Earlier in the year I had hoped to fit Raiders Gravel into my schedule, but initially it seemed impossible due to how busy the calendar already was. However when the National Gravel Championships were moved to coincide with this event I seized the opportunity to race this three day event. While I knew racing the full three-day Raiders Gravel event wasn’t the optimal preparation for challenging for that coveted stripey jersey or even securing a medal, I realized long ago that the most important thing in racing is to have fun. And as they say, “Fun is fast.” With the National Champs falling on day two, most competitors would race it as a standalone event with fresh legs. I was excited to see many friends and coaching clients and to enjoy a few days of racing through the beautiful Scottish hills.
The logistics of back-to-back weekends in Scotland were pretty daunting—this weekend at Gatehouse of Fleet for Raiders and the National Gravel Champs, and then back up to Newcastleton for the National Marathon Champs next week. But when the riding is this good and the scenery so stunning, the travel is well worth the effort!
We’d been to Gatehouse of Fleet before for Gralloch back in May, it’s interesting to see this tiny, sleepy town become an unlikely hub for major cycling events. The unique format of days one and three, where only the race was timed over several segments rather than from the very start to end, added an extra strategic element to the race. While positioning in the best group was critical for a good result, sometimes strategies got flipped on their head, as happened on day one.
Day One: A Strong Start with Unexpected Twists
The opening day was a blast! I finished P3, narrowly missing 2nd place by seconds. During the first segment, a five-person lead group formed, and we all finished practically together. The second segment, however, was where things got interesting. Nathan Haas decided to set a blistering pace on the long uphill climb, a gruelling 7-minute effort at 430 watts created a 45-second gap over the chasers. I aimed to save as much energy as possible for day two so I told Nathan I didn’t want to take as few turns as possible on the front but promised to return the favour on stage two and three. Nathan continued pushing hard until a puncture two kilometres from the end of the segment on a tricky rough descent which slowed him down. Out of respect for the work he’d done I eased up to help him get to the finish but we were caught by Gavin Dempster right at the line.
In the neutralized section that followed a group of 3 or 4 formed, I suggested waiting for Nathan to fix his puncture so we could all race the next segment together believing Nathan could well be quicker on his own that us as a group. Despite my suggestion the others weren’t so keen to wait and Nathan managed to perform a solo effort that was a minute faster than our group, a reminder of why he’s a professional with such a strong history. The Lauf Seigla was fantastic over the rough terrain today, allowing me to maintain speed and save energy compared to the others, every time I race this bike it leaves me with a smile.
Day Two: National Champs and the Real Battle Begins
Day two was when the intensity truly ramped up, with a national title on the line. The atmosphere at the start was electric with a mix of nerves and excitement. Despite years of racing experience, I couldn’t stop shaking from nerves on the start line, a rare feeling for me. The lineup included a who’s who of British road, gravel, and mountain biking, including several riders from Team Ineos Grenadiers, who were clearly the favourites.
The race kicked off with a narrow, twisting climb where overtaking was difficult and I found myself too far back. As the climb opened up I fought my way forward, pushing hard, I averaged 420 watts normalized for the first 17 minutes, with regular spikes up to 800 to 900+ watts measured by my Rotor INspider and displayed on my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. The real challenge came on the subsequent climbs, each ascent started with a big attack from the pros who seemed to have an extra gear we didn’t. We yo-yoed on and off the back of the lead (pro) group for the first half of the race. By the halfway point I was hoping they’d finally pull away, I knew that if I kept matching those big efforts I’d eventually crack. For the first 1.5 hours I had a normalized power of 376 watts. Thankfully the gap opened and as the pros rode away, a chase group of ten formed allowing us to maintain a more sustainable pace.
As the race progressed our group dwindled to five riders, there were a few small attacks but the numbers dropped mainly from attrition. About 20 kilometres from the finish I faced another challenge, my handlebars came loose. Thankfully another rider kindly lent me their allen keys allowing me to tighten the bolts just enough to continue. As we approached the final sprint I wasn’t confident as my handlebars were still rotating downwards over every bump. In the end I sprinted for seventh, finishing ninth in the National Champs and second in Raiders Gravel day two. Connor Swift took the win, followed by Toby Perry and Ben Swift. It was a tough but rewarding day, it’s always a thrill to be part of such an action packed race with this level of competition. A P9 finish is something to be proud of, especially in such a stacked field. For the 2-hour 34-minute race I averaged 357 watts normalized.
Day Three: A Final Push To The Line
After feeling utterly spent from Saturday’s race I focused on recovery eating constantly to replenish glycogen stores and keeping off my legs as much as possible, aside from playing with my four-year-old son and meeting clients for an ice cream! Remarkably I woke up on day three feeling refreshed, as if by magic. During the 30-minute warm-up I could tell it was going to be another good day. The final stage was a relatively short 66 kilometres, with two long timed segments with just a short 100-meter break in between, demanding a full gas effort from start to finish.
My mindset was to defend my second place in the overall, making up the minute on Nathan would be challenging. I also had National Marathon Champs in the back of my mind which is in just one week’s time, I aimed to avoid completely emptying the tank. With a clear gap over third place the goal was to stay close to Nathan and ensure nothing unexpected happened.
After 2 hours of hard racing, I crossed the line first but ended up second on the stage due to the unique timed segments. I secured second place overall in the Raiders standings. What an incredible three days of racing! Huge congratulations to all our coaching clients who tackled the National Championships on Saturday or raced the full three-day Raiders Gravel stage race. I’m proud of you all!
I’m a huge fan of the stage racing format and I believe we’ll see even more multi day races as gravel racing continues to grow in popularity. A multi day event immerses you in a unique bubble of eat, race, sleep, repeat. This creates a special experience. In a stage race the variety and different challenges each day keep things exciting and test you in new ways, both physically and mentally. One day you might be tackling long climbs like day two of Raiders, while the next day could involve fast-paced flat segments like Raiders day three. The strategies in stage racing is also very different to a one day race, you have to think long term balancing effort across multiple stages while also seizing the right moments to attack or conserve energy. There’s also a unique community that forms within the bubble of a stage race. It feels like you’re all in it together sharing the highs and lows. Above all a stage race feels like an adventure. Each day brings something new.