12/04/13….Thame cyclist, Karla takes it to the max!

AS its Thame membership continues to grow, High Wycombe Cycling Club has thrown up yet another talented, rising star in local girl, Karla Boddy. After just two years of road racing, Karla has been grabbed by pro team, MG Maxifuel http://www.mg-maxifuel.com/ where she supports the team’s two star girls, Helen Barns (British Olympic team) and Charline Joiner, Scotish Commonwealth Games team sprint Silver Medalist.

Karla is the latest rider from HWCC to join a distinguished list of members and associated members who have gone on to great things in the world of cycling, including Tour de France stage winner, David Miller, Commonwealth and Olympic racer, Stuart Dangerfield and the current holder of the Best British Amateur All-rounder Cup, Adam Topham.

Since she joined HWCC, Karla has been instrumental in organising club runs, helping to put together the clubs?s own race team, organising training camps in Spain and encouraging the growing number of juniors in the club. Although she will be racing now for MG Maxifuel, Karla insists that she will be maintaining her connections with HWCC, not least with its own race team that gives her such support at elite events, with things such as travel, organising food and drink during her races and generally taking the pressure of the peripherals so that she can give the racing 100%.

Despite a challenging training programme of 10 ? 15 hours a week of short and hard, long and steady sessions and intervals, either out on the road or on rollers indoors, Karla likes to keep a life-work-racing balance, spending time with her partner, fello HWCC racer, Adam Brittain, and their adored Pug, Gary.

Like most cyclists, Karla?s cycling experience had not been without spills as well as thrills. In February, 2010, she was out of the saddle for almost four months with the classic cyclist?s injury, a broken collar bone, after touching the bike in front?s back wheel during a ride and colliding with a wall. Since then she?s gone on to experience the high of the podium place, taking five during the Rasna na Mban, Women?s Tour of Ireland in September 2012, which included three stage wins and an overall placing of fifth.

Last weekend, Karla helped Pro team mate, Hannah Barnes to second place in the City of Perth Women?s Grand Prix in Scotland. You can read Hannah?s blog here describing the race, conjuring up the atmosphere and strategy of the team and the important contribution Karla made to her success.

The roads around Thame are very popular for road races (pot holes allowing!) and on Saturday, Karla and the MG Maxifuel girls will be in action racing in the Antelope Open 50km 3-up Team Time Trial, starting on the A4 at Chalgrove, against 40 other teams, including two men?s teams from HWCC and its girls team. The route will take the riders through Milton Common, Chalgrove, Stadhampton and Tetsworth for two laps.

Karla?s male counterparts in a second MG Maxifuel team in the race, will include ex Tour de France stage winner, and recent Paris Roubaix winner, Magnus Baxstead. If you can?t make that as a supporter (standing about in the rain is only for the very dedicated spectator, and the forecast is not good!), you’ll be able to see Karla in action during ITV4?s Tour Series of city centre criteriums to be televised during May/June.

For the future, Karla and Adam have no plans to start a family, happy that Gary the pug is the love of their lives. ?I?ll just keep on doing what I?m doing, to become the best rider that I can. The sacrifice of no annual holiday leave etc is worth it to me, to be part of such a dynamic team and a wonderful sport,? concluded Karla.

Oh! and I want one of those coffee machines in Karla’s kitchen – and I’m warming to pugs!