QUIZ TIME! Dan Kemp (Prologue Junior Race Team)

For the 2025 season, Prologue’s roster features a mix of first and second-year juniors. Dan Kemp, a solid presence in the Junior Men’s National Road Series returns to Prologue this year with renewed motivation for the season ahead.

QUIZ TIME! Dan Kemp (Prologue Junior Race Team)

VeloUK: What are your plans for 2025?
DAN: I will be racing for Prologue Junior Race Team again this year and we’ve got a stacked race programme lined up in Europe and the UK. The support is fantastic from the team, especially with race tactics and race organisation from both Glen and Rob. The atmosphere in the team is a really positive one in which to race, everyone is focused on doing the best they can personally and for the team in the actual races, but outside the racing the banter between the lads makes for a really enjoyable social side.

VeloUK: When do you expect your season to start in 2025?
DAN: I’m looking forward to a season opener at the Clayton Velo Classic towards the end of February to break the winter training blocks. Then after that, we have a fairly hectic start to the season with two races away in Spain on consecutive weekends from the end of February and into March, followed by the first national of the year at the CiCle. I can’t wait to get stuck in.

VeloUK: What are the differences you have experienced between racing in the UK and racing in Europe?
DAN: Racing on the continent is a different game to racing in the UK. Positioning in European races is absolutely key to getting into the breaks whereas in the UK it’s usually easier to move through and around the group if you’re out of position.

This took me a couple of races to really get to grips in Europe. Fuelling, drinking and eating in both the UK and Europe is crucial but more so in Europe where the temperatures are much hotter, and the race distances longer. It’s even more crucial to be hydrate before and during the racing. The thing that struck me the most was the speeds of descents in Europe compared to the UK, the descents are much longer in Europe so the speeds are much faster so you must be confident in your bike handling and ability to descend fast.

VeloUK: What was the toughest race you did in 2024 and which was the most fun to do?
DAN: The race I enjoyed the most last year was the Tour of the Basque country, as even though I crashed on the first stage in a massive pile up running into an intermediate sprint point, it meant that my GC ambitions had disappeared. After the crash, in the following stages, I was able to race freely then leading out our sprinter for the points competition, which he won and helping our GC rider to a second place by closing gaps earlier in the stages even though this left me spent in the final few kilometers each day. It was also one of the best organised races I’ve ever been too!

As for the toughest race last year, I really couldn’t pick a ‘toughest race’ as all the races at this level are tough if you’re trying to finish high up in them. The CiCle was just carnage, the European races are a different level of competitiveness and difficulty – all the races last year had their challenges, but that’s what I love about bike racing, the variety, and the challenge that you must rise to if you want to do well.

Thank you Dan and good luck for 2025!

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