June

This definitely hasn't been the most ideal month to be honest and unfortunately I don't have much positive to say apart from I have built up a good bit of mental resilience even if I haven't improved my fitness to much.

It started with GP Valberg which is a race I had been really looking forward to all year due to the huge amount of climbing however, during the pre race ride, I had a some really bad breathing issues making me feel super weak and lightheaded. I hoped it was a one time thing however just 10 mins into the first climb of the day it happened again and with my heart rate absolutely skyrocketing I had to pull out.

These issues continued through my training making it hard to keep my head as just day in day out I would go on the bike and just feel unable to push then coming back home and trying to stay motivated was tough. The team was able to get me to see some doctors at St Etienne Hospital to try to get to the bottom of it. I came away knowing for sure it wasn't asthma however still without a definite diagnosis which was frustrating.

Then I had to go to the third round of the CDF which ideally I would not of done as I was still struggling with these issues but the team had no replacements. I thought if I just have a good start to the race and be near the front I might get a bit of adrenaline and be able to push on but just 2km in, despite being up at the front, I was caught in a huge crash with ended with most of the peloton going down and me lying in a ditch with some of the worst whiplash I have had which is still hurting 2 weeks later. So again definitely not ideal.

I came home a couple days later which I was looking forward to as despite not being accepted into national champs I was going to take part in the Marches 3 day put on by Halesowen where I would be able to have some fun racing against some friends and find some enjoyment from racing again. But again something had to go wrong with 2 days before on Wednesday I had a sore throat but wanted to race so decided to push through. After feeling super sick during the breakaway on Saturday and especially after the stage not being able to eat much I had to DNS on Sunday to try to recover for some more important goals coming up. In hind sight it definitely wasn't the best idea to race but at that point I didn't think it was much of a illness so thought I'd be able to get over it.

So, after a fairly tough month I am back in France and I'm really hoping July can be where it all comes together. Also, promisingly I didn't feel many problems with my breathing during that final stage race so hopefully that can continue so I can get back to a normal training!