Tour Down Under 2014 - preview & predictions

The Tour Down Under (TDU) is far from the most prestigious event on the international cycling calendar, despite its status as one of the top tier World Tour events.  But for Australian cycling fans, it is held dear as our own little Tour de France.

Being in the 'wrong hemisphere' means as cycling fans we are used to viewing the professionals while trying not to fall asleep on our couches. We have to try and not cheer too loudly either, as the rest of the house is fast asleep...

As a result, and due to its placement during the summer school holidays, the TDU is hugely popular here. Many fans make a pilgrimage to Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia, while others enjoy watching the racing with the sun still up.

The Race Itself

The TDU is a 6 stage race in South Australia.  That doesn't include the People's Choice Classic - a pre-race criterium held two days before stage 1 that all competitors participate in.

In recent years, the race has been a sprinters' paradise.  German powerhouse Andre Greipel has feasted on the many flat stages, racking up stage wins and plenty of World Tour points.  This year, however, the stages are little bumpier.  Certainly not mountainous - far from it - but enough to level the playing field a little and give the roulers a chance to win.

The Battles to Watch

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) vs Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano)

Two of the very best sprinters in the world, both hailing from Germany.  The result from the People's Choice Classic (Kittel first, Greipel second) shows that they came to Adelaide to win.  Will be fascinating to see who can dominate and take early season bragging rights.

Greipel & Kittel sprint to the line during the People's Choice Classic

Cadel Evans (BMC) vs Richie Porte (Sky)

Two Aussies at opposite ends of their careers - Cadel having achieved so much already, and Porte on the cusp of stepping up as a Grand Tour contender.  Both riders are targeting the Giro d'Italia this year, and the TDU provides us with a tasty entree to this battle.

In reality, neither are probably particularly worried about each other this week.  But as a spectator you can't help but feel that this race will be the first shot in a long 2014 battle between these two great competitors.

Caleb Ewan (UniSA) vs Public Expectation & Potential

Still a teenager, and set to join Orica-Greenedge late in season 2014, Ewan has bucketloads of potential.  Many are expecting, probably unfairly, that he'll be able to match the World Tour sprinters in Adelaide.

I'm a huge fan (already!) of Ewan, and am looking forward to seeing how he goes against the big boys.  But let's let the young fella enjoy the experience, rather than suffocating him with any more expectation...

Team Drapac vs The Race Organiser

Stepping up to the Pro-Continental level in 2014, Drapac Cycling Team have had a long running battle to win a spot (as a Continental team) in the TDU.  They have finally gotten their coveted spot, and will be looking to justify it with a showy performance over the 6-day event.

Who Will Win?

The obvious choice is Simon Gerrans (Orica-Greenedge), who showed with his strong win in the Australian Road Nationals last week that he is in terrific early season form.  He will be tested though by the likes of Cadel Evans and Richie Porte, who will be looking to rack up some early season victories to bolster their own confidence leading in to the northern hemisphere spring.

Was the Aussie Road Nationals podium a preview of the TDU podium?

For the other big names, like Frank Schleck (Trek), Robert Gesink (Belkin), and Jurgen Roelandts (amongst others) - well, we'll have to wait and see if they are treating the TDU as a week-long training camp, or as an early season target race.

Summary

Australia's chance to briefly be the focus of the world cycling community.  Home viewers can watch all stages live on the Nine Network's free-to-air digital channel 'Gem' - check your guide's for details.

Don't miss this chance to watch fantastic cycling at a civilised hour - I'll be glued to the set watching as much as I can. I'll be cheering loudly for Cadel for the overall, and young Caleb Ewan for a couple of confidence-boosting performances in the sprints.  Enjoy!!

Race 4/2013 - Twilight Criterium (HPRW), Nundah

Back on December 4th, I lined up for my fourth race of the year.  The Twilight Crits, run by the HPRW club, are one of my favourite crit race series - a bunch of Wednesday afternoon races that turns 'hump day' from boring to something to look forward to!

It would indeed be a race for me to remember for a number of reasons...

Normally I'd punch some stats up for the race straight up.  I'm not 100% sure what they are though - but thankfully Strava (ride link here) helps me out...  I raced in B2 grade, and I know that every single lap averaged over 40km/h - most in the low-mid 40's range.  It was a quick race...

The Story of the Day

I rolled up to sign on for C-Grade (as usual) - but the current grading system used by HPRW has Masters C riders under 50yo racing up in B2 (with the Masters B riders!!).  No worries of course - its all for fun and games.  I handed over my $10 and pinned on my number.

