The final Grand Tour for 2012 has just begun - the Tour of Spain, better known as the Vuelta a Espana.
The Vuelta often (and unfairly) lacks some of the following that the Giro and the Tour de France attract. Perhaps people are 'cycling-weary', especially after a big year on the ProTour that included an Olympics as well.
Nonetheless, this year's Vueta is worth following! It is very different to this year's Tour de France, in that the Vuelta route is much more for pure climbers. There will be some interesting battles, and a number of questions will likely be answered...
Who will win?
Alberto Contador (SaxoBank-Tinkoff)
The big story of this year's race is the return of El Pistolero - Alberto Contador - after his suspension for use of clenbuterol. He is almost an unbackable favourite with the bookmakers. I believe he will win, but not by the crushing margin many are predicting.
In his favour is the fact he hasn't raced the Giro, Tour, or the Olympics, and will have fresh legs. I believe this is the key factor that will see him prevail over the likes of Froome and Van den Broek. Against him is his lack of racing - anyone who has raced before knows there is no substitute for 'race fitness'...
Expect to see Alberto Contador wearing the red leader's jersey at the conclusion of the Vuelta...
Who will come 2nd & 3rd?
Chris Froome (Team Sky)
Second at least year's Vuelta, after losing valuable time early on trying to sheperd Bradley Wiggins to teh win (sound familiar?). Second at this year's Tour de France, and arguably could have won himself if given the leeway to do so. There is no doubt the Kenyan-born Brit has the ability to win a grand tour one day.
I believe he will come second again in this race though, mainly because of his tough Tour de France and Olympics campaigns. The fresh legs of Contador will be too much for the talented Froome to overcome...
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)
Another rider with fresh legs, and a grand tour pedigree, is Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez. This punchy Spanish climber has podiumed at grand tours before, but has never broken through for the win.
He is not in the same class as Contador, but will challenge Froome hard for 2nd place. Apart from having fresh legs, Rodriguez's big advantage is his ability to win stages and take advantage of the generous time bonuses on offer at the Vuelta. This will put him at a huge advantage over Froome...
Close, but not quite...
Jurgen Van den Broek (Lotto-Belisol)
For me, VdB was the big surprise in this year's Tour de France. He showed genuine improvement, and made the big step up in class to show he is capable of winning a grand tour some time soon. Like Froome though, I don't think he'll be able to back-up after a very tough Tour and will finish just off the podium.
The Rabobank Dilemma
Robert Gesink vs Bauke Mollema
This will be an interesting race within a race. Rabobank has a 'dual leader' strategy for the Vuelta, giving both Gesink and Mollema freedom to do their best for the overall.
On the one hand you have Gesink, who has promised much as a grand tour contender but has never broken through for an overall podium. Then you have the 'young gun' Mollema, who is desperate to prove himself as worthy of outright team leader status.
By all accounts, both riders get on well and the team dynamic is very good. So it will be fascinating to see which of these riders prevails as the standout for Rabobank. It will likely decide team leader status for next year's Tour de France...
Viewing in Australia
SBS Television is showing a handful of stages live this year - do yourself a favour and watch this year's race. It should be a great mountains battle between the key contenders...
Am I on track?
Monday, 20 August 2012
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Race 6/2012 - Balmoral Club Criterium, Murarrie.
A great start to the month of August training-wise saw me having racked up over 300km in the first 9 days. After having Friday off the bike (as I had to cart a lot of work stuff home for a trip to Sydney at the start of next week), I decided it was time to bust out the brand new club jersey and hit the Saturday morning crits.
After a solid week and a half of steady base-building style riding, I knew I had no 'speed' - but I was hoping my overall fitness would get me through. The aim was to basically get through the race with the pack, giving me a solid effort at a higher intensity than normal in order to give the legs a bit of a 'change up' as part of my August 'build'.
The hardest part of the day was getting out of bed! It was a cold morning, with some very fresh (ie. freezing!) south-westerly winds whipping around. I dragged out my wind-vest for the first time in 3 years, and also had an under-shirt under my jersey, and arm-warmers...
