Podium at The Newport Nocturne!!

The very first Women’s Newport Nocturne arrives! I find out with four weeks to go it’s going to be run. At this time I was in America training and racing hard, which had set me up ready for it. The four weeks had soon passed; I was more than ready to race, kept focused and couldn’t wait!!
Before I begin on how I rode the race to gain my podium position.. A few years ago my Uncle, Mike Jones raced the men’s Newport Nocturne, to which I went to watch him at one. It was amazing! The crowd and set up was an insane atmosphere!! Not to mention the racing was on a whole other level of experience... this was just watching the race! So this encouraged me to start racing and ever since I’ve wondered if there would ever be a women’s race at The Newport Nocturne.

So I’ve just turned 21 and being told there’s going to be a women’s race in The Newport Nocturne after watching my Uncle race it at a young age, great news!! Happy as I knew what this race was like and how big it was so it was brilliant to know I’d have the experience to actually race in it myself!

Ed Rollason Photography

I arrive, warm up and race head on!! Race starts... I knew where I needed to be, up the front, stayed up there the whole race. I won myself two primes within the race so I was feeling very on form. Legs felt good and so did my head; I was thinking where to position myself throughout the race and what primes to go for. With five laps to go I just won my second prime, knowing at this point I’ve still got the legs to pull something out the bag with this race. I’ve trained hard over in America for five weeks, so this was my chance... one lap to go coming down the finishing straight I was there in the right position, no holding back, sprinted with everything I had left in the legs finishing a successful 3^rd across the line!!...
One VERY HAPPY girl!!!


Ed Rollason Photography

 It felt amazing after a very long and hard few seasons, to feel that achievement was over whelming!! Best of all, to come home from America achieving the goal I had set in my head for the past four weeks! Not only coming home to race The Newport Nocturne, it was coming home achieving this result in The Newport Nocturne in front of a home crowd, family and friends. I would like to thank them all for the best support, along with a big thank you to Nick Jeggo and the organisers for putting on such a fantastic Nocturne!! I hope this won’t be the last.

Now it’s still on the bike prepping for the Senior British Cycling Track Championship Nationals.

Big thanks to Richard Bennett and Ed Rollason for the photos!

Hayley x