BETH Crumpton arrives at the Tour Series start line in Redditch on Tuesday after surviving a ‘brutal’ Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Saturday.
The Redditch cyclist, a member of Dame Sarah Storey’s team Storey RT, is sure to have a little more adrenaline pumping through her body than anybody else.
“It is a great feeling racing the Tour Series, I’m always excited and nervous at the same time to race it,” she said.
“It’s frantic racing and the atmosphere that comes along with it is unlike any other racing we get in the UK, everyone is excited to watch it and be a part of it.
“That opportunity to race in front of your nearest and dearest is not something that cyclists get to do very often, racing up and down the country and across Europe, so the perks of having a race right on your doorstep will be very much enjoyed.
“It’s great to be able to roll out of bed in the morning and know I won’t have a good two-hour-plus journey!
“It’s great because it gives my family and friends the opportunity to come and watch me race because it is in town and at home for them. It’ll be the one time of the year they get the chance to and it’s amazing for them to come and watch me do what I most enjoy and race my bike.”
The event is the opening round of the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix and Crumpton, who rode the event two years ago without team backing, will this year be supported by her colleagues from Storey RT.
“The Redditch round is one of the toughest, not because of the technicality of the course but because of Unicorn Hill coming up to the finishing straight,” she added.
“It is one of the longer laps of the Tour Series and sprinting up the hill lap after lap is relentless and will definitely be sure to split the racing up.
“There is also one tricky left-hand corner off the finishing straight where it narrows dramatically and has seen crashes there in previous years and a very fast descent underneath the ring road bridge into a fast left-hand turn on an off camber.
“If this is wet it can also claim victims of a crash. It’s a great course and always provides a good canvas for great racing!”
Racing starts at 5.30pm, with the women’s Matrix Fitness Grand Prix followed by the men’s event, the Pearl Izumi Tour Series.
Restaurants and cafes will be staying open into the evening in Redditch town centre and it promises to be a fantastic afternoon and evening out for spectators.
