Grace puts injury woes behind her
TO say 2019 did not go to plan for Grace Garner would be one of the understatements of the year.
A fractured collarbone and damaged shoulder ligaments sustained in a crash in China last May wrecked her campaign.
Now the 22-year-old from Cosby has put those woes to bed and is focusing firmly on what lies ahead in 2020, when she will be riding for the flourishing CAMS-Tifosi team after moving from Hitec Products.
The British team dominated the domestic scene last year – as Brother UK-Tifosi – and have now successfully applied for UCI elite status after signing a long-term sponsorship deal with CAMS, one of the UK’s leading accident management companies.
They are one of only two British women’s teams riding at that level, alongside Drops, and have earned the prospect of more trips abroad to compete in top-class races.
Garner, though, is setting no outlandish targets for the year and, after a second operation on her shoulder in late November, won’t get into race action again until March, starting off with a domestic race before returning to Europe for the Ronde de Mouscron in Belgium on April 13. squad produce strong performances to beat their opponents Oundle and Repton 14-7 and 20-10 respectively.
Acting director of netball Elise Whearity said: “I am so proud of all the girls and having two teams
“I wanted to be in a smaller team and just come back and enjoy my racing,” said the former European junior track champion, who met up with her new teammates in Loughborough before Christmas.
“It is a really professional team and the girls are amazing.
“Simon Howes (sports director) has listened to me and knows that my goal is to get my confidence back.”
The team bond should grow next month with a 10-day training camp in Spain for the squad and qualifying for the National Finals and being crowned East Midlands Champions is an incredible achievement.
“Every player in the U14 team played some of the best netball I that will see Garner up her preparations heading for those first racing challenges for CAMS-Tifosi, who boast the likes of highlyrespected British road racers Rebecca Durrell, Gabriella Shaw and Jo Tindley in their ranks.
“Since the operation in November I’ve got in a lot of hours on the bike but it has been shorter rides with high intensity,” she said.
“It’s a bit different to what I have done in previous years but I’m feeling a lot fitter already.”
Some of that could also be down to a change of location – she recently set up home in West Yorkshire with boyfriend Gabz Cullaigh, the Movistar pro, where there is no shortage of prime training ground for cyclists.
“I’ll be interested to see how training around here will help – you don’t really need to do a lot of hours to get the fitness levels higher!” she said.
■ The Ratae Road Club run their annual reliability trials on Sunday morning with a choice of three distances, 25, 45 and 75 miles.
HQ is Age UK on Paddock Street in Wigston.
The 75-miler starts at 8.30am, the 45-mile ride at 9.0am and the 35-mile test at 9.30am.
There is a refreshment stop at Gilmorton Village Hall for all distances. have ever seen them play and it really was a phenomenal performance by all.
“The U19 1st VII team also played some very impressive netball – they faced tough opposition but remained composed and calm under pressure.
“We are all now looking forward to preparing for the National Finals in March.”