The race had a good-size peloton - around 35 people toed the line for C-Grade. After a quick race briefing we were racing 40min + 3 laps), we were away. We settled into a steady pace, with two main teams (QSM and Kangaroo Point Cycling Club) looking to control the race.
All went well in the first half of the race, I was able to maintain a midfield position without killing myself. I was feeling god, and was happy with how I felt.
Everything changed just after the mid-way prime sprint though. I had a really tough time from about the 25min mark to about 40min. It was 15min of total pain for me. I really struggled, and had to focus hard and put in some big efforts to hold on to the back of the pack. Not really sure why - if it was the pace, or just a shock to the legs being at that intensity for so long - but it was very hard work.
The pace then dipped, as the two main teams eased up waiting for the 3 laps to go sign to come out. It didn't arrive until the 45min mark, so I got two easy laps to 'recover'.
This was surprising for me - I recovered very quickly. After those two laps, I felt terrific and ready to get going again! I guess this was the benefit of my consistent base riding over the last week and a half...
The final three laps went quickly. I was in a great position on the last lap, and came into the final corner in the front third of the field. Unfortunately, I had no sprint to unleash (but that will come!) - so I did what I could, and rolled over the line in about 15th place.
All up, a terrific morning of racing. A great confidence build, and told me a lot about how well my training is going - it's certainly encouraged me to keep up my consistency!
Final stats for the race - 50min at 39km/h average.
After a solid week and a half of steady base-building style riding, I knew I had no 'speed' - but I was hoping my overall fitness would get me through. The aim was to basically get through the race with the pack, giving me a solid effort at a higher intensity than normal in order to give the legs a bit of a 'change up' as part of my August 'build'.
The hardest part of the day was getting out of bed! It was a cold morning, with some very fresh (ie. freezing!) south-westerly winds whipping around. I dragged out my wind-vest for the first time in 3 years, and also had an under-shirt under my jersey, and arm-warmers...
The race had a good-size peloton - around 35 people toed the line for C-Grade. After a quick race briefing we were racing 40min + 3 laps), we were away. We settled into a steady pace, with two main teams (QSM and Kangaroo Point Cycling Club) looking to control the race.
All went well in the first half of the race, I was able to maintain a midfield position without killing myself. I was feeling god, and was happy with how I felt.
Everything changed just after the mid-way prime sprint though. I had a really tough time from about the 25min mark to about 40min. It was 15min of total pain for me. I really struggled, and had to focus hard and put in some big efforts to hold on to the back of the pack. Not really sure why - if it was the pace, or just a shock to the legs being at that intensity for so long - but it was very hard work.
The pace then dipped, as the two main teams eased up waiting for the 3 laps to go sign to come out. It didn't arrive until the 45min mark, so I got two easy laps to 'recover'.
This was surprising for me - I recovered very quickly. After those two laps, I felt terrific and ready to get going again! I guess this was the benefit of my consistent base riding over the last week and a half...
The final three laps went quickly. I was in a great position on the last lap, and came into the final corner in the front third of the field. Unfortunately, I had no sprint to unleash (but that will come!) - so I did what I could, and rolled over the line in about 15th place.
All up, a terrific morning of racing. A great confidence build, and told me a lot about how well my training is going - it's certainly encouraged me to keep up my consistency!
Final stats for the race - 50min at 39km/h average.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
July 2012 Review
A bit of a write-off month for me. Missed a few weeks due to work & family holiday travel, then struggled to get back into the swing of things for the last quarter of the month...
Mileage - 163km (year-to-date total - 2764km)
Weight - 78kg (steady)
Don't really want to dwell on this 'off month' - no point in any woulda-shoulda-coulda analysis. I did learn a few lessons though that I will take with me moving forward.
The habit of training
What surprised me most, and caught me off-guard, was how hard I found it to get back into the habit of regular training after the forced month off the bike.
I expected to just resume my usual schedule. But I was really disorganised, found myself shrugging off some perfect cycling days, and slept-in way too easily. It goes to show how important it is to have that 'standard routine' ingrained into you, so you just 'get up and go' without thinking about it.
