Racing is such a big part of my life, but it’s always an ongoing process. I believe that it’s the work you do off that track that makes the time racing under the stadium lights easier. Life is a non-stop routine of training, testing, travelling and then training some more. It was hard work juggling two championships on two different continents but it’s certainly been worth it.
Between the end of the SuperEnduro series and the beginning of the upcoming endurocross championship in the States I’ve get about a three-month break from indoor racing. It’s certainly not a three-month holiday as most of the time is spent preparing for the year ahead. At the moment I spend my time between two places – Andorra and Barcelona. During the week I’m at my house just north of Barcelona where I can do all my training and testing in the sun. Being able to wake up each morning to blue skies and sunshine, without having to worry about bad weather, makes everything so much easier.
Once the weekend comes I get in my car and head to Andorra to relax and switch off for a bit. However, I’ve also been racing quite a lot recently so I haven’t been to Andorra as much as I’d have liked.
I’ve kept busy with racing and had some fun competing in the British Sprint Enduro Championship and also the Spanish Enduro Championship. It’s nice to switch things up and keep off the endurocross scene for a little while. Doing that keeps me fresh and helps me to find new limits in my riding and in my corner speed, which, I hope, will ultimately make me a better rider.
The first round of the BSEC was a bit crazy, that’s for sure. It was like -10 degrees with lots of snow. We spent a bit of time sliding about but in the end I finished second behind Johnny Aubert. I came back to the next rounds of the championship three weeks ago and put in a really strong ride. On a track that was super fast and bumpy I nailed the overall win, which was a good moment for me.
Right now I’m back home in Spain. My last race in Europe was the second round of the Spanish Enduro Championship a few weeks back. The conditions there were very dry and dusty, completely different to England. I wasn’t sure what way it would go for me but I felt strong and ended the day second overall behind Cristobal Guerrero. He’s so fast in conditions like that so to be able to finish second to him was almost like a win for me. I think doing these races during my off-season has been a good decision, I can see an improvement in my riding. It’s also made be hungry to return to racing endurocross.
I’m now focused on getting ready for my season ahead, which starts in Las Vegas in May. We’ve got about four weeks of testing to do here in Spain before we head out to the US during the middle of April. It’s been a while since I rode on an endurocross track so I’m looking forward to start pounding out some laps again. I’ve got three tracks that I can use, which is going to help me mix things up a bit. Hopefully by the time I board that plane for the US I’ll be beginning to find my best form.
That’s all I’ve got for this month. By the time my next blog comes around I should almost be sitting on the start line in Las Vegas eyeing up the holeshot at the endurocross opener. Until then, keep it full gas and I’ll speak to you soon…
Taddy #111
