By Josh Verny-White
Our very own Dr Hudson competed for GB in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championship on the 18th of September. This daunting race took place in Trento, over the breath-taking hills of Italy, a beautiful background for the contest. Her attitude kept her motivated through all her races and the final push through to the finish line of the championships. When asked her mentality whilst racing, Dr Hudson responded “I’d tell myself I can do this, I’ve only got two kilometres left, rather than, this is impossible, I’m going to die. So just block out everything else in your life and just think happy and positive thoughts.”
The journey began three years ago, before coronavirus and the pandemic. Dr Hudson started cycling with a scheme the school participates in called the Cycle to Work scheme, which encourages the use of bikes to travel to work instead of cars. This allowed Dr Hudson to purchase a bike and cycle for fitness. She joined a cycling club and by 2021 was signing up for circuit races and began to compete to obtain the experience necessary to take part in such a competitive event. Dr Hudson participated in circuit races which provided great preparation for road racing. As well, she was encouraged to participate in the world championships and attempt to qualify, as some members of her club previously had tried for the men’s categories but had failed. So Dr Hudson headed to Cambridgeshire, to compete in the aptly named Gran Fondo Tour of Cambridgeshire, held alongside the cycling festival.
With an incredible third place, earning a place on the podium, Dr Hudson qualified for the UCI World Championships in the 50-55 age category for women.
The Tour of Cambridgeshire was one of 25 qualifying races which took place across Europe and the world. Racers to finish in the upper 20 per cent qualified for the Gran Fondo in Italy. Dr Hudson’s fast time earned her a place amongst a group of 40 amateur cyclists in the same category, with the other 2500 cyclists to be eligible for the final race.
The UCI Championships saw Dr Hudson face 90 kilometres of Italian hills and mountains, the route taking her through small villages filled with cheers and encouragement. Dr Hudson managed to achieve 24th out of the 40 in a time of 3 hours 59 minutes and 48 seconds, finishing with a hair’s breadth of four hours – an incredible achievement for a full-time teacher and mother of four children. This is even more impressive considering that many other competitors trained religiously with coaches and dedicated large periods of time to the Championship.
Finishing the event is an exceptional achievement, and an act of true perseverance to endure such a gruelling ride as well as the training and races to qualify. This extraordinary motivation to succeed and determination is summed up in the words of Dr Hudson herself: “You can do anything if you want to do it, no matter who you are.”
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