Sandy King's Cycling Blog

Majorca with GPM10, Annecy, and the Paleo Diet

2011-06-08T11:53:00.009+01:00

April 1^st marked the start of my work with cycle tours company GPM10. I was looking forward to changing my focus away from competition for a time, and enjoying the less stressful and enjoyable routine of running training camps. I arrived on a balmy Friday evening in Majorca for 18 days of warm sun.

First day- New bike, new kit, lightweights- bliss

That first evening was particularly memorable because of the ludicrous amount of extremely expensive equipment lying on the lawn outside our suite. I was stunned speechless, and I've been exposed to my fair amount of bling kit after working at Cyclefit. There were pink Serotta Meivicis, green Serotta Meivicis, Serotta Ottrots, Indy fabs, Colnago C59s........ the list goes on. The pinnacle of this excess was on the 4^th day. One of the riders punctured Cipollini's lightweight wheels but didn't have to worry; we replaced them with a spare set of lightweights in the van. In fairness the European lightweight rep brought most of the wheels out, but it will still very amusing.

We had three training camps during the 18 days I was in Majorca. The first group was a very entertaining party of New Yorkers who came via bike shop- Signature Cycles. The second was the motley crew from Cyclefit, and the third was a small private group.

Everything went very smoothly apart from one disastrous day to San Salvador with the Cyclefit group. I managed to make three wrong turns in a single return journey- taking the fast group on a tour of burnt-out cars and industrial zones. The 2^nd group found my gaffs particularly hilarious; being passed twice in one ride yet still beating us back. It was safe to say my red face when we rolled into the hotel wasn't caused by sunburn. The day scarred me enough that I haven't made a wrong turn since.

The last night- failing to smoke a cigar

Majorca finished with a road trip back to Annecy via Barcelona. After a day of manual labour packing the van, which felt very difficult in contrast to the sunbathers by the pool, I headed to Palma to catch the ferry. From there I sailed to Barcelona, then drove to Port Bou for the night and tackled the last part of the drive to Annecy the following day.

I was shocked by the scenery when I arrived. The pristine lake with the backdrop of the craggy mountains was much appreciated after the dull drive along the motorways. My brother had come to stay for the week, so we went for a ride around the Lake, enjoying the surroundings and loosening my knee and ankle which had seized up. A friend arrived from Paris the following day, and we spent a week exploring Annecy, Chamonix, and Geneva.

When I arrived in Annecy, I started experimenting with the Paleo Diet after reading 'Paleo diet for Endurance Athletes' by Joe Friel and Loren Cordain. What a great way to eat! Loads of fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables. Check out this quick summary- http://www.trainingbible.com/pdf/Paleo_for_Athletes_Cliff_Notes.pdf , but the whole book is worth a read. It gave me far more insight into nutrition than I have picked up from five years of experience racing and training. The drawbacks quickly revealed themselves though. It is hideously expensive, which isn't compatible with my intention of saving for University. It is very impractical- trying to consume 4000- 6000 calories a day of meat, fruit, vegtables, nuts, and seeds, is very difficult and plays havoc with your digestion. Compromise was the only solution; I am eating more protein, fruit, and vegetables, but haven't cut out dairy or grains.

Pre-race nerves- with an Eritrean in the background

After a brief trip to the UK to see the rest of my family, I returned back to Annecy to prepare for the upcoming trips. Beforehand though, I got the chance to race the Tour Du Chablais. I was nervous as this was a prestigious event raced over a hilly 160km on the southern shores of lake Geneva from Thonon to Evian. I almost stuffed it up within the first hour when I arrived at the first climb in the last group- I just didn't quite understand the regional tactics. The French race like lunatics, with every rider, regardless of there aspirations for the rest of the race, hammering away trying to form a break in the first hour. I thought, 'We have 4 hours to race with mountains, are you crazy?'. I should have done the same though. Finding myself in this perilous position with the broom wagon shuffling along behind, I put in a massive effort to make my way to the second group- and wasting a lot of energy. After 3 more hours of aggressive racing, I rolled in 18^th at the finish line in Evian.

Utterly spent

Next Post: Down to Business in the Alps

The Grand Finale

2011-05-01T18:12:00.006+01:00

As you may have guessed by my procrastination in blogging, I didn't win any races by the time I left Bilbao on March the 28^th. I had four more races, or opportunities, from the time of my last blog to enjoy the life of a full time racer.

The first race took place in Villatuerta and was unlike any of my previous experiences. A strong crosswind shredded the peloton to pieces in the early stages, leaving a group of 25 riders to duke it out over the barren flatlands near Pamplona. I struggled as the only Koplad/Uni2 rider against eight from the potent Caja Rural squad. I scraped a 7^th place out of a chasing group. Given the conditions, it was no surprise that the winner was a lanky Dutchman called Van Geffen. And it is true, the Spaniards' abilty to ride in crosswinds definetly doesn't match their climbing skill.....

The competition the following day was relatively uninteresting. It was a flat circuit so I was at the disposal of Argentine sprinter/roommate Diego Asis. Unfortunately HTC-Colum... oh sorry, Koplad/Uni2 mistimed the chase and couldn't catch one of the escapees. Diego sprinted to third place, which was an excellent result as his confidence had taken a beating the previous day.

My final weekend contained two very significant races. I wish they came earlier in the month, as I could feel my power waning and my powertap backed up my sensations. The 18 hour training weeks were starting to take their toll after a lazy winter. My maximum power outputs were fading on the climbs, as was my max sprint power. I tried to taper during the final week and regain some strength, but it was too late.

The first race was on our local circuit around Sopelana. It was rolling terrain but was likely to be decided in a mass sprint- Diego was the man for the job. I again acted as domestique, knowing that tomorrow Diego would return the favour in our race at Gorla. He finished 8^th which was a respectable result, but he was disappointed with himself.

Gorla was to be my race as team leader. A brutally hard course with two 5 kilometre climbs in at an average gradient of 8%. Former winners included Contador and Sastre, and most of the top five would get a professional contract of sorts at the end of the year. Based on the previous races, a top ten was perfectly achievable for me. After 3 kilometres of climbing, I realised that I was having a 'journée sans', or literally a day without (I think that is the correct expression?). I will never again shout abuse at the GC favourite on television who climbs like an angel one day and a stone the next. I was digging deeper than I had ever gone all year, but was struggling to hang on to the back of the grupetto. What a terrible feeling! I joked around for the rest of the day with Diego, eventually finishing in 34^th place. Luckily at the finish I was treated to some Pintxos, or the finest Basque Tapas made by Paul's mother. My racing finished with the whole team in good spirits despite my truly absymal result.

Diego trying to pull me up the climb at Gorla, all I could do was gurn

In between my racing I started to enjoy myself far more than in the initial weeks. A local newspaper was interested in interviewing me- http://www.deia.com/2011/03/22/deportes/ciclismo/un-ingles-vino-a-bilbao . An Englishman racing in Flanders is a common occurrence, but to race near Bilbao was obviously quite unusual. It's a shame I look like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber in the photo.

Another Argentinian arrived before my final weekend. There are now around eight in the Basque Peleton- all seeking a future in cycling and in Europe. Franco Guttierez (who was quickly re-named Fran so as not to offend any locals), was possibly the most laid back individual I have ever met. His riding style was similar to Juan Mauricio Soler's, and was very quick on every terrain. It will be interesting to see how he and Diego can pair together in races.

I left Bilbao planning on returning at some point during the year. The racing was the most enjoyable I have experienced, and I made some great friends. However returning to the UK was really special. I badly needed some mental and physical recuperation, and where better to do so with my brothers and sisters sitting in front of the Xbox and Family Guy? I still couldn't resist making a Spanish tortilla though.

Next stop- Majorca and Annecy with GPM10!

No Earthquakes in Spain

2011-03-16T16:39:00.006Z

Although the current earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis in Japan is making cycling look pretty frivolous at the moment, everything keeps rolling along. It is nice to see Fumy Beppu, a Japanese rider on Team Radioshack, drumming up lots of support on twitter and also including a minutes silence before the start of the Tirreno- Adriactico stage. The disaster has been the only significant news that has reached me since I have been in semi-isolation here in Bizkaia, and it shook me out of the cycling bubble that I was/am slipping into. Between training, eating, racing, twitter, and talking with cyclists, there isn't much in my life at the moment that isn't related to two wheels.

Today (written Monday 14th), I am making an excursion into Bilbao city centre. In the
morning I visited the Custom4us headquarters in Arrigoriaga (www.custom4.us), and in the
afternoon I am going shopping and sightseeing. Hopefully this will provide a mental and physical
break from the all-consuming pressure cooker that I put myself into during a race weekend.

The week preceding the races went very smoothly with nothing of much interest happening.
My training and recovery is possibly the best it has ever been. I have been doing consistent 17 hour weeks with no knee pain, illness, or over-training. The Lointek Women's UCI team gathered at the team house for a local race on the weekend. A few spoke fluent English so it was quite satisfying to have a conversation that didn't have to use my still very limited Spanish vocabulary.

Saturday's 105 kilometre race departed at 3:30 in a town called Lizartza. I abhor (yes, abhor!)
the morning before these afternoon races, as it means 7 or 8 hours of racked nerves before the start instead of the 3 or 4 hours before a race at 10:00. Much sympathy goes out to any team mates (or parents) who have had to endure my foul mood before races. Perhaps I should have listened to my mother about seeing a sport's psychiatrist. As per usual, I had nothing to worry about and the race was very successful, with my team-mate Diego taking fourth in the sprint finish. I put in a Thomas Voeckler style attack on the final two kilometre climb and soloed my way down the descent, imagining I was Samuel Sanchez. The peleton caught me on the 4 kilometre flat run-in, but I then switched to George Hincapie mode to lead out Cavendish (Diego), to the sprint finish.

Cresting the summit in Lizartza

The following morning's 115 kilometre race was in a town called Almandoz, just off the
French border. My role was to play Cadel Evans (think 2007), and stick to the back wheel of a rider called Igor Merino, who is apparently an excellent climber and likely winner. This plan didn't really work for two reasons. Firstly, a strong break got away without Merino that stayed away to the finish. Secondly, I could not follow Igor Merino's wheel, no matter how much I tried to emulate Cadel's limpet-like style. I exploded about a kilometre from the finish and lost about 8 or 9 places from riders behind who had better pace judgement than I. It truly was a spectacular finish though, and I couldn't help feeling very spoilt to be able to race on such exciting terrain without being professional. During the race I got a chance to have a 'team leader' experience, with the whole team on the front trying to bring back the break for me and another strong rider on the team. I can't say I was entirely comfortable with it, but it gave me some idea about what stress rider's such as Cavendish have to deal with.

So as the title hinted, no ground breaking results, but another enjoyable weekend. I am off to
go sightseeing, and try to forget about anything cycling for the next few hours.

Adios y buena suarte Japon!

´Schoolboy Errors´and Spanish Bike Posing

2011-03-08T18:00:00.013Z

Attempting to descend at speed- I need to practice

I started my last race truly feeling like a British fourth cat. My legs were wallpaper white;
this was their first time in the sun for 4 months. I also had some of that dreaded stubble. I couldn't shave as I have a mild skin infection that has resulted in small red marks over my legs, which would scar if I used a razor (trust me, I tried in vain last week). My shorts were ABOVE my weak tan line, and my legs weren't particularly defined. I know these aren't the correct things to be worrying about on the start line, but I couldn't help it when lined up against all those tanned legs. It didn't bother me too much once we started racing. The circuit required some pretty intense concentration as we raced up and down five kilometre climbs. I felt really privileged to be able to race those road with no cars, as it is rare opportunity for amateur racers (at least in Britain).

The competition was only 100 kilometres as it was considered such a hard course, and it finished with an summit finish to Ereno. I wasted a lot of energy midway through the race when I let about 40 riders up the road ahead of me, and had to chase up a climb for half an hour after a bollocking from the directeur sportif (David Extebarria). I then missed the leading breakaway of three over the penultimate climb, and came second in the sprint from the chasing group. David called my mistakes 'schoolboy errors' in the following days newspaper article.

One revelation I have been having this past two weeks is that I do not need to worry about
my weight to climb well. I have been eating much more than when I was a junior and was doing a similar workloads, and feel ten times better, even if I am a few kilos over my previous 'race weight'. I can't help wondering how much I had handicapped myself over the years worrying about my calorie intake.

Next week I have another pair of hard, hilly races. I am not sure about the details, but
hopefully without my schoolboy errors I might pull of the big one!

All the races make it into the local paper

It is still entertaining noticing the small differences in cycling between England and Spain.
Sartorial elegance seems to hold far more significance over here for racers and for the regular club rider. I suspect that in Britain a lot of cyclists accept that they are part of a minority sport, and can't be bothered perfecting their appearance for the unappreciative public and rare passing cyclist. In Spain the public can understand when a cyclist is dressed correctly, or not, and it becomes all the more important to make an effort.

Wearing co-ordinated kit is a given, which is often not the case in Britain. Pro replica kit is rare, except for Euskatel- Euskadi, which is acceptable as it is a demonstration of regional (or national!) pride. Bikes are usually pretty clean and either Orbeas, Pinarellos, or BH, rather than the rash of Focus and Specialized that is seen in Britain. There is an amazing amount of deep section carbon wheels used for training. This can only be for appearance as there is virtually not a single flat road in the Basque country. What gives the Spanish away as true posers rather than aficionados is when you look closely at the details of the bike. The 105 chain on the Dura Ace groupset, the Michelin Lithion tires or a pair of Corima Carbon deep sections, the white oversocks covering up the old cheap shoes (which were ridden by a man on a Pinarello Dogma with Campagnolo Boras). These little tricks are far more commonplace than in Britain. I personally prefer it this way. What's the harm in enjoying looking the part?

