Learning some tough lessons

Hi guys,

So as I mentioned in my last blog I am currently in Belgium, staying near Gent in the Oost-Vlaanderen region, and trying to gain some much needed experience of racing on the continent. My first two races were mentioned in my previous post, but just to recap they went very well, bare the mechanical in the 2nd race. My legs were feeling good and I was excited for my next race.

Next up would be my first U23 kermesse, these are apparently even faster and even harder than 1.12B category races... oh joy. Kruishoutem was the latest Belgian town to be gripped by cycling fever as the townspeople came out in force, blasted their music, and cheered on a bunch of random guys in lycra. The Belgian attitude towards cycling and the atmosphere at races is simply incredible, something the UK could really learn from. Kruishoutem was a tough course and with strong winds it was bound to split the race as the strong guys 'stuck it in the gutter' to try and force gaps. This was more or less how my race went, I wasn't feeling fantastic, but being me I obviously had to have an early dig off the front of the bunch, bridging across (almost) to the break... I spent a few minutes off the front at 30+mph on my own trying to get to the lead group, got about 20 metres from their wheels... and my legs went pop. This would be the break that stayed away for the entirity of the race, so good tactics, bad legs. I managed to hang in the bunch for another 25 miles but eventually packed after 30 miles of furious racing. The race proceeded to break up completely and out of 108 starters, only 55 were placed, and less than 20 guys completing the full race distance. My legs weren't up to it today, but nevertheless a fun day out and a great atmosphere.

Chasing at Kruishoutem

So after a poor showing at Kruishoutem I was keen to jump straight back in to it, so the following day I was heading off to nearby Evergem for a 75 mile 1.12B kermesse. This was a smaller field than usual with only about 50 riders taking to the start line, but the field was insane, 2 national champions and about 20 of the top riders from Belgian teams. This was going to be tough. The race started fairly sedately for the first couple of miles, then a few attacks started going and the pace rocketed. A 10 man move went off the front after about 10 miles and got a gap that stayed just under a minute for a long time, the bunch were rolling through keeping them pegged, but eventually a few guys attacked and I followed their wheels, and a group of 12 of us escaped the bunch. We worked tirelessly for 30 miles to bridge the gap over to the lead group and at around 50 miles we linked up forming a 22 man break... unfortunately this is where my race ends, after working my arse off for 50 miles I lost contact sprinting out of a corner and was pulled out with 5 laps to go. We had averaged 28mph and this was by far the toughest race I had ever been in, I was placed 22nd and got my first bit of prize money out here in Belgium. Pleased with that. Gediminas Bagdonas won the race... he rode at the olympics and will be at the Tour of Britain in a few weeks time.

Just one more race to speak of now, a really fun course at Wambeek-Ternat that took in a sharp 500m cobbled climb no more than 13 times. Ouch. This was also by far the hottest conditions I have ever raced in, 35 degree heat is not fun for racing. Needless to say I didn't make it up the cobbles 13 times, but I did take in 7 laps of the circuit and was pulled at 35 miles, placed 52nd out of about 80 starters. I was dissapointed at not making the full distance, although only 15 riders did...

In the bunch at Wambeek

I figured after this race that I am doing too much out here, the dilemma is that I want to race as much as I can in the 2 weeks that I am here to gain experience of these races, but it seems by doing so much I am tiring myself out and not able to complete the full distances. My plan now is to rest for a couple of days before having a double day of racing before I go. Overall I am happy with how it is going out here, I am getting a feel for how good you need to be, and it is motivating me to train harder, for longer, and I am already looking forward to coming back next year, hopefully in much better condition!

Wish me luck for my last 2 kermesses!
Ciao.

Moving ever closer to 1st category

The last few weeks have been about going through the motions and getting my form back, which has largely been working. I have slowly been picking up points, getting some good placings in road and circuit races. I have been putting in more training time and really aiming to finish the season on a high, so far this has been going very well. The results are coming much more easily, as they were at the start of the season when my form was good.

The late season begins for me with 2 weeks in Belgium, I have been here almost a week now and have done 2 races so far. Now I have heard a lot about Kermesse racing in Belgium... mainly that they are bloody fast, bloody hard and bloody good fun! My first race was exactly this... the Merelbeke 1.12B Elite/U23 Omloop was around a 4k circuit with 3 straights, and 3 sharp bends... one of which was a dead hairpin... Oh and a cheeky chicane thrown in for good measure. It was flat out from the gun and lined out in the gutter along many stretches. At one point I managed to break off the front after about 30k, bridging across to the lead group, but they then stopped working and after a lap we were brought back by the bunch. I then sat in the line for the middle part of the race as those at the front kept the pace high, but as we moved into the last 15k I moved towards the front and tried a few digs, all of which got a small gao but never lasted more than 2k, with about 1500m to go I went for a flyer to the finish with a couple of others, sadly I got caught with 500m to go and led out the bunch sprint. I finished 50th out of 80 riders, but this was irrelevent, I had finished my first Kermesse... 110km at over 44km/h, fast and furious... and I LOVED IT! Mixing it up near the front and generally feeling strong!

