Radeon Cycle Coaching Odd Down Race Reviews

Hi Everybody

I thought I would write-up a quick race report from the Radeon Cycle Coaching leg of the Odd Down Winter Series on Sunday…..

A very windy but sunny Odd Down greeted almost 100  riders from all across the south this past Sunday, with 21 women, 36 4th Cats and 40 2nd and 3rd Cats all taking their place on the line for a great day of racing and coaching. 2 coaching sessions were held for women and some new 4th Cat riders before and in between some of the racing. All of which meant a great day was had by all!!

The women’s race was a well fought battle with the group staying together for the majority which is just as well with the cross wind along the 2 straights threatening to wreak havoc with group organisation and placing. All in all the riders worked well together and kept safe out of the wind. You can really start to see the effect of the coaching sessions of the last couple of months coming together and the quality of racing is starting to show. The race ended in a bunch sprint with Rose Osborne of  High Wycombe Cycling Club taking the win. Unfortunately in the finish sprint there was a rider that came down hard and required medical attention, fortunately she was ok, bump to the head, but ok. What I found truly inspiring was the message I got the day after the race from the rider who came down, she wanted to know if I had caught in on camera so she could review and understand if there was anything more that she could do to improve on this and make sure that it does not happen again, not put off by it, but motivated to improve! Brilliant! Excellent attitude, and as a coach the kid of rider that we long to work with!

Next up was the 4th Cat race which saw the first road race for Radeons’ very own Ben Strain. A first year Junior with a lot of potential , a large field of 36 riders, and a cross wind from hell meant for an interesting race. Good news Ben was off from the gun and looked epically comfortable riding with some riders twice his age, he was nestled perfectly in the front third of the race for the first 30 odd minutes, the race was slowly being decimated by the cross wind and pace generally ramping up, which led to the very unfortunate incident that I suspect cost Ben his first points as a road rider…… A typical 4th Cat racing incident, a rider trying to jump through a gap to shelter from the wind, clipped Bens front wheel on the straight and down Ben went, hitting the deck which led to the first meeting of his skin with the cheese grater tarmac of the Odd Down circuit. Welcome Ben to road racing…. Oh and a load of other riders went down, with a couple running over Ben and his neck….. What struck me again was the incredible nature of the human being…. I jogged over keen to make sure that my rider was alright, and there was ben, leggings round his ankles, arse in the air being bandaged up on the side of the circuit, more eager to jump back on his bike and seek revenge, than have the various incurred wounds dealt with…. Thats why MTB riders make great road racers, the bouncability effect…… Fair play and chapeau, I am confident Ben will be back stronger sooner rather than later….. I can’t wait! The race eventually was won by Jake Hollins.

The 2nd and 3rd Cat riders still  had great weather and an even stronger wind to contend with in their race, this race saw Radeon riders Ross Evans and Jamie Penton line up to improve on their last outing together, the race went off fast as it did the previous round which saw many people attacking from the out set… What some people didn’t notice was that the man matching James Coleman, winner of the last round, was back again. Which could only mean one thing, him on the front tearing it up with the rest of the riders clutching on…. Great racing from all with counter attacks, and eventually ending up with a 2 up break including James Coleman of VC Walcot and Matthew Woods of Hargroves Cycles pulling away from the chasing bunch, with a lap or so to go James Coleman pops of the front and rides away from Matt who tried his best to rain James back in with no joy….. James wins and Matt takes a well and hard-earned 2nd…. The Radeon boys did well with Ross taking 10th and another point, and Jamie finishing safely in the main bunch in 18th.

And that they say is that….. Another cracking event at Odd Down and again another day made by brilliant people, riders and volunteers. Thanks to the barmy army of the Uni of Bath that always bring a great atmosphere with them and also to Jonathon Arnold and Andy Stewart who helped steer us to a smooth operation for our first event at organising. And thanks to Andy from Bike Science who supplied and presented all the prizes to the Top 3 from all of the races over the day.

Lastly thanks to the Radeon chaps and friends for helping marshal the event and well bloody done. The Fluro Army will march onto the next challenge now…. The Radeon Cycle Coaching Sherston Road Race…… Bring it on….. Enter here: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/103591/Radeon-Cycle-Coaching-–-Sherston-Road-Race-(CCRL)

That brings my waffle to a close….. See you on the start line soon……

 

Radeon Revolution 2014….

So it’s time time to lay down the year ahead of us, me and the team on cyber paper…..

