Craig Lamont is a well known face amongst the local cycling scene, due to his positive personality, passion for the sport...and recognisable beard! Craig's journey from approaching 50 years old and touching an unhealthy 18 stone, to now 53 and 'feeling fitter than he did in his 20s', is a remarkable one. Enjoy Craig's season review below, and hopefully it can inspire you to get fit and maybe even give racing a go...
It’s the start of 2024 and I turn 53 in February, I could just sail through this year, not pushing myself, not having any major goals, but I’m not the person I used to be.
Over the last four years, the overweight, lazy lump that I was, has slowly been banished to the bin. I have a totally new outlook on life and I feel so much better for it, so much hungrier to live life to its fullest, hungry to achieve things that my previous self wouldn’t even have dreamed about, let alone have a go at.
In 2022 I had tried my hand at crit racing, twice at Harvey Haddon in Nottingham and once at Darley Moor near Ashbourne. I’d enjoyed it so I decided that in 2023 I was going to put a little more effort into it.
"I figured that if I was going to give this racing lark a go, I needed to join a club and Velo Bavarian CC was the one I wanted to join."
I’d seen their presence on Instagram and they looked like the club to be a part of. I decided against joining their race team, as I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment, so I settled for the light blue kit and got going.
I did ten races that year, with my best result being a sixth-place finish in Round Two of the HAUS RT series at Darley Moor.
"I also competed in the Masters National Crit Championship at Darley, I was so far out of my depth it was unreal, but I’d entered it one Saturday night whilst drunk, so I had to follow it through!"
Now, let’s get back to 2024, I’ve now upped my game and joined the Velo Bavarian race team, I have a coaching plan which Ewan Mackie has put together for me and my goal for this year is to get my Cat three licence. My plan is to compete in all eight of the HAUS RT crits at Darley, the Ashby Ivanhoe RC crit at Leicester and three of the Melton Olympic crits, also at Leicester. Twelve races and 12 points needed, what can go wrong?
Race One: HAUS RT Round one, Darley Moor.
I got off to a terrible start, as I couldn’t get my left cleat to clip in, I was coming out of the first corner when it finally clipped in and I was off the back. I put in an effort into the headwind and got onto the back of the group. I should have made my way to the front, but I sat at the back and then watched in despair as the attack went on lap one, the group was then split into four, with me in the last group. No points scored in this race. Never mind, only one week until round two and then I can put this race out of my mind.
Race Two: HAUS RT Round two, Darley Moor.
This was a much more settled race than the previous week, we’re midway through the race, there have been a couple of attacks, but we’re still together in one group. I’m feeling strong and confident of a top ten and points.
What happened next was what we all dread in a race.Travelling at just under 30mph, there’s a touch of wheels right in front of me. Two riders go down and I had zero time to react. I hit one of the riders who has gone down and somersault over him.
"I’m still clipped in and holding onto the bars as my head takes the full impact with the tarmac. I feel the pain as my jaw clamps shut, then nothing."
I start to hear voices around me and slowly open my eyes, I’ve been unconscious, but I don’t know for how long. My head hurts like hell. Someone takes my sunglasses off and tells me not to move, don’t worry, I have no intention of doing that just yet.
I eventually get to my feet and it seems as though there isn’t any damage to myself, but Erika is concerned because I’m constantly repeating myself and not making much sense, so she orders me to hospital, as she’s concerned that I have a concussion.
My friend Elliott, who was also in my race, took me to Royal Derby hospital, where I’m kept in overnight for tests and observations. It’s confirmed that I have a concussion. They also do a scan on me, as I have some pain in my left hamstring and right shoulder. These come back as minor tissue damage and I’m told that it would do me good to see a physio.
Taking the hospital’s advice, I book in to see Cameron Nind who runs Semper Physiotherapy. I’ve known Cameron for a few years now from my time as Head of Media at Basford United, where he was Head Physio, so I know I’m in good hands.
"He diagnoses a grade three tear of my left hamstring and an AC joint injury to my right shoulder."
He gives me a full rehab programme and follow up appointments to see how the injuries are coming along.
I was able to get back on the bike within two weeks, but just light work and nothing which could impact my recovery.
After nine weeks I’m back at Darley Moor, apprehensive about being on the track again, but desperate to get going.
Race Three: HAUS RT Round five, Darley Moor.
The race was going well, I was feeling better as each lap went by, I wasn’t looking for a high finish, just a finish and to feel like I was getting back to full fitness. However, a spanner was thrown in the works. Midway through the race, with the pack all together, there’s a crash in front of me, in exactly the same place as my crash. I manage to avoid it, but it’s spooked me and I almost pulled out of the race, I gave myself a bit of a talking to and kept going, but I was now in a group of four at the back of the race. So, another race and still no points.
Race Four: Melton Olympic Crit, Leicester Cycle Circuit.