Mi Primero Carrerra

2011-03-01T19:37:00.008Z

Nothing is duller than reading someone's blow by blow account of a race, so in regard to my
first race in the Basque Country, I will try to keep it brief and interesting!

The weather in Soraluce was the same as most of Europe on Sunday, very wet and cold. I was
dressed (as well as normal racing gear) in a long sleeve thermal under-vest, knee warmers,
overshoes, and rain cape, but there were still the diehards out in shorts and jerseys. It was no
surprise that I didn't see them at the finish. It was a relatively short U23 race at only 120 kilometres, however it finished with two, very steep, three kilometre climbs, with a summit finish. I was suffering terribly from nerves all morning and before the start. David Extebarria (directeur sportif and ex-pro), kept reminding me 'tranquilo, tranquilo...'.

These worries soon disappeared when the race started as battling the cold took all my
concentration. After shivering for 100 kilometres, I entered the first climb in the peloton, and
crossed the summit in 6th position feeling confident. A front group of around 20 formed after the descent, with a team called Seguros Bilbao driving the pace. I was caught unawares at the rear of the group for the start of the last 3 kilometre climb. As the group fragmented I found myself picking through riders who had gone too far into the red, and finished 7th at the line. To see the report follow this link- http://www.palcodeportivo.com/index.php/ciclismo/amateur/10739-1oprueba-lehendakari.html

So what's it like to race in Spain? My biggest surprise was seeing that the leading riders over
the climbs were not all 60 kilo, ripped, Pantani look-a-likes. There was a large mix of body types, with the winner being a similar build to me. The racing felt no where near as fast as my experiences in Italy or Belgium, especially on the flat. Albeit it is very early season and this was only an U23 race. It was certainly far safer than Belgium and I only saw one crash. The race organisation was as professional as Italy, however the crowds were not as large.

During my moments of mind wandering, I was particularly impressed with the colours of the jerseys. The Spaniards thrash the British in the fashion stakes. The green of the Caja Rural Squad was particularly striking, but the grey and red of Seguros Bilbao was very edgy. I was particularly jealous of the Cole carbon wheels that Caja Rural were riding; especially up the last climb when I was lugging up my dead powertap on a Mavic Open pro rim. There is more loyalty to local bike manufacturers in Spain. Almost everyone is on a BH or Orbea, however there are also a large contigent of Pinarellos.

Today I recced the course for next Saturday´s race in Ereno. Thank god its only 100 kilometres, as it is the hardest course I have ever ridden. I just wish I had my Serotta with some race wheels........

A Spanish Experience with Koplad/Uni2

2011-03-01T18:32:00.008Z

Team Presentation

I am writing this blog on the eve of what should be my second race, but will actually be my first.
Today's planned season opener in Zumaia resulted in a DNS (did not start), due to my Spanish
medical certificate being stuck in an office in Bilbao. Hopefully it will be resolved for the race
tomorrow, otherwise I will be sorely disappointed. The largest reason for being in Spain is to race one of the best amateur circuits in the World, so it is incredibly frustrating to be standing on the sidelines.

Apart from this hiccup, I have been extremely pleased with my time in the Basque country. The
club (Koplad/Uni2) has been extremely welcome and the organisation is terrific. If only there was a similar system for young riders in Britain. I am living in a house with an Argentinian rider, which is paid for by the club and serves as a base for the riders who come from all over Spain. They arrive on Friday evening for the races, and return to University during the week. It is the norm to do a university degree and race; there is no need to sacrifice your education for an opportunity to turn professional. The club is funded by independent sponsors, and also by the local town, Sopelana. They have a youth, junior, under-23, professional women’s sections and they are all supported with varying levels of kit, bikes, and race support. There is also a club building in Sopelana which serves as a service course.

Team Service Course

This just wouldn't be possible in Britain. The most obvious reason is that there is simply not the
same passion (and the resulting funding) for road cycling that there is in this region of Spain. Last Sunday their were more cyclists on the road than cars, and the vast majority were two abreast. More passion means bigger, better races, and a more attractive sport for young athletes. Another reason is that it is virtually impossible to entertain thoughts of gaining a valuable degree from a British university, and a season of European Amateur racing required to progress. Perhaps the degrees are more intensive and higher quality than in Spain, or perhaps the universities are not willing to accommodate for cyclists in the same way they are for rugby or hockey. I personally feel that riders should not be full-time until they turn professional. Either studying or working during one's amateur career has many advantages. Firstly it prevents burning out due to over-training, and gives some balance to a young rider's lifestyle. It also provides them with more education, skills, or even money, to contribute to their life after cycling. It provides a more level playing field for those wishing to turn professional but without the money to or contacts to pursue their dream. To a certain extent, amateurs do not deserve to be full time, essentially living off charity from generous sponsors, until they have proved themselves and turned professional (of course there will be exceptions). This is my experience, as a current full time amateur.

Diego, my Argentine Team mate, models the Koplad Uni2 kit and bike

The training here is proving to be very good, if you are not too bothered about rain. The area is very rolling with occasional longer climbs of around 5 kilometres. This suits my characteristics quite well, and the temperature is warmer than England. I just need to keep a check on my weight, as having a kitchen ajoining my bedroom is a never-ending distraction. I am around 2 kilos over my race weight (not overweight), so its not a big deal for early in the season. I am setting new personal bests for power output which is very satisfying; I now hate riding without my powertap. My O-rings, powertap, stretching, sleeping, and eating regime are providing much entertainment for my Old-school Spanish and Argentinian team mates. On the whole, the UK is certainly more clued about about modern training methods. In fact everything feels a little backwards over here, mainly due to the scarcity of internet connection.

The biggest transition has been the amount of free time on my hands. Training is usually finished at one or two o'clock, leaving the entire afternoon and evening to fill with eating, stretching, shopping, and amusing myself. I find myself eating all the time, which is never a good idea. I am jealous of Diego, my Argentine team mate, who seems to be able to completely switch off and relax. In my free time I have been learning Spanish, writing a diary, learning Spanish League football, and reading lots. I wish I brought FIFA.......

Let's see how my race tomorrow goes! I am feeling very motivated after the screw-up today and watching Het Niewsblad.

Sandy

It rains just as much in the Basque Country

Seriously Early Season

2011-02-01T21:33:00.004Z

I have returned to the Hillingdon (Imperial) Winter Series this year after a 3 year hiatus. Taking place over the grim months of December, January, and February, it makes the pros racing the Tour Down under look pretty damn lackadaisical. Bear in mind, I did miss all of last season due to a knee injury, so my enthusiasm to race is far larger than most roadies. Still not as large as Jake Martin though (www.bikejake.wordpress.com), who seems to have done every circuit race in the south from October to February and still acts like an excited school girl at the start line.

My first winter series was quite memorable for me. It was my first winter racing in the UK, and I had recently joined Twickenham CC. My two cycling 'compadres' at the time were Jamie Atkins and Ollie Newlan. Jamie was a swimmer, cyclist, and budding wordsmith who is now studying politics (or history?) at Aberdeen. Ollie was a scrum half turned cyclist, and has recently returned to cycling and will spend next season duking it out in Belgium before heading off to Uni. All of us were starting out and were receiving guidance and support from the legendary Graham Macnamee. Training consisted of a turbo session at the club on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Hillingdon all day on Saturday, and the club ride on Sunday (always finished with a Calzone at Angelo's).

Our mission for that winter series was to beat Michael Wilmot of Hillingdon Slipstreamers. He was the same age and had a formidable sprint and good endurance- a tricky combination to beat on a flat circuit. Ollie, Jamie, and I all had appalling sprints, so the only way to win was to work him over. It took us until the last few races in the series to realize this, and to have the physical strength to pull it off. At times it got quite heated, and I distinctly remember being pushed into the bushes on the final corner, but I think each of us got one victory.

In comparison, this year's series has been very civilized for me. I know Jake Martin had a little 'fisticuffs' with his former team in the sprint last week. Observations? Wouter Sybrandy is stupidly strong, and no rain so far! I have been picking up the top places, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, but am still suffering of a complete lack of sprint prowess (4 years and 10 kilos on). Strangely enough, the same guy that won the Elite series when I was riding my first youth races, is about to win the series again (Lewis Atkins- picture in blue above).

Maybe next week the other riders will let me slip away for the win?

Onwards and Upwards, with a Hint of Sadness

2011-01-23T17:40:00.007Z

The last few months have been very kind to me. My problematic knee is essentially cured and I am back to race fitness, testing myself at the Hillingdon Winter series. I have managed to plan a fantastic year abroad, cycling in Spain and France before going to Loughborough University to do Aeronautical Engineering. I have also been able to order my dream bike, my website is going well, and life is heading in the right direction.

With this in mind, it came as a massive shock on Wednesday to hear that Lewis Balykyci was killed while riding near his home in Lancashire. I trained and raced with Lewis for several years during our time in the Youth and Junior categories with British Cycling. He was a great guy; always smiling and laughing, down to earth, and extremely determined. He was also the first cyclist I knew personally to be killed in a road accident- this struck a chord with me.

My training rides have been more sedate since Wednesday. A feeling of vulnerability has taken over, similar to riding without a helmet, and made me realize that regardless of my bike handling, speed, and helmet, I am frequently putting myself in unnecessarily risky situations. I almost lost myself under a bus riding home on Friday night because I had to sprint through the amber light. Why? I knew full well it wasn't a race. I think it is because many young racers (including me) don't switch out of 'race mode' when they get out with the cars on the road. They are still the 'top dog'; essentially a boy racer who believes they are in absolute control, except they are on a bike. This manifests itself among team's directeur sportifs as well, which is even more dangerous. I have been driven home from races as if I was in a race convoy. Mobile phone (race radio) in one hand, steering the car with the other hand, racing the other team's DSs, which are in fact normal road users. I am sure there are plenty of instances where cars or vans where the cause of cycling accidents, but I am also sure there are plenty of instances where cyclists have taken one too many risks (see the recent case of Carla Stewart).

On to more light hearted topics, I am making my way back into the swing of racing after my knee plica operation (start of October). I've done 3 Hillingdon Winter Series so far and placed 3rd, 2nd, and 4th, but the top step has eluded me. The most important thing for me though is that I can race with no issues and think about the important stuff! That's not quite true, I am always thinking about random crap like adding an extra wedge or moving something a few mm, but that isn't going to change any time soon.

Next season is lining up to be something pretty special. Just as Cyclefit gets a whole load of exciting new equipment (new sizecycle, new sidas footbed grinding machine), I am going to be off to Pamplona and Bilbao (14th Feb) to do some racing with a Spanish amateur team and working with biomechanic Jon Irriberri (www.custom4.us). The team has a house 30 minutes outside Bilbao, and apparently no one speaks English. I am desperately working my way through 'coffee break Spanish' podcasts as I speak absolutely no Spanish whatsoever.....

After 6 weeks of Espana, I am starting work with GPM10 (www.gpm10.com) running cycle trips in Majorca for all of April. I've never been to what is supposed to be cycling 'nirvana', so I am really looking forward to it, especially the Cyclefit camp where I can attack Jules and Phil on every single climb.

From Majorca I head to Annecy, to continue my work GPM10 and combine some racing with the local team. Any racing in Europe is better than the UK. The terrain, atmosphere, and the fact that you don't have to sprint in between oncoming cars make for an awesome experience.

I need a damn good bike for all this exciting riding, so I have chosen to go for a custom Serotta HSG. This isn't your usual spiel that comes out of sponsored riders about a Cervelo, trek, etc, as I am actually committed to buying the bike and plan on using it for many years. I have a pretty strange body shape with my short legs and long back, so I can't wait to see how the bike rides. I went for an indy paint scheme with gold panels. Everyone who has seen the design mutters 'John Player special', but I don't know who he is. I will finish it off with a SRAM force groupset and probably Mavic wheels/ Deda Components, but that is still in debate.

My website (www.kingbikefit.com) is running very nicely thanks to Jon Moss (www.appleofmyi.com). It usually clocks around 300 hits a week and I am now selling O-symetric chainrings on the site and have got a few unique products planned that are still in prototype stage.

I am all to aware that I need to start setting up some steady income streams to fund my expensive eating habits (among other things such as bikes) while at University. I am 99% sure I will take up my offer and go to Loughborough to do aeronautical engineering. The course sounds right up my street and the University is very sports orientated. It is apparently a versatile and valued degree which is important in today's job climate.

Happy Riding everyone and enjoy the warmer weather and the start of racing,

Sandy

Power Test Time

2010-12-01T17:56:00.003Z

Good News! For what must be the umpteenth post where I have told you I have solved my knee issue, this time it has come true! Just wish I had done it earlier, but surgery sounds so dramatic at 19.

I have been back in training for about a month now and just got a power meter. I greatly prefer training with these, otherwise I spend the whole time reeming myself and crawling back home at 15mph. It takes all the guesswork out of interval training as well. I just wish the guys at powermeters.com could true a wheel properly, as without fail, all my 3 wheels have buckled on the second ride. I did my power profile test last Monday and Wednesday, after a weekends rest at the Ghent six day. Saturday night was horrible as I got hammered for the first time. What a crap experience. Why do people love doing this all the time?

The important numbers below are the 20 minute power (FTP), 5 min power, 1 minute power, and 5 second power. I did the threshold test on Monday which determined 20 minute and 5 minute power. I did the power test today to figure out the 5 second and 1 minute power. I did the 5 second sprints at the end of the test, but still, the figures are abysmal for this and the 1 minute test! I am pleased with the FTP (functional threshold power) and 5 minute power as I am 3 kilos over race weight and just come off a knee injury.

