Talkingshop: Doug Dewey Heading for France

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VeloUK talks to Silver medallist in the British Time Trial Championships Doug Dewey who will be racing for a French club in 2013

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In new colours in 2013, Doug Dewey, coached by Jon at Trainsharp, is heading for France to try and get a place on a pro team there. The British Time Trial Championship Silver medallist who was in winning form at least twice in 2012 for his team in Belgium, will be heading south after a successful season but hungry to step up and get noticed by the movers and shakers in the pro teams.

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Doug on his way to second in the British Time Trial Championships in 2012

He has, at least in the UK, one UCI team keeping an eye on his success both on the road and track where he has been on the podium in the Pursuit. Despite his repeated success on the road and track, the Under 23 rider has not been approached by the GB Academy for rides in major events which is disappointing for Doug but like many who have made it outside the ‘system’, he just gets on with it.

Asked what his highlight in 2012 was, Doug replies “I had a couple of highlights: coming third in Le Tour des Deux Sevres felt like a big career step for me because it proved I could really be competitive in stage races.”

“Getting second at the National Time Trial was another great moment as it showed I could compete at the senior level after stepping up from the Espoirs last year.” So why swap teams after a good year abroad? Doug explained “I did a lot of racing in France last season and I enjoyed the more relaxed style of racing as opposed to the non-stop battle that is Flandrian racing!”

“France suits me more and I aim to focus on stage racing in particular, of which there are more in France. Doug is based near Farnham with his sister during the winter which he says is a really relaxed set-up. He’s another who is also keen to get out of Britain to train when possible even though he says most of the hard graft is done in Surrey.

“I went over to Tenerife for ten days for a little training camp” he says explaining how he went there to see friends but took full advantage of the mountains instead of destroying his ‘head’ having to use the turbo back home, as so many have had to do in the rain or ice periods we’ve experienced.

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Doug is one of quite a few young riders who have gone abroad to get noticed. It works for many but when asked if he had considered a British UCI team, he replied “I had various thoughts about my options, but I wanted to be fully committed for another season and see what I could do. I felt that being abroad with Hennebont Cyclisme would allow me to pursue the racing targets that I have for the year which include trying to win a stage race.”

Talking about his training in January, Doug says “With the help Jon from TrainSharp I am competing in a twenty minute test on Monday (today!) from which all my training will be based. I’m beginning to factor in threshold training now that the pre-season is here so that I’m ready to jump straight into the racing, as the season is creeping up on me!”

Doug adds that his season starts quite soon and he’ll be heading to France in mid to late February and his racing will begin soon after.

Our thanks to Doug for getting in touch and answering the questions we sent him… Good luck Doug for the future. You can find Doug on Twitter here…

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Doug has also shown he can pursuit a bit on the track … 

 

 

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