The second one was not so successful... my freehub broke after 75k... so I had to hop straight in the broom wagon!! That's racing right? Nevermind.

Next race is Wednesday evening in nearby Kruishoutem, I can't wait to get back amongst the cobbles and in the infamous Belgian gutter!

Until then,

Ciao.

Injury, Maintaining Focus & Coming Back Stronger

Fellow Cyclists,

The last month has been a difficult one for me in terms of cycling, having suffered a setback just a few days after the National 10 Mile TT Championship. I had put in 2 big days on the bike Monday and Tuesday after the 10TT, and my right knee was experiencing some dull aching. I just shrugged it off as a normal niggle that all cyclists get every now and then. On wednesday evening I went down to Mountbatten Centre (Portsmouth) for a circuit race, and about 15 minutes into the race felt some sharp stabbing pains on the side of my right knee, this pain grew over the course of the race and whenever an attack stretched the bunch I was grimacing and fighting to keep contact. In hindsight I probably did more damage here and should have pulled out, however I did finish the race and somehow took 10th. I was worried though.

Thursday morning I went out for a short tester ride, short being the operative word. I turned round after 5 minutes, again grimacing with pain. I was advised to go and see a doctor, she wasn't particurlarly helpful and told me to just take 2 weeks off training. Thanks doc, that should sort it... Next piece of advice... Go see a physio. I got in touch with Sarah Tombs, a member of Zappi's CC who is also a sports massage therapist, and she diagnosed me as having ITB Tendonitis. This is a condition brought on by muscles which feed into the Iliotibial Band becoming extremely tight, and causing the ITB to pull on the side of the patella (kneecap). I was treated with massage, painful massage on the muscles most likely to be causing this, and it soon became clear that the main protagonists were my Glutes and my Frontal Quads. I started doing a sequence of stretching every evening, and using a foam roller on the ITB and quads. I was soon told no more training, and it was becoming clear that it would be a race against time to be fit for the Ras de Cymru, arguably my biggest race of the year. So I put in some more shifts at work, and let the treatment run it's course.

After 2 weeks I wasn't very hopeful, and Sarah advised me to see another doctor, one who specialises in sports injury, he confirmed Sarah's thoughts and also diagnosed ITB Tendonitis, he also advised checking my bike position, cleat position and saddle height. I compared my new bike with my old bike and mostly it was the same, however the saddle was clearly too high... I took it down by 8mm, I also adjusted the angle of my cleat on my shoe. Hopefully these would help. Another week of massage and my muscles were beginning to feel looser and more comfortable, so I tested myself again on the bike. It was clear that I was nowhere near fixed, but rather than a stabbing pain it was just a discomfort, and this told me that the massage was beginning to work, along with the position change on the bike.

Eventually on Tuesday 12th June I finally began easing back into my training, over 3 weeks since my last training session, and a month since my last race. Needless to say my legs did not appreciate the time off, and I took a battering on a local training ride that evening. I took that week steady, doing mostly 1-2 hour rides and looking out for any discomfort in my knee, of which there was some, but none as persistent as before. All looking promising! So having tested my knee in training I now decided it was time to test it at race pace, I was supposed to be doing the Kalas Cup 2-Day race that weekend, but decided that was too much, too soon. I instead headed down back to the scene of my injury, Portsmouth. This was a 2-stage race, a short 1km TT and a 50 minute circuit race, all on a flat circuit with no hills, perfect to test out my fitness and the recovery of my knee.