Here is a power profile devised by power coach Hunter Allen. It shows quite clearly a rider's strengths and weaknesses. I think that once I am conditioned the 5 minute and FTP power will rise into domestic pro level by the end of the year, but I suspect my sprint and 1 minute test will always be poor. I think I will focus on my strengths. If anyone is interested in comparing themselves to the pros they should have a look at www.sportscientists.com as they have some great analysis. For the short version though, the top GC contenders nowadays have a FTP of around 6 at the Tour De France; past dopers have measured to be almost 7.

Here I am about 10 days before putting out a 3:12 effort up Crimp Hill for the club hill climb champs. I did a 3:09 last year on inferior equipment with my dodgy knee, so still lots of work to be done fitness wise. My brother did a great ride, 3:19 for a rugby player! Maybe he needs to switch sports.

Next year is still undecided but will be settled soon, I'll keep you posted.

Medial Plica Removal

2010-10-12T16:49:00.007+01:00

So I got it done! The knee problem that has been plaguing me (for 12 months) has been fixed. Now just a few weeks of rehab and voila! Well thats the plan anyway. Here is a picture of my lovely bandage and compression tight to stop DVT.

The medial plica is the capsule or sheath that surrounds the knee joint. It is not needed in the knee but is left over from birth. Due to my week knee stability and leg shape (knock- kneed), I have placed far too much wear on the inside of my knee, causing it to thicken. The surgeon described a normal plica like a sheet on grease- proof paper. Mine was described as a guitar string! See a deeper analysis of what caused it on http://kingbikefit.blogspot.com/2010/09/fitting-for-younger-rider-my-experience.html

I kept myself entertained with computer games. Man I have forgotten how addictive they are, especially Empire Total War! I am pretty much couch bound for a week, so I will be doing lots of blog work etc. keep looking for updates.

Here is a picture of the guilty race that was the last straw for my deconditioned knee (Junior tour of Wales August 30th 2009). This was the stage up to Llangandyr. God I wish I was there again though, I've come over all nostalgic....

Here's the video, look away if your squeamish!

Medial Plica removal from Sandy King on Vimeo.

Summer Travels

2010-09-18T13:11:00.006+01:00

July started well with my first half-decent race for months. I took part in the Guildford Town centre Criterium on Wednesday night. A tiny circuit featuring a patchy tarmac descent and a sharp cobbled climb with little in between. As soon as I started I realized there was no way I was going to keep up the sterling track record of cyclefit employees (Warwick) in the race. I got stronger as the race went on though and I didn't crash -always important as my confidence was pretty low. Jon Dibben did a great ride as per usual. I drove home optimistic that my season was turning around with my new pedalling technique (no pun intended).

Next up in July was the Cyclefit Etape Trip. Me and Stuart (brother) drove the Clio down to Pau in the Pyrenees and met Jules and Konrad (or Konradiator as he later become known). Due to the efficiency of the French Motorways, we made it there pretty fresh and with only 3 speeding offences (2 in Bordeaux alone). Our first job was the Expo which involved displaying our bikes and our fitting services. We seemed to have lots of interest. The gypsies who sneaked in under the fence really rated the new Guru Photon. Stuart proved to be quite a good front of house for our stand, impressive considering he has never even been to the shop!

Our second job was the support stand at the bottom of the Tourmalet. We staked a nice location and prepared our offerings. Although we were only going to support British riders, we ended up helping everyone as there was a fresh stream behind us to fill up the bottles with. Jules was pissed off about this when he came grinding up the climb, moaning about his hip angle and tiny legs, but if we had plenty of water, why not? Strangely enough the most cheerful guys were the ones almost about to be swept up by the broomwagon, the guys towards the front didn't give any high 5s. We had some really bad luck when I lent a sky rider (employee of SKY) one of the bikes as his was destroyed. The bastard couldn't be asked to roll down the hill and return it, and we were going to give him a lift! Instead I had to drive back to Pau and get it myself.

Stuart and I stayed on in Luz St. Sauveur to watch the Tour and do some riding. Great fun until Stuart's Sigma frame disintegrated beneath him up the Col de Perysourde and my knee started playing up again. So much for the previous optimism. The weather for the Tourmalet Stage was horrendous. Boring racing but we enjoyed it and even got on TV beside Kolobnev. The trip started going sharply downhill when we headed back. Me and Stu were at each other's necks. He 'fixed' the fusebox in the car so that I had no radio/music for 14 hours of driving. It was ok for him reading beside me. Prick.

On return I was back to work. Jon Irriberri, Cyclefit's spanish bike fitter friend, was in London for 10 days and provided some very interesting ideas for Phil, Jules, and I to think about. He radically changed my position for the better. So much that I needed a mtb stem extender to raise the bars. Not the most attractive component, especially on a full carbon Look. It has stabilised my knees beyond previous recognition, but not fixed my problem, that will come later. I'm going to start up a Cyclefit technical blog, for those who like that kind of stuff, and will go into a more detail there.

Next Trip was off to Le Marche Italia with the family for 2 weeks. We stayed in a Villa and it was brilliant. The riding in Monte Sibillini National park was stunning, and the roads were like a much less busy Tuscany- highly recommended. Stu, James, and I all discovered Bryll cream trying to imitate the Italian Mafia look (James was more Adolf Hitler). Stuart still keeps his for school.....

After a little bit more work in Covent Garden, Jules set me up to help guide a 4-day GPM10 trip from Chamonix- Nice (www.gpm10.com). Almost all the clients were from West London, including the owner of GPM10, Mark Neep. This made for interesting conversations involving Thursday night discoes at Legoland when it was a Safari Park? I won't delve into too much romantic wanderings about the Alps, but it was as good as everyone seems to say. We were blessed with 4 days of perfect weather. There were some very competitive town sign sprints on the last day between the clients. I got my daily fix of cleat adjustment by helping out a few of the guys suffering from IT band problems. I even managed to gain 1.5 kilos on the trip! A testament to how good the food was.

I have, after a year of problems, found out the specific cause of my knee worries- an inflamed medial plica. Every time I extend the knee, the quadricep tendon clicks over the raised plica and gives me a very unpleasant sensation. The solution isn't clear. Surgery is an option however more often than not the plica (joint capsule) grows back with accompanying scar tissue, causing more problems. Steroid injections again are not really a solution as they usually cause more problems than they fix. I have just got to work with my physio to calm down the plica and strengthen the knee so that I do not inflame it in the future. After a week of exercises and rest, nothing has changed but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In between all this travelling I have been making plans for next year and beyond. Its proving hard to find a suitable team on the Continent with only my junior results. I've had some interest in France but nothing confirmed. If all else fails I will have to go to Belgium as a private member and be picked up by a team during the season. I have applied to do Aeronautical Engineering at University. I will be going there next September if my cycling season is disappointing. If it goes well, I will defer. Nice and simple.

A Heinrich Haussler of a Season

2010-06-27T14:37:00.004+01:00

Wow..... another week, another trip down the tarmac. This time at Crystal Palace. Being an obsessive cyclingnews.com reader, I always read how the pros test themselves before their target events. Using this theory, I thought it would be a great idea to do a lung bursting criterium to open up the legs and also test my knee with the newest diagnosis (see below) before the national champs. It started off well enough. My cornering was Menchovesque (after my previous crash) and my legs felt like dead weights after a full rest day, but I was comfortable in the group and gave a few attacks. With about 15 minutes to go, the organisers re-routed the course, I guessed because there was a crash in the other races. Coming around next lap some of the group thought we were following the new course and others the original. I was on the front of the group and turned left, just as someone attacked up my inside who was going straight on. I hit the tarmac hard and now have road rash all along my left hand side, a melon of a bruise on my left hip, and a bruised patella bone which is so painful I can’t straighten my leg (or ride). The only positive was that I was 10 metres away from the ambulance. I rode 500 metres yesterday and had to turn around and pedal one legged back to the garage.

To add to my frustration, I only recently had a revelation for my other knee problem. I met a Spanish sports scientist at work, who showed me that my problems were because by a poor pedalling technique under load. I was pedalling too heel down, which was not utilising my quads and glutes during the power phase. The treatment? Practice pedalling much more toe down all the time. It will take time to build up the muscles that have not been used for a year but I’ve got to be patient and I am convinced this is the answer.

Strangely enough, I am happier now than when before I met my Spanish friend. At least now I know how to fix everything, even if everything is broken at the moment. You may have seen me at the Scottish Road Race champs, and it was a terrible feeling to have my knee failing me yet again. I was struggling to hold the wheels in the echelons, yet my heart rate was ticking over at 150. I hope that I can be injury free before the end of the season and win a National B race

My ways for coping with such rotten luck?

1. I just discovered the song- September by Earth Wind and Fire

2. Keeping busy at work in Cyclefit.

3. An open uni French Course. Who knows when it could be useful?

4. Sympathising with the pro’s. I feel terrible being a funded rider and not being able to do my best, but guys like Haussler or Boonen must feel absolutely awful with so much pressure on their shoulders.

5. All in the same boat. It hasn’t been a good year for GB U23s. Pete Dibben has broken his elbow three times, George Atkins has been struggling with something similar to lepresy, Joe Perrett has had a dehabilitating knee problem, and Erick Rowsell has fractured his vertebrae...twice!

I’ll finish off with saying good luck to the Endura guys at the National Champs. I think Evan will surprise a few people. And also good luck to all the U23 guys.

Out in Italy

2010-06-02T14:28:00.003+01:00

Well I didn't have the ideal start to my European trip. Last Thursday was course recon for Roubaix and I was feeling good. Andy Fenn was in good form and looking powerful when we did the first 120K . Following a couple of easy days Sunday came around pretty quick. Everything was in place; I had gorged myself at the hotel all week and the bikes were all prepped. It was raining at the start so everyone was nervous. Hitting the first sector wet was going to be carnage.

It dried up as we approached the cobbles and turned out to be dusty. I was well placed and hit the first 3 sectors in the top 20 and held my position. Coming into the following sector I ended up piling into a French guy who slid out and was taken out from behind. I punctured my front wheel, bashed my knee and destroyed my helmet and tried to chase. By the time I got out of the pave the whole convoy was out of sight and we kept chasing for another 10k before the broomwagon 'swept' us up. I was really dissapointed and felt even worse when Max said I could have got back on as it really slowed up. Ah well at least I will know for next time. Team USA had 5 guys in the broomwagon, so I guess they felt worse.

Now I am in Quarratta, Italy staying in the Academy house. We've got a race this weekend which I'm pretty excited about and after that I'm not sure what is going to happen. I managed to slip out on a bend yesterday and split open my chin; needing 3 stiches. I'm pretty bruised and battered but I felt alright today on the bike and the weather has been good. I'll try and get some pictures for the blog soon...

Great Britain Call Up

2010-05-14T18:27:00.003+01:00

Well its lucky I didn't stop my training during my mini- meltdown a few ago. I got a call from Max Sciandri the other day offering me the chance to do U23 Paris-Roubaix and a stint in Italy! It will be good to race with the guys again, and hopefully I can do an impressive ride....

Jules and Phil at Cyclefit have been very understanding, and there is lots of discussion as to what equipment to use. Kimberly's Zipp 303's or use the GB Mavics? Look 585 or Look 595? These are the important questions of our time... nothing to do with people called Cameron and Clegg.

Morocco

2010-05-14T18:09:00.003+01:00

Our trip to Morocco was pretty special, mainly down to the vastly different culture. Its not really that relevant to the blog, so there isn't to much to report. The riding was pretty shocking die to the terrible roads and drivers, but the scenery was quite stunning. Riding along dirt roads at 2000 metres on my road bike was scary. I did meet the Moroccan road Champion in while riding in Marrakesh which was interesting.

Here is a picture of our 6 hour hike through the High Atlas's. I made the risky decision to use my MBT's as they were the only proper shoes I had and I thought I could get a could core workout. I made a pretty poor choice though as my glutes were in agony after a few hours, I turned my ankle over several times, and my brother said I walked liked robocop. Here I am struggling through a creek...

This was after a 5 hour ride in Essouira on the coast. I was super tired when I got back as the headwind was so bad (at least on the way home) that I average 18kph for the last 3.5 hours. I ran into my parents near the Riad (Hotel) and haggled for a load of bananas and dates in the pissing rain. No rego or 'for goodness shakes' in Essouira.

Lazy Blogging..

2010-05-08T14:14:00.005+01:00

Hi guys,

I apologize for not updating in a long time. It is always irritating when people have out of date websites. The excuse is that I have been pretty busy, and also quite disheartened about my cycling. But I think I have turned a new stone and now everything's smooth sailing...or riding perhaps.

After my race in Singapore I had a couple of local races, and my knee just didn't hold up under pressure. It was buckling under the increased intensity and I was pretty upset after all the work I had done with my physio, and I thought after a good few months I was over it. This kept going on in a weekly cycle. I would train and condition my leg during the week and then be smashed in the races because I just couldn't put any power down. Needless to say my motivation kept declining, along with my fitness, for around 2 months

After an awesome family holiday in Morocco (that can come in the next blog) and a serious discussion with my coach, its looking more positive. I think I may be solving the knee issue, and training is a lot less stressful.

I also think that keeping busy has made me happier. I have started working at Cyclefit in Covent Garden which is awesome. I was fitting some guys who were in a bomb squad in Afghanistan the other day! Also my french course is keeping me busy.

Here are a couple of pics of me racing at Chas Messenger. I didn't finish but was feeling better than last week, in the knee and in fitness. Today I did Bec CC Road race and progressed again- up to 7th this time.

OCBC Criterium- Singapore

2010-03-10T16:26:00.002Z

After an torturous 15 hour journey, we were greeted in Singapore with 35 degree heat and 5 start hotels, it was worth it! Before I launch into a full on report, i've written another blog for the enduraracing website so that should be up soon. I'll just add some of my personal experiences.

