Ruthin – UCI World Championships Qualifier Sunday 22nd September 2024
Two Reillys were on the start line - Reilly mechanic Isaac Wright in 19-35 age cat and Christina Wiejak in the Elite Women.
Here is Isaac’s race story.
“There was epic rainfall the day before, so I decided to change tyres from Vittoria Terreno Dry 47s to Continental RaceKing 50s which are a tougher and grippier tyre. This definitely paid dividends for me giving me confidence on the wet descents and not a single puncture!
There was a large group of us at the start line and it was nervy as people wanted to ride full gas early on. I knew the race would be close to 4 hours so it was important for me to ride efficiently from the off. The pace was fast, so riders were getting dropped, usually on the climbs till there was only a few of us. One guy was super strong and went just over half way and then we never saw him again!
I felt good on the last big climb and went solo from there. Towards the end, I was getting cramp and aches but a caffeine gel helped me crawl over the line in 2nd place for 19-35 age group and qualifying for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium in October. I haven’t done much gravel racing and I thoroughly enjoyed the day and can’t wait for the World Champs, which I am sure will be next level hard.
The Reflex was perfect for the race. Despite flints and rocks on the descents, I never had to worry about the bike—it could handle it all with ease so I focused on going as fast as my skills allowed. The gearing was spot on too, letting me spin up the climbs in the final hour and manage the cramp.
Reilly Reflex M
Strada Gravel Aero plus- Continental Race King 50mm with Cush Core inserts
Front 22.5 psi / Rear 24 psi
Sram Force XO1 1x mullet- 44 tooth chainring x 10-52 cassette
Reilly 39x110 carbon gravel integrated bars
Ergon CF Allroad seatpost- Reilly Titanuim saddle
Christina Wiejak finished 6th in the Elite Women Read More