Competed for the first time in Cycling — here is what I learned

After 18 months of training Cycling I entered my first competition. I lost. It was the best thing that's happened to my development in the sport.

Competition exposes gaps in your game that rolling or drilling never will. My cornering fell apart under pressure. My understanding of bonking and fuelling was theoretical, not instinctive. I came home with a specific list of things to fix, which is more valuable than any win. descending a mountain pass smoothly was what I took away from the experience beyond the tactical lessons. If your gym trains you for competition, do it. It will accelerate you.