2013 was a great first team for its first outing, met loads of new people, loads of new places and have made some great friends along the way.
2014 I’m hoping is going to be the same but bigger, better, more consistent and deliver some great results and introduce more new people to racing along side spreading the name of Radeon, the team and the riders within it.

We had a team meeting a few weeks ago and helped shape the vision and the aims for the coming season, both as a team and as individuals. And here they are:

TEAM

– To improve on the Top 30 finish In the South in first season and finish in the Top 20 in the South
– To place a rider in the the Top 10 overall of the Cotswold League
– To have a Top 3 finish in a Road Race
– To have consistent Top 10 finishes in Circuit Races and Criteriums
– To enter and team and complete a multi day stage event
– Enter Riders into the Wessex CX League
– To expose our name to a wider audience

INDIVIDUAL

Ross – To gain 1st Cat Licence/Win a Cotswold League RR, be competitive at E/1/2 races

Jamie – To gain 2nd Cat Licence/Place Top 5 in Cotswold League RR, win a RR

Lewis – To Score points consistently in the season and aim to gain 3rd Cat Licence and enjoy racing,

Liam – To Score points consistently in the season and aim to gain 3rd Cat Licence and stay upright

Mike – To Score points consistently in the season and aim to gain 3rd Cat Licence and work on weaknesses such as climbing, move up a Cat,

Callum – To Score points consistently in the season and aim to gain 3rd Cat Licence and place well in Duathlon, enjoy road racing

Phil – To Score points consistently in 2nd half of season and aim to gain 3rd Cat Licence.

Paul – To complete in first Crit race and first RR and enjoy racing

Ben – To complete in first Crit race and first RR and enjoy racing, stay with the group, and build on weaknesses.

Stuart – To deliver consistent points throughout the season, lead by example and compete consistently in Road Races. Gain at least 3rd Cat Licence, but aim for 2nd Cat.

Along side all the racing, training and coaching that we have been doing we are also hosting to races this year…. One of the rounds of Odd Down Winter Series and an event within the Cotswold League, both of which are going to be great events and hopefully continue to spread the name of Radeon whilst giving something back to the sport.

You can enter the Races and Events here!!

Odd Down:

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/102692/Radeon-Cycle-Coaching—Odd-Down-Winter-Series

Sherston Road Race (CCRL):

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/103591/Radeon-Cycle-Coaching-–-Sherston-Road-Race-(CCRL)

We also have 3 of the team attending a Commissaires course over the next couple of weeks and already have 50% of the team trained to be accredited marshals and this is something that we are keen to develop! Both on the bike and off the bike education to allow us to both give back and support the cycle sport scene.

From coaching point of view Radeon have also joined forces with Bike Science to offer coaching and training packages alongside buying a bike and bike fit and this is something that Radeon is keen to grow and develop the performance aspect of the coaching role. Pop on over and have a look at the site www.bike-science.com

The team kit is looking awesome for next season and we are also looking at growing a off the bike set of clothing as well. Thanks to BioRacer for their design, check it out!! We’ve even added some beanies!!!

Overall this season and this year are set to be mega, certainly hoping to grow the team as the year progresses, work together and really perform well, for each other and the team. We have a lot going on both on and off the bike and together this really helps Radeon deliver a holistic approach to cycling, racing and coaching.

If your interested in finding out more about Radeon the please tweet us, or email Stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com to find out more about racing, joining the team or coaching.

Thanks for reading! And we will catch up soon!

The Radeon Revolution CX!

Hi All

It’s blog time again!

This week we look back and reflect upon the last couple of exploits in the he fast growing world of Cyclocross!

So….. Here goes….

The Sessions…….

17th of November was the date of the first Winter CX race at the new Odd Down Circuit in Bath, this race was part of the Western League and was looking to be a great event.
To help prepare riders and spread the word of the event I got in contact with Andy from Bath CC about running some CX coaching sessions, as one of the first batch of coaches to go through the British Cycling CycloCross coaching course it was great to be able to help out and put my skills in to practice!!
So we go decided to run a couple of sessions on the 10th to help give a bit of a taster and also help riders develop some of the techniques involved in CX such as the various dismounts and remounts, ad where you might use each type of dismount.

Luckily the weather was cracking and Odd Down was resplendent in the sunshine of a Sunday morning and we had about 15 rider sir across a the sessions from 5 up-to 40!