I have no great expectations for this race, I’d just like to get a point on the board. The race splits quite early and I find myself in a three-man group, which I thought was racing for eleventh place. Seems like I’d miscounted where we were on track and we were actually fighting for eighth. I got tenth and my first point of the season, which was a major relief.
Race Five: HAUS RT Summer Special, Darley Moor.
Feeling confident after my tenth place at Leicester, I’m ready to push on and grab another couple of points. But another crash would see me pull out of the race.
Fifteen minutes in and coming out of the hairpin there’s a touch of wheels and...
"a rider goes down right in front of me, I only just manage to avoid hitting him and this time this has spooked me too much and I pull out of the race with thoughts that maybe racing isn’t for me anymore."
Race Six: HAUS RT Round six, Darley Moor.
I arrive early at Darley Moor but I’m not feeling good about this at all. The last crash has really got me nervous and I’m ready to get back in my car and just go home, my head really is all over the place, I never realised just how badly my crash has affected me psychologically, I thought that all I had to do was to get over the physical injuries and I’d be back to normal. Getting over my injuries was easy, but getting my head sorted is another battle altogether and at this time I’m not sure I can overcome it.
I get talking to Rich and Baz from HAUS and explain how I’m feeling and that I don’t think I can race. I had a good chat to them both and they convinced me to sign on and then just sit behind the race on my own and get used to being comfortable on the track again. I decide that this is a good idea and get my number.
As we line up for the race, I’m not at the back, I’m at the front, not what I’d planned. I was feeling a little nervous but decided to stick in the group. As the whistle went for the Prime Sprint, there were two riders off the front, so it looked like one of them would win the Full Gas Coffee. Coming out of the chicane on the back straight, a rider pulled really dodgy overtake on me and he went after the two leaders. I wasn’t happy with his riding and decided to chase him down, because I wasn’t letting him get the sprint win without a fight.
"I caught him as we entered the final corner and we passed the two leaders about ten meters later. I gave it everything I had and crossed the line to take the Prime win."
The elation I felt and the weight that was lifted off my shoulders was huge; this is what it took to sort my head out. I immediately felt happy on the bike, happy to be on the track and happy to be in a race. I rode the rest of the race with a huge grin on my face, there were no points scored, but I stood on the top step of the podium to claim my Prime Sprint prize. I’m back, baby!!
Race Seven: East Midlands Road Race League Cat 3:4, Melbourne.
I entered a road race, racing against Cat 4 and Cat 3 riders. It’s a 90-minute race, which should be six laps of this course. We drop some riders on the first climb, I have to dig very deep to not get dropped. I’m then dropped at the end of lap one, the pace is brutal, I can’t stay in the red like this and survive. I slow down and let Velo Bavarian team mates Tom Callear and Mikey Heathcote catch me. We ride the rest of the race together, but we get lapped. We’re the last three riders over the line, but we finished!
Race Eight: HAUS RT Round seven, Darley Moor.
Let’s forget the road race and concentrate on how good I felt after the last crit.
At almost half distance, two riders have a ten second lead, two more riders attack coming out of the first corner, I go with them and as we’re coming up to the hairpin we have a big gap to the group and we’re almost with the two leaders. We become a group of five working together and each lap we stretch the lead a bit more: ten seconds, 14 seconds, 20 seconds. This feels so good, it’s the best race I’ve ever had. With two laps remaining, I’m struggling to do my turn at the front, I’ve worked harder than I’ve ever had to. I don’t contest the sprint, as I can’t, my legs are dead. I roll over the line and take fifth place, my best ever finish and I am beyond happy with that.
"I’m now starting to believe that I can get the last six points needed for my Cat three licence."
Race Nine: Matlock CC Crit, Darley Moor.
I probably shouldn’t have entered this race, as I’m not fit. Ten days ago, I rolled my left ankle at work, resulting in a torn ligament and torn muscle. But I had done a group ride a few days earlier and it didn’t feel too bad. Physio Cameron had worked his magic on me and then strapped my ankle for this race.
I made it to 45 minutes of the 60-minute race, but the pain wasn’t worth continuing with. So it was a third DNF of the season and no points. Six points still required.
Race Ten: HAUS RT Round eight, Darley Moor.
It’s a week on from my DNF and my ankle is feeling a bit better, this race is also just 45 minutes long, so I’m feeling good about the chances of the ankle holding out.
I’m right in the mix coming out of the final corner and sit in second place as we hit the top of the climb to the finish, but I’ve gone too early and three riders come past me, I stand to sprint and feel the pain in my left ankle as it cramps up. From sitting in third place into the chicane, I finish in ninth and grab one more point. Leaving me needing five points and two races left.
Race Eleven: Matlock CC Crit, Darley Moor.
I’m just back from a two-week holiday in Cornwall, I’ve been cycling a lot whilst on holiday and my ankle is back to full strength and I feel I have a good finish in me today.
