Coming back to the UK for the Wally Gimber, a domestic race near home, was like going to a reunion. I saw lots of friends. That was good and bad – it was a distraction from the job at hand, but it was also really nice to see everyone.
Last year I went in as Richardson-Trek’s lead rider and raced from the front. I had teammates but I knew I had to race my own race. I made the race-winning move that day, and it came down to a sprint where I took third.
This year, it was tactical. In the end, the classic thing happened: the smaller teams knew the three UCI Continental teams would be watching each other, and two riders slipped away with two laps to go. The other two conti teams didn’t chase – I watched them cancel each other out. I had to attack. I soloed for third, making the best of what happened.