So that's one of my main goals this month - restarting the 'habit'. I know my fitness and pace will bounce back quickly with that habit and consistency back, so the motivation and reward are both there. The month has started well cycling-wise, having ridden both days, plus the weather outlook is perfect, so all the stars are aligning... :)
Racing for the month ahead
The key event this month is the Charles Coin Memorial road race. For me (Division 6 / Masters C), this will be a 72km race (4 x 18km laps) out at Mulgowie, which is south of Laidley, Qld.
Much like the Avanti Classic back in June, I have a shortened preparation for this one. Learning from that though, I will be trying to get in some much longer rides in prior to the race.
The keys will be doing the long Sunday club rides for the next two weekends (usually around 80km), and joining some other group rides on each Saturday as well for similar length rides. I'll fit some faster work in on my weekday commutes to sharpen the legs up as well.
If I can achieve these training goals, I think I can realistically hope to finish with a large part of the peloton come race day. Not knowing the course, I may be misguided - but that's the goal anyhow.
Hopefully, if all goes to plan, this will be a relatively high-mileage month for me, which will set me up for some good results in the last quarter of the year.
Mileage - 163km (year-to-date total - 2764km)
Weight - 78kg (steady)
Don't really want to dwell on this 'off month' - no point in any woulda-shoulda-coulda analysis. I did learn a few lessons though that I will take with me moving forward.
The habit of training
What surprised me most, and caught me off-guard, was how hard I found it to get back into the habit of regular training after the forced month off the bike.
I expected to just resume my usual schedule. But I was really disorganised, found myself shrugging off some perfect cycling days, and slept-in way too easily. It goes to show how important it is to have that 'standard routine' ingrained into you, so you just 'get up and go' without thinking about it.
So that's one of my main goals this month - restarting the 'habit'. I know my fitness and pace will bounce back quickly with that habit and consistency back, so the motivation and reward are both there. The month has started well cycling-wise, having ridden both days, plus the weather outlook is perfect, so all the stars are aligning... :)
Racing for the month ahead
The key event this month is the Charles Coin Memorial road race. For me (Division 6 / Masters C), this will be a 72km race (4 x 18km laps) out at Mulgowie, which is south of Laidley, Qld.
Much like the Avanti Classic back in June, I have a shortened preparation for this one. Learning from that though, I will be trying to get in some much longer rides in prior to the race.
The keys will be doing the long Sunday club rides for the next two weekends (usually around 80km), and joining some other group rides on each Saturday as well for similar length rides. I'll fit some faster work in on my weekday commutes to sharpen the legs up as well.
If I can achieve these training goals, I think I can realistically hope to finish with a large part of the peloton come race day. Not knowing the course, I may be misguided - but that's the goal anyhow.
Hopefully, if all goes to plan, this will be a relatively high-mileage month for me, which will set me up for some good results in the last quarter of the year.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
London Olympics Road Race 2012 - preview & predictions
The opening ceremony fireworks are over, the cauldron has been lit, and the 2012 London Olympics have begun!!
One of the first events is the men's cycling road race. This is one of the toughest races to win (and predict!), and is a highly sought after victory for every rider.
Why is it so tough to predict a winner?
Length - the race is a long, testing 250km. If you are a sprinter, you still need to have the legs to sprint for the line after a very long day in the saddle.
Course - The main part of the race is a 15km circuit around Box Hill, which they complete 9 times in a row. It has a short, 2.5km climb in it that averages around 5% gradient. On its own, that's not too bad - but they do this 9 times in a row. To make it even harder, the roads on this circuit are narrow, windy, and uneven. It'll be very difficult to hold you rposition, and even harder to make up ground if you drop back or any reason.
Team size - A normal pro team has 7-9 members for each race (depending on the event). The maximum team size in the Olympic event is 5, and only a handful of teams have qualified this many members (notables include Great Britain, Australia, and Germany). Many teams have only 1 or 2 competitors, most notably Peter Sagan who is the sole representative for Slovakia. This makes controlling the race very difficult, and only a few teams have the resources to chase down breakaways or split up the peloton.