I’m in and around the front of the race the whole time, there have been a few attacks, but none have stuck, they all got pulled back pretty quickly. I’m feeling really strong and feel that I’m good for a top five today. We cross the line with three laps to go and as we come out of the first turn a rider tries to come past me on the inside, he gets too close to me and is cutting across my front wheel,
"I have nowhere to go as he pushes me off the track and into the mud."
I manage to keep the bike upright, but by the time I’ve got control and back onto the track, the group is several hundred feet away and into the head wind, I have no chance of seeing them again. I spat my dummy out, pulled out of the race and rode back to my car. DNF number four of the season. That Cat three licence is looking like it will have to wait until next year now.
Race Twelve: HAUS RT Round nine, Darley Moor.
This is it, one last race, five points needed, I need to equal or better, my best ever finish.
I decide to play this race a bit more tactically than I normally would, I don’t waste energy on the two Prime Sprints, I try to minimise my time on the front, if a rider attacks, I don’t jump on his wheel, I wait for other riders to make that commitment, then I follow them. That was the plan and I stuck to it for most of the race, but I did attack during the lull after the second Prime Sprint, but the group was quick to react and I didn’t get anywhere!
We come into the final lap in one big group, no one managed to get away today. I move up towards the front I don’t want to get swamped coming out of the hairpin. As we come down the back straight, I’m in a good place, sitting in the front few riders over to the right-hand side of the track, with a good view if anyone goes down the left. An attack does go and find myself in 11th place going into the last corner. We hit the small climb to the finish and I pick up a few places. I’m in eighth place but not gaining on the riders in front of me. I dig as hard as I can, but as the finish line gets closer, it’s clear that I’m not going to get the points I need. I hold my eighth place and earn two points, taking my season tally to nine, three short of my Cat 3 licence.
Now this should be where the story ends, I’ve come to terms with not getting the points I need and am looking at this season as a massive improvement on last season: Four top ten finishes, nine points and a prime sprint win and all of this on the back of a horrendous crash in my second race which almost saw me quit racing.
I’m ready to go home, but VB team mate Mikey has tried to get me to do the Masters race with him in the afternoon, there are points on offer, but my reason for never doing these Masters races is that I’m up against Cat 2 riders and don’t see the point of flogging myself to death to get nothing. However, it’s not just Mikey who is pestering me, Tom has now started on at me, then Lee from HAUS starts on at me. OK, I’LL DO IT. If for no other reason than to shut them up!
There were nine riders registered for the race, so when I enter and make it ten, there are now full points up for grabs and not just for the top three. I need to finish seventh or higher and that will see me gain the points I need.
All of the different Masters categories race at the same time, with different coloured numbers to differentiate each age group. It doesn’t matter where I finish overall, just as long as no more than six yellow numbers finish ahead of me.
The race gets underway and it’s fast, lap one and I’m thinking that maybe this wasn’t a great idea. The race splits and I’m in the second group, four yellow numbers are in group one, meaning there are six of us left in this group, along with a couple of other riders from other age groups.
"Team mate Mikey, who is in a different age group to me, plays an absolute blinder for me, he keeps me out of trouble and out of the wind as much as he can, he is in this race just to help me."
As we enter the climb to the finish for the last time Mikey leads me out and drops me off with about four hundred meters to go. I think there are two yellow numbers are ahead of me and three more behind, but I’m not sure. So I think I’m in seventh place and where I need to be, I can’t let any yellow numbers come past. I don’t look back, I just go for it, the line is getting closer, no one else is coming past me. I cross the line still unsure of where I finished.
We do a cool down lap, I then find Rich Slaney, he has the finishing positions. He asks me what position I needed, I tell him seventh, he grins, holds out his hand and says “well done”.
"I did it, through all of the ups and downs of 2024, I achieved my goal of getting my Cat 3 licence and I don’t think I could have scripted it anymore spectacularly than this."
I end my season with five top ten places, twelve points, a Prime Sprint win and HAUS RT award for Most Combative Rider of the Series.
The support I’ve received this season has been incredible:
Cathy, my long-suffering partner of 30 years has not complained one little bit when I’ve spent so many hours on the bike training and racing, I know that she would have preferred me to quit racing after my crash and I don’t blame her, but she never put any pressure on me to do so.
My coach Ewan has been amazing, not just with the training plan, but with the conversations and advice and he helped me get my head back to normal after the crash.
Cameron my physio, he’s put me back together twice this year and kept me in one piece along with getting me stronger.
Everyone at HAUS RT, not just for organising a great season of racing, but for being kind and caring people, you genuinely care about the people who come to your events, you always have smiles on your faces and make everyone feel so welcome.
And lastly, but by no means least, my Velo Bavarian club mates and team mates, the support and encouragement has been brilliant, racing alongside you, seeing and hearing you at the side of the track with words of encouragement and also seeing many of you move up a category this season. I feel genuinely proud to wear these team colours and cannot wait to wear them again in 2025 and Cat 3.
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You can follow Craig's journey on YouTube, here.
Photos by Chris McKnight & Sam O'Neill.
