Q&A: Quiz time with Gemma Mitchell

Quiz time with Gemma Mitchell who raced a lot this year (with team Boompods) and came away with wins and podiums and all this whilst she works full time at Merlin Cycles.

Q&A: Quiz time with Gemma Mitchell

Gemma racing up the cobbles of Lincoln on her Orro Venturi STC Signature race bike (Merlin Cycles & Orro bikes)

1. As riders here head into winter, how do you look back at your season – pleased or wanting more?
GEMMA: Funnily enough I have just had my post season review with my coach. I am very hard on myself, as my coach strongly agrees. One of the post season review questions was are you happy with it. Well, in short, yes and no. Although I have had various podiums and some race wins throughout 2023, I am still hungry for more. There are still some goals that I haven’t yet ticked off and so I’ll be back in 2024 to rectify that.

2. You raced a lot from early March to September – did you need to take a break mid season or do you enjoy the racing enough to not need a break?
GEMMA: 2023 was a looooooong season for me and a bit unintended! In hindsight, I could have really done with a mid season break. I hadn’t planned to carry on straight through, as I hadn’t really intended on doing the National Hill Climb this year BUT my good friends at Cold Dark North were sponsoring some Vet female places and I was one of the lucky ones to get a spot. As the road season finished really late again going through to October, I didn’t see the harm in just carrying on a few more weeks to the National Hill Climb. There’s no denying that I was tired and not at all on top form. I won’t be making that mistake again!

3. What do you enjoy most about racing? Ie, the social aspect of mixing with teammates & friends, the competition in racing, or just riding the special bike…
GEMMA: I genuinely enjoy it all to be honest. I’ve always said to myself that as long as I am enjoying my racing, I will keep on going – hence why I’m still in the peloton at my ripe old age haha! I love the thrill of racing, the adrenaline rush and of course it’s always nice to get a result! But most of all, I love seeing my team mates and good friends made through all the years of racing. I am so lucky to be supported by Merlin Cycles and Orro bikes with my Orro Venturi STC Signature race bike. The colour certainly stands out in the peloton and not being biased, but the bike can do everything from crits, hilly and flat road races, TT’s and hill climbs – it really is a beautiful bike and the best I have ever had. I have a new Orro coming for 2024, so keep a look out in the peloton 🙂

Gemma with her teamates at the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix

4. With so much racing, does that allow you to cut back on training?
GEMMA: It would be impossible for me to clock loads of training hours in race season. I work full time at Merlin Cycles with approximately a 40 hour week, so my training volume has to take a hit in season. As the racing volume is so high, it isn’t so bad and I do retain some fitness, but in an ideal world, I would be able to do more training as well. I just don’t have the luxury of time available to do this, so I have to ensure I focus on recovering well enough ready for the next race.

5. Do you have to mix training/racing with working and if so, is that a difficult challenge?
GEMMA: Yes, as above. I don’t find it a challenge as such, but I do have to be VERY organised to fit everything into my day. For example, a typical day out during the season has 2 sessions on the cards and 8 hours of work in between, so I’m normally on the turbo by 5:30am and the session could be anything from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Then it’s a full day at work and the second session would either be another bike session or gym. It’s pretty full on to hold down a work/training/home life balance but I am very lucky to have a really understanding and supportive husband who really helps me achieve this.

6. You have many a podium in the list of results including wins, what was the most rewarding result; the one to shout from the rooftops lol!
GEMMA: There are a couple I’m happy with. I was really happy to share the podium with Mary (Wilkinson) at the National Masters Road Race Champs in Devon coming in 2nd as well as retaining my National Masters Crit title. However, I really enjoyed taking the win at the Trofeo Terrington race by the Yomp Bonk Crew in Yorkshire. One of those rare races where you feel strong all race, made the break and then managed to finish it off by winning a reduced bunch sprint!

Masters crit champion racing at Colne in the circuit race there

7. What race was the most fun to do in 2023?
GEMMA: Although I have no real results to shout about in this, but I really enjoyed the National Crit series races. The atmosphere was pretty special. I also dabbled in some TT’s and entered the closed circuit TT National Champs as it was fairly local. I was one of the few on a road bike and managed to win my Category (V40-44) and come 8th overall!

8. And what race was the toughest on the legs and head?
GEMMA: That was most definitely the National Road Champs on part of the Klondike course. Brutal in all honesty and I wasn’t one of the few that finished, so I found this really mentally tough and took a few weeks to reset after this.

9. Do you put pressure on yourself for results or just go out there to enjoy it and grab a result if its on offer?
GEMMA: I am my own worst critic and I do put a lot of pressure on myself for results. Maybe that’s just my competitive spirit but I am sometimes too harsh on myself. My coach always puts things into perspective though and this is one of my weaknesses to work on going into 2024.

One of the toughest circuit races, Ilkley and THAT hill!

10. Did you have a nice holiday away from the bike?
GEMMA: I had 2 weeks off the bike and enjoyed spending more time with my husband and taking our dog on long walks. We often spend as much time as we can in the Lakes, so we escaped there for a few days also. I always used to scorn end of season breaks but I really needed it this season. Maybe it’s my age haha!

11. What’s the toughest thing about maintaining the fitness during the winter?
GEMMA: I genuinely don’t find this too bad to be honest. I mean, I know the weather isn’t great and the cold, dark, wet nights aren’t the most inviting to go riding in but I do utilise my turbo a LOT in winter and do some racing with my Zwift racing team Socks4watts. As the season is so long now, there really isn’t a lot of time until racing starts again, so I always look forward to that.

12. Finally, when do you expect to have your first race in 2024?
GEMMA: I go to Calpe in February for my pre season camp and then I’ll come back and start some local races towards the start of March before the bigger races kick off.