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.
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 Championshipsâ€.
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