We started the sessions with a great off the bike warm up involving jumping over your bike, on and off it, and running around it, all the kind of movements your body will be doing in the CX discipline.
After this we moved to looking at dismounts, first the step back, most people have heard and used this dismount all the time, it’s a great dismount to help slow you before an obsticle, gives you more time to organise your body position prior to bike carries or lift.. We practiced this, broke it down, whole/part/whole and built it back again. To throw a spanner in the works I got all the riders to do the dismount to the other side…. With the adults this caused anarchy and destruction, with the younger kids it was like water off a ducks back, no trouble and no worries!! This is why I love coaching…. Adding something new to an adults ‘cycling tool box’ and giving the ‘tool box’ to the kids in the first place and the different approaches that both age groups bring to the way they deal with new ideas.

People ask me why dismount to the other side? I say why not? Isn’t it better to expand that tool box In case you need to use it inyou A* event?? It was great to help refine and improve people’s techniques and develop their skill.

Once we’d mastered this we moved to the lesser know step through dismount, mixed bag on this, some had used and some haven’t, again we broke it down and then put it all together, swapped sides and started the master piece!!

Step through dismounts are great for maintaining momentum approaching obstacles where it’s better to carry speed and be smooth, something like a set of hurdles is a good example.

We moved onto remounts and really practiced this because this is and area which looks simple in theory but actually can cost you a lot of time if you don’t get it right. And again we swapped sides!!

One of my many philosophy’s is to always train to your weaknesses but don’t forget your strengths, you never know in racing when you might need to use either….

Once we’d worked all the bits we added it all together in a coach led race where we had a step back dismount section, step through section and a couple of hurdles bunged in to help make riders decide what technique they were going to use. Put the technique under pressure as this is when it all tends to go wrong!! Memory Mass! That’s what it’s about, no need to think just do, second nature…..

Couple of laps and a great mini race! All the rider then went off to look at bits of the circuits for the following weeks race! Great sessions, loved them! Love coaching!

Jamie Pentons’ Season Review

Hi Guys! It’s blog time again!!

This time I have twisted the arm of First Time Radeon Rider and Racer Jamie Penton to put fingers to keys to type up his season review and his thoughts and feelings on next season!

Enjoy! And remember…. It’s not too late to join, support and be a part of the Radeon Revolution

How it all started…

My first season racing, well where to begin? My first real road bike was bought in January and within weeks the bug had well and truly bitten; the cold winter months and hundreds of miles were the stepping stones to what would become an incredible year in the saddle for me.

With spring on the horizon, it was race time!! A mixture of excitement and nerves were the order of the day, quickly followed by pain and disappointment. The Easter Classic at Castle Combe came as a bit of a shock as I was quickly spat out of the back and was to endure a very lonely and cold race; a bit of a shock to the system but something that inspire me to train harder and harder.

Weekly racing at Combe proved that perhaps I was strong enough, but just lacked the racing skills and experience required to succeed. As weeks went by I found myself more and more present at the hot end of the peloton, and mid-way through the season I was rewarded for my efforts when approached by Radeon Cycle Coaching and asked if I wanted to represent the team; an opportunity I was quick to grasp.

Since joining Radeon my riding has come on in abundance, with regular team sessions, both structured race training and team rides. I quickly found that racing within a team would improve my racing, in terms of tactical riding and riding with a purpose. Riding with the team name and jersey on my back, both in races and on regular training rides gives an added motivation and passion for the sport.

Season Review

Now the season has come to a close it is time to both review this season and preview next season which has potential to be an incredible year for both myself and the team. My initial goal for this season was to gain racing experience, and to discover whether racing bikes was really for me. As time went by and I became more and more competitive, I began to adjust my goals and realised I could possibly score some points and even progress up the ladder to a 3rd cat rider. I managed to score my first point at castle combe and with just one race to go knowing that I needed an unlikely 9 points to finish the season having achieved my for the season. My first race at the brilliant new circuit at Odd Down turned out to be the highlight of my season, both in terms of performance and experience. I manage to establish myself in a 2 up break which stayed clear for nearly the entire race and just had the legs to kick for the finish and cross the line for my first race win!! 10 points in the bag and that all important writing on my license, 3RD CAT!!!! A second highlight of my year was embedding myself in a truly great race team, establishing myself as part of the team, meeting some great people and hopefully contributing to what will become a force to be reckoned with in the cycling world.

A thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying year for me personally ended with a top ten finish in a local hill climb which perhaps won’t be my strongest discipline of bike racing, but a good experience nonetheless.

