National Champion – Annie Simpson
After a month of no racing, it was nice to return with a win, and not just any win, a National Championship win! Sadly not being able to ride the Tour of Brittany with the rest of the girls due a clash with my University Graduation, kind of threw me off for the 2nd part [...]
National Championships by Annie Simpson
Well when I woke up yesterday at 6.30am to slashing rain in rural East Yorkshire I could never have predicted the team would get a 2nd and 3rd on the Under 23 National Podium, that is the stuff dreams are made of. Looking down the start list there were, as always, some big names to [...]
The Tour Series Rollercoaster
Well the rollercoaster that was the Tour Series is over, and it certainly had its highs and lows. From the highs of winning in Oxford, to the lows of having a team mate and good friend puncture a lung in Peterborough and losing the love in Woking, back to the highs of going up on [...]
Defending in Peterborough
I’ve never really had the experience of having to defend anything in cycling, in fact I much preferred my job of helping others defend their jerseys. But coming into Peterborough last night I was nervous, not nervous about racing, but nervous about failing and letting my teammates and all those supporting us down. This was [...]
Annie Reports from Oxford JHTGP
After a recent bout of illness and sadly having to sit out Bedford 2day, I went into the Tour Series a bit apprehensive after not having raced since Cheshire Classic. Unsure how my legs would feel I hadn’t set myself any particular goals for the race and team plan was to make it hard and [...]
5 Hours in A&E, and my first 25 mile TT
So a number has been pinned on my back 3 times this season now, and so I thought a bit of reflection was needed. I’m sure many who have raced with me know bike racing makes me a little ‘hot headed’, the competitive streak in me is a strong one! Sometimes, in fact all the [...]
Tour Series: Little Simo talks!
Annie Simpson has written a blog for the Tour Series ahead of the opening round in Oxford. Head over to the Tour Series website to read it and see all of the series information
Researching the Organic Food Debate
I definitely should be researching the Organic Food Debate right now, but I thought I could just fit in a quick blog from camp, just one of many forms of procrastination. So to set the scene I’m lying in bed, surrounded by notes, essay plans etc, not the normal scenes of a training camp but [...]
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry for another victory.
Instead of doing the usual ‘what have I been up to blog’ I thought id mix it up a bit and look ahead. The team has so much coming up to look forward to and so I thought I would share this with you. 10th March Our first major date on the calendar is our [...]
Is it really the off season?
Long time no blog, so i thought it was time to fill you all in on what I’ve been getting up to in my off season. I find it funny being called the off season as I genuinely find this part of the year a lot harder to cope with than when I am just [...]
Swedish meatballs and rice
As I sit here with my feet up, I think I can safely say I feel like I and the team have ended our European uci racing block on a high. This weekend at Sparkassen Giro in Germany, I finally felt all my hard work fall in to place. The travel to this race felt [...]
The ‘Wizard of Waregem’ – Thank You
After returning from the Czech Republic the race was on the find some way of getting my dodgy knee fixed and strong enough to get stuck into the next stage race which was a gruelling 7 days long! Straight away I was on to the excessive stretching and got myself booked in with the ‘Wizard [...]
Overtaking Tractors and European Adventures
Since my last blog it’s been a pretty busy time for me. I have had the Kalas 2 day, National Road Race Championship, hard weeks training and then finally to Czech Republic for my first Women’s stage race of the year. So, Kalas 2 day, well i’d like to say i enjoyed this but [...]
Simo fires in win number 2
My recent block of racing has consisted of, well…Crits! Sitting here on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I can say I have so far done 4 with just one more remaining on Tuesday. Going into this block I had mixed opinions on crits. I enjoy them when they are rapid, with lots of corners, but dislike [...]
TTT and Racing in Luxembourg
So this weekend was my 1st small block of racing. I was originally meant to race Bedford 2 day in the UK, but plans changed and I found myself travelling to Luxemburg for 3 days of racing, 2 of which were UCI races, so it was a nice way to ease myself into the season….NAT! [...]
Cake, Deadlines and Training by Little Simo
Whilst alot people have been on their pre season training camps, and have got their first few races under their belts, I, on the other hand, still have my head firmly in the books! Well, as firmly as someone with the shortest attention span ever can last, which for me is around about 10 mins. [...]
A catch up from the world of Simo
Its been a while since I’ve filled you all in on the world of Simo, and a lot has been going on! Too much for me to remember really but i’ll do my best! Returning from Belgium has been harder than i thought it would be, trying to back into a routine and trying to [...]
Annie Simpson – on Filles A Velo
Check out Annie’s coffee and cake chat on Fillies a Velo. Well worth a read.
The Off Season has Started for Annie
After such a long and full on summer I was looking forward to going home and relaxing with my family. Since I last wrote I had my 2nd week in the Alps. We witnessed some snow that week but nothing that stopped training; it just made the views more wow! The rides were just as savage, [...]
Life on the Road with Annie Simpson
Road convert Annie Simpson has answered a few questions for us now she’s hit the end of her first road season. If you could sum up for your first season on the road in one sentence, what would it be? A hard and eye opening season of learning and adjusting to the life of a [...]
Training in the Alps with Annie
My summer in Belgium has come to an end and to finish off my summer I have travelled to the Alps for 2 weeks of training with DS, Helen and Ian Field. For Helen and Ian this is there pre season training camp for the fast approaching cross season, and for me its a great [...]
Back from Germany – Annie Simpson
The team returned late last night from one of our last major races of the year. We were in Germany, near the Black Forest and to my surprise the place was beautiful. Real nice setting for a bike race, and I loved the hills! Now, I’m not exactly a veteran when it comes to stage [...]
After Limousin and the Knee is better
Since the Tour of Limousin in France I have been concentrating on getting my knee back to strength after I think it got pushed a little too far in the hills. I attempted Herentals post tour criterium and due to the massive section of cobbles I had to make the decision to stop. I have [...]
Kicking off in Limousin
The Tour de Limousin was to be my 1st pro stage race so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. With around 170 starters it really was going to be tough race and looking at the stage profiles basically showed that for the next 4 days there was to be no flat, just ups and [...]