No race radios - Race radios are banned, so there are no team instructions or status updates being fed straight to the ears of each rider as per usual racing. This means they won't know who is in the breakaway until it is away, causing huge uncertainty. Also, if a key tem member is dropped and isn't immediately noticed, they will be gone and too far back to assist.
Competitor calibre - There is a significant number of competitors who aren't at Pro Tour level, but have qualified as their country's sole representative. These guys will be doing their best to keep up with the Cancellaras, Boonens, and Gilberts - but could they cause problems on the tighter parts of the circuit with possible lesser handling skills?
So what are the race scenarios?
The race will either end with a large breakaway group winning, or a massive bunch finish with the peloton all together.
I believe a large breakaway will escape and the winner will come from that group. This is chiefly because only two teams want the race to come down to a sprint - Great Britain (for Mark Cavendish) and Germany (for Andre Greipel).
As I mentioned earlier, team size means Great Britain and Germany have only 8 suppport riders between them (the size of only one normal Tour de France team)to control the pace and chase down any breakaways. No other team will help them, because Greipel & Cavendish are the form sprinters at the moment - why assist them to the line if they'll just beat your team mate?
So all the other teams will be trying to get riders into the breakaway, and then letting Great Britain and Germany do the chasing if they can.
The tight Box Hill circuit will make this harder too - they will need to close any gap in the long 50km drag race to the finish line at Buckingham Palace.
Who will win?
Let's start with who won't win:
Who will win in my 'breakaway' scenario:
One of the first events is the men's cycling road race. This is one of the toughest races to win (and predict!), and is a highly sought after victory for every rider.
Why is it so tough to predict a winner?
Length - the race is a long, testing 250km. If you are a sprinter, you still need to have the legs to sprint for the line after a very long day in the saddle.
Course - The main part of the race is a 15km circuit around Box Hill, which they complete 9 times in a row. It has a short, 2.5km climb in it that averages around 5% gradient. On its own, that's not too bad - but they do this 9 times in a row. To make it even harder, the roads on this circuit are narrow, windy, and uneven. It'll be very difficult to hold you rposition, and even harder to make up ground if you drop back or any reason.
Team size - A normal pro team has 7-9 members for each race (depending on the event). The maximum team size in the Olympic event is 5, and only a handful of teams have qualified this many members (notables include Great Britain, Australia, and Germany). Many teams have only 1 or 2 competitors, most notably Peter Sagan who is the sole representative for Slovakia. This makes controlling the race very difficult, and only a few teams have the resources to chase down breakaways or split up the peloton.
No race radios - Race radios are banned, so there are no team instructions or status updates being fed straight to the ears of each rider as per usual racing. This means they won't know who is in the breakaway until it is away, causing huge uncertainty. Also, if a key tem member is dropped and isn't immediately noticed, they will be gone and too far back to assist.
Competitor calibre - There is a significant number of competitors who aren't at Pro Tour level, but have qualified as their country's sole representative. These guys will be doing their best to keep up with the Cancellaras, Boonens, and Gilberts - but could they cause problems on the tighter parts of the circuit with possible lesser handling skills?
So what are the race scenarios?
The race will either end with a large breakaway group winning, or a massive bunch finish with the peloton all together.
I believe a large breakaway will escape and the winner will come from that group. This is chiefly because only two teams want the race to come down to a sprint - Great Britain (for Mark Cavendish) and Germany (for Andre Greipel).
As I mentioned earlier, team size means Great Britain and Germany have only 8 suppport riders between them (the size of only one normal Tour de France team)to control the pace and chase down any breakaways. No other team will help them, because Greipel & Cavendish are the form sprinters at the moment - why assist them to the line if they'll just beat your team mate?
So all the other teams will be trying to get riders into the breakaway, and then letting Great Britain and Germany do the chasing if they can.
The tight Box Hill circuit will make this harder too - they will need to close any gap in the long 50km drag race to the finish line at Buckingham Palace.
Who will win?
Let's start with who won't win:
- Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) - for the reasons above. Plus I think the course will be a bit too tough on him.