We lined up for the pre-race briefing at 5pm.  Based on the numbers I saw, there were about 60 starters in my race - definitely a big one!  The race format was a 'points race'. Basically, first across the line every lap scored points, and then on the last lap the first 5 scored as well.  Most points would be the winner.

As usual, my goals were a lot more modest (especially given I was racing 'up' a grade). I simply wanted to last the distance.

The race went hard from the gun.  The first 3 laps were actually the quickest of the day - all averaging above 45km/h (with the second lap up around 47.5km/h).  We were hitting 50km/h along the home straight each time!

Needless to say, I was struggling.  I was giving absolutely everything to just hang on.   I somehow survived those first few laps, but I was well in the red zone.  The clock on my speedo had just ticked over 5min, and I thought that may be it for me!

I started a simple game - just hold on to the next corner...  I kept digging deep, and pushing on & on. A number of times I thought I was gone, but I managed to just keep a hold of the peloton. My mouth was dry, but I dared not reach down for my bottle...

Time started adding up - 6min, 7min, 8min... When the clock ticked over to 10min, a wave of relief washed over me - I had at least made double figures!

At around the 12min mark - something changed with me. Suddenly, everything seemed to adapt. I was still pushing extremely hard, but the pain disappeared and I seemed to find my rhythm. It was a wonderful feeling, and I dared to dream that I may make the finish...

Finally, at around the 35min mark, the 2 laps to go sign came up.  The bell went a lap later, and I was on the final lap.  I was absolutely elated!!  I knew I had never been in a race this fast before and made it to the finish.  Having dug myself out of the deep hole I was in after 10min just made it sweeter again.

I knew I wouldn't be sprinting at the finish, so I decided to get out of everyone's way.  I was about a third back fro the front, and let myself drift back into the rear third of the field.

Suddenly, everything changes...

Second last curve of the race.  Some guy a few in front of me dramatically changes line and chops someone's wheel.  Guy goes down heavily in front of me, spreadeagled with his bike across the track.  I'm travelling at almost 50km/h with no-where to go.  I hit him and think, "please not my collarbone..."

The Short Story

Everything hurts - and then only my left shoulder hurts.  Yep, the same one as last time. Oh no...

Ambulance to Royal Brisbane Hospital. X-Rays and MRI's.  Concerns over a fractured eye socket eventually dismisssed (phew!).  Lots of concerns over a left shoulder that seems to be continually swelling, so kept in overnight.

Final verdict - left clavicle fractured distally, and needing to be plated. More concern though over the ligaments, that seem to be 'shredded' (registrar's words - not good!).  Surgery scheduled for the following week.

What's next?

Normally, this section of a race report is about my next lot of racing and/or training.  But I'll just leave things there for now, given that any cycling is months away (at least)...

For the sake of posterity though - next post will cover off on what exactly happened with my shoulder...!!

Stay safe everyone, and don't take the joys of cycling for granted.  I miss it already...

Where have I been...?! (Oct & Nov 2013 Review)

Life's been pretty busy lately - lots happening in all spheres of my life.  Don't mistake inactivity in the bog for inactivity in life - quite the opposite!!  I'm checking in here quickly to log a few stats for my ongoing record, and quickly run over what I've been doing, and what's coming up...

Firstly - updated stats:

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January - 300km / 13hrs

 February - 452km / 20hrs
 March - 341km / 20hrs
 April - 269km / 12hrs
 May - 201km / 10hrs
 June - 437km / 21hrs
 July - 71km / 4hrs
 August - 518km / 26hrs
September - 455km / 21hrs
October - 386km / 17hrs
 November - 245km / 13hrs

Year to date - 3674km / 178hrs

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Obviously things fell away mileage-wise over the last couple of months.

The main culprit has been work.  I had a sudden change of role due to some urgent priority stuff going on. This included some changes to my work location.  So instead of working 4 days/week at my usual building (and 1 day/week elsewhere) - I'm now split 3 days/wk in the CBD, 1 day/wk in Milton, and 1 day/wk at my usual location.

My cycle commuting (which has been the backbone of my mileage) thrives on 'habit' - and my new arrangements haven't been conducive to that at all!!  It took me a few weeks to get access organised for my bike to underground carparks (and other annoying administrative stuff), and then some further time for me to work out the best way to carry a lot more than usual to/from work (the new CBD location doesn't have lockers available).