A field of 40 riders signed on, and some strong guys turned up with Peter Hansford Racing, Pedal Heaven RT, Felt-Colbornes all bringing teams to the event. I was expecting a battering of epic proportions. The time trial went better than expected with me taking 8th place, 3 seconds down on the winner, Tim Elverson (Pedal Heaven RT). My knee held up fine in this fast explosive TT, and I was looking forward to the circuit race. It kicked off early in the race with a large group of 15 riders all taking a lap after 15 minutes, I was safely tucked in here and made it round with very tired legs after less than a third of the race. I sat on the back trying to recover for a few minutes before another group clipped off the front, after a while I made an attempt to bridge the gap, despite my burning legs... Somehow I got away with 2 others and we opened up a 15 second advantage, with the lead group a further 12 seconds in front. We spent the whole race agonisingly close to the lead group but never made the junction, with those guys taking a 2nd lap, and my group finishing just behind the bunch. I just got rolled in the sprint from our group so took 7th on the stage. Two consistent finishes meant I had done enough to secure 4th place on overall General Classification. This was one of my best results of the season and far exceeded my expectations for my comeback race.

With my knee now feeling 95% better I have gone back to full training, with 2 hours steady on Sunday, a hard 3 hour session Monday and a long steady 5.5 hour endurance ride in the sun on Tuesday. I'm now confident I will be racing at the Ras de Cymru, and even think I might still have the legs to pull off a decent result. Now really looking forward to getting some form back, and pushing on towards gaining my 1st category licence. 133 points gained, 67 to go.

I'm racing again tonight at Mountbatten, wish me luck.

Ciao.

RTTC National 10 Mile TT Championship

The first National championship of the year has come around very quickly, and it was a return to the village of Sawtry near Peterborough. This village played host to the 2011 British Time Trial Championship in September, and I had a nightmare of a ride... I was hoping to put those demons behind me and put in a solid performance. Conditions were chilly and pretty windy, it was a headwind out to the turn, and a tailwind home, so the first 5 miles would be crucial to the result. While covering the rolling single carriageway 10 mile course, riders would have to tackle no less than 7 roundabouts meaning that a traffic-free run would aid riders a lot.

I was #120 so had a long time to wait before my start time, this gave me plenty of time to get everything sorted and have a  solid warm up. I spent 30 minutes on the rollers before rolling out to the start a mile or so down the road. Standing on the line waiting to start it was very breezey, and the chill was rippling through my skinsuit.

I started off hard, knowing that there was lots to be gained on the outward leg and the lactate was immediately there in the legs. I negotiated the first 2 roundabouts with ease, I took the third slightly wide and locked up slightly on the 270 degree turn, I slowed right down but sprinted out hard and probably only lost a couple of seconds. The next straight section was extremely tough with the headwind, but I eventually got to the turn with an average speed around 25.5mph. I turned and the tailwind was obvious, but the last 5 miles were still tough as I had spent a lot of effort in the first half of the race. I kept pushing hard and a few people along the course were cheering me on, so I kept the pace up right to the line, sprinting out of the last roundabout and lunging over the finish line in a time of 21:56.

Turns out that 5 of us recorded that time, including Dan Barnett who went off 1 minute behind me, very good seeding by the organisers! So I learned today that the step up from junior to senior is a large one... I finished in joint 40th place, over 2 minutes down on Michael Hutchinson who won the event in a phenomenal 19:40. I was happy with my performance as I know I still have a long time to develop and gain more strength to match the top guys.

I have a hard week of training planned over the next seven days to get into my new regime of training. Incorporated into this week will be two midweek criterium races at Portsmouth on Wednesday and CastleCombe on Thursday, followed by a round of the National Time Trial Series on Saturday. It's going to be a tough week, but I want to keep improving and training hard so I am stronger, fitter and faster for the latter part of the season!

Thanks for reading!

Ciao.

Castle Combe Summer Series 3

Thursday night was round 3 of the Castle Combe summer series on the motor racing circuit. It's a very exposed course, often affected by the wind and tonight was no different. I took it steady for the first 10 minutes, keeping up near the front and out of trouble. The pace started high, and after a while I followed a move initiated by Ben Stockdale (Metaltek-Scott), he was away with one other guy, and 3 of us bridged across to them after half a lap. This was a strong move, but a rider from Wilier was stuck to the back intent on disrupting the break and never came through to the front, meaning the smoothness needed in a break wasn't there. We lasted a couple of laps before being brought back. More attacks came and went but nothing was sticking until a large group got away with about 20 minutes to go. The bunch chased very very hard and brought it back with under 2 laps to go. With half a lap left Colin Parry from Wilier jumped off the front and soloed to victory, while the bunch sprinted for 2nd. I was too far back and couldn't make enough places up to get into the top 15.

I was happy with my legs, felt good after recovering from a cold over the previous few days. Good signs for the national 10 on Sunday.

Ciao.

With the ups... Come the inevitable downs...

After a fantastic start to the season, putting in some good performances, there was always going to be some bad luck along the way.

