It's still early season but the team have already started to produce some positive results which bodes well for the busy months of June, July and August. We've been competing in Belgium and Holland every weekend since Het Volk and the team is starting to gel well. Latterly, we have, like so many teams, been hit with colds and infections, this inevitably affects results but we seem to be through the worst of this and are looking forward to some good racing in late April and throughout May.
Global Race team on start line at the Heuvelland Classic
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The team house is invariably very busy now with Helen, Gabby, Linn, Line, Nikki and Masami there full time. Of course there is Stef (DS), Keiran (Assistant DS) and Dave (mechanic) then weekends usually see the arrival of Debbie and Linda. There are occasions when Jo, Katie and Lizzie join us from England also. Later in the year Louise will join us full time. This 'full house' scenario is much loved by our team mascot, Harry the Cat, who gets endless amounts of attention from all the girls. Needless to say the team has a very much 'international' flavour this year with Dutch, Japanese, Irish, Norwegian and British riders. Of course the Irish element is boosted by our assistant DS keiran and we also have Dave the Mechanic from Canada. It's great for everyone to learn about each others own countries, traditions and habits.
We are gradually getting a following at the races in Belgium and have many keen supporters out here. Many of these have followed Helen as a cross rider for some years but now seem quite excited at the prospect of team full of girls in pink!! Mmmm, a little worrying at times! However, it's always great to hear the shouts of encouragement from the road side as you complete the laps of the kermises out here. Then there are the bigger races where you can look forward to being greeted at the finish by Stef, Keiran, Dave and Harry (a big friend of the team invariably in the feed zone) with warm jackets, drinks and cake!!!!
As I said, the racing has only just begun out here and we are all very excited about the months ahead. Personally, I feel very positive about the season since I feel that I have begun to make progress already. This is primarily a result of focusing on what I know to be my weak points in training and forgetting about my strengths- they take care of themselves. Breaking down progress into smaller targets and working on these in each training session has been key to this progress.
I look forward to updating SheCycles.com readers with our news again in a few weeks time. Bye for now, Emma
You can go to Emma's website at www.emmasilversides.com and also see her cycling artwork too. www.globalracingteam.com
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