He Who Learns, by Tom Portsmouth: Race Entry

Challenge Mayennais iii

Tom Portsmouth — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:01:41 GMT

What a weird race. I’m not one for negative racing, and yet sometimes the only move that I can play is to call the bet which Mayenne had made winning the General classification, by scoring the most points across the three stages. This provided, in some ways, the opportunity for far more cagey racing than on a time-based system. Especially given Alix Bri…

Challenge Mayennais ii

Tom Portsmouth — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 19:00:20 GMT

A race of two halves, at least in terms of the sensibility of time passing. The first circuit, was fast, hectic and definitely not built for 200 guys taking to the start line, out of which I started dead last. I held position for one lap, as I normally do, so that I can read and learn the intricacies of the tour. Then a lap later I promptly moved up wit…

Challenge Mayennais i

Tom Portsmouth — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 18:30:18 GMT

130km, some 1600m elevation gain across the day and coming off the back of a few days of illness meant that today's race at Challenge Mayennais might have been a shock to the system.

However, I have put in a solid three weeks of training, with two of those out exploring the Vosges. And with knowledge that accepting the rest my body needed, allowed me to…

Essor Breton Preview

Tom Portsmouth — Thu, 21 May 2026 04:30:51 GMT

This weekend, we are heading back to Bretagne. Deep Bretagne, right over to the area surrounding Quimper. There, we’ll compete over four stages, each of about 150km in length, with over 2000m of elevation per day. There aren’t many ‘big climbs’, but the terrain is arduous, and relentlessly rolling. More so than some other regions of France, which offer more respite. In Bretagne, the chain is always tight. And The last few times I’ve visited the region have proved quite fruitful. I hope this weekend to be the same.

You can find the technical guide below.

Essor Breton Technical Guide

6.18MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Caux Tour

Tom Portsmouth — Wed, 20 May 2026 04:31:10 GMT

The third leg of the Coupe de France National 1 road series was held just North of Rouen. It was the 6th edition of the Caux Tour and lapped an 18km circuit eight times before circling a smaller seven-kilometre circuit three times. It was a classic Kermesse style race.

And as such, I discussed with my teammates the night before, almost exactly how the race could be played out:

A circuit race like this is simple. The first lap is, more often than not, raced particularly aggressively. If a difference has not been made by a big group of riders, then it will settle down for the next two or three laps, as a less-threatening small group of riders break free. Then, with over half the race distance completed, the intensity will start to mount once more. Usually on the fifth or sixth lap. It is typically about this distance that a decisive move will be made, as those guys who have confidence in going the distance ramp up the pace and make a split.

After that point, the success of this move depends entirely on the group’s composition. Which teams have infiltrated the move? Is it the right number of guys? Is it cohesive enough to thwart the chasing peloton? All questions the director sportives and riders are asking.

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