Max Stedman warmed up for the British Road Championships time trial and insisted: I have nothing to lose.
The 21-year-old, from Crowthorne in Berkshire, will make his maiden appearance in the contest, which this year takes place on the Isle of Man.
Stedman will compete for the under-23 crown tomorrow, over one lap of the hilly 22.2km course which starts and finishes in St John’s.
Meanwhile, his team-mate Harry Tanfield is taking on the likes of five-time champion Alex Dowsett for the senior jersey over two laps.
University of Exeter student Stedman, who will roll down the start ramp at 1.31pm, was part of the Pedal Heaven team who won the national TTT title last season.
But he remains a relatively inexperienced tester and is putting no pressure on himself to deliver a result tomorrow. Stedman said:
“It should be good. I have only had the TT bike (Canyon Speedmax) for a short time but I have spent as much as I can on it. She is quick!
“The parcours is quite tough. It is quite hard rolling. There is one little climb in it and one quite long drag and then it descends down to the finish.
“Hopefully it will be okay for me. When they announced it, I said if the TT course was hilly I would have a crack at it and see how I go. I have nothing to lose.
“I have only ever done two 10s in my whole life. We won the National Team Time Trial Championship at Pedal Heaven but that was my first open TT!
“I have been doing what I can, though. All the TT courses in Exeter have roadworks on at the moment, so there isn’t an official event.
“But one of my mates sets up a Strava segment every Wednesday night and then the fastest time after 7pm on that night takes the win. So I have been doing that, which has been fun.”
Stedman is part of a field of 42 for the under-23 time trial. A total of 43 riders, including Tanfield, are set to contest the main event, from 6.30pm.
The Great Ayton rider, who was fifth in the under-23 competition in 2014, is expected to roll down the start ramp at 7pm.
Click here for more information on the British Road Championships time trial. You can follow live updates from the racing on the British Cycling Twitter page.
