There’s no harm in seeing the event as a stepping stone along the route to a new goal. Summer continues for several months, and there are plenty more events in the calendar.

Find a new target, in a month or two months time, and see this ride as a way of taking you closer to achieving your goal in a new time frame.

You will always work harder with a number on your back, so no doubt your upcoming ride will be better training than you could ever have done on your local lanes.