Fortunately, things are starting to settle into a routine again.  I'm managing to cycle-commute at least 3 days/week, which is (probably most importantly) is making me happy...  :)

Weekends have been a bit scrappy, as my kids' weekend school sport really ramped up over Oct/Nov as well.  That's not a complaint though - I absolutely love it.  Cheering my girls on and watching them improve and grow in confidence is one of life's great pleasures.  School sport is on Christmas holiday break now though, so plenty of opportunity over the next couple of months to build up some time in the saddle.

What's ahead?

In the short-term - club racing.  A couple of HPRW club's twilight criteriums on a Wednesday afternoon (including my first one this afternoon), and a couple of my own club's Saturday morning criteriums.  I had planned to race the Brisbane Blast Open criterium on 15th December - but I waited too long to enter and Masters C reached capacity. Lesson learned...

Big News!!

June/July 2014. Northern Italy - riding the Stelvio, Gavia, and Mortirolo. France - spectating a stage (or two!) of the Tour de France.  Looks like it will happen, but I dare not write anymore in case I curse my luck...

Needless to say, I'm excited...  :)

Getting ready for 2014

Normally, I spend the week or two around Christmas/New Year off the bike.  Then in January, I'll just do some sporadic riding to slowly get back into the groove of it all again.

With some big plans for 2014 though, I want to be ready to start strongly in January.  So December for me is about trying to rack up as many days in the saddle as I can to be ready for a big first 6-months of 2014.

Ride safely!!

Race 3/2013 - BBP Open Criterium, Toowoomba

Only my third race for the year, and I was lifting things up a level.  I made the 90 minute drive west of Brisbane to Toowoomba, a large town sitting atop the Great Dividing Range.  At the Glenvale Criterium Circuit, I was signed up for the Be Better Psychology Open in Masters C.

After a few navigation errors once I'd reached Toowoomba itself, I arrived at the criterium circuit about 20 minutes before race start.  I quickly signed on, grabbed my number, got changed, and squeezed in a few minutes warm-up before the call up for race start.

The temperature was perfect for racing, however the wind was not.  A fairly strong 'Toowoomba special' was blowing across the circuit.  The commissaires called the role at the start line (there were 18 of us), gave us a quick run down (30 minutes + 2 laps, with 2 mid-race primes), and we were away!

Race time!

The pace pretty much exploded from the start.  I felt the lack of a good warm-up, especially as the pace nudged 60km/h with the wind at our backs along the first pass of the clubhouse.  We swung around a corner, and the crosswind smacked us all across the width of the circuit.

I was already red-lining - on the first lap!!  We sprinted up the first climb, then swung around down the long back straight.  Now we had a cross/headwind, and we were strung out in single file along the edge of the circuit.  Half-way along and - KABOOM - my legs exploded and I was out the back.

Dropped on the first lap - not quite what I was hoping for!  The Race Commentator didn't miss me either, as I tried to regather my breath (and composure!) along the home straight, I heard him say, "And here comes a Balmoral rider - he obviously forgot this is a race and not a coffee ride, let's see if he can catch back on..."

I laughed and waved, and decided to make the most of what looked like becoming a hard training day instead of a race.

Wait up fellas!!  Disappearing off the back, on one of the climbs...

In the end, what became apparent was that I am still a good level below Open racing ability.  I did my best each time the peloton came around (another three times), but the best I could do was hold on for one full lap on one occasion.  I just wasn't good enough.

That said, a bad day on the bike is still, well, a good day! I learnt plenty about racing in crosswinds, and enjoyed watching my much stronger competitors as they went past.  I basically did a set of intervals for 30min, working hard and making the most of my time on the circuit.

My final stats were:
40 minutes of racing; Average speed of 29.5km/h; Top speed of 63.7km/h!
My fastest lap of the 1.8km full circuit was 2min 56sec - my 3rd lap, and the only one I completed under 3 minutes...
In contrast - the winner averaged 39.5km/h, and hit a top speed of 69.8km/h...!!

Glenvale Criterium Circuit

If you haven't raced at Glenvale before, and get the chance, you should definitely do it.  It is a very honest (and fast!) criterium circuit, and I highly recommend it.

If you consider the most commonly raced, dedicated off-road criterium circuits in South-East Queensland, then Glenvale is probably the most balanced and fairest of them all.  Murarrie and Nundah are flat tracks for the sprinters, while Lakeside and Nerang both have decent climbs in them that sap the legs and favour the lightweights.

