Last week i had the most successful British Championships of my career and the most sucsessful of any British Male Sprinter in the history of the championships.
Day 1: It started with Thursday where i won the 1KM Time Trial by 0.6 seconds and posting a massive improvement on my previous P.B. Find the video here. I was really happy to have won Kilo is something that i have been targeting for a few months so it was great to reap the rewards.
Day 2: It was Keirin today. Out of all the events this was the one that i felt least confidant of coming away with a good result. The Keirin is always fast and uncontrollable due to the number of riders on the track. Having picked up two wins in round 1 and the semi finals i earned a place in the final. The final had a very high standard of riders. For the first time in a few years all six were made up of professional squad riders. The race started and it was very dynamic, before i launched my attack i'm sure i saw the front, middle and back of the pack as everyone jostled for position. After finding myself at the back with 1 and 1/2 laps to go i knew i had to attack. Luckily i got round everyone in that time to finish first! My second title in as many days! Find the video here.
Day 3: Today it was the Sprint. I had previously won the sprint back in 2012 my only other senior title previous to this championships. Qualifying got off to an okay start, ranking 1st with an okay time of 10.19, a little off my best. I progressed through the day. The first real battle was with team mate and Olympic Champion Philip Hindes. Luckily at the semi final stage it was best of three as i lost the first ride. After adjusting my tactics i came back to finish a very tight second and third deciding ride. In the final i met Matt Crampton. This was never going to be easy as Matt nearest to me in the time trial earlier that morning. I won the first heat. In the second i lost and once agin it came down to a deciding third ride. After a very close photo finish i had won and with it title number 3!
Day 4: Today was the last day and the day of the Team Sprint. To say i was tired would be an understatement. However i was handed a great opportunity, to ride man 3 behind Olympic champions Hides and Kenny! After Lewis Oliva rhode the first heat i was chosen to ride the semi final. It went really well i was clearly on Jason's back wheel and delivered an okay lap myself. In the final i had a chance to make some micro changes to try and clean my ride up a little. This was the first time i had ever ridden in this team. In the final we won by a healthy margin. That made it title number 4.
The prospect of winning 1 title in the championships would have been amazing but its hard to put into words how happy i was to make it 4. I looking forward to riding the revolutions in the winter in the champions stripes! Next up for me is hopefully europeans in a few weeks. I will keep you posted to see if i can build on this momentum!