At the Milbrook Classic for Men on Monday 7th May, I was feeling fantastic... and punctured with 3k to go. Bugger.

At the Bath Cycle Races Round 2, I got dropped because despite knowing the course didn't suit me... I went anyway... and only lasted 10 minutes. I don't like corners, bugger. My team-mate Alec won it though, so it's not all bad!

The Tour of the Milburys was my first stage race of the year and went slightly better, but still not great. Stage 1 was a 4 mile prologue time trial, mostly it was gently uphill with a few false flats. I opted for my time trial bike, but used deep section wheels rather than my disc wheel which is heavy and very flexy. This turned out to be a good choice as I spent a lot of time on the TT bars, but also the lighter wheel aided the climbing sections. I ended up covering the course in 11:03, my target was 11 minutes so I was happy. It turned out to be a great time on the day and I was joint second place with Mike Simpson from GS Henley, while my team-mate Alec had a stormer to take the win in 10:39, putting him in the yellow jersey going into stage 2.

Stage 2 was based on a tough 8 mile circuit with some rolling sections and one very slow long drag. The team were looking to protect Alec, and I agreed to sacrifice my own GC placing to help him out. We let a lone rider, Ed Clemens (VC10) go up the road early on, and he pulled out a 2 minute advantage, and on his own we knew that it was no danger, and it helped us as he swallowed up the time bonuses on offer at the finish line. Eventually I got away while maring a rider from High Wycombe CCRT, we bridged across to Ed and stayed away for a few miles, in which time I took the sprint for a time bonus. By the time we got reeled back there was about 25 miles gone, more futile attacks came and went but nothing stuck until Danny Axford launched a fierce attack with just under 3 laps to go, we missed this move and by the time we hit the front they had about 20s advantage. Rob and I were chasing on the front, but due to his earlier efforts marking on the front, Rob couldn't keep the chase up, which left me chasing on the front more or less on my own, I held the gap for a few miles but eventually the break got away and put over a minute into the bunch. I kept chasing hard but was tiring rapidly, Alec came to help at the front as things were starting to get desperate, we both pushed ourselves above and beyond the limit of our legs, and consequently we both got shelled out of the peloton. We rolled in over 3 minutes down on the bunch, losing our GC placings having gambled on trying to maintain the lead. It was dissapointing, but I always prefer to ride aggressively and go for victory rather than sitting in, racing negatively and settling for a top 10 in these small Regional A races. My legs were performing, but the tactics didn't come off this time, we tried out hardest though!

I tried to race again on Sunday, even though I woke up with a stinking cold, coughing and dribbling from my nose. Bad idea. I lasted 10 miles hanging on the back, before I headed straight on at one of the left hand bends, straight past the marshalls and back to my car. I don't want to make my cold worse in the lead up to the National 10 next Sunday. I have since been resting and recovering... Not 100% yet but I am hoping it won't affect me too much for the national.

Until Sunday! Ciao.

Last few races!

It seems again that I have been neglecting this blog of late, I haven't stopped racing, just stopped writing about them! Firstly, after my win in the Noel Jones I stupidly continued training through without a rest day... Hence I was knackered for a week afterwards! I raced Portsmouth again that Wednesday, really tired legs meant I clung on to the end and mustered a small sprint at the end, ended up in 12th place which I was happy with considering the state of my body!

AW Cycles 10 Mile TT... this was horrific, conditions changed so badly for the last 40 riders, I was in the last 40 riders. Long story short... it hailed, wind speed doubled... I was frozen... and I ended up 10th, not the result I wanted but hey ho, that is the fickle nature of the time trial!!

The Gerry Hughes road race in Worcestershire came around far too quickly and I was still not back at 100% for the race, nevertheless with 3 other team-mates in the race I was hoping to help pull something out of the bag for the boys! It was a flat course, with a couple of rolling sections but nothing too hard, the wind however made it a brutal race! The finish was going to be a block headwind sprint for the line! Things kicked off immediately, and my team-mate Alec got in the first break that soon pulled out a healthy gap. Commence the rest of us marshalling the bunch and chasing down all of the attempts to get across... Freddie, John and myself were doing a great job in this department... until I accidently dropped the bunch whilst chasing down a break. A large group of 15 got away, including me, and everyone was working hard to pull away from the bunch, we quickly pulled back the early break and Alec unfortunately was spent so could not stay at the head of the race, leaving me alone with lots of team-mates in the break. My legs were still feeling heavy but I was trying to break off the front, knowing I lack a huge sprint at the moment, however I couldn't get away, and ended up taking 7th place. A good result considering my legs and the team worked really well together, good signs!