The Glenvale track (photo taken during construction)

Glenvale is 'just right' - a couple of shorter climbs that favour neither the sprinter or climber.  Add in some wind, and there is no way anyone can fake (or hide) their way through a race.  A brilliant test of racing ability - I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to race there to see if I've improved...

Finally - many thanks to the cycling community of Toowoomba (and the organising club, Bikeline Racing).  It was an extremely well-run day of racing, by a very friendly and welcoming crew. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to coming back again!

Race 2/2013 - C-Grade club criterium, Murarrie

Finally!! Yesterday I raced my first criterium for the year.  Felt fantastic to pin a number on and bump handlebars in a fast moving peloton again.  Lots of fun, and stoked to reach all my goals for the morning!

Felt very nervous when I woke up in the morning - actually tried to talk myself out of it and go and do a bunch ride instead! But I had pencilled this race down in my head, and forced myself to head out and test the legs. The 20min ride to the crit circuit definitely helped relax me and settle the nerves.

Goal 1 - get through the first 5 minutes...

Around 40 starters for the 40min + 3 laps race.  A good turn-up, and I distracted myself by checking out some of the carbon bling in the peloton as we awaited the start. My first goal was to get through the first few laps.  I knew the pace would be a bit of a shock to the system, so the plan was to just keep my head down and work hard to stay amongst it.

A hard start did ensue - with such a big pack, the stronger teams were obviously keen to shake things up a bit.  I was happy to get through it and still be feeling OK...

Goal 2 - make the half-way prime...

A prime sprint prize was scheduled for the half-way mark (20min) - that became my next survival goal.  The wind was causing a bit of havoc, particularly along the '3rd straight' heading east.  It was a head/crosswind, and I couldn't quite work out exactly where it was coming from - no matter where I positioned myself I seemed to be getting buffeted by the wind.

Near the halfway mark, a flock of ibis in the sky caught my attention.  They were 'hovering' in a V-formation - and it clicked in my head that they must be facing direct into the wind.  So I used that to pick my position for the next lap, and it worked a treat...  :)

Twenty minutes came around, and I was still there!  I moved forward when the whistle blew for the sprint, giving myself some buffer to drift back when the pace sky-rocketed for the sprint.  I held well, and gave myself a little mental high-five for reaching the mid-race milestone...

Goal 3 - make it to the end!!

The last 20 minutes to go - time to hang tough!!  I had a few scary moments in the final half of the race, getting caught out a few times as I drifted towards the back.  I was really working hard, but felt ok at the same time.  I was lucky that the pace dipped at around the 30min mark when we were overtaken by B-Grade - it gave me a short, welcome rest.

Finally, at the 38min mark, the "3 laps to go" sign went up.  I had made it!  A big grin spread across my face. The rest of the race was just cream now, I'd just watch the moves and follow what I could...

Position is everything

Again, the stronger teams lifted the pace, and it was hard to follow.  I pushed hard, and managed to move up to mid-pack.  We reached the last lap, and I was trying to watch everyone at once to spot the winning move!

I saw a line of "Ascot Racing" riders move up the outside. I jumped across, and buried myself to follow.  We came flying along the 3rd straight, and I allowed myself to dream for a second that I could actually score  place...

Then my legs absolutely detonated, and that was that!  I had reached my limit, but had exceeded my expectations for my first race back. Made it to the end, and put myself in a position to win.

Looking forward to the next race, and seeing if I can repeat the effort!

September 2013 Review

I've been quit blog-wise for the past month.  Mainly because I haven't had anything exciting to say! I've just been consistently logging up my kilometres...

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January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs
April - 269km / 12hrs
May - 201km / 10hrs
June - 437km / 21hrs
July - 71km / 4hrs
August - 518km / 26hrs
September - 455km / 21hrs

Year to date - 3043km / 148hrs

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So my last two months have been my biggest two mileage months for the year so far.  Happy with that - now to see if I can make it three big months in a row...

Sand, sun & surf...

One of the highlights of the month for me was a week down at Burleigh Heads for a family holiday.  I took the bike down with me, and escaped for a couple of rides while I was there.

On the Wednesday night, I headed over to the Nerang Velodrome for "Road-track training". This is a winter training session they do, using road bikes on the track (doable as the banking at Nerang is very shallow).  Basically, its an hour long session of 100 laps, building to a sprint every 10th lap. 

Nerang outdoor velodrome

It was one of the toughest sessions I've ever done on a bike!!  I was clearly a level or two below most of the other dozen riders there, so I spent a fair bit of time circling on the upper parts of the track trying desperately to recover.  I was completely wrecked by the end, but had a fantastic time.  If you ever get the chance to participate in something like this, you should totally do it.