Season preview

Looking forward to next year is an exciting prospect for both myself and the team with some great plans in place. Winter training promises to be a very tough period both physically and mentally however regular team rides and the prospect of lots more racing in the 2014 season will inspire many more miles to be ridden over the cold winter months. I have my sights firmly set on joining Ross as a 2nd cat rider but am similarly eager to race with the ever expanding and improving team, helping to deliver regular points for Radeon.

2 more specific goals I have for the season are to take on road races as I feel this will suit my style of riding, I would also like to venture into the so call ‘race of truth’ and have a go at time trialling as again I feel this is a discipline that will compliment my style of riding.

To summarise, my first season racing has been an absolute blast, can’t wait for the 2014 season, some great plans in place and hopefully an even more successful season for Radeon Cycle Coaching.

The Radeon Revolution Season Review

Hi All

It’s blog time again!

With a slight change to the usual format of the blog I thought we would chuck in are view of our first ever season, and over the next couple of blogs will have a few of the riders give their own review of their seasons.

So….. Here goes….

The season started for most of us at Ludgershall in early Feb, we had the most horrendous first race with the snow storm that brought the race meet to an abrupt end in a hale of frozen cassettes and slushed up breaks, there is a reason this is mostly a summer sport!, however we still learnt a lot from this escapade!! We enjoyed it so much, Laurence Ian, and I decided to take Liam with us and this is when we picked up our first points of the long season ahead!! Liam nicked and 8th and 2 points to go with it…. However this had mixed emotions as it was also out first injury and crash of the season with Laurence going down in a howling flurry of cracking carbon and spliced clinchers littering the track. Nasty episode which I wish not to see repeated, but it wasn’t to be so. Happy to say though that Laurence has healed and is back enjoying his riding after breaking his collarbone. We return once more to Ludgershall and Liam picked up a further 2 points with an 8th place finish. Great start to the season from a points point of view, not so good with the injuries…..

Next we headed to Castle Combe for the Easter Classic, this is where we bumped into the Welsh Wizard who shall hereby be know as Ross ‘RPM’ Evans. We hooked up with Ross at his very first race, and all of us had a pretty decent race, no points but we all raced well and picked up some much needed knowledge of Castle Combe which would stand us in great stead for the rest of the season. We also acquired another rider in Ross!

This point also unfortunately leads us on to another injury…. Liam….. Currently our highest point scorer…… Boom….. Crack…… Crash……. Boom………. Collarbone, head, bike, helmet, back of car boot….. Boom…….

Yes Liam was out…. Out for a while after having a disagreement with a car boot whilst commuting to work one morning, Liam never even had the decency to cause himself injury in the fight for the Radeon Revolution, he was going to work. Oh well……. Good new though Liam returned to racing just at the end of have season….. Although this has left him rather hungry for racing next season and god help us when he unleashes the season long bottled up aggression which is seething underneath the normally calm and collected pesona.

We moved on then to a few of the early season road races, where the team quickly learnt what a different kettle of fish these are compared to closed circuits, Ross had a good showing at the Bristol South RR picking up second in the KOM comp and along with it a bit of recognition for the team.

Then there was a flurry of Castle Combe races where we were always there and there abouts but not enough so to pick any points and brought around the first Race at the new Odd Down circuit in Bath, a great new venue for racing in the south west rest and the opportunity to help be a part of something great for this area. Low and behold Ross popped up with a second place and started his points tally towards 3rd Cat and beyond.

In between all the racing at Combe we also acquired another new rider in Jamie Penton joining us for the remainder of the season, and In his first season of racing, bringing his enthusiasm and strength with him.

Over the coming months we picked up a haul of points with a few riders with Ross being the most consistent and in the process picking up points at Combe, Odd Down and his local haunt Llandow, and in doing so sealing his 2nd Cat licence for next season!

Next came one of the last races for many at Susie’s Circuits at Castle Combe, this saw another first for the team with Jamie picking up a 10th and taking his first point!! After this we dabbled with a few road races and competed well and finished above a lot of stronger riders than us.

Ross had his first E/1/2 race up at Odd Down and again was a force to be reckoned with and picked up his first 2 points in this Category race proving that just nothing will stop him scoring, this was the last race of his very well ridden, hard fought debut season.