- Andre Greipel (Germany) - ditto.
- Matthew Goss (Australia) - he will be shadowing Cav and Greipel, and if I am wrong and it does come to a sprint, they'll be too good for him...
Who will win in my 'breakaway' scenario:
- Peter Sagan (Slovakia) - this course is made for him, but he will struggle as the only Slovakian team member. He won't have any team members to get him waterbottles, etc from the team car, or help him chase back to the main peloton if he punctures.
- Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)- another who likes the hillier course, and has a good size team. Likely that Tom Boonen will wait for a sprint, while Gilbert will go for the breakaway, so Belgium has both scenarios covered.
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) - my favourite for the race, a strong sprinter who has the legs to get over Box Hill 9 times...
- Fabian Cancellara / Michael Albasini (Switzerland) - similar to Belgium, these guys will both aim to get into breakaways. One of them will succeed...
- Sylvain Chavanel (France) - a classic breakaway rider, but I suspect he fancies himself in the time tiral instead for this Olympics.
- Vincenzo Nibali (Italy) - one of the best bike handlers in the peloton, he'll look to form a break on the tight Box Hill circuit.
- Simon Gerrans / Cadel Evans (Australia) - like the Swiss team, these two will both look to get into the breakaway. First one to get into the successful break will have a great chance, while theother will drop back and then protect Matthew Goss.
Can't wait to see how this pans out. It'll be a tough, exciting, unpredictable race!!
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Training Challenge - Ten Days of Pain!
I find myself 10 days out from the end of July, and what have I done on the bike? A big fat nothing...
The first half of the month was planned that way - I was away in Canberra for work, and then had the big family driving holiday to the snow. But the next week was a combination of weather, injury, and laziness...
Some early rain in the week meant the bike stayed in the garage for the first couple of days. Plus, some sort of injury flared up in my foot. I have no idea what it is - basically, its pain & soreness at the front of the arch of my right foot... I'm guessing it plantar fasciitis, but that's typically more at the heel end of the arch.
At any rate, I decided to take it easy so I didn't make it worse. It started to come good at the end of the week, but I decided to wait until the weekend before riding again, just to be sure. Which was an easy decision to make, given that I was so tired from staying up late to watch the Tour de France...
So where does Ten Days of Pain come in?
With 10 days of July left, and coming off almost a full month off the bike, I decided I need a goal to really kick start my training towards the Ipswich Open.
One of the things I've learnt in recent months is that consistency is the most important factor in my training. The best results come from stringing together consecutive days on the bike. Up until now, the most days I have done in a row has been seven...
So my goal for the rest of this month is to get on the bike and ride every single day - my Ten Days of Pain!!
Sure, I could've called it "10 days of consistency" or "10 days on the bike" - but that doesn't have the same kick-butt, motivating hook!
The weather forecast is looking great for the next week or so, with fine, sunny days likely for at least the next seven days. So no impediments there!
I'm feeling confident and excited to see how my legs cope with ten days of cycling in a row - hopefully I'll learn some more about how my body reacts to that much training, and it'll give me a basis for further structure in the future.
The first half of the month was planned that way - I was away in Canberra for work, and then had the big family driving holiday to the snow. But the next week was a combination of weather, injury, and laziness...
Some early rain in the week meant the bike stayed in the garage for the first couple of days. Plus, some sort of injury flared up in my foot. I have no idea what it is - basically, its pain & soreness at the front of the arch of my right foot... I'm guessing it plantar fasciitis, but that's typically more at the heel end of the arch.
At any rate, I decided to take it easy so I didn't make it worse. It started to come good at the end of the week, but I decided to wait until the weekend before riding again, just to be sure. Which was an easy decision to make, given that I was so tired from staying up late to watch the Tour de France...
So where does Ten Days of Pain come in?
With 10 days of July left, and coming off almost a full month off the bike, I decided I need a goal to really kick start my training towards the Ipswich Open.
One of the things I've learnt in recent months is that consistency is the most important factor in my training. The best results come from stringing together consecutive days on the bike. Up until now, the most days I have done in a row has been seven...