I also squeezed in another ride, following the coastline north & south of Burleigh. There are a huge number of bunches riding the coast roads, so I just 'bunch hopped' for the morning.  The views along the beach roads are stunning, and its no wonder cycling is such a huge recreational sport on the Gold Coast.

Finishing with a bang...

... but not a good sort of bang!!  On the last day of the month, almost home on my cycle-commute, my rear shifting suddenly got very dodgy, very quickly.  When I got home, I set the bike up on the stand to investigate, and the rear gear cable promptly snapped. D'oh!!

I generally do all my basic maintenance and repairs myself, teaching myself what I don't know via the vast resources of Google, forums, and YouTube.  But its actually been a few years since my bike has been looked over by a genuine professional mechanic, so I decided this was an opportune time to book the bike in for a full service.

My bike is being looked after today at Planet Cycles, getting the full pro "Saturn Service".  It basically involves the entire bike being pulled apart, everything cleaned out & regreased, bearings replaced, and then put back together.  I'm getting all my cables replaced as well (they're all 4+ years old), and I've already gotten the call from the mechanic saying my headset bearings are in pretty bad shape, so they are getting replaced too.

Its obviously not cheap, but Planet Cycles have a great reputation for their workshop expertise. Given its been around 4 years since a mechanic has touched my bike, and it'll likely be a long time before a mechanic sees it again, I reckon it'll be money well spent...

Hopefully I'll get my bike back after work today.  Will be good to give it a spin tomorrow morning and see how it feels.

October plans

Racing!  After this weekend, I'm planning to race every weekend for the rest of the month.  Depending on how I go, I may even have a crack at the Open criterium race in Toowoomba near the end of the month - the Be Better Psychology Open on the 27th October.

So that's it from me for now - time to shave the legs, pin a number on, and see if the last couple of months of consistent training will pay off on the criterium track...!!

August 2013 Review

Very happy to be reporting last month's efforts.  Finally managed to get some decent consistency together, and kick a goal worth cheering about!!  Firstly, to the figures themselves...

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January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs
April - 269km / 12hrs
May - 201km / 10hrs
June - 437km / 21hrs
July - 71km / 4hrs
August - 518km / 26hrs

Year to date - 2589km / 126hrs

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Feeling awesome!!

Happy with this on a number of levels:

• Biggest monthly mileage and hours for the year
• First month to crack through 500km (finally!)
• First 150+km week (155km)

After missing the first 6-days of the month due to the lingering man-flu from July, I wasn't sure exactly how much I would be able to achieve.  So I decided to just try and make sure I got on the bike as much as possible, and use August as a 'base rebuilding' period.

That worked out really well!  After a relatively easy first week back to make sure I didn't compromise my flu recovery, I was able to finish with three big weeks all clocking more than 130km each. The final week was my peak, hitting 155km to record my biggest weekly mileage of the year.

I've derived a whole heap of confidence from August.  While I'm still 'slow' after a month of base, I feel really strong.  I've already started adding a few short intervals into my September rides, and the legs have handled them well...

Looking ahead

Racing-wise, its all about criteriums for the rest of the year.  I have two Opens on my radar in October:

• 6th Oct - Fusion Games criterium at Newstead (inner city Brisbane)
• 27th Oct - Be Better Psychology criterium at Glenvale (near Toowoomba)

If the legs respond well to some harder riding and club racing in September, then I'll try and enter at least one of these races.

September Goals

In the meantime, the month of September (& hopefully some good weather!) lies ahead.  In simple terms, I just want to continue on and keep up with logging some decent mileage and time in the saddle.  To that end, I'm hoping to keep on hitting 100+km each week, and break through the 500+km mark for the monthly total again.

While I won't be adopting any formal training structure, I'll be gradually adding in some tougher efforts to my usual rides.  These will basically be in the form of some hard intervals interspersed throughout my rides.

Club racing is an important part of my September plans.  I'm aiming to race every weekend, but of course that is tempered with the caveat of not knowing what the kids' sporting commitments are yet.  So I'll squeeze in whatever races I can.

Feeling great

I mentioned on Twitter that it really is amazing how consistent training really feeds confidence and motivation.  I feel terrific after August's efforts, and I am really enjoying my cycling at the moment.  I don't intend to lose or forget this feeling, and will use it to drive me forward for the rest of the year.

Safe riding!!