How the off-season can be more hectic than racing
This month’s been a bit hectic – my last push of solid training before the start of the season. Sadly our pre-season camp was cancelled due to Covid. My new bike and team kit were posted out to me but it all went missing, so I travelled to Belgium without it. The situation meant that I’m now racing on Caleb Ewan’s spare bike from last year so I hope it gives me some extra speed.
My boyfriend (Jon Dibben) retired from professional cycling at the end of last year, set up a coaching business and landed a new job, so I now have a new training partner and he takes me out pacing behind the scooter. As you can imagine, it’s very romantic and no arguments ever happen.
Juggling Brexit and living in France, with every piece of information seemingly contradicting the last, is frustrating and extremely stressful indeed.
Oh, and I bought a house! It’s a massive before and after project which I will be undertaking with the help of my dad.
I’ll be project managing from afar. It’s delightfully refreshing to have something to take my mind off cycling and the hectic reality of missing bikes, visas and race cancellations. After a hard day training, I now sit down and look at bathroom tiles, kitchen units and wall render.
With the first race of the season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, now under my belt, and with cobwebs blown away, I’m ready for what the season has to offer. I’m also ready to get to know my teammates a bit better; with no team camp, we rocked up to the race barely knowing each other, so it’s going to be nice to spend some more time together before our next races. Today we are having all our team photos taken together and a group ride, then coming up for me is Samyn before travelling to Italy for Strade Bianche. Abby Mae Parkinson rides for Lotto-soudal