LAUREN Kitchen will kickstart a busy second-half of the year when she competes in the women’s tour in Great Britain from June 7 to 11.
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The Port Macquarie cyclist said 2017 has been a mixed bag, but she was looking forward to her Spring campaign.
“The beginning of 2017 has been both good and a bit disappointing, but I am really happy to be a part of WM3 Procycling,” she said.
“The team is great, I enjoy racing with the girls and working with the staff.
“However for me personally, I really wanted to repay the team early with a nice result and for one reason or another I haven’t landed that yet.
“I’m enjoying being part of a big team again where we can really have an impact on a race and the way it is played out.
Kitchen was satisfied with her performance at the Ardennes week.
“Our little climber, Kasia, landed on the podium three times that week and while it wasn’t the top step, I was privileged to be a part of that performance,” she said.
While Lauren hasn’t picked up a result to show for her efforts she has faced a string of bad luck.
“There was a series of crashes in the Spring that was unfortunate; I think I just didn’t recover from them and that hurt me towards the end.
“That’s not an excuse, but more of an observation and I was hoping to show something in China, but ultimately I think I was tired after a long Spring campaign.
“That’s why I decided with my coach to have the following week off.”
Soon after, Kitchen lined up in Dwars door Vlaanderens after a week off with a fresh mind, in a standalone race between season blocks.
WM3 have now picked up eight UCI victories so fair this season, but not yet at the highest level, something she is extremely motivated by.
“While Spring wasn’t what I wanted in terms of results, sometimes you have periods like this,” she said.
“It’s cycling, what’s important is how you deal with it. We still have a lot of races this year beginning with Women’s Tour in a couple of weeks.”
Her season goal to win a big race still stands and she is determined to achieve this moving into the second part of the season
“I train hard each day with this in mind.
"Thanks for WM3 Procycing, Rydges Port Macquarie, my coach Kevin Poulton and my supporters for their ongoing support so far this season!”