Feature: Brother UK/LDN Women’s Team

In part 2 of our look at the Brother UK-LDN women’s team, we hear from the riders about what it means to be part of a team with aspirations of success in the National Series events 

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Feature: Brother UK/LDN Women’s Team Part 2
In part 2 of our look at the Brother UK-LDN women’s team, we hear from the riders about what it means to be part of a team with aspirations of success in the National Series events. Thank you to the riders for the brilliant feedback on racing for a team…

Danni Shrosbree (above): Being part of a team like team Brother UK-LDN will be even more appreciated than ever with the year we have all had. After nearly a year of solo riding and lack of racing, 2021 will mean so much to each of us to be back working together, training together and getting the results we have all been training so hard for.

Being in a team brings so much more than just the racing. There’s the laughter pre and post race, the training camps, the learning from one another and most of all the fun we have. It’s hard to set goals too far in advance with everything still going on, but I personally cannot wait to start the race calendar and get that feel for racing back. I’m hoping to get some solid results in the National Series and who knows if travel goes back to normal, get out to Belgium and more!

Kerry Middleton (above): Being part of the Brother UK-LDN team since its inception in 2018 has been a real privilege in that I’ve seen the team grow from what seemed to be big ambitions being talked about in someone’s back garden to what it is now.

Being part of team benefits me in that I get to train and race with my mates and have an equally great team of support around me who do a lot behind the scenes. Of course, we also can’t do what we do without our sponsors too and it means a lot to the team to have many of our existing sponsors continuing to support us through to next season.

This past year has been tough on many riders. I race my bike for the excitement, to build skills, to push my peak fitness, to ride fast, and to do this with a community of people who like much of the same. Not having this in 2020 has therefore been a loss and has required some adapting and finding ways to stay motivated. For me, this has included getting back into track cycling and learning to befriend the turbo (the addition of a giant fan and fuelling myself with baking has helped this).

Training for 2021 will be a mixture of structured turbo sessions, strength work and building some big base miles out on the road. I also plan to keep at the track sessions to add variety and keep things interesting. Catching up with teammates during the bigger rides and getting some facetimes in while on the turbo will be necessary to keep things fun too.

I’m excited to see what the team can achieve next season. For myself, I’d like to race more of the women’s National Road Series and improve on previous performances at Ryedale and Tour of the Res. Having opportunity to race the Tour Series and getting a spot at a UCI race would be a massive plus too.

Lucy Lee (above): I’m really excited to be racing for the Brother UK-LDN team with 2021 being my third season back since taking some time out after racing as a youth. I am therefore really grateful for the opportunity to race with such a strong team, and hope to support the team’s ambitions in the National road series events.

Harriet Dodd (above): I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of the Brother UK-LDN squad for 2021. It’s really inspiring to be a part of such a motivated and focused team with big aspirations and goals for 2021 as both the team and support staff have really driven my focus for the next block of tough winter training.

I’ve really missed the racing atmosphere … We always have a laugh at races, and work really well as a team both on and off the bike, so I can’t wait to hopefully have this back in 2021. We have some big international races in the calendar for 2021, as well as the National Series and champs and so having a solid and positive support network really makes such an instrumental difference for me.

For now, I will be working towards the 2021 season with Alex at trainSharp… It’s very handy that my other half is a coach and physiologist and so we’re both keen to work towards my goals for 2021… I can’t wait!

Ruth Shier (above): I am so excited to be joining the team next season and look forward to racing with a great group of ladies. With the lack of racing this season, I imagined that team rosters would remain mostly unchanged so I feel lucky to have a spot.

I haven’t missed racing at all last season as I’ve been busy with what turned out to be a well-timed pregnancy! I’m looking forward to being able to bring my little ‘mascot’ along to races next year. This winter, I’m focusing on building back up my bike fitness with mainly turbo training as it’s easier to fit in around the baby. I’ll add in the odd sea swim for variety!

Amy Marks (above): It means so much to be a part of Team Brother UK-LDN. The support from teammates, our support network and of course ‘Watto’ is always incredible and it’s been amazing to grow as a rider with the team over the past two seasons. I can’t wait to get started on 2021!”

Like most people, I have really missed racing and I can’t wait to get stuck in again in 2021. However, 2020 has given me a chance to do some solid training and try some new things too. I would never have thought I would be competing in time trials and having enjoyed them so much over the summer, this is something I definitely want to continue and improve on next year.

My winter training will be a mix of turbo and outdoors riding, alongside some strength work. Once lockdown is over, I hope to be able to do longer ride with my teammates again at the weekends too.

Fran Cutts (above): Asked what it means to be part of a team, Fran replies “It is lovely knowing that there is always someone there to support you both on and off the bike. Looking around the peloton in a race and seeing your teammates in your kit and having a chat about what’s going on and what we can do, or hearing recognisable voices from the side-line cheering you on and meeting you at the end with food/drink/clothes. It’s a lovely feeling knowing that you’re not alone.

On how being part of a team benefits her, Fran says “There is no way I would be able to get to the number of races and be as well prepared for them on my own without the team. The support of Team Brother UK-LDN includes race travel and accommodation, food, DS’ing, and much more. Everything we really need! The team have thought of everything and make sure we have it, and that also includes the mental side of things that can often get neglected.

Fran says of her aspirations for 2021 “I’d really like to target the National Road Series next year and aim to place well and get myself/Brother UK-LDN on the points leader boards. I’d also like to get more experience racing abroad and try some UCI races.”

“I’ve missed the pre/post-race debriefs the most” this year. “I like how fired up you get talking about race plans and that excited feeling you have pre-race to go and execute it. Equally after races, chatting about what happened and hearing everyone’s different takes and experiences on what we all just did”.

To prepare for next season Fran explained “I’ll be following my training plan as set by Holly Seear. A mix of both turbo and riding outside as I work fulltime so I need to make the most of my time. I’ll enjoy being able to sit down for some coffee and cake again when out on a long ride when we can!”

Ione Johnson: I’m really excited to build on what little racing we had in 2020. After seeing the time and effort put in to support us with what little racing we had from the team and sponsors, it makes me really excited and optimistic about the 2021 season.

We managed to get a few results domestically and I know we are on the right track as a team to achieve results overseas. I’m aiming for some solid results early season to build off, so when I get back, I can get properly stuck into racing in the UK/Europe.

Lauren Higham: Being a part of Brother UK-LDN has kept me in high spirits during this challenging last year. The team is so supportive of one another and I’m very excited to start racing in the new year. I’m looking forward to competing in the Tour Series and working together as a team as I didn’t get that opportunity this year. I have missed the routine of preparing for competition and the rush from racing

THE TEAM

Retained
Fran Cutts
Kerry Middleton
Amy Marks
Danni Shrosbree
Lauren Higham
Harriet Dodd
Ione Johnson

New Signings
Lucy Lee
Ruth Shier

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