Q & A – Laura Massey (Drops Cycling Team)

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After many years racing domestically in Britain, Laura Massey is now riding with the best in Europe – we have a quick chat about her season

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Q & A – Laura Massey (Drops Cycling Team)

Brought to you by Prendas …

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Great pic by Tom Oldham of Laura before the season kicked off – Follow Tom on Twitter 

1. What races have you done so far this season and what has been your toughest race with Drops?
Laura: I was a little late to the party as was working full-time (I’m a Management Consultant in the pharmaceutical industry) until the end of February when my six month sabbatical began. I then spent three weeks getting race-fit in Denia.

Consequently, I did not kick off my race season until the end of March. I joined up with my Drops team mates out in Belgium for a block of three races in five days including Pajot Hills Classic 1.2, Tour of Flanders 1.WWT and GP de Dottignies 1.2.

Not exactly a gentle start to the season but I loved it! Who could say no to Flanders — you just don’t say no to that opportunity!

Since then, we have also done the Euskal Emakumeen Bira 2.1 Stage race in the Basque country in Spain which was hilly and epic. The toughest races so far were Stage 3 and 4 of the Bira stage race – they were up and down and lined out with no recovery. On each climb I was suffering and hanging on through sheer bloody-mindedness – “I will not get dropped”. My top tube was not a pretty sight afterwards…”

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2. What has been the highlight race of the season so far for you?
Laura: Finishing Flanders (and getting up all those cobbled climbs) only four minutes behind the winner and as the third Brit, it is something I will always be proud of. Getting my first UCI top 20 in the final stage of the Bira last week is also right up there, especially given how much I suffered.

3. What stresses and challenges does racing in various types of weather and strong winds place on a rider and how do you know what to wear before you start pedalling in anger?
Laura: Luckily I haven’t had a ‘bad’ weather race yet this year as Flanders was unusually sunny and warm and Bira, although wet, was quite warm. Deciding what to wear in the race is tricky – I hate that decision and generally go with what my team mates are doing! … (… continued after advert)

People usually know whether they run hot or they run cold (I run cold) so I factor this in and when team mates are saying no to arm warmers and base layers, I will keep them on. You also usually get a good idea after the warm up and whether you are sweating or still freezing and so adjust your kit choice or not. Our Santini/Prendas reef jerseys are good bits of kit for wet/windy days.

4. When the weather is cold, what do you wear to keep that balance of being warm but not over heating in a race?
Laura: Layers. Wear things you can take off if it gets too hot – long gloves, arm warmers, Gillet, rain jacket.

5. Does the clothing you wear in training and racing differ and if so how?
Laura: In training, I must admit I am a bit of a wuss (I run cold) so I err on the side of lots of layers (long legs and long jersey) and even carry a spare pair of dry gloves in my back pocket. In racing, it is usually shorts and short-sleeved jersey and just get on with it!

6. Finally, what is your next race for the team?
Laura:Next race is Tour de Yorkshire – looking forward to a race on British soil!

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