A brand new event has landed on the cycling scene called Race The World, a global bike race for amateurs, with the first leg kicking off on November 1st from LA and finishing in Miami on the 14th.
Two teams, each comprising of eight people, will take on this epic 13 stage adventure. Each stage is a solo endurance effort or a team relay in which members of the team will take it in turns to cycle sections with the aim to achieve the quickest overall time. The team relay stages are where team tactics will come into play and the competition steps it up a gear. There must be a minimum of three riders on the road at all times from each team but no maximum.
The shortest day is 60km and the longest 314km. Teams will race against the clock and the team with the lowest accumulative time wins.
We'll cycle through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. The route takes us off-road to see some of the most beautiful parts of the USA, so we'll be racing on cross bikes from Wilier Bikes. It's a pretty rad bike!
I am so excited to share that I will be Team Captain for one of the teams. Rab Wardell will be the other team captain, read more about him here.
The values we want to uphold throughout this race are; inspiration, competition, respect and teamwork. To me that sounds like an awesome set of values to shine through in everything we do.
Outside of the team and myself, each team has a manager, a mechanic and our own bus to transfer from the finish of one stage to the start of the next. We also have a crew onboard to look after our every need so the competitors can focus on delivering outstanding performances and having an incredible adventure whilst not having to worry about logistics!
Each evening camp will be set up and a race village, sometimes in the middle of nowhere. An important aim for this event is to explore the wilderness and race through areas in unchartered terrain. Each night we will debrief and put a strategy in place for the following day, eat and share stories around the campfire before settling into our tents for the night.
The three aspects of Race The World that get my heart pumping with excitement are;
1. Role of Team Captain
It's a huge honour and responsibility for me to have been asked to take on this role. The team at Limelight Sports behind this event are placing a lot of trust and faith in me to deliver! How did this become my job?! I'm so excited for this next stage of my own journey... I am looking forward to being introduced to my team, getting to know them and understanding and their motivations behind taking on this challenge. I can't wait to develop a personality for our team, to understand everyone's strengths and weaknesses, for us to experience all the highs and lows that will come with a challenge like this and to find a way through whatever we face, as a strong unit.
It feels like the most amazing journey for us to start as eight individual people and see who and what we can become. To form a team, work together, bond, fall apart and bond again, and to create an experience that will change us all.
2. The USA Adventure
I haven't been to the states for 12 years and have ALWAYS dreamt of cycling across it. Everyday I imagine what we will see, feel, hear and experience; the landscapes we'll cycle through, the sunsets and sunrises, the moments that will stay with us forever. I love America and am stoked to create new memories there.
3. The Camp
Each night we will set up camp in a different location and use this as our race village providing the space and time for everyone to rest, recover and get ready to roll again the next day. Having logistics taken care of, means the competitors can focus on themselves and what they need to get into the best shape for the next stage. I'm excited about this part of the trip because I know it's almost as important a part of the adventure as the cycling itself.
Throughout life I find it's always about people and stories and they are undoubtedly what will make this adventure. I can't wait to share it all with you.
This is a chance to make history by being part of something that has big plans to become a prominent race in the cycling calendar.
Read more about what this race means to me in my interview with Race The World here.