The build up to the race involved eating lots of really nice food and drinking shed loads of electroylte drink (everyone who went to this race MUST of gained weight!). The two pre-race rides we did were certainly a new experience to riding in England. I felt pretty good and well rested for both of the rides even with some serious jetlag. On the second ride there were a few egos swinging about and people started scraping up the sides of buses and jumping red lights just to stay on the group!

The actual race went well for me despite the result. I screwed up the final sprint a little and I could have probably scraped a top 15, but I'm no bunch sprinter. I was more involved in the early moves. The best report is on this link.

http://www.cyclingnewsasia.com/en/road/35-general/490-singapore-ocbc-cycle-singapore-big-ben-kersten-takes-it

I got back really early Monday with some serious jetlag. I also managed to pick up another cold virus on the plane. My throat is really sore and I feel really bad, hopefully I will be good for the weekend which is Roy Thame Cup and Jock Wadley. My resting HR was 50 on Tuesday morning and 44 this morning, so the signs point to recovery (resting is 41). Its getting really frustrating it feels like I have had almost a month of low intensity riding because of my 2 colds, and travel. Guess I've got to rely on my fitness I built over the winter.

My next big aims are the Cicle Classic, where I hope the team can repeat Wilko's win from last year, and the Rhone Alpes Isere Tour in Mid May.

Training Camp and getting set for Singapore

2010-02-28T18:24:00.003Z

After watching Het Niewsblad and Kuurne this weekend (Belgian season openers), I am chomping at the bit to start racing.

This February has been all about preparation for racing. My coach has been giving me shorter intervals (1 -2 minutes), some 5 minute efforts, and some long tempo and endurance rides that will hopefully hone my form. My knee is great and I feel stronger than at any time last season. I still need to get my bike position just right, but its almost there (cleats are good though). My weight is stable at 70 kg and my body fat is going down.

I was hoping to get some race efforts done in Nice, on our team training camp, but a sore throat and blocked nose meant only low to medium intensity! Pretty annoying as it lasted the whole 9 days but at least I could still ride with the guys. Some of my team mates were racing at the same time (Tour of the Med, Haut Var, and the upcoming Tour of Murcia), and it sounded brutal, especially with the weather. For me details see our team website: www.enduraracing.com

I thought that I would be starting my season at the Severn Bridge RR this weekend, but have been asked to go to Singapore! Apparently it is a big money crit, and top teams such as Lampre and Garmin are riding. Its going to be a hard start to the season, but at least all the races afterwards will feel easier!

I have also got my programme decided. My big goals for the first half of the season are the Rhone Alpes- Isere stage race in Mid May and the National U23 champs in late June. In between then I will be using mostly National B's to get into top form.

To lighten up the blog I thought I would include some retro images of the 2006 Colne GP Support race. Scott Thwaites, one of my team mates for Singapore, joins me on the podium, and we were both beaten by some old guy..... (I think the photos are from Larry Hickmott)

p.s. hopefully my video blog will be up soon

A Busy Start to the Year

2010-02-02T09:26:00.003Z

I thought I had better update my blog. George has been quite prolific recently, albeit he has been doing slightly more interesting stuff (Beijing World Cup). Not that what I have been doing is boring at all. As soon as I was back from Scotland I managed to get out for a 4 hour ride as there was no snow, but managed to crash on some ice and tear up my hip- luckily that was all I damaged. More turbo, rollers, and gym work till Lanzarote!

Next up was a training camp in Lanzarote. I went out with Joe Perrett, Pete Dibben, James Astbury, and Phil Peters. It was a great camp, and a far cry from other training camps I have done in Newport bombing up and down dual carriageways. I went out to build up my base so I did 40 hours mostly at around 130-150 BPM heart rate but with a few intervals mixed in. The weather was perfect and the roads varied and exciting.

It was also the first time I've been out clubbing- pretty embarrassing. We got back in at 4 after what the other guys said was a crap night (none of us could speak Spanish), but I couldn't really judge. I was designated driver so I just drank water and danced for a while- trying out stuff I saw James Brown doing on Youtube. The others enjoyed a few beers and snogging some Columbian girls- I won't say who.
When I got back I had a recovery week as I was coming to the end of my 6 week block. This timed in quite nicely as my best friend from America came to London, so we had a chance to catch up without me having to try and fit in 4 hours of training. It was a pleasant reminder of what is to be a normal teenager for a week. I had to do a ramp test at the end of the week though- a painful reminder of being a cyclist! My power was up by 20 watts, but I felt shocking and my HR max was 15 Bpm slower than last year. Not sure what was wrong but probably fatigue. Somehow I gained 1.4 kilos so am now 73. Body fat is still the same though.

Very exciting day last Friday, Team launch! It was seriously cool seeing all the kit, sponsors, and press. I picked up my new 'training' bike, a Look 585 Origin. It handles so nice and looks really old school with the traditional shaped frame. I'll get some pictures up soon.
Next up is the Nice training Camp down in Stephen Roche's Hotel! Hopefully I will be going al-right and be able to absorb the workload, and not simply fodder myself.

Regards

Sandy

p.s. Next Blog I think will be a 'day in the life of' video

Christmas Time

2009-12-29T21:04:00.004Z

Wow! I never thought that snow could be such a pain in the ass! Usually it is very exciting because it means a Snow day at school, but as I'm no longer at school, that can't happen. It just makes me feel guilty. I haven't made it easy by being in Scotland though (family Christmas). It was -8 on the car thermometer today. All it means is a lot of turbo training! I won't expand too much, as I am sure everyone knows how bad these things are, even with a TV, radio and ipod to entertain you. At least there is some consolation that everyone else has it the same. It seems to be the only topic on Facebook at the moment.

My training was going really good a few weeks ago. I hooked up with my new Coach, Nic Tilling, did a power test, and got a perfectly crafted training plan complete with power ranges and everything. Then my power meter broke, and the weather got bad. From then it has been an uphill struggle (excuse the pun). Hopefully it will all be kick-started by a training camp in Lanzarote I have booked from 10th Jan to 21st. I am heading out with Joe Perrett and Pete Dibben which should be a blast. I shouldn't really moan about my training. Pete has had 2 broken elbows this winter and a bad flu. It should be a morale boost attacking him on the climbs!

I have gained weight this winter! I am 72/73 kg now (188cm), which I think should benefit me. It is a confusing topic when racing in Britain. Given that it is relatively flat, how much difference does weight really make? My new team mate Ian Wilkinson proves that big men can certainly challenge on every terrain in Britain. The trouble is that every cyclist wants to be ripped and have a good VO2 max score. Does the increased weight give you any increased sprint power, endurance, or resistance against the cold? I have decided to try and maintain the weight but convert fat to muscle through normal training. I am lucky to have an extreme metabolism so its not hard.

I think my knee is FINALLY coming to a resolution. I came home from a interval session a few weeks ago in a very depressed state due to my knee (felt the same as september). All the way home I couldn't stop thinking I had made a massive mistake and thinking I should be at University, and thinking about where I had saved my personal statement on the laptop. Luckily my mum was at home when I got back, and insisted I saw a knee doctor who was a friend of hers. This didn't fill me with confidence as I have seen too many physios and chiros to count. Apparently he sees 40 new knees every week! He immediately diagnosed Illiotibial band syndrome- which is apparently what most cyclists have when they get knee pain. The inflammation of the band was aggravating my patella and causing the uncomfortable feeling. This made me sick that no one had picked up on this. I immediately got some exercises from an ex-arsenal physio and my knee's are tracking around 2 cm further away from the top tube! I have to essentially re-learn my pedaling technique with my knees further out.

I have been listening to my motivational CD a lot recently. I think there is something wrong with me sometimes. I am getting a free couple of years to go and race bikes around the world, but I keep getting moments where I question what am I doing and whether I should be at University or in a job. Its not my family, they are very supportive, but the idea that 'living at home when over 18 is bad' seems to be engrained in my head. I keep on comparing myself to experienced pros and their training etc. but I need to stop it! Hopefully by sticking at it for 2 years will teach me to relax and mellow, enjoy the lifestyle more, and stop being so self-critical. It should be fun!

Hope everyone has a happy new year!

p.s. sorry for the lack of pics , but not much happening this time of year!

Bike Invention Ideas from me and Stu

2009-12-29T19:59:00.002Z

Hi Everyone,

Me and Stu were wondering if anyone had any constructive advice about our ideas. We had a long dicussion while trudging through the snow in Edinburgh. Have a read, hopefully you can stay awake:

1. This invention is to overcome some of the shortcomings of the mid arch cleat position (reduced sprint power). Your shoes would have two sets of cleats on them, one in the the mid arch and the other in the standard position. This way you could switch to mid arch for long climbs or solo efforts, and revert back to a more powerful sprint position for the accelerations and sprints (used in grand tours perhaps). The change in saddle height would have to be addressed. A prototype seat post could use a similar system to height adjustable crutches, with two settings (one standard one low). Later stages could use a handlebar triggered height change, but that would be complicated at the moment. The change in position may cause concern, but under consideration, the muscles used when climbing are dramatically different anyway to riding on the flat. You could also train in both positions.

2. This invention is to address leg and pelvic imbalances (training tool). It is a saddle that can rotate on an axis running from the front to the back. This way you would have to keep the pressure even on each sit bone to stop it tilting. There are many mechanisms of fixing the rotation, and also providing some degree of resistance to stop completely free tilt.

3. This invention is to improving knee tracking and determine optimum varus/valgus for wedges. It is a pedal that is shaped like ball on a tow bar. The cleat is a bearing race that attached around the ball (ball and socket). This would provide completely free free float and movement on the front to back axis. With a mirror the rider could tilt their feet to the point where their knee is aligned. Not only would you train your muscles to track correctly, but the optimum number of varus/valgus wedges could be determined by measuring the tilt. This is only a training tool to be used on the turbo.

New Approach

2009-12-01T18:35:00.004Z

I have recently followed a few links to other Blogs, and was amazed by the amount of people doing exactly the same as me. Writing about their training and racing in the same way. So I am thinking of changing my posts a bit to alleviate the boredom of any readers I do have. From now on it will be more focused on Entertainment than information, but they may overlap at times. When reading magazines, the race reports are fairly boring, but the best parts are the stats, gossip, quotes, and nitty gritty detail of bike racing, so I will try and incorporate that a little too.

Since my last blog I have been fairly busy. I travelled up to Edinburgh by train to meet up with the Endura team. It was pretty cool and there was lots of cool stuff, but I am worried about how much I am allowed to tell! The team are doing a training and racing block around Nice in February. We are staying in Stephen Roche's hotel and doing the Tour of Medditiranean, Tour de Haut Var, 3 Days of Vaucluse, and Tour of Murcia! When I say we I mean the team. I will be there for the training camp, but not doing the races. Having my first senior race against protour teams would be ridiculous! I would love to do it, but so would does everyone else on the team.

While in Edinburgh I had a deep tissue massage with a Slovakian called Pavol! It was agony, but afterwards I felt better. I have had a lot of experience with different physios and masseuses, and he was definetly the best at massage, despite first impressions. I find the best way of releasing knots in muscle is acupuncture, but I have only had this at physios.

I also went to go see the Ghent Six day which was a blast, but I can't trump Pez cycling's report so I am not going to bother.

Training is going better. My knee is slowly recovering. It is still not perfect but I am making progess. Apparently it is a mild case of patella chondromalacia.

Finally closing the season

2009-11-16T18:59:00.003Z

Yesterday was my last event of the 08/09 racing season! The Twickenham Club Hill Climb champs. I finished off with a win which I was really happy with, when taking into account the bad last few months ( knee problem). I beat National 24 hr time trial champion and ex-GB rower John Warnock, and Scot Jim Cusick into 2nd and 3rd place. The climb took place on my Crimp Hill, a whole 3 minutes from my house.
I was a little surprised to do almost the same time as last year. Looking back to 2008, I was training 15 hours a week almost all on the bike, so my form should have been good. This year I have been doing almost zero riding because my knee, and doing gym workouts 3 times a week, including one the day before. This suggests that I was over-training last year. This winter I am going to stick with my 3 gym sessions until February- then go down to 2 through march, and then 1 throughout the rest of the season. I am also going to make sure I keep my weight over 70kg, as being too light seems to penalize you if riding in Britain. I think I power meter may be a good investment too, to make sure I build up gradually.
I have finally come to the root of my knee problem! Sometimes physios complicate the problem far too much and I always do! The problem I was having was a tightness under my patella that would spread to my hip. It was a very tight left hip flexor that requires a massive amount of release work and stretching. Its a relief to finally know what it is!

As soon as this was diagnosed I got a call from Ian Whitehead, asking if I wanted to do the Gent Amateur Six! I was severely tempted, but used my better judgement. I had not got a partner (at least not one I knew), I had not trained on the bike properly for about a month, and I was recovering from a knee injury. Never the less, it was very tempting. Me and Pete D are going to aim for it next year, when he hasn't fractured his elbow.

I'm off for a team meeting in Edinburgh with Endura this week. I know which bikes we are riding, and its pretty exciting. Lots of Carbon

Track National, National Hill Climb, and the Team News

2009-11-07T18:15:00.007Z

I was training pretty hard for track nationals, combining lots of training with physio and core exercises but alas, it was pointless. My leg was useless and come the races I had very little power. I raced the full week (with no results), all the way through to the National Hill Climb champs, but I wouldn't have been racing if it wasn't the end of season.

I have taken two weeks off and set about fixing myself. I have discovered through an x-ray that my femur is 8mm short, and that one glute is producing half the power of the other. I am now doing lots of gym and physio work, and made the appropriate changes to my cleats and bike. Today was my first ride in 2 weeks. 3:30 was too long and I blew after 2 hours! Maybe a steadier approach is needed. I am not supposed to do intervals until December so as to allow for recovery.

