After racing in the Giro Next Gen, I had a quick turnaround of 12hrs at our team house to sleep, unpack my things and then re-pack for an upcoming week in the UK. This wasn't to return home but to participate in the British National Championships. Arriving in the early hours of Tuesday morning at Manchester Airport (thanks for the delay EasyJet!), I was gladly chauffeured** to a nearby hotel to get a quick but much needed sleep.
The following morning I was then chauffeured further North; up towards Darlington where the championships were being held this year. (** when I say chauffeured I really mean being driven by my Brother - Max Walker, who like me had travelled over for the championships. I want to say a big thank you because this continued throughout the week and included some midnight hospital runs - but that's a story for another day!). Before checking in to our apartment for the week, we stopped at the Time Trial course to complete a ride and recon for the following day. I was not sure whether I would ride the TT as I hadn't been able to bring over my Time Trial bike as well as knowing Max had a really good chance of getting a serious result in the Elite Men's TT. I figured I would ride the recon and see how I felt as it was a tough, hilly course which could suit me. I quickly discovered I was knackered from the Giro and travel. Combining this with not having a TT bike meant it was an easy decision to not ride the TT this year and instead go full helper mode for Max. This started as soon as we ended the ride and I was determined to be the best soigneur/ mechanic/ all-round helper that I could be for Max!
We checked into our Apartment with ease meaning Max could shower and then relax for the evening whilst I unpacked the car and went to do a food shop. Max is a relaxed rider meaning after this all that was left for me to do was a clear up after a dinner and no massage was required! The next morning I did my best to wake up early, perhaps my hardest part for the day (I'm not a morning person!) This allowed me time to pack up/prepare pre during and post race food (consisting of pasta/ protein shakes/ slushie like cold-carb drink for the warm up ect.) Next on the agenda was to get everything in the car and be ready for when Max wanted to leave.
We had made a sheet with all timings for the day which prevented any rushing or lateness as well as giving Max one less thing to think about. We arrived at the course and as Max went to sign on I made a start with preparing his bike and getting the turbo set up for his warm up. Unfortunately without holding a British Cycling Mechanic licence I couldn't follow him for the TT, this was probably for the best because knowing me this would have significantly increased the chances of him being on the wrong side of a time penalty! After this there wasn't too much to do, just basic things such as serving cold drinks, helping with numbers and even holding up an umbrella. This gave me an opportunity to make a Tiktok for ourselves to look back on as a memory (https://www.tiktok.com/@likkleboidedoid/video/7382583265602866465?_r=1&_t=8ndcRXN6OG1).
Now that Max has experience and knowledge from competing with the Astana world tour team, it was interesting for me to see some of the strategies he applied and things he did in and around the race. From including things like Bi-carb in his nutrition strategy to how he built a pacing plan for the course. This was great to see first hand and I can now take this on board with me in the future. With 10minutes till the off, his warm up was complete so I took his bike off the turbo trainer and chaperoned him to the startline with a selection of cold drinks and a gel.
He then started and all that was left for me to do was cheer and nervously check the live timing. Passing the half-way point he was flying and in the provisional lead! I did my best to communicate (scream) this to him without confusing him. Coming to the finish he had paced his effort to perfection and extended his provisional lead. Filled with confidence before hand I had prepared for this moment and had a towel, coke and protein shake upon arrival for him to go directly to a hot seat. Unfortunately there was no hot seat but they still came in handy. We then anxiously waited as he jumped on the turbo again to cool down. The time remained fastest with only Josh Tarling being able to beat him.
2nd PLACE!!!! GET INNN!!!!!!!
This came to a surprise to many but for me I was confident of this before the start, perhaps putting too much pressure on him. Hopefully this helped people recognise his ability more and get his name out there.
Overall I really enjoyed helping Max out for the day. It made my decision definitely feel worthwhile! I don't think it changed much but even if it helped him by as little as 1% I am happy. It seemed unfair to let Max have all the small stressors of packing his bike, taking it on/off the turbo trainer, having no-one to give him a bottle at the start whilst on the contrary the likes of the riders on Ineos having everything done for them and ice jackets for the warm up e.c.t.
It's been great to see Max progress this year and I am really proud of him. I hope this performance can help aid him to make the step up to the World Tour!
To round off, as subtly mentioned before, I had a crash in the road race later in the week. This was a fairly nasty one and has required me to return home for some R&R. With all negatives comes some positives and I'm taking full advantage of being back with my family again :) . Each day I heal more and more and I hope to be all set and ready to return to Italy in the next weeks.
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