Another local club TT came and went... 2nd place after a 75 mile morning ride, great training and another top 3!

I took a couple of easy days and by the time I got to Portsmouth for the penultimate round of the series I was feeling a lot better. Rested and ready to smash it! It was super windy so I opted for normal wheels rather than deep sections, I was also racing for the first time on my new Giant TCR Advanced II! A beautiful machine kindly supplied by Avon Valley Cyclery in Bath! It handled fatastically in the wind this week. The race started fast with a group of 11 taking a lap on the bunch within 8 minutes of the start, I was in this group and felt pretty comfortable taking the lap. There was soon another attack from Simon Brooks (VC St Raphael), I followed him off the front and we soon pulled out a third of a lap, working hard for 5 minutes before Jon Dibben (Hargroves) bridged across and the three of us pulled out to half a lap ahead. We were held by a chasing bunch for 30 agonisingly painful minutes, before thanks to a few hard pushes from Dibben and myself, we finally took a second lap. Dibben attacked again with 7 laps to go, Brooks went with him and I was boxed in on the inside, so missed the move. I chased hard right to the end but ended up half a lap down on the 2 guys, who had taken a third lap on the main field by the end. So a strong 3rd place, my best result in a National B race ever and enough to move me up to 3rd place overall in the series with one race remaining.

Next up was the Reading CC Road Race, a VERY wet and VERY windy affair... 50mph gusts and standing water throughout the course surely meant a very attritional race was on the cards! I was feeling really good and attacked on the second time down the crosswind section, Nick Baker (Zappi's) and I pulled out a minute very quickly on this section and were flying round the course, well out of sight of the peloton, which was losing riders by the minute! Unforunately Nick punctured after about 8 miles off the front, and with no service he didn't get a spare wheel until he passed his roadside support, by which time the bunch had swallowed him back up. Nevertheless I carried on and went round another lap by myself, cresting the climb to take the only sprint prime of the day, and with another 25 miles to go in the race, the bunch had closed the gap to 45 seconds, I made the decision to sit up and wait, a slightly negative decision but I didn't fancy my chances against the bunch for 25 miles. I was still feeling good though and ready to go again on the final lap, however I didn't get the chance, 30 seconds after I rejoined the bunch.. I punctured. No service. Game over. Bollocks. A great shame as I reckon I could have pulled a result out, nevertheless the team did not dissapoint as Alec took off with 20 miles to go and put a staggering 6 minutes into the bunch by himself, and taking a fine win in a tough race!!

The final round of the Ray Martin Memorial League at Portsmouth was a dissapointment for me, nobody took a lap and the bunch were marking the strong riders out of the race... My legs weren't 100% so I didn't get in any significant breaks, and ended up drifting back during the bunch sprint and coming in 14th place. I did manage to hold on to 3rd place in the overall league, taking home £75 for my troubles. Pretty happy with how the 5 race series went, I love the track at Portsmouth and will be back soon for sure!

Final race for this blog is the Andy Morrison Memorial Road Race, this was in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. The circuit was a 2.5 mile triangle with a descent, a drag (headwind) and a flat (tailwind). A rider from London Dynamo attacked early and stayed away by himself all race (WHAT..?) although he did get caught by one guy who had attacked with 5 laps to go. All told there were 3 riders out front at the end, but despite my best efforts to get out of the bunch, I wasn't one of them. I had attacked a lot and always pulled a decent gap, but the bunch seemed to love chasing me down today, and also enjoyed sitting on my wheel in a break doing no work... nevermind! With 1.5 laps to go Ed Clemens (VC10) attacked, and I went after him, with some nob from Team Corley Cycles stuck to my wheel offering no help with the workload. I have very little time for people that don't do their turns on the front. We caught Ed after one lap, by which point there was just over 1km to go, sadly the bunch had caught us again too, so it was a sprint! I settled into bunch in the top 5 riders, I'm not known for having a huge kick in a sprint so I went for a long one, starting my sprint with about 5-600m to go, I pushed my speed up over 35mph leading out the whole bunch, but knowing if I held the pace high I could hold them off. One guy came past so I ended up crossing the line in 5th. Happy with that after a tough attacking race, I just wish more people were willing to help in a breakaway!!

I now have 98 points on my licence, so just under halfway to moving up to 1st category... I aim to be there by the end of July, which is definitely do-able if I hold my current form!

I will try to stay on top of my race reports from now on as I know it is pretty dull reading about 10 on the trot! Thanks for reading though!

Ciao.