So my goal for the rest of this month is to get on the bike and ride every single day - my Ten Days of Pain!!
Sure, I could've called it "10 days of consistency" or "10 days on the bike" - but that doesn't have the same kick-butt, motivating hook!
The weather forecast is looking great for the next week or so, with fine, sunny days likely for at least the next seven days. So no impediments there!
I'm feeling confident and excited to see how my legs cope with ten days of cycling in a row - hopefully I'll learn some more about how my body reacts to that much training, and it'll give me a basis for further structure in the future.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Race 5/2012 - Avanti Classic, Lowood.
Way back on Sunday 24th June, I lycra'ed up for my first big 'target race' of the season - the Avanti Classic. It was an 80km handicap race, starting (and finishing) in the town of Lowood, west of Brisbane. Held over two 40km laps, it travelled through Fernvale, over the Wivenhoe Dam wall, and passed Coominyah.
My main goal for the race result-wise was to go under 2hrs 40min for my overall time (my previous best was 2hrs 51min). But in reality, my chief goal was to enjoy the race, push myself as hard as I could, and just see what I could do!
How did the day go?
Race day kick-off was at 11:30am for the first riders. I rocked up with my wife and kids in tow at 10:30am to find out my handicap, and collect my race numbers, timing tag, course map, and other bits and pieces. Lifecycle CC run an outstanding event, and so this all went very smoothly.
I checked my handicap - I was in the 17min group. This meant that I would start 17min after the very first group. Checking the rest of the list, I found out I had a 20min headstart on the scratch markers... This had me feeling pretty nervous - only a 20min headstart over 80km against A-grade riders!!
I was hoping to at least get through the first 40km lap without getting passed by the scratch group, so I knew I couldn't muck around when I started! I had my motivation sorted...
Race time!
I won't go into crazy detail about the race itself - but the first lap went really well. My group of 10 riders all worked well together from the start. We started a rolling paceline that worked pretty efficiently 90% of the time. Every now and then I skipped a turn when I felt my legs getting over-worked, but I really enjoyed being part of a smoothly-running, hard-riding start to the race.
Unfortunately, when we hit the first decent hill of the race, I got dropped by the group. The race has two notable climbs, being the two hills on either side of the Wivenhoe Dam wall. I struggled on both hills, on both laps - a clear sign of where I need to focus my training over the coming months!!
From here, I hooked onto faster groups as they went through and held on as long as I could. Obviously, this got harder and harder as the race went on - as each new group came, they were much faster, plus I was getting more and more tired! On the first lap though, I only lost a few more groups, so I was happy with that.
I covered the first 40km lap in 1hr 9min 44sec, giving an average speed of 34.4km/h. With a decent chunk of that solo riding up two tough climbs, I was feeling quietly pleased and confident with my performance so far.
The second lap beckons...
I knew the second 40km lap would be my 'lap of truth'. My lack of long rides meant I really didn't know how my legs would handle it - it was very much unknown territory. I crossed the start/finish solo, and decided to keep pushing hard and see how long I could go before I popped...
Not long after starting the second lap, a group of two faster riders came through and I tacked on. These two were my last real group for the day - after about 5km, a very quick, large bunch of around 15 riders came pouring through. I couldn't hold onto them at all, and watched them ride off into the distance...
I felt a bit down, as I knew that any more groups coming through would be just too fast for me, and I still had over 30km to go! But that's when I got my little 'mental miracle' - I saw a car that looked a lot like mine parked further down the road. As I got closer, my youngest daughter jumped out and started cheering madly, while my other daughter and my wife yelled encouragement out the windows! It was exactly what I needed - I refocused my effort, and with a big smile on my face pushed onwards...
I really struggled on the 2nd lap with the two hills. It was pretty ugly - I basically wrestled my bike up each hill, convincing myself of how much I'd enjoy the descent afterwards... I do remember vowing to make sure I do hill repeats every single week for the rest of my life to make sure I never sucked this bad again!!