On a lighter topic, Look at this cycling themed cheese my Dad found in London, Mont Ventoux. It stinks really badly and tastes pretty bad.

Here is Tim and I in the madison off the front of the race. I couldn't concentrate with my knee playing up, and was annoyed as I let Tim down.

I have managed to get a place on the Continental Team Endura Cyclevox for 2010. I am pretty happy about this as they are doing some big races next year and I should learn a lot. I am not sure about all the details yet but will put them up when I find out.

I have put together a collection from the bike garage. I needed to photo them anyway.

Here is my brother's turbomatic 4, a six day riders favorite. This one has duct tape to repair the Tour of Wales Crash damage

My Trek MTB complete with Rolls saddle

My Planet X TT bike with Turbo wheels

My winter training bike.

My commuter bike

Lots of News on Academy, hill Climbs, and next year

2009-10-14T11:42:00.004+01:00

After my stage race in Italy I had an easy week, then headed back out to Belgium for a pair of Kermesses. These ended badly with 2 DNFs as my knee was really bothering me. I just couldn't put any power down through my left leg, it was just collapsing beneath me. That kind of scuppered my chances for Koksidje too.

So my next targets were to fix my knee problem, and then train for the senior track championships. This involved lots of physio and core exercises......zzzz. While I was doing this I was doing some training for the track champs. I would really like to perform as I had a dismal junior nationals. Training is in the form of double days including lots of roller sessions and standing starts.

I heard last Friday that I didn't make it onto Academy, which I was pretty gutted about. I knew it was a possibility given my lack of track results, but it was still hard to hear. On the plus side I get a lot more freedom and am no more at the mercy of BC selectors! Unfortunately they told us quite late in the season, which is making finding a good team quite hard. I am still looking about which isn't a nice situation, but I think that things are finally being put in motion. The French Team that contacted me turned out to be not so great so I had to turn that down. I've got some extra motivation for the senior track champs though now that they rejected me!

Over the winter I am going to keep myself busy by working for my parents alongside my training. The whole house needs painting, which should take ages!

I had a blast at the Catford and Bec hill Climbs last weekend. The atmosphere makes it worthwhile even if I was going pretty slow! My technique was poor and I kept on slipping on the wet leaves and losing precious time. I was first junior in both but only finsihed around 15th in the men. The new Twickenham Skinsuit looks pretty cool as well! The top two pictures are from Catford.
No lack of effort, at least in the facial expressions....
This next picture is at the Bec hill climb in the afternoon. It was raining when I set off. The guy who won (he got 1000 pounds) I had never even heard of and I was slightly skeptical, however after watching my Dad's video, he was flying!
To cheer me up I had a nice suprise today in the post. I ordered a pair of 2009 Specialized shoes off british cycling for 50 quid last may but they were out of stock. So when these 2010 models arrived I was pretty happy! Most of the pros don't have them yet! They are super light but I'm going to save them till next season, no point in getting them dirty.
I will try to keep better updates as to my training and stuff I'm up to and what team I will be with next year. I am planning lots of exciting stuff now that I am free from British Cycling. If anybody wants to go for a ride just let me know, as I can arrange my jobs around training which is quite nice!

Scapin Spirit Frame and forks for Sale+ Pictures

2009-10-14T10:47:00.006+01:00

The dent on the top tube is barely visible (on the grey).

2001-2002 Columbus Steel Scapin Spirit R8 frame and carbon forks (and headset)- THe newer model can be viewed on

http://www.scapin.com/scheda.asp?idprod=3&tipo=road

It is a 54 top tube and a 54 seat tube (centre to centre). There is a dent in the top tube however this is purely aesthetic. Colours are blue yellow and black. There are a few marks on the paintwork due to general use.

Rides great as noted by http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/bike-reviews/tested-scapin-r8/980.html

Sorry for the lack of effort

2009-09-08T18:14:00.004+01:00

The poor effort shown on this post perhaps reflects how badly the rest of the season has been going! After the camp was track nationals. I didn't qualify for the scratch, I did a terrible time in the pursuit, and got thrashed in the points. I thought that Tour of Wales would be a different matter but oh no, it was bad. My best placing was 6th on a stage and I ended up 12th overall. I did so much better last year!

At least Italy went well, despite not having much to show from the race. I set my sights on the King of the mountains and came tantilizingly close but it was not to be. I was climbing good.

Now I have to recover for a couple of kermesses in Belgium next weekend, and then a Stage race in Belgium the following weekend.

At least my A-levels went well. I got 2 A's in maths and physics and 2 B's in history and Further maths.

Southern XC Series + Training Camp

2009-08-15T20:57:00.002+01:00

After returning from Greece on Saturday afternoon, I was a bit hesitant about doing a the MTB race on the Sunday. I went ahead and did it though, and it was horrible! My shoulder was agony, it was boggy and my legs refused to rotate in circles. I ended up doing 1 or 2 laps then decided to simply ride the final laps as training; taking it easy on the technical bits then blasting the fireroads.

I then spent the week training at home and catching up on bike mechanics. On the weekend I rested up for the camp the following week.

This ODP camp was preparation for the Junior track nationals, working on speed, sprinting, and pursuiting. It was exactly what I needed, and although I struggled a little compared to the other guys who had done track euros, it was rewarding. It was also pretty hard so I am not going to do the python road race, as I would not be fresh for the track racing. The camp was a little different to other camps in that we stayed at apartments, rather than a hotel, which meant we had to cook. It worked pretty good and on my night I cooked pesto chicken and salmon with roasted vegetables and rice.

So next week, track nationals, then a week rest then Tour of Wales!

Greece Flotilla Holiday

2009-08-05T17:40:00.004+01:00

To get to Kephalonia, a small island to the west of greece, I had to fly to Athens and then on to the island by prop plane. It was an exhausting trip lasting all night, but it was worth it. If anyone has seen Captain Corelli's Mandolin, this is the island used. We no rain, blue sea, and 30 degree weather all week. This was the port we started in. From here we sailed around the Ionian stopping at a different port everyday.

I was pretty tired after the flight so had a nap while the others did the sailing. I managed to fit in training by bailing off on the dingy with my bike and riding around the islands. The roads were super hard and badly paved, but good training.

Here's my sister smiling to the camera as we sit down to eat. Each night we ate at a Taverna and experienced Greek Cuisine. It was tasty but to be honest don't go to Greece to experience fine cuisine. I am looking pretty serious as I consider what to eat after 3:30 hours reaming myself up greek mountains.
My siblings are off to the US for 3 weeks now so I am an only child for just less than a month. Its pretty boring to be honest. I go out and do my training, stretch and do core exercises, then spend way too much time looking at cycling news. I've got a training camp next week in preparation for track nationals which should be good. Then I'm busy with races so its not so bad.

The whole mtb plan has been scrapped. There was obviously a misunderstanding between british cycling and me. I thought I would do mtb this season to compliment my road riding and then go hopefully onto the road academy. BC thought I wanted to go onto the MTB academy, which I don't. Its been fun though (except for the crash) and been good training. Unfortunately it has distracted me quite a bit but hey, I just hope I can come up with the goods in Wales and in Italy.

Here are a few pictures of me trying to get my bike back on the boat, just before the flotilla pirate party. Not many people take a bike on a flotilla holiday and with good reason!

Bath Road Race

2009-08-05T17:30:00.004+01:00

I was sidelined for the GB trip to Het Volk due to my shoulder injury, but I could still race. It was probably for the best anyway as my form was not great and I needed to test my shoulder.

As soon as I saw the start sheet I knew it was going to be a real battle. There was a full strength Glendene team and of course everyone else was off doing Het Volk. Dave Nichols marked me throughout the race as I am a national series challenger. I was really struggling to break away all through the race. Even towards the end when my stamina comes into play it wasn't working. Joe Perrett was very strong though.

I ended up in managing to bridge to the second breakaway group but had little left for the sprint and came 13th.

As soon as the race finished I drove home and headed off to Greece for a holiday (with bike though)!

Crash! National XC champs unlikely

2009-07-16T09:14:00.004+01:00

Bad news- I was training by myself in Innerleithen doing the xc trail yesterday and managed to fall off. I was just coming down the descent after the summit and I was caught by surprise by one of the bigger jumps. I didn't lift my front wheel up enough and I did a bit of a nose dive and face planted the ground. I also whacked my shoulder.

I was a bit worried about what I should do as I was by myself (stupid!) and my face was bleeding everywhere and my shoulder was in agony. I rolled down the rest of the trail until I hit a fire road which I followed around the mountain to Walkerburn. At Walkerburn I managed to bump into some guys who worked at a chemical engineering plant who took me to the clinic at Innerleithen. They stitched my face up while my aunt and Granddad collected me. I still had a lot of pain in my shoulder so we went to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh but luckily it is only severe bruising and some lightly torn ligaments. That should heal quickly.

Racing wise I don't think the national champs is very likely, but there is a slim chance. The trouble is I need to have full control over the technical sections (of which there are a lot) so I would probably crash again. I should be able to train again very soon though- at least on the turbo or maybe the road.

I will try and put up a few pictures of my ugly face soon. My black eye is pretty impressive. Well done to the track guys in Belarus at the moment who got silver in the Team Pursuit.

Southern XC Round 4

2009-07-15T09:03:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday was another Mountain bike race, this time down in Devizes Wiltshire. Training didn't go so great during the week as I felt very tired- so I was a little nervous. I also had new shoes and saddle so I needed to get used to the new position. The course was really good though and I enjoyed it.

My goal for the race was to give it everything in the first few laps to try and stay with the leaders. Unfortunately that went down the pan when I got a terrible start. My gears were slipping everywhere and I couldn't get my foot in. I ended up doing relatively consistent lap times that were ok- not great though. I ended up 6th at the finish. My brother all rode in the sport section- see below.
It was certainly a good workout prior to National Champs next weekend and hopefully will have prepared my muscles.
On Monday I had a rest day and went to see Bruno- that movie is disturbing. Then I flew up to Edinburgh. I am spending the week up here to see my grandparents and also for the national champs. I should be able to fit in some good mtbing.

Euro Road Champs

2009-07-07T20:50:00.004+01:00

After a bad race last weekend, I hoped to make up for it at Euros. It was held in Hooglede Belgium and was 140k, consisting of 40k straight then 8 finishing circuits. I prepared well with lots of recovery and was ready for the start in Oostende- but pretty nervous. We had a good team as well with Joe Perrett- who won the Euro time trial!, George Atkins, Sam Harrison, Tim Kennaugh, Pete Dibben, and Jon Mould (an me).

It turned out to be a strange race. I crashed about 10k and managed to smash my head so hard that I have lost all my memory from the crash to about 60k in! Joe Perrett (European Time trial Champion!) thinks that I tried to bunny hop a roundabout and mistimed it. That pretty embarrassing considering I'm supposed to be doing mountain bike too! I must have just been on autopilot for 40k. Apparently I was asking Pete were I was and kept forgetting stuff- weird!

Anyway I finally started getting my head together with 3 laps to go and decided I needed to cover all the moves. Darren, our team director, kept shouting for us to work for George Atkins, so I marked all the moves in the last 2 laps so that he could do something in the sprint. I felt really good! My form must be coming along nicely. Coming into the finish I was looking for George so I could lead him out but I couldn't find him. I ended up 32nd, two places behind George as we were too far back going into the sprint. I think the reason we didn't get a good result was lack of communication. It turned out George was cramping with 3 laps to go, so it might have been better if I had tried to go with the moves in the last laps rather than simply nullifying them.

This picture is me on the front on the last lap. I have good morale now because if my form is coming along nicely after what seems like ages of suffering like a dog! Hopefully I can convert this to a good result in my mtb races coming up, including the national champs in innerleithen. Then build on that so that I am super fast for Tour of Wales!

National Road Championships

2009-07-07T20:32:00.004+01:00

Sorry for the slow posting. I didn't really have much motivation to write about my race as I didn't do very well at all! I was somewhere outside the top 20 but still in the peleton. The course turned out to be not that difficult, which was a shame. Tim got away early then Joe and George bridged across. I didn't follow their attack immediately and regretted it as I ended up spending the whole race attacking and getting nowhere! Disappointed but hey!

Victory celebration's pictures for the Poll

2009-07-07T20:10:00.000+01:00

Sandy King- Cadence RR

Joe Perrett- Sid Standard

Josh Edmonson- Tom Simpson

George Atkins- National Road Race Championships

To See Joe Perrett at Hog Hill click here

Tom Simpson Junior RR

2009-06-24T10:05:00.006+01:00

A few exciting things to note this week:

1. I have finished ALL my exams!

2. I got selected for the European Junior Road Race in Belgium

3. I got 7th at Tom Simpson Junior RR and nationals are next weekend!

4. I have got a new retro section below this blog- check it out.

The week before Tom Simpson was mixed. It was mainly focused around my mountain bike. I spent Wednesday doing some efforts around bracknell forest before I punctured. Then I spent Thursday doing a 4 hour mtb ride along the ridgeway in Oxfordshire- I managed to break my chain twice! When I hopped back on my road bike it felt very weird due to the different cleats, pedal width, and position. We drove up on Sunday morning (with Pete D). The course was pretty flat so I knew I would have to be aggressive early on and try and force a break.

After a lot of attacks and counter attacks one eventually formed (see below). I was suffering soooo bad for most of the race. Not sure why but I have been having to take anti-viral/biotic pills as my sister managed to get Swine Flu! There have been loads of people complaining about side effects so maybe that was it. Anyway that break got pulled back but I perservered and another soon formed.