For the majority of the rest the last race was the Southern Track Champs at Odd Down which crowned a perfect finish to the season for the team. Firstly it was Liam’s first race back from his horrific collarbone accident back in April and it was also the crowning moment of the season alongside the points hauled in by Ross and the others, our first win!! Jamie fought his way hard in a 2 up breath take the flag at Odd Down in the 4ths only race finishing the season superbly for the team and setting us up superbly for next season.

My thoughts on the season…. Superb…… Brilliant….. Awesome……. Loved it…..

What a great opening season, we finished 33rd in the South and out placed a lot of other teams that have many many more racers than us and that are a lot more established.

My defining moment of the season was meeting the chaps for the first time, meeting all of them that were willing to take a chance with us, to take part in something new, something different. Each and everyone of the riders and racers this season has brought something to the team. From the very first meeting back in December In a Costa In Bath they brought something, they brought the commitment and desire to do something different and take a punt.

We and I have made our mistakes this season, we will learn from them, after all we are all human, and in this is what will make us stronger, will carry us onwards and upwards.
We have already had interest to join the team and get involved with the coaching and development philosophy that is our core, and currently have a roster of rider for next season with 20 names on it, most of whom I’ve had the chance to now ride and work with at a few of our team training sessions at Odd Down, and have been epically impressed and privileged that riders with their commitment and talent wish to choose to ride with us.

Thanks to all of the guys this season, Laurence, Liam, Ian, Chris, Michael, Lewis, Carl, Ross and Jamie. You guys are the founders. You guys have displayed the trust, faith and the commitment to help us grow. Thanks.

Thanks very much also to all of the great race organisers, officials and riders that I have met and chatted to this season, Jon and the guys from VC Wacot, Andy and the guys from Bath CC, and the various riders that we have all shared stories of happiness,sorrow and shared various excuses with all season!

Next season is going to be great. Next season is going to be ours to take on, to challenge and to stretch ourself, to grow and most of all define us and enjoy.

Events…….

I am currently in the process of road working a Callander of coaching sessions both Road and Cyclocross over the coming months, so please stay tuned if you wish to be apart of them and wish to develop your techniques!

I’m also in the prices of finalising our winter coaching and training plans for the off season, so ago an please stay tuned!

Developments……

We are still planning for 2014 we are hoping to have a Junior team to develop, alongside the Senior team. This is something that Radeon a really passionate about building into the next season, if you know of any Junior riders that want to join the development teams then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com or Tweet us @radeon_coaching

We still want to grow the senior 3/4s team as well. Don’t be afraid to give it a go. With the right coaching and understanding racing is brilliant! Get in contact to see if it suits you!

To help us with our plans Radeon Cycle Coaching are looking for sponsors that would like to help to develop and take our Junior, Youth and Senior teams to the next level and be able to offer us the support to achieve this. If your interested then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

Plans are still in the process of being developed for some great things next year, and I am really hoping to be able to share them soon, but it goes without saying that they are going to be great!

Any way…. Thanks for reading…..

The Radeon Revolution – Week 41

Hi All

It’s blog time again! Its been a while but we have quite a bit to catch up on!!

The last couple of weeks have been steady with developments coming throughout the team. In the shape of new riders, new kit, new helmets and our first win!!

Developments……

We are still planning for 2014 we are hoping to have a Junior team to develop, alongside the Senior team. This is something that Radeon a really passionate about building into the next season, if you know of any Junior riders that want to join the development teams then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com or Tweet us @radeon_coaching

We still want to grow the senior 3/4s team as well. Don’t be afraid to give it a go. With the right coaching and understanding racing is brilliant! Get in contact to see if it suits you!

To help us with our plans Radeon Cycle Coaching are looking for sponsors that would like to help to develop and take our Junior, Youth and Senior teams to the next level and be able to offer us the support to achieve this. If your interested then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

Plans are still in the process of being developed for some great things next year, and I am really hoping to be able to share them soon, but it goes without saying that they are going to be great!

Events…….

Radeon Entered competitions all across the West in recent weeks, we have been in action at the Swindon Road Race back at the end of August, and the brand new track at Odd Down in Bath for thier last couple of races and the South Circuit Champs as well.

We have had some great results with Ross delivering consistent points pretty much every time he touches a bike and I’m happy to say we also had our first win of the season with Jamie Penton beating the rest of the field into insiignificance in a 2 up break to take the teams first win!! By the sounds of it it was a great race from both Liam and Jamie and they really did the team proud, and built on the foundations being steadily built throughout the season. This race of course also was the comeback race for Liam after his bad collarbone break back at the begining of the season. Its fair to say he wnjoyed it once he warmed up into it and even had a dig of the front to break away for some points of his own!