Not surprisingly, I probably hit my limit at around the 70km mark. I got the first twinges in my lower back, and my legs were starting to burn. To be honest, I was pleased I'd gotten that far without my body starting to fall apart - but I knew this last 10km would be a true slog. I put my head down, and focussed everything on keeping a steady (albeit slow) cadence and getting to the finish as soon as I could.
Done!!
The lap finishes with a 1km downhill sweeper, and I could see the start/finish arch from the top of that downhill. I pushed hard, and used up every last bit of energy I had to finish off the 80km and the race. It was a pretty ugly sprint in the 52x15 (embarrassing!), but I felt totally stoked to complete the race.
So how did I go?
I finished with an overall time of 2hrs 34min 27sec - beating my goal time, and setting a personal best of over 15 minutes! Very, very happy with that.
Position wise, I was the very last finisher on the road. There were 187 starters, of whom 163 finished, and I was lucky 163rd. But that meant I did beat the 24 DNF's, so was I really last...?? :)
I mentioned it earlier - but Lifecycle Club run a terrific race. Everything went super-smoothly, and I had a great time racing.
I learnt a lot about how far I had come since re-starting racing after the 'big accident', and a lot about what I need to do in the coming months. Plus I had an awesome Sunday afternoon riding a beautiful course. Can't wait to do it all again next year!
My main goal for the race result-wise was to go under 2hrs 40min for my overall time (my previous best was 2hrs 51min). But in reality, my chief goal was to enjoy the race, push myself as hard as I could, and just see what I could do!
How did the day go?
Race day kick-off was at 11:30am for the first riders. I rocked up with my wife and kids in tow at 10:30am to find out my handicap, and collect my race numbers, timing tag, course map, and other bits and pieces. Lifecycle CC run an outstanding event, and so this all went very smoothly.
I checked my handicap - I was in the 17min group. This meant that I would start 17min after the very first group. Checking the rest of the list, I found out I had a 20min headstart on the scratch markers... This had me feeling pretty nervous - only a 20min headstart over 80km against A-grade riders!!
I was hoping to at least get through the first 40km lap without getting passed by the scratch group, so I knew I couldn't muck around when I started! I had my motivation sorted...
Race time!
I won't go into crazy detail about the race itself - but the first lap went really well. My group of 10 riders all worked well together from the start. We started a rolling paceline that worked pretty efficiently 90% of the time. Every now and then I skipped a turn when I felt my legs getting over-worked, but I really enjoyed being part of a smoothly-running, hard-riding start to the race.
Unfortunately, when we hit the first decent hill of the race, I got dropped by the group. The race has two notable climbs, being the two hills on either side of the Wivenhoe Dam wall. I struggled on both hills, on both laps - a clear sign of where I need to focus my training over the coming months!!
From here, I hooked onto faster groups as they went through and held on as long as I could. Obviously, this got harder and harder as the race went on - as each new group came, they were much faster, plus I was getting more and more tired! On the first lap though, I only lost a few more groups, so I was happy with that.
I covered the first 40km lap in 1hr 9min 44sec, giving an average speed of 34.4km/h. With a decent chunk of that solo riding up two tough climbs, I was feeling quietly pleased and confident with my performance so far.
Finishing the first lap...
The second lap beckons...
I knew the second 40km lap would be my 'lap of truth'. My lack of long rides meant I really didn't know how my legs would handle it - it was very much unknown territory. I crossed the start/finish solo, and decided to keep pushing hard and see how long I could go before I popped...
Not long after starting the second lap, a group of two faster riders came through and I tacked on. These two were my last real group for the day - after about 5km, a very quick, large bunch of around 15 riders came pouring through. I couldn't hold onto them at all, and watched them ride off into the distance...
I felt a bit down, as I knew that any more groups coming through would be just too fast for me, and I still had over 30km to go! But that's when I got my little 'mental miracle' - I saw a car that looked a lot like mine parked further down the road. As I got closer, my youngest daughter jumped out and started cheering madly, while my other daughter and my wife yelled encouragement out the windows! It was exactly what I needed - I refocused my effort, and with a big smile on my face pushed onwards...