Unfortunately this break had 3 Glendene riders in it, so on a flat course it was quite a challenge to try and beat them. Tim got away with Josh Edmonson with 1 lap to go and I had to chase (see picture below of me grimacing in pain). I kept attacking and trying to split the group but was unsuccessful and came over the line 5th in the sprint for 3rd.
The Glendene Riders seriously need to work on their victory celebrations. After Joe's embarrassing swerve at Hog Hill there were none from Josh! He did a good ride though!
Next weekend I have got the Nationals which are more hilly, and I will be off the anti-viral medication so fingers crossed. Weekend after that is European Road race which should be a real dog fight.

Here's the video

American Racing- the early days

2009-06-24T09:05:00.000+01:00

I started my racing career in Virginia U.S.A. when I was 13. We lived over there from 2001-2005 with my Dad's Job and it was a great experience. I was part of the NCVC- see here for there website. Here are a few pictures from when I started.

It was pretty hot in the summers. This was a midweek mtb race and the temperatures were probably around 30 degrees. When combined with 100% humidity it made for some uncomfortable riding.

This is a picture of me at the start of the same race. I was 13 at the time yet look at my legs! They are more ripped than they are now!
This was taken slightly later in my first road race- a circuit around some industrial estate in Maryland. Check out the guy riding a disc wheel! I am just visible in the red and white.
Believe it or not this is a picture of me winning a sprint! It wasn't for the win though- I think I finished 5th but I was 13 and it was a 15-18 race.

Catch Up!

2009-06-20T08:53:00.003+01:00

Its been a while since I last updated. Exams have been pretty full on. Most of them have gone well except for Mechanics 3 and Further Pure 2 which were hell. I've only got one more left on Tuesday but its not an important one, so I'm pretty much focused on cycling now!

After my escapades at Margham park I had a week of rest. This is to prepare me for the rest of the season ahead (its a long time till the end of september). Unfortunately it did not coincide with when my exams were so I had to do lots of solid revision. I had planned just to do Smithfield on the weekend and revise on the Sunday but I was so bored of revision I decided to do a mountain bike race down in Pippingford (sussex) too.

Smithfield was a massacre. My race day prep was good- much better than most of the pros probably, but I just got blown out the back after 10 or 15 minutes! I could really feel the week of rest in my legs, but in reality I'm not sure I would have lasted much longer with a weeks training. They were too fast! I was supposed to be helping Warrick Spence as his 'domestique' however I decided vocal support from the barriers was far more effective. Pete D and Dan Mclay both got dropped which made me feel better as they are both good at crits.

I got back at 12:30 and had a history revision session Sunday morning at 9:00- ouch! I went in for that then went straight to the mountain bike race with my parents. Unfortunately Smithfield had not fired my legs up as planned, and I went slow on my mountain bike as well. Slow climbing combined with bad technical skills makes for slow lap times! I wasn't too concerned though given my preparation and how bad I felt during the race.

The following week was my heavy exam week. Big exams on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Basically it meant that my training was pretty limited which frustrated me, as I had just taken a full rest week. Even more frustrating was that when I did go training my legs felt rubbish!

I was very excited about the weekend coming up though. Me, Steve James, Luke Gray, and Kenta Gallagher were flying over to Germany (near Stuttgart) to do a big German mountain bike race. I flew over late Thursday by myself due to exams, and had a blast in Terminal 5. I went to Wagamamas followed by the sushi bar then bought a load of cycling magazines- next time I am trying the fish bar. On Friday we did some practice on the course, and the second run around Luke Gray managed to fall off and smash his pelvis right in front of me! I didn't see how he fell as I was focusing on descending myself- but he did not look good on the ground. Hopefully his recovery will not be too painful. The course involved 2 long steep fireroad climb and 2 descents- one quite technical by my standards. We did a similar course recce on the Saturday. I think I might have got a bit too enthusiastic on the climbs.

The race itself was good. I only came 30th, but I got everything out so I was happy. I was shelling time on the technical sections, and my climbing wasn't great so I wasn't able to stay with the top guys. But I will keep working on it. Kenta did a great ride coming 4th- despite moaning about how bad he was the whole trip. We stayed to watch the Elites race in the afternoon (along with 15,000 Germans!). I had no idea you could ride the technical sections that quick! I also got Sven Nys and Jose Hermida's signatures!

Here is a picture of the mens race- that climb was steep!

There was also a German equivalant of my Dad at the race who took a video of his son. There is also a short clip of me climbing ahead of him in ODP kit.

To finish off this epic post; I am doing the Tom Simpson memorial race tomorrow up in Yorkshire. Its supposed to be flat so I am not sure what my tactics will be yet. I am a bit apprehensive as I haven't ridden a road race in ages and haven't done a long road ride for a while either. We'll see!

ODP Camp + MTB at Margham

2009-06-02T10:51:00.003+01:00

Just got out of a history exam so having a little break. Had an odp training camp last week and then last weekend had 2 mtb races. I punctured on saturday in the junior national series but got 4th on Saturday in the 50k marathon race. Here is a picture below.

Catching Up after Hog Hill

2009-05-23T20:22:00.007+01:00

Sorry for the slow posting. I have had my first 2 exams this week so blogging is not key priority. I had Hog Hill Junior GP last weekend. Theoretically it should have suited me great- 80km and 40 times up a pretty hard power climb. I also had my own domestique de-luxe- 75 kilos of raw Stuart Power. It may be around 74 kilos though as he spent an hour shaving matts of hair into the sink. I won't include pictures of that.

After a good warm up the race started. Stu went for an attack about 3 laps in but got pulled back. About 10 laps in the race just turned into a dogfight and I spent 30 laps in agony. Between then and the finish my legs gave out and Joe rode off the front. I finished 7th. My form isn't the best at the moment- I just feel quite tired. There are quite a lot of photos on the website- www.hoghilljgp.org They are heavily weighted towards Joe which I suppose is fair considering he won, but lets be honest, everyone likes looking at pictures of themselves racing. Watch the video- George Atkins's Dad has a bit of commentary. Joe's race was good but his celebration was abysmal!

Anyway I am still 2nd in the National Series standings behind Peter Dibben. I should be able to haul back lots of points at the Tour of Wales though. My form will be better then as I don't have exams.

This next week is a training camp in Newport which should be good. Then I'm flying up for the elite edinburgh nocturne. I don't really know what to expect. I could get absolutely hammered by the likes of David Millar but I might suprise myself. We'll see!

Isle Of Man Junior Tour Video

2009-05-23T20:18:00.002+01:00

My Dad has uploaded loads of footage of the Junior Tour. Check out the comments about the Irish coach. These are just the highlights. Follow the youtube links for video of each individual stage. (Check out Stage 2- I won that one, but its not pretty)

Interclub 25 photos

2009-05-15T20:33:00.004+01:00

Here are some pictures of the Club 25 run around the drift road circuit. I'm in an ODP skinsuit as Twickenham are having a skinsuit made.

Here's Stu concentrating

My Dad also videoed me and Stu.

Reading Track League 11th May

2009-05-12T17:03:00.003+01:00

I made a very low key start to this year's Reading Track League. I was last in my keirin heat, eliminated from the devil, and about 7th in the 20k. To do myself justice I was racing for training and pretty aggressive but still. I learnt a good lesson though. Sunday's time trial was supposed to be followed by 2 hours steady, not 2:30 reaming myself around the Chilterns. Usually I have a recovery day Monday but I got a surprise Sunday night when my coach called!

Interclub TT!

2009-05-10T17:22:00.003+01:00

This week was all about time trialling. Stuart and I did the Thursday night Maidenhead CC 10 miler. I did a 23:36 which I was a bit disappointed about. It is a sporting course but the fastest guy took a minute out of me. Stu did a 25 something which was a good ride.

Sunday was the club 25. I prepared very thouroughly and did a pretty well measured ride. I was tired after yesterday's long ride but I don't think it affected me too much. My new shoes (specialized road pros) felt great. I only got them yesterday and had not had a chance to try them out, so it was a risky move.

I ended up doing around a 58 30 which I was pleased with as I was aiming to break the hour on such a sporting course. Stu did a 1:08 on a road bike which was good. Video and pictures might be up shortly. Had an interesting sandwich for lunch. Toasted brown bread, houmous, pesto, beetroot, sausage, and spinach- was delicious.

Reading track league tommorrow should be hard. I had expected a rest day so went out and reamed myself for 2 hours after the time trial but my coach (Rob Sharman) called and surprised me!

Hillingdon and Isle of Man Junior Tour (who won which?)

2009-05-06T18:39:00.005+01:00

It was my first Tuesday night Hillingdon race of the year this week. As it was quite short (45 minutes) and I wanted a good workout, I was very aggressive. Me and Colin Roshier got away in the closing stages but Plowman Craven and Agiskoviner pulled us back with 500m to go for the almost inevitable bunch sprint (won by Tony Gibb). I finished mid pack but was delighted to find that my brother won his 4th Cat race. This was Stuart's first race and such was his immense power he won the sprint without getting out the saddle (video will be up shortly). We just need to build his endurance and he should be sorted! At 75kg I imagine he has good potential as a rouleur.

On Thursday I travelled up to Manchester to see Phil Burt, the BCF physio. He suprised me with an entirely unorthodox physio assessment. I was expecting the usual flexibility/core tests but he stuck tiny silver balls on my joints and filmed me under bright light while on the turbo. I should get results through soon. I got the train to Liverpool that evening and stayed at Albert Dock (see picture below). It was strange travelling by myself, time seems to go very slowly.

I met up with my Dad and Pete D in the morning. They had driven up to get the ferry. The crossing was really bad. Me, Pete, Dan Mclay, and my Dad were all pretty nauseous. When we arrived on the 'rock' I spent the afternoon cleaning my bike and preparing for the evening prologue. I did a shocking time to come 40th (9 seconds down), especially considering I had all the kit. Pete did a great ride though and won by 2 seconds and took yellow.

What a face and what a time! (not)
The next stage was an early start. One advantage to doing a terrible prologue was there was much less focus on me. The parcours for the day was 11 laps of a rolling circuit with a nasty finishing climb. George got away early and reamed himself so I was content to race conservatively for the first half. I started getting aggressive with 5 to go (see picture below) and the race entered its important sector. A select group formed and with 2 laps to go Tim Kennaugh attacked on the climb and Pete and I countered. We managed to hold our gap at 25 seconds while Glendene chased behind. On the final time up the climb we pretty much sprinted from half way up and I used my immense finishing speed to overhaul Pete and win. Video should be up soon.
Unfortunately no shots of my victory salute, just one of me suffering.
I spent the rest of the afternoon stretching, sleeping, eating, and visiting Laxey. The Sunday stage was pretty flat but had one power climb in. I saved my energy till the finale to attack Pete but couldn't break free. The stage was won by Sam Harrison. The Ferry trip home was a lot better.
After the finish Pete was pretty happy. I was a little disappointed not to have won the overall, but Pete was a very deserved winner.
Or was he the winner? I got a nice trophy in the post today (see below). I am debating whether or not to keep it or sell it to Pete for a tidy sum.

Tomorrow I have got a 10 mile time trial then on Sunday is the prestigious interclub time trial. I am pretty excited as I haven't done a 25 in ages. I am sure my thirst will be quenched after Sunday.

(photos courtesy of Andy Whitehouse)

AW Cycles RR + Nocturnes- Dad on his brompton

2009-04-26T17:45:00.008+01:00

Make sure you check out my earlier posts, I recently just got up to date.

My early week was relatively easy. Only started training hard Thursday/ Friday. Decided not to do Echelon Cycles stage race as needed to do homework on the Saturday. Did AW cycles RR today. Still feeling a little fatigued, perhaps from the camp or perhaps from my training Thursday/ Friday.

It was 90k on a rolling circuit with quite a bit of wind. I attacked with Jon Mould 3 laps to go and we got joined by a group of 5 or 6. We stayed away and I attacked in the finale but to no avail and it came down to a sprint and I lost out and came 7th. Pretty gutted as prized went down to 5th.

Charles Whitton took these great photos

I have entered the Edinburgh and Smithfield Nocturne. I am planning on riding for cyclefit and helping out Warrick Spence. Cyclefit have been really kind in helping with my bike fit and core.

Major news is my Dad has entered the folding bike race in Edinburgh. Perhaps he doesn't want to embarrass himself in front of his parents but he is taking training seriously. Interval sessions on the Brompton around the great park. This was on my recovery ride on Saturday. See Pictures Below

Dad eyeing up the opposition

Dad burning brompton rubber towards the copper horse

My brother Stuart, resplendent in my old kit, laughs earlier in the ride

Not laughing after getting dropped by mr. mini wheels

Sid Standard RR- National Series- finished nowhere

2009-04-26T17:28:00.004+01:00

Straight after Paris Roubaix was a British Cycling training camp down in Newport. We drove all the way there Sunday night. I was soooooo tired Monday, but we did a track session and a road ride. I was suffering for the whole camp, especially on the track (team pursuit). Its not pleasant but at least its only training.

Anyway we went home friday evening and I had a huge dinner, in fact I gorged myself pretty much all weekend. I see it as a belated Roubaix celebration. By the following Tuesday my legs lost some of the definition from the camp but I can build that up again for Road Nationals.

Me chasing down a break

Saturday was a recovery ride, 1:30, and Sunday was the race. I was pretty tired but that was expected. I needed to defend my national series lead, so I ended up doing a lot of chasing during the race. It was a flat race and no wind so that made it hard for breaks to stay away. In the last lap it was all together except for Joe Perrett who had attacked an earlier break. I tried to attack but was watched by Joe's Glendene team mates. It ended up a sprint but I got caught behind 2 crashes and rolled home way down (over 20th place).

Junior Paris Roubaix! Came 11th Sorry for the Delay

2009-04-26T16:25:00.005+01:00

First of all as a taster have a look at the pictures on the official website: There are some good ones of me 'suffering majorly' on the pave, as Sean Kelly would say.

http://home.nordnet.fr/jjdelrot/image/prxjun09/index.html

Me and my brother went for a 1 hour spin in the rain on Friday morning. I was feeling a bit tired after a harder day yesterday (1:30 ride + roller session), but very excited. Bumped into fellow TCC member Briand up in the park which was nice as haven't spoken in ages. We travelled to Folkestone in the afternoon but not without a few hiccups. At lunch I managed to slice my finger open with the bread knife.

