Pre–Season Training Camp Mallorca 2023

With half term coming up, the riders and staff of Anexo Group Race Team are heading out to Pollenca, Mallorca, for a pre-season training camp.

They will also be taking part in a spot of racing to see how the legs are after a winter of training on the road and the track. It’s all go this weekend as our riders fly out to sunny Spain for a week-long training camp on some of the finest roads available. Mallorca, with it’s beautiful scenery, and lung-busting climbs has become a mecca for cyclists and World Tour teams who are keen to take advantage of the mild climate and the smooth roads.

Mallorca has invested a great deal into its cycling infrastructure and as a result, sees cyclo-tourists travel from all over the World. This will be the first time all riders and staff will have had an opportunity to get together since the team was formed. It’s a good time to introduce everyone in advance of our road season, which kicks off at the end of February at Kuurne Brussel Kuurne.

Our first rider, Patrick Casey, comes from Todmorden and represented Ireland at last year’s European Youth Olympics in Slovakia. He is a current National Time Trial Champion for his age group and has a 10 mile Time Trial personal best of 18 minutes 47 seconds, which he is looking to improve upon this season. Patrick is a formidable climber as he showed last September at Coppa d’Oro where he came 2^nd after getting in the break and staying away with the eventual winner. This season he is looking forward to the challenge of stepping up to Junior level and will be targeting the hillier, more mountainous races. Patrick will be racing Kuurne Brussel Kuurne in a few weeks, then Nokere, and hopes to represent Ireland at Gent Wevelgem. Patrick is a clever, instinctive rider who pays great attention to being as aero as possible when racing.

Our second rider, Elliot Rowe, hails from Banchory, close to Aberdeen. Elliot won the British National Road title last year on a very hilly course in Scarborough and, like Patrick, is looking forward to the more mountainous races this season. Elliot has spent most of the winter training on the road and track and recently represented Scotland in The Netherlands and gave a good account of himself at last week’s National Track Championships. Elliot is an all-rounder and is looking forward to travelling with the team to Mallorca and making the transition to Junior racing.

Our first Welsh rider is Sam Fisher, who lives in Llantrisant and lives a stone’s throw away from the Backstedts who he regularly rides with. Last year, Sam represented Great Britain at the European Youth Olympics and is a clever racer who likes to sprint on the road and on the track. Last year at the National Track Championships he picked up a handful of handful of National titles in the Individual Pursuit, Madison, Scratch, Points and Omnium. Sam has cycled since he was young when he raced for Maindy Flyers down in Cardiff. Sam is part of the Welsh Junior Academy and recently represented Wales in The Netherlands. Sam is a strong rider and we’re looking forward to seeing him in the final part of the big races this season.

Will Salter, our next Welsh rider, is from Yeovil and is also part of the Welsh Junior Academy. Will is very quick on both the track and the road and also recently represented Wales on the track in The Netherlands. Last season saw him grow as a rider on both the road and the track. Will possesses a great sprint, and we are looking forward to seeing him use it in some of the races we are at this year. Will is a strong rider who has spent most of the winter on the track and the road. He’s really looking forward to training in Mallorca, racing for Anexo Group Race Team, Wales and GB this year as a Junior.

Joe Cosgrove is our next rider who comes from Formby, just outside of Liverpool. Joe is a strong rider who enjoys getting in the breakaway and likes the tougher, active races where there are some decent climbs. He doesn’t mind if the weather conditions aren’t great. Joe is an all-rounder and is part of the Scottish Junior Academy and like other members of the team, represented Scotland in The Netherlands and at the British Track National Champs recently. Joe enjoys time trialling and is looking to post some good times this season. He’s really looking forward to racing in Belgium and France in the early part of the season, gaining some solid experience in the summer in the longer multi-stage races.

Our final rider is Bryn Lawrence who’s from Kearsley near to Bolton. Bryn has a background in cyclocross and mountain biking. Bryn lives not far from Rivington Pike and as a result is a strong climber. Bryn was part of the National School of Racing last year and is looking forward to making the transition from Youth to Junior racing. Bryn is strong on the road and time trialling and is looking forward to this week’s training camp and racing this year with Anexo Group Race Team.

In Mallorca the riders will be staying in Hotel Duva in Pollenca, which is geared up for race teams like us. It’s also a good jump off point for the hillier rides as it’s located on the road out to Lluc and is under the shadow of the Serra de Tramuntana. The team will be looking to take full advantage of Mallorca’s mild weather and the well maintained roads. They’ve got a full itinerary of rides and will be taking part in the two road races on the island at Trofeo Arta and Trofeo Bici. They will be using these races as training – at this time of year, lots of World Tour riders and National Teams are on the island and these events will be a good opportunity to see where the riders are at fitness-wise.

Jason Churchill of Ultimate Bike Hire Mallorca will be looking out for the riders this week and will be helping out if they have any bike issues. He will also be doing some speedwork and motor-pacing with the riders later in the week.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners and sponsors, particularly our title sponsor Anexo Group – their support has made all of this possible. We would also like to thank CAMS, Dominic and Max at Madison, Lazer Helmets, Shimano, 100%, and PRO for all their support alongside everyone at Le Col, Mike at Airofit, Geoff at Maurten, and Simon at Ridley Bikes.