April/May 2023 blog
April was a rough month for me. It started off with my first case of COVID (not bad after 3 years of avoidance). This laid plan to a week of riding and racing. Then not the results I wanted in round 1 of the U23 series. The weekend after I raced the UCI Cicle classic with Derby CC. Probably the worst race I have ever done, pure chaos. Crashing hard on the first sector, 55km in, put a brief end to my race. In the crash, I bashed my knee badly, but after a couple of visits to the doctors and being on crutches all was okay with a bruised bone. 10 more days off the bike followed and more missed races.
The first race back was also the first race in May. The U23 Yorkshire classic. The knee held up well and so did the legs, just a little fitness lacking. After Lincoln GP I am off to Spain to get some more European racing in the legs!
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT for 2022
After re-signing with Cycling Sheffield for 2022, I was invited to a training camp with the German Continental team - Saris Rouvy Sauerland. This went well and I was offered a contract from April 1st.
The team is based in the NRW region of Germany and has been a UCI team since 2016.
I am delighted to be stepping up to the UCI ranks and racing against my idols.
End of the year, 2021
After having my booster jab and feeling a little lousy I thought I’d write a summary of my year.
The year, as we all know started off strangely, with lots of uncertainty still lingering in the air. If you’ve read my other blogs, you can get a good idea of what I got up to whilst I was in Spain.
Looking back at my experience in Spain I have mixed emotions and learnt a lot of valuable life lessons. Firstly, I lived abroad with a group of like-minded guys which was a good laugh. I got to meet new friends in both Spanish and English. Being able to speak another language and adapt to a new culture was mega too. A shock at first but still mega. Also gaining the life lessons of living on your own/with other people whilst being more responsible was important for me. And finally, the training and racing were unparalleled. Living near Alicante, being in Sierra Nevada and going to the Basque was class. Not quite the Peak District but close.
However, the living situation together with my personal experience of not-so-good management led to me coming back home early, something I have not regretted at all. When I got back home, I was very stressed and not sure what direction to go. So, when Dave from Cycling Sheffield gave me the opportunity to join the team, I was extremely grateful. It gave me a new direction and focus for the rest of the year.
It took me a while to get into the routine of things after illness, some time off and other stresses. But eventually, I got going, culminating in a ride I can be proud of at the National Time Trial Championships. A long and stressful season but ultimately it has prepared me well for the future.
I had a long off-season and did normal people things. Like; go to the pub, see my mates and go on a family holiday. It was beneficial to spend a lot more time in the gym too including a surprising 41-minute 10k with my local running club.
I’m into the full swing of winter training now working with Sam at NeoPro and Charlie at Qualified nutrition. Really enjoying learning more about my nutrition and different types of training ready for a strong calendar next year with the Cycling Sheffield boys.
I’d like to end the blog by thanking a few people for this season.
Pedal Potential and The Lewis Balyckyi Trust Fund for the financial support, which without, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I have this year.
Dave at Cycling Sheffield for taking me on board and giving me the opportunity for next season.
Joe at the Aurahub for providing ongoing support into the new year.
Clint at Pro-fit personal training for the physio and massage support.
And to end it all the biggest thanks to my parents for the best support in the world x
team annoUNCement for 2021
A late change of plan but I'm delighted to announce I'll be riding for Fundación De Ciclismo Benicadell in Spain next year.
They are part of Bahrain Mclarens feeder setup. Living out there and racing and training, looking forward to hitting some big races and stage races that suit me.
A huge thanks to everyone who's helped get me here on this journey so far. All in now for a big winter of training with cycling performance coaching.
Nettlar Telecome-Ale
An elite/U23 Spanish team with many years of experience. Last year the team moved 4 riders up to the pro ranks, and with direct links to the Bahrain Victorious world tour squad, there are some exciting pathways to follow.
EVERESTING, 2020
With all my summer racing cancelled this year at the start of June, I told Oli (my coach) that I wanted to work towards an Everest. With previous experience in this discipline, taking the youth off-road record a few years back, I decided on a climb requiring the same amount of ascents, 65.
Careful planning and a lot of maths went into this, we wanted to make sure we didn't make the mistake of underestimating how many reps we would have to do and utilising the knowledge from Andy Nichols, a big shout out to Andy for his advice on my nutritional strategy.
I also set up a Just Giving page, in order to donate towards Cardiac Risk In The Young and Alzheimers Society where £3000 was raised, truly amazing. Support on the day was incredible, many gave up their Saturday to help marshal and support the attempt, it was this support which helped me through the hardest reps in the second half and the fact that people didn’t choose to lose their loved ones really put the pain I was experiencing into perspective. A completion time of 8:53 puts me in the seat of the fastest junior rider worldwide to complete an Everest. Something I am incredibly proud of.
Thank you to all those who came out to support, with special mentions to Ilkeston Cycle Club, my mom and dad and Oli for their continued support.
Everesting, 2018
I set myself the target of ascending from High Peak junction to Black Rocks 63 times in one day to achieve 8940 metres of climbing for my Everesting challenge. It was on Saturday 14th April, and I started at 05:30 am. After a mammoth 17 hours of riding successfully completed the challenge at 22:30 that night. I was aided by Steve Heading who rode with me almost all the way. I was totally physically and mentally drained after the ride.
I would not have been able to complete it without the amazing support of my friends, family and Matlock CC members who were there throughout the day. My Everesting raised £2651 for Cardiac Risk in the Young and CLIC Sargent.