 

Liam and Jamie safe in the pack:

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie trying to establish his winning break:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have riders now starting to think about the CX season and the new challenges that this brings to some. I’ve fallen in love with CX recently and the highly technical nature of the discipline and really can’t wait to start running some coaching sessions covering this off with riders from various teams. If you want to join the team for CX or Road let us know!!!

Riding…..

With the nights drawing in and the closed season rearing its rather ugly, horrid head most of the team and some potential new riders headed up to Odd Down for a coaching session to start to gel the team and work on the basics.

Odd Down is such a great venue to host coaching sessions, its such a technical circuit with a variety of long straights a tight technical hairpins. We ran a series of excercises to develop the basic group riding techniques, such as communication, pace lines, through and off, group and single conering. We then went on to run a series of Coach Led Racing excercises with a Elimination Race to get the riders to move through the groups to ensure that that they can use these techniques under pressure.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any way…. Thanks for reading…..

The Radeon Revolution – Week 37

Hi All

It’s blog time again! Time to put some more thoughts and reflections down on paper….

The last couple of weeks have been steady with developments coming left, right and centre. Racing has still been good and our most Consistent Points Scorer, Ross, has been at it again! We also had Jamie, our newest recruit, scored his first points. I have to say that I am really looking forward to working with the guys over the winter, taking what the have learnt this year and helping them to hit the ground running next year!!

Developments……

We are still planning for 2014 we are hoping to have a Junior team to develop, alongside the Senior team. This is something that Radeon a really passionate about building into the next season, if you know of any Junior riders that want to join the development teams then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com or Tweet us @radeon_coaching

We still want to grow the senior 3/4s team as well. Don’t be afraid to give it a go. With the right coaching and understanding racing is brilliant! Get in contact to see if it suits you!

To help us with our plans Radeon Cycle Coaching are looking for sponsors that would like to help to develop and take our Junior, Youth and Senior teams to the next level and be able to offer us the support to achieve this. If your interested then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

Plans are still in the process of being developed for some great things next year, and I am really hoping to be able to share them soon, but it goes without saying that they are going to be great!

Events…….

Radeon Entered competitions all across the West in recent weeks, we have been in action and Castle Combe, Llandow, and the brand new track at Odd Down in Bath.

We have had some great results with Ross delivering consistent points pretty much every time he touches a bike and I’m happy to say he also managed to nick a point at Odd Down in his first E/1/2 race last week, a great show And a strong ride!

I however had my first crash of the season and actually it was a relief to get it out the way, real shame to be honest as I felt really strong and was in a good place to hopefully deliver a decent result. It also didn’t help in my preparation for my first 60 mile Road Race since April on the 25/08 at the Swindon RC Cotswold League RR. It didnt start to well for me though, as within half a mile of the rollout and still within the neutralised zone I hit a pot hole and lost my water bottle! leaving me just with a small one for the next 59.5 miles! Survived alright until half a lap to go an epic cramp settling in!! Break had 1min and 45 secs over the bunch coming into lap and half to go and the Peloton really put the power down to being it back coming into the last 5 miles, turned into a mass bunch sprint up Callow Hill! Great day, great race and came in 34th, 23 seconds behind the winner! Happy with that, but disappointed as I felt that I sold myself short a wee bit and could of perhaps nicked some points.

We also have riders now starting to think about the CX season and the new challenges that this brings to some. I’ve fallen in love with CX recently and the highly technical nature of the discipline and really can’t wait to start running some coaching sessions covering this off with riders from various teams. If you want to join the team for CX of Road let us know!!!

Riding…..

With the better weather finally starting to show its head we have been able to get some good riding in, we recently held our first team coaching session at Odd Down which was a massive success. Focusing on cornering and moving through the group the key objectives, throw in a bit of coach led racing to put the various techniques under pressure and you had the ingredients for a great morning!! Great success, great venue and some great riders. All of whom really enjoyed it and came away feeling as though they had learnt something!
This is something were looking to continue next year with regular sessions to really work the techniques of riding, the aim being to be the best organised 3/4 unit there is. Drill and drill again.

Any way…. Thanks for reading…..

The Radeon Revolution – Week 34

Hi All

It’s blog time again! It’s been a while since our last entry into the electronic journal of weeks past…. So here is the latest!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic with racing absolutely at its peak…. We have had some great races, great results and the development of some great team riding, it’s really starting to come together!!