On the Saturday we drove to the hotel in France and had lunch with the French, Italians, and Belgians. It was just normal stuff like bread and pasta, no crazy surprises. We then went for a 1 hour practice ride over the pave. I took a few pictures of my bike prepped for the ride. All of GB rode Bontrager race x lites with vittoria pave tyres on. I did a few efforts over the cobbles and the double bar tape felt good. I had to tilt my saddle up a bit to stop me sliding forwards. Spent the afternoon chilling in the room doing stretches and stuff. The French were getting massages naked in the hotel lobby, not pleasant. After listening to my Ultimate Cyclist hypnosis track, I had a nervous night's sleep. Not even Levi's shrink can calm nerves before roubaix.

Dan and the GB van preparing for the ride

Bike pre-Saturday Ride

Breakfast was awesome. Luc De Wilde the soigneur made some stuff called Belgian Muck. The exact details are secret but basically he mixes a load of Weetabix, nutella, soy milk, dates, bananas, honey, and other stuff into a big bowl the night before and puts it in the fridge overnight. I had lots of it but it fills you up pretty quick.

The start was in Amand- les- Eaux. I was pretty excited as my hypnosis cd last night obviously worked. My calves were bigger than ever and I had my lucky socks on which boosted morale. My training was good after lots of long races and I wasn't sick. No excuses!

Finally the race! Basically I stayed at or near the front for all the Pave sectors and found myself in the 3rd group coming into the finish. There was a belgian who was way ahead but the 2nd group were only 10 seconds ahead at some places. I wanted a podium so tried to bridge across but wasn't able to. I was pretty stuffed for the sprint after my bridging efforts, but what's the difference between 11th and 7th in the big picture?

My family was there to watch and my Dad got some video:

Nobody on the team had any punctures or mechanicals. I had a few problems. I missed my mussette at the feed and had to take a German one, which had some nasty drinks in. I kept them but then one bottle bounced out, so I had no drink for the last 30k. It wasn't too bad though cause I didn't cramp. My bar tape looked pretty epic with blood all over it. Not from my many blisters but from my bread knife injury opening up.

Pete's and my bike post race

I got interviewed by cycling weekly then watched the pro race go by. Hammond was unlucky to miss the split but hey.

Thoughts for Paris Roubaix

2009-04-09T09:09:00.004+01:00

Well its Thursday and only 3 days till the big event. I have been checking the weather forecast occasionaly. Yesterday they predicted heavy rain and a max of 6 degrees but today it has improved to 10 degrees and light rain. It would have been a real Museew or Kelly style roubaix with that kind of weather. Makes for good pictures though.

Just been having a light week. Same volume- around 12-15 hours, but not many efforts. Went for a long ride yesterday and going out for a few more 2 hour rides with some sprints in before Sunday. Took my custom Sidas insoles to the shop yesterday and they confirmed my suspicions they were collapsing. Makes me feel better that my core is getting worse, just my insoles. I am getting some of the specialized ones till I can see cyclefit again. They are getting in some new motion control carbon ones that never collapse! The sidas ones were really comfy but do to my excessively high arches they did not have such a long life.

Not sure what bike modifications to go for. Our race is only 120k compared to the pros 250, so it doesn't require the same amount of comfort (I think!). I will probably leave it at double bar tape, maybe double shorts. We get given wheels. Bontrager Race X lites with vittoria pave clinchers. They should work great as long as I don't abuse them. There is still a lot of tarmac in Roubaix so it pays to have fast wheels I guess.

Thames Velo Road Race + Roubaix Selection

2009-04-06T09:29:00.004+01:00

Last Week started good just after my win. Morale was high, but legs were very tired! Went out for a long ride Wednesday and could still feel it. The Maidenhead time trial on Thursday night felt far worse than the final climb at Cadence! That horrible muscular fatigue that you get and you can't get your Heart Rate up. I must have dug pretty deep on those Welsh Climbs.

I also got news about my selection for Junior Paris Roubaix. The race runs the same day as the pros and passes over most of the cobbles around 2 hours before. Check out the website- http://asso.nordnet.fr/veloclubroubaix/prxjun.html We arrive in Roubaix at 2:30. My team mates are Dan Mclay, George Atkins, Sam Harrison, and Pete Dibben.

I had a fun session on Calshot Track on Saturday with my club, Twickenham CC. Calshot is a great track as its only 150 metres round so you pick up some real g-force. We did a few short races and lots of skills. It was a good leg refresher for the Thames Velo Race. It was Stuarts first time on the track as well. He looked pretty good and was able to do a race at the end. We went for a dip in the sea afterwards. It was cold!

Sunday was Thames Velo Road Race up near Watlington. We had a good Twickenham turnout. Tom Sutherland got 4th in the 3/4th race. Ride of the day though went to Dave Peck. After doing the track session yesterday rode all the way out from London to watch and support the 3/4 race and the E/1/2 race. It must have taken the best part of 5-6 hours riding. What a great Chairman! Dad was also there to video the race. I don't think race was easy to video simply due to the speed.

The race itself didn't suit my characteristics as it wasn't a very hard course due to the glorious weather. There was one small climb but not really enough to split the bunch. I kept persisting throughout the race but Simon Gaywood took the spoils in the bunch sprint to the line (I was at the rear of the bunch). I did 2 hours afterwards riding home including sprints so I should be set up for Roubaix! Had an ice bath then watched 2 hours of Flanders. My tip Flecha was pretty poor.

Legs are stupidly sore today but can't really expect much else! I have put down my upcoming races on the right. Its a bit lacking in racing miles but I have to miss all the GB stage races because of exams!

Finally, A WIN! - Cadence Road Race

2009-03-30T16:23:00.010+01:00

Great News. Finally a victory! Not a podium or a top 5 but actually crossing the line first. Hopefully this will continue for the rest of the season cause it feels so gooood. It was even more satisfying as I had a very stressful week at school with work and stuff and was feeling pretty down in general.

It was the first round of the Junior National Series in Abergavenny Wales. I prepared well. I had a really nice dinner with the Dibbens and McClays on the Saturday night. A good move as knowing me I would probably have spent the evening doing something stupid like glute bridging exercises instead of resting. As you can see from the pic below, I thanked Pete (rider in red) for his hospitality.

Weather was cold but sunny so kept the knee warmers on. Bike was in fully pimped mode with deep sections. Gear were working nice and smooth. They better have considering I spent 4 hours Friday night and Saturdays morning labouring over changing the cables. I always decide to tinker with my bike a few days before a race and 99% of the time it goes wrong. I had time to check it out though as went for an easy ride with chum George Atkins on Saturday.

Anyway the race was pretty cautious for a long time and I put in many attacks but was unable to get away. I bridged to the front group with Dave Nichols and Sam Harrison then set about attacking them. 2nd time I tried I got away with Dom Schils, a strong rider who regularly wins in Belgium. I attacked him on the final climb and managed to have a glorious solo victory with 25 seconds in hand. My Dad was ready with the video camera and recorded the race.

The above was my early traditional race celebration. I decided to go for the themed option that me and my brother were discussing last week. Just a Juan Antonio Flecha fires an arrow me Sandy King crowns himself King. For most people it will look like I am just pretending to have horns but hey why not? I won't make a habit of it though. Contador's pistol is just boring (assuming I win more races that is!)

My brother is still in the Rugby Season but he will be breaking onto the scene soon. He will start out doing local stuff though.

Below is a picture of me looking pretty fat faced at the victory celebration (but very happy). Simon Yates did a great ride especially being a first year. He wasn't afraid to have a go. Dom Schils also did a good ride holding off the chasers.

Next big race is Junior Paris Roubaix. Today was a selection race for it so fingers crossed I will get a ride but you can never take anything for granted. It will be interesting to hear the selections as Roubaix is very different to Wales. The small really light guys might struggle despite their strength. Although I'm skinny I'm fairly tall so I should manage just fine- look at Ballan.

Thanks to Richard Robothom for the photos

P.S. My tip for Flanders is Flecha and Hammond for Roubaix. I like going for the underdogs.

Next Weekend is a Calshot Training Session with my bro followed by Thames Velo RR up near Watlington. No pressure but will be a hard race and good training for Roubaix the following week.

High Wycombe CC Road Race

2009-03-22T19:40:00.003Z

Feeling even better this weekend as still coming off the back end of a cold! Felt rough half way through the week but felt rejuvenated come the weekend. If everything progresses next weekend should be a breeze (ha!).

High Wycombe RR was run up where last year's junior Nationals were held, Long Crendon. The weather was real nice again. Plowman Craven had a full team of 8 so they were the ones under pressure.

No breaks were going until the last lap when I got in a move of 7. Plowman Craven rider just sat on and won the sprint (Jon Mozley). Tried to catch him out with 2k to go going through a small town but to no avail. Came 5th. Did a hill rep after the race and a couple of sprints just to prep me for next weekend- Cadence RR.

Will put some pictures up if I can find some later.

Milan San Remo was pretty sick but I wish there had been more attacking on the climbs. Cavendish is too quick!

Ieper Interclub Belgiumese

2009-03-22T18:01:00.002Z

Last Weekend was another Interclub (Junior Belgian National Series) in Ieper. It was a very picturesque race and we raced under over the bridge and through the town centre. I didn't really notice too much during the race though.

I was still in the back end of a cold (can't shift the runny nose a sore throat) so did an easy 1 hour Saturday. Forgot about it when I started racing but a lot of guys got some snot on their faces. It was a beautiful day which would make it a fast race.

These are the u23's racing over the Koppenburg the same day. No pics of us.

We raced over the Koppenburg, a legendary cobbled climb used in Gent-Wevelgem (where Jimmy Casper annihilated his face) and another berg, but the race wouldn't split. I was top 5 going over the Kop. but nothing happened. South East Team (me, Pete Dibben, Sam Harrison) attacked lots in the run in and we had Dan Mclay for the sprint, but it didn't work out and Dan got 10th and I finished 22nd in the bunch sprint.

Jock Wadley Memorial

2009-03-13T20:52:00.003Z

Last Weekend I rode the Jock Wadley Memorial. I spent the night before tossing and turning with a really sore throat but decided to ride anyway as I had prepared for it. Weather was a little windy and mild.

I got in the main break of the day, but then cocked it up when I didn't react to James Millard's attack quick enough. I got stuck with a few guys who didn't want to chase. Was a very long race and exceptionally tired by the end (some riders were saying it was harder than a premier calendar!). Should be good training for the Cadence RR. It was also my debut in TCC Kit. I finished 17th in the end after attacking the wind- fractured peleton.

Race Calendar

2009-03-02T16:56:00.002Z

8th March- Jock Wadley Memorial Essex

15th- Andre Noyelle Trophy Belgium

22nd High Wycombe RR Long Crendon Oxfordshire

29th Cadence RR Wales- national series

5th April Thames Velo RR Watlington

12th April Hopefully Junior Paris Roubaix

19th Sid Standard RR- Near leiscester- national series

25th-26th Possibly Echelon cycles stage race

1-3 may Isle of Man Junior Tour- National Series

Big goals are highlighted

Kuurne Brussels Kuurne + Cool website

2009-03-02T16:51:00.003Z

Had Kuurne this weekend. Came 7th after getting in the winning break of 7. Gave it a solo move with around 1.5 k to go but got dragged back unfortunately. Kicking myself as think I should have gone earlier but hey! Good confidence for coming races and training though. No pics as yet even though there were film crews following. Boonen won the big race. My tip Breschel flopped.

(I am the one in the white and purple on the right)

Training is going well with my new coach. Beefing up for the earlier races and calfs have definitely grown in size.

Check out this really cool website that my brother found of cyclist legs. Last year towards the end of the season mine were getting pretty good but not as good now. I will be like sean kelly by June though.

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2009/01/serious-cycling-serious-legs-serious.html

Boring Exams + Training Camp/Welsh Madison + Revolution

2009-02-20T20:51:00.007Z

Over January I had a load of exams. Most went pretty well and we'll see how they went early March. I had a training camp middle of February with ODP and did Welsh Madison to- came 4th. THe following weekend was National madison. I was paired with Pete Dibben. We hadn't ridden together very much so couldn't pull anything together on the night- we finished last but at least we finished compared to other teams! Later on in the night I had madison with John Mould. The pictures below are kind of the wrong order.

This is me in the final madison of the night.

This is me and pete at the National Madison earlier in the night.

Here are some pictures of the Welsh Madison at Newport. I'm partnered with Simon Yates.

Ouch.

New Bike! Cyclocross Nationals and Revolutions

2009-01-16T17:29:00.004Z

Revolution went OK. Didn't get any good results as was fannying around at the back but found it fun. I picked up my bike though! I had to keep it in its box all weekend till I got home. AN exercise of deprivation. When I unpacked it I was practically wetting my pants with excitement. The Pictures below were taken the day I made it up. I haven't taken it on the road yet as it is too wet at the moment.

The only mods I will do for the season are a 140mm Deda Newton Stem and some Pro Vibe 7s Bars. I worry about using carbon ones. Plus I can sell it more easily at the end of the year if they are not broken. The Bontrager saddle is pretty comfy and the new dura ace is delicious.

