off the pace of the lead riders, but certainly never any threat to the top places. On the main road section, I put a bit of a pressure on him and I really attacked the next muddy section. This was enough to get me clear of Jody and up to a Belgian rider and Lewis Craven. For a lap, we really pressed the pace and had gone clear of Jody with one rider between. Coming into the final lap, I managed to make a few mistakes and lost contact with the two riders, leaving me in 9th place and in a position I was confidant would give me the points for 2nd in the series.

Second place overall in the Trophy Series is a great result that I’m really pleased with. I would have liked to feature more in the race, but when the conditions are as muddy as that, my lack of Cyclocross training shows up, but physically I feel good and looking forward to the upcoming National Championships”.

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