Developments……

We are still planning for 2014 we are hoping to have a youth team to develop, alongside a Junior team. This is something that Radeon a really passionate about building into the next season, if you know of any Youth/Junior riders that want to join the development teams then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com or Tweet us @radeon_coaching

We’re happy to add another rider to our roster for the year, Jamie Penton. Jamie has some great strength and is absolutely going to be getting the points and results in in the near future!!

We still want to grow the senior 3/4s team as well. Don’t be afraid to give it a go. With the right coaching and understanding racing is brilliant! Get in contact to see if it suits you!

Radeon Cycle Coaching are looking for sponsors that would like to help to develop and take our Junior, Youth and Senior teams to the next level and be able to offer us the support to achieve this. If your interested then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

We are also in the process of planning a series of development events for 2014 and the plans are looking great and am really looking forward to sharing them with you all very soon. Some great opportunities and great plans, and hopefully some great engagement!!

Events…….

Radeon Entered competitions all across the West in recent weeks, we have been in action and Castle Combe, Llandow, and the brand new track at Odd Down in Bath.
We have had some great results with Ross delivering consistent points pretty much every time he touches a bike and I’m happy to say he has sealed his 2nd Cat Licence this week with a 3rd at Castle Combe on Sunday!! Congrats to him, it’s great to have somebody new to the sport do so well in their first year! Keep it up!!
I even managed to contribute a few points at Castle Combe a few weeks ago in the shape of a 5th place finish, and am targeting about bunch of points before the end of the season. It’s always important to keep reevaluating your goals and aims to keep you focused. To easy and you lose focus, to hard and you get demoralised at not succeeding. You need to be smart about them. Tick the boxes. The road to success will then fall into place and you’ll achieve what you set out in the end.

We also have riders now starting to hunk about the CX season and the new challenges that this brings to some. I’ve fallen in love with CX recently and the highly technical nature of the discipline and really can’t wait to start running some coaching sessions covering this off with riders from various teams. If you want to join the team for CX of Road let us know!!!

Riding…..

With the better weather finally starting to show its head we have been able to get some good riding in, we recently held our first team coaching session at Odd Down which was a massive success. Focusing on cornering and moving through the group the key objectives, throw in a bit of coach led racing to put the various techniques under pressure and you had the ingredients for a great morning!! Great success, great venue and some great riders. All of whom really enjoyed it and came away feeling as though they had learnt something!
This is something were looking to continue next year with regular sessions to really work the techniques of riding, the aim being to be the best organised 3/4 unit there is. Drill and drill again.

Any way…. Thanks for reading…..

The Radeon Revolution – Week 31

Hi All….

It’s been a while since we’ve last blogged!! It’s been a crazy few weeks…. We’ve been working out tying down plans and a structure for next year, coaching and training, racing, training some more and grabbing points left right and centre with half the team now racking up some points this season!

It’s also been a time for reflection, a chance for me to think back to when and why Radeon was founded and the aims that it set down…. To start the story we need to go back 15 years………

15 years ago I was diagnosed with Chrons Disease, an inflammatory bowl disease which affects your whole digestive system, a particularly nasty illness for a 13 year old…. I was placed on all sorts of different cocktails of drugs to try and get it into remission, steroids for years on end, chemo drugs, immunosuppressants that transplant patents have, infusions on drips up the local hospital for hours on ends of trial drugs…. All kept it in and out of check for most of the 13 years…. But it took its toll on me, my body,my dreams and my mind. My dream career was over before it started (flying fast jets for the RAF), my body was weighing in at over 23 stone and my mind was like what’s the point…..
This all changed on the 04/06 2010 when I finally have up medical treatment and had surgery, it may have cost me a colon and gained me a blood clot in the calf, but I haven’t looked back.
Now weighing in at 11 stone, A trip to Japan 8 weeks later, a friend twisting my arm to move away from knobbly tyres and get a road bike (to which I replied “but I don’t want to look like a gay”), and the feeling that finally after forgetting what normal people understand “well” to feel like, I guess I got used to accepting what I understood well being felt like, I got back to cycling which I turned my back on many years prior….. Thousands of miles later I took a blow to the head and decided to go the next step and start coaching, that’s what I’ve always enjoyed, developing and progressing people of all ages to be better at what they enjoy.
And that’s why Radeon started, to coach an develop people who want to get into cycling and road racing.