I really struggled on the 2nd lap with the two hills. It was pretty ugly - I basically wrestled my bike up each hill, convincing myself of how much I'd enjoy the descent afterwards... I do remember vowing to make sure I do hill repeats every single week for the rest of my life to make sure I never sucked this bad again!!
Not surprisingly, I probably hit my limit at around the 70km mark. I got the first twinges in my lower back, and my legs were starting to burn. To be honest, I was pleased I'd gotten that far without my body starting to fall apart - but I knew this last 10km would be a true slog. I put my head down, and focussed everything on keeping a steady (albeit slow) cadence and getting to the finish as soon as I could.
Done!!
The lap finishes with a 1km downhill sweeper, and I could see the start/finish arch from the top of that downhill. I pushed hard, and used up every last bit of energy I had to finish off the 80km and the race. It was a pretty ugly sprint in the 52x15 (embarrassing!), but I felt totally stoked to complete the race.
So how did I go?
I finished with an overall time of 2hrs 34min 27sec - beating my goal time, and setting a personal best of over 15 minutes! Very, very happy with that.
Position wise, I was the very last finisher on the road. There were 187 starters, of whom 163 finished, and I was lucky 163rd. But that meant I did beat the 24 DNF's, so was I really last...?? :)
I mentioned it earlier - but Lifecycle Club run a terrific race. Everything went super-smoothly, and I had a great time racing.
I learnt a lot about how far I had come since re-starting racing after the 'big accident', and a lot about what I need to do in the coming months. Plus I had an awesome Sunday afternoon riding a beautiful course. Can't wait to do it all again next year!
Saturday, 14 July 2012
June 2012 Review
I am finally back home (and online!) after a two-week road trip with my wife and kids around rural New South Wales and Queensland, including a weekend skiing in the snow at Perisher. So I'd better get my stats recorded before I forget what I have done!!
Mileage - 412km (2012 total so far - 2601km)
Weight - 78kg (down 1kg for the month)
My mileage figure of 412 km isn't much, but when you consider that is only from just under two weeks of riding, I'm actually very happy with that!! I missed the first week of June with a very bad cold. I then had two clear weeks, culminating in the Avanti Classic 80km handicap. Then I missed the rest of the month due to a combination of bad weather and work commitments taking me away.
So, averaging over 200km/week is something I am very proud of!! My body handled it OK, so I know what I can work with now for my next race goal...
Weight-wise, I continue the downward trend. I lost another kilo without really trying, which is a good thing. Its still not a focus though, I'll only be concerned if it suddenly spikes upwards...
So what's next?
Three races are ahead of me:
These are the key events I'll be doing in the next couple of months, with the Ipswich Open being the "A race" it will all be focussed upon. Now that I;m back home, this weekend will be about planning how I'm going to roughly structure my training for the 11-week build towards Ipswich.
Let's hope for clear skies for the next 3 months!!
Mileage - 412km (2012 total so far - 2601km)
Weight - 78kg (down 1kg for the month)
My mileage figure of 412 km isn't much, but when you consider that is only from just under two weeks of riding, I'm actually very happy with that!! I missed the first week of June with a very bad cold. I then had two clear weeks, culminating in the Avanti Classic 80km handicap. Then I missed the rest of the month due to a combination of bad weather and work commitments taking me away.
So, averaging over 200km/week is something I am very proud of!! My body handled it OK, so I know what I can work with now for my next race goal...
Weight-wise, I continue the downward trend. I lost another kilo without really trying, which is a good thing. Its still not a focus though, I'll only be concerned if it suddenly spikes upwards...
So what's next?
Three races are ahead of me:
- Charles Coin Memorial road race (72 km) - 19th August 2012
- Tour de Valley Qld Masters ITT Championships (18 km) - 8th September 2012
- Ipswich Open - 30th September 2012
These are the key events I'll be doing in the next couple of months, with the Ipswich Open being the "A race" it will all be focussed upon. Now that I;m back home, this weekend will be about planning how I'm going to roughly structure my training for the 11-week build towards Ipswich.
Let's hope for clear skies for the next 3 months!!
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