Feature – Jack Escritt Finishes Normandie

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18 year old Jack Escritt of Raleigh GAC fights his way through his toughest cycling challenge yet in the Tour of Normandie

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Feature – Jack Escritt Finishes Normandie

The Tour of Normandie is known for being tough with long stages and poor weather. Throw in some strong teams and that’s quite a challenge for a young lad straight out of the junior ranks who’s longest ride in training was 185k. In Normandie, there were stages well over that. Jack his team boss at Raleigh GAC said he was a fighter and so he is, getting through the week long race.

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Jack pictured during the Calpe training camp by Christian Braybrooke.

Here’s an interview with Jack:

1. How would you sum up the Tour of Normandie – your hardest race ever?
Jack: For me the Tour of Normandie was for sure my hardest race so far. Every day the racing got faster and faster which meant riders were abandoning all the time.

2. Your first race in the Raleigh –GAC colours. How did it feel in the team’s colours in a pro race and did that give you that extra bit of motivation?
Jack: My first race being in the team colours definitely gave me a lot of motivation. It made me feel proud and it gave me that extra bit of energy when it got hard.

3. What was the hardest stage for you?
Jack: The hardest stage for me was the last stage. It was hilly, wet and windy. Everything in a stage that you most fear. The racing was very fast from the gun on this stage as there were only a handful of seconds between 1st and 10th. Crossing the finish line on the last lap was such a relief! However I really enjoyed the stage especially with my team mate (Mora) finishing second on the day.

4. What was the routine during each day of the race?
Jack: Every morning we would have breakfast at a new hotel each night. Then we would get in our Primal kit and we were off to the next stage with a team talk and a coffee before the start. Here we would talk about the stage ahead and our plans for the day. For example, wind direction and difficult sections of the stage. Then after the race we would always get showered then head to massage. Then tea and then bed. That was mainly the routine for each day.

5. What was the best stage for you and why?
Jack: The best stage for me was stage 3 where I managed 51st in the bunch kick.

6. Tell us about how you found going back for bottles?
Jack: This was the first time I had ever gone back for bottles so it was a new experience. The first time I managed around six bottles. The hardest bit was finding my team mates in the bunch and getting the bottles to them!

7. Had you ever ridden 200k before in training?
Jack: The most miles I’ve done in training is around 185km!

8. Was that the first stage race you had done?
Jack: My first stage race was as a youth in the Isle of Man Youth Tour as an under 14 which I won.

9. What were the stages like – easy and get faster or just fast from the word go?
Jack: Most stages were fast from the gun, depending on how well the team’s leading controlled the race.

10. What from High 5 would you have during a stage?
Jack: I would always have around three Apple flavoured High 5 energy gels and three energy bars. Then around four bottles of the energy drink each stage and one zero tablet in a bottle of water.

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Jack part of a strong Raleigh GAC team is third from the left with George Pym, Richard Hepworth, Seb Mora, Morgan Kniesky and Matthieu Boulo

11. What other race food did you have during a stage from Cheryl?
Jack: I wrapped my own fruit cake up and had one of them each day and I would have little cakes that Cheryl wrapped up for us each day filled with Nutella!

12. What was the biggest thing you learnt in the race?
Jack: The biggest thing I learnt in the race is to be patient! You will find the racing twice as hard if you are not relaxed.

13. Does it give you more motivation for the future season to get through a tough race like that?
Jack: Now I have done the Tour of Normandie, I feel I can do anything! Nothing can be much harder than Normadie in Britain!

14. How have you spent the week after the race?
Jack: I had four days rest and then back into training. Lots of sleep was needed also!
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