I’ve loved every second of this experience so far and have met so many new people and founded great new friendships and experienced some great times and tough times…
Ive caught this coaching and developing bug now and Radeon is expanding, were coaching CycloCross and debating dabbling with the Track next year.

Overall it’s great. I love it. And the one thing that I’ve learnt through the brief but challenging chapter of my life to date is not to give up. To Adapt. To be resilient and to do it with a laugh. A joke . And a smile.

So crack on.

If you want to be apart of the Radeon Revolution or to find our more Tweet us @radeon_coaching or email Stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

The Radeon Revolution – Week 26

Hi All

It’s blog time again! It’s been a while since our last entry into the electronic journal of weeks past…. So here is the latest!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy and we have finally had Radeon Roadshow Launch event! It was a great night and a great chance do meet like minded people who are as much into cycling as we at Radeon are. It was also great to our names to faces! My personal highlight however was finally getting to try the Raspberry Ripple Torq Gel….. Oh my god. Amazing. Simple as that. Get them in your life.
Evening was capped off by us laying out our future aims, hopes and also a bit around our fears
Fears….. Theres a word. A word not often used when talking about a brand or a product. But that’s Radeon. We like the honest and reflective approach. If your not honest or reflective how are you going to progress? How are you going to move forward? And we certainly want to. Of we want to achieve the aims laid our when I first met a group of 8 we need to look forward.

Thanks to Johns Bikes in Bath for supporting the team and helping us host this event.

Radeon Rider Ross tackles the London to Paris in aid of Death Blind UK, please supposed him with what ever you can give, it’s a great charity doing great work! Please support him here: https://www.justgiving.com/Ross-Evans3/

Developments……

We are still planning for 2014 we are hoping to have a youth team to develop , we now have 3 riders lined up in the youth ranks who we are hoping to get competing at the end of the season, and these guys will be taking part in some Coaching sessions at Odd Down in Bath to get them prepared. This is great news and something that Radeon a really passionate about building into the next season, if you know of any Youth/Junior riders that want to join the development teams then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com or Tweet us @radeon_coaching
Not to forget we still want to grow the senior 3/4s team as well. Don’t be afraid to give it a go. With the right coaching and understanding racing is brilliant!

Radeon Cycle Coaching are looking for sponsors that would like to help to develop and take our Junior, Youth and Senior teams to the next level and be able to offer us the support to achieve this. If your interested then please email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com

Coaching wise we have finalised arrangements for British Cycling Go Ride sessions in Calne, Costs are £4 per rider per session, we are running these sessions Weekly on Wednesday evenings starting at 4pm, at John Bentley School, Calne Playing Fields, to BOOK email stuartgourley@radeoncyclecoaching.com. It’s been great working with so many children over the last couple of months and great to see their riding come on, their confidence growing and technique improving. I love coaching. I love the reward you get when this see the technique grow, the smile when that line through the corner is nailed and every coaching point clicks into place.

Events…….

Radeon Entered competitions all across the West in recent weeks, we have been in action and Castle Combe, Llandow, Aberwyswith, Ilton and the brand new track at Odd Down in Bath, we were happy to be apart of the first ever race with Ross, Stuart and Mike lining up at the very technical, windy little course, a superb track for bike handling technique to be moulded thats for sure. Odd Down also sealed Radeon our first 3rd Cat promotion, so congrats to Ross, sealing it with a superb 2n place! Mike and Stuart again took on the Castle Combe Summer Series and had a great race, no points this time but they certainly had a good go, with Stuart being in contention at the sprint and finishing 14th.

Next action for the team will be the Castle Combe summer series again this coming week, this time were hoping to have Laurence back racing and hoping this week to have a great crack at bringing some points home!

We are always on the look out for some more national events this year a bit further afield, so if you know any Tweet us at @radeon_coaching with your suggestions of your favourite races and events! We want our win!!

Riding…..

With the better weather finally starting to show its head we have been able to get some good riding in, many miles with good team members and were looking forward to our next team ride which will hopefully be soon!!

I end tonight however on a sad note…. Ian, one of the mentors of the team, is leaving for sunnier climbs (luck swine), he’s moving to Barcelona to sip G and T and eat copious amounts of Tapas!! We wish him the best of luck in his new adventure, Ian has been a superb help in the early days and is going to be sorely missed going into the future. Thanks for everything Ian and we look forward to our ‘winter’ training camp invites ; )

Any way…. Thanks for reading…..