I had cross nationals on the Sunday and started at the back of the grid. This was my first cross race for about 2 years (the last one I got smashed by an U14). I was running just about top 10 after 2 laps then crashed on a tarmac section and lost 4 places! I couldn't regain them and I ended up 13th. My bike handling was pretty shocking but what can I expect with no experience! My legs were pretty slow too. My goal was to beat Joe Perrett who started beside on the start line racing in tights! He beat me easily though.
My Form at the moment is really bad. I feel really tired during my efforts. I am resting a fair amount and eating plenty so not sure. Maybe I am just really really unfit but I don't think so. Hopefully it will resolve itself by the end of March. Thats my first important race - Cadence RR in Wales (previously Martyn Ashfield). I will keep training as I am not sick. THe new ODP coach is Rob Sharman. Maybe he will no how to kick start my legs.

I have officially joined Twickenham so the GWR skinsuit that I crashed in at the nationals will no longer have to be worn. The kit is pretty conservative but nice and should match my bike pretty good (the most important part). The colours in the pictures beside are more like navy blue.

Exams are going good. My mechanics exam went pretty well and my History was short and sweet. Hopefully there will be no surprises come March. I still have C4, FP1, and S2 to go (all maths).

Christmas Post!

2008-12-25T20:21:00.003Z

Merry Christmas!

I have just been on an ODP Road camp in Wales for the last 4 days so I appreciated all the good food. Weight is around 70 kilos at the moment. I have been eating lots of good food so i am not worried- hopefully it will improve my sprint.

I got a pair of skins for Christmas. Hopefully they will be beneficial. I get pretty obsessed with training aids. I also want a powerbreathe to exercise my lungs and also a supply of optygen, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

A few weekend back I had Coach Led racing on the Track up in Manchester. My legs were pretty tired as did 3 hours the day before but it was fun. Someone nicked my front campag pista wheel from the container though which was a bit annoying. It had a 70 quid sonderklasse tub on it!

I have decided to leave GWR for next season and race for Twickenham CC. I think this will be better suited to my needs for next year. They were great last year for supporting me, but sometimes it can feel restrictive. Being in a club means there is much less politics and I can focus on racing.

I did the elite revolution earlier in the month. It was very hard but I got better as the night progressed and almost got a top 10 in the final race.

I have got the winter series tomorrow and I am looking for a win!

Team ride and Training

2008-11-14T21:18:00.005Z

The team ride we had didn't go so great. After learning that we had no sponsor, we suffered 4 punctures and nasty bouts of rain. We only did 2 hours riding in the end but it felt a lot longer. I got a lift with Pete who can now drive. Hopefully I will pass my test at the end of November so I can have some independence.

The training is going ok. My left knee is still pretty sore and my situation with physio's and cyclefit are driving me crazy. I have seen so many and all I really want is some consistency! I have been working really hard on the gym and core work but I actually feel worse on the bike. My coach is convinced I am making it up. I do have a tendency to overcomplicate things but if their is pain in my knee, it is pretty obvious there is a problem.

I am doing 2-3 weights sessions each week and am progressing fast. I am doing lots of squats and core exercises. I have been doing quite a few roller sessions to keep my speed up. Standing Starts and a long ride during the week followed by 2 long rides on the weekend. This should be enough. I have heard that pros used to be advised to do 10 hours training a week and a cyclocross race so this isn't bad at all.

Hill Climb's Part 2 and Start of Winter Training

2008-11-14T17:23:00.003Z

The weekend after the Catford and Bec CC hill climbs I did a 60 mile Surrey League RR at Ottershaw. I was pretty up for the race and desperately wanted a win for the season. I attacked loads and bridged across to every break but it all came together as nothing would stick. I was shattered coming in to the finish after my attacks and did poorly in the sprint. It was my first proper race on my Sigma so the position felt a bit different to my giant but it was ok. My legs felt pretty good.

The next weekend I had the National Hill Climb Champs up in Matlock. We went up a few days before for a half term break and got to see some of the peak district.

The day before I did a recce of the course. It was brutal! The road was so poorly engineered. It just went straight up.

On race day I started off slow on my first split but picked up towards the end. I probably could have gone faster by shifting up a few gears at the finish and sprinting instead of sitting in the saddle. The two guernsey riders beat me as well as a Hill Climb specialist Adam Pinder. It was a consolation though that the guernsey riders didn't even finish the national RR. I really need to work on my anaerobic power!

I will put a video of the race up soon but my dad is processing it.

Afterwards I had an ODP selection camp in Bakewell. I was quietly confident as I hadn't had any time totally of the bike as I had to go to physio appointments and such like. I was in better form than everybody else which made me very happy after being beaten in the hill climb last Sunday. I wasn't crap, just my anaerobic power. I will be doing lots of 2-3 minute all out intervals when I am coming into the season.

Simon Yates and Ben Dunn stood out as the strongest riders out of the bunch (excluding ODP). I don't know whether it means much though as it is november. A few people were out with race wheels and bikes for that extra edge. Selection camps are pretty strange.

I headed up to edinburgh to see my Grandparents. I did a mtb ride around Glentress which was great fun but a bit cold (it was snowing at the top). My descending was abysmal.

The next weekend I did a mtb race for fun (it is off season). I rode the sport section and won! Hooray. It was very muddy by the time we went round. My lap times were similar to the experts so I will go into that category next time. I really enjoyed it so I think I will do mountain biking early season.

picture- http://www.flickr.com/photos/joolzed/2999381270/in/set-72157608615941174/

That makes 2 wins this season. 1 mtb race, and my school cross country race, that I totally dominated.

Bec CC Video

2008-10-17T22:16:00.003+01:00

HIll Climb Season!

2008-10-17T21:41:00.003+01:00

I have been doing a few Hill Climbs at the end of the season just for a bit of fun. I have not really done any training at all except for core stability and running so while results are nice, its nothing to lose sleep over.

My first one was the John Borcroft Memorial Hill Climb on Leith Hill in Surrey. The climb lasted about 4 minutes. I started off way too fast and blew towards the top but managed to hold on to third place.

I had to give my bike back to the team the following day but didn't have a replacement bike. I was building it the morning before Catford! It only had 1 chainring and no back brake.

The following Sunday I had the Catford and Bec Hill Climbs in Sussex. The atmosphere was great and the effort was only 2 minutes. At Catford I won the Junior event but again started a bit too fast and faded. At Bec CC I was humiliated and beaten by a talented 15 year old called Germaine Burton. I was slipping on the wet ground but that is a massive excuse. I couldn't sleep for several nights and had very low self esteem. Next time I race will be pretty determined! My Dad as there to video tape the massacre. I am number 13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r2Y4HiTLlM&feature=related
I didn't don the traditional hill climb look of a backwards cap, and went for weight savings.

I might do a road race next weekend at Ottershaw if my bike is ready. After that I have the National Hill Climb Champs and then an ODP camp the following week.

I just starting to get back into the swing of proper training after my semi-break. I have gone up to 70 kilos but am not too concerned as I think this will help over the winter (more emergency energy reserves).

I will be doing the Elite revolution track series over the winter so am doing some roller sessions to build up speed. I am excited at the thought of winter training!

Winter training

2008-09-26T18:15:00.002+01:00

Now that the season has finished, I have to really focus on my core strength and gym work, which I feel really let me down this season. I spent the whole time feeling twisted on the bike. I managed to get free membership to the Wren Club in Eton which is pretty cool and I am looking forward to (it is just in the shadow of Windsor castle). It hasn't come through yet so in the meantime I am riding to the EIS gym in Marlow for my core work (haven't started weights yet).

Throughout the winter I am planning on doing some running to keep my aerobic system at a high level. It will also be a bit of a change. I will do some MTB too just for bike handling.

I am going to do a few hill climbs as well just for fun (am I crazy). Hopefully I can do well being a pretty skinny dude. The National Hill Climb will be a bit of a target.

I have started doing mental training too to improve myself for next season. It works by hypnosis and it certainly helps me go to sleep. See http://ultimatesportspsychology.com/

Koksijde- Last race of the season

2008-09-26T18:03:00.003+01:00

The Last Race of the season was a 2 day Stage Race is Koksijde, Belgium (big UCI race). I had a cold but since it was my last race, decided to just do it.

After a long trip on the Friday, we started racing on Saturday afternoon. I felt really good over the cobbles and in the crosswinds but unfortunately missed the break. I tried to bridge across to the break with a Balen rider but he crashed behind me and I couldn't do it alone. George did well and attacked off the front in the closing stages and came 10th. I finished in the peleton

The next morning I was one of the early time trial starters which meant waking at 7:00. It was very cold so I made sure I had a long warm up. During the time trial I paced myself well but my legs felt drained. I think I wasted far too much energy yesterday as I was attacking lots. I finished around 40th place which I was disappointed with.

The afternoon stage was a crit and I was fine until about half way. At that point I started to really suffer and I realized I wasn't drinking or eating at all and I was crap at getting bottles. I payed for this at the end and was blowing badly. I finished in the peleton but there were quite a few groups away. All of the English team were suffering.

It was a disappointing end to the season for all of us on the south east team but luckily 4 of us will get the chance to redeem ourselves next year. Thanks to John, Dave, and Ian for taking us.

National TT champs

2008-09-08T18:42:00.003+01:00

After my poor performance last week at Meulebeke, I was looking to redeem myself at the national time trial Champs this weekend.

I spent the week training on my tt bike for it and borrowed some extra fast wheels but came a disappointing 6th. Started off to slow and didn't go hard enough as overestimated the distance. This winter I am going to really work on improving my big gear strength.

My next race is Hillingdon on Saturday followed by Warwick (National Elite circuit series) circuit race on the Sunday

Meulebeke Weekend

2008-09-02T22:00:00.005+01:00

The weekend after Tour of Wales I had a single day UCI junior race in Belgium. This was a very big race with the prize list being 3000 euros. I went over with John Barkley and the South East team.

The race took in some famed cobbled climbs such as the Patersberg and the Kluisberg. I started the races and 5 k in realized my shorts were too big. This caused massive discomfort. I was also scared senseless by kamikaze moves of my fellow continental racers. I arrived at the fist berg near the back but got to the front on the climb. I went backwards on the descent as my crotch was in agony when spinning fast. We then proceeded on the the cobbled bergs which were great. The race split and I was too far at the back to go with the leaders but I reckon I had the legs as I was overtaking most people.

I sat on the back of my group until we got to the finishing circuits which were 100k into the race. I pulled out of the race after 1 lap as my crotch was too painful and didn't see the point of racing for 40th place.

I was a bit annoyed but saddle sores can't be helped and I definitely won't make the mistake of too big shorts again!

Junior Tour of Wales

2008-09-02T21:28:00.005+01:00

I had 1 day of rest between track nationals and the Tour of Wales. I spent it carbo loading (shoving my face) and fixing my road bike whose headset had disintegrated half way through the week.

The race started on the Saturday with a 10k Prologue/hill climb. It was a rolling course followed by a climb to the finish. I opted for road bike with aero wheels instead of a tt bike. During the ride I never felt quite right and got a respectable time to come in 16th but was a bit disappointed.

My plan for the afternoon stage was to attack just before the bottom of the brutal finishing climb of Llangynidr and solo my way to victory. I sat at the back for the whole race until about 20 k before the climb. Peter Dibben, my GWR team mate, did a big turn on the front to bring back the break and then I attacked. I just rode hard up the mountain till I caught the break that was away. As soon as I got there a Norwegian attacked and I was caught behind with 1 other rider who was suffering and couldn't do any work. I crossed the line second and gained valuable time on the favorites. I really wanted the win as I have yet to take one this season but I gave it my all. I was 3rd overall after the stage.

Stage 3 was a criterium around Brybach park and my plan for the stage was to sit in and watch any GC riders. I failed to get in the move containing Erick and some of the others so had to chase for the whole stage as nobody else could do so. This really tired my legs for the afternoon. As you can see the weather was terrible and the stage winner was a Norwegian.

I had dropped to 9th overall before the afternoon road stage and needed to take time. I was soon on the attack and luckily a large group slipped away easily and the only GC riders in were me, Erick, Joe Perrett, and a Norwgian. We worked well for a bit then things started to slow as riders sat on the back. I kept driving the break as I had a lot to gain but at the finish my legs were too tired from the morning's exertions and driving the break.

I was 4th on GC going into the final stage took place over the moors. My goal was to get on the podium I was going to attack before the tumble and take some time out of most likely Joe. I tried hard throughout the stage to get away but was too heavily marked and we arrived at the tumble together. Joe Perrett actually took time out of me going up the climb as I was suffering from being active all day. Tosh Vandersande got away before the climb and took more time out of me so unfortunately I finished 5th but I tried hard for the podium so I can't beat myself up.

The week after I spent doing canoeing, mountain biking, and some climbs around Wales.

Junior National Track Championships

2008-09-02T21:15:00.002+01:00

After the Road Nationals it was straight to a training camp in Newport, Wales, in preparation for the National Track champs and also the possibility of European Track Championships. I spent the week doing lots of sprints and intervals.

I stayed over after the camp in the house Dad had rented for 2 weeks. It was called Stable court and was in Dingestow, 20 minutes from Newport. It was very nice and had a tennis court and a lake and had great cycling roads all around. Unfortunately there was not much time to try them.

Track Nationals kicked off with Scratch race on Tuesday. I qualified 4th in my heat in the morning then went home for lunch. The final was much sooner than expected so as I got into the velodrome I just had time to put on my kit and go. I came 4th in the final after getting in a break with 3 other riders. Towards the last 5 laps I was on my knees and the chicken and rice I had eaten only 45 minutes earlier started to feel like a poor decision.

On Wednesday we had pursuit. I spent a long time warming up but come my ride I felt terrible. I felt uncomfortable on the bike and just plain slow and did a pretty duff time of 3.38.

Thursday was the points race. I qualified in the morning by taking a lap. In the afternoon my plan was the same, to take a lap and not go for the sprints. The plan didn't really work out as I didn't have the legs to go solo and no one was letting a group get away. I finished 11th.

All in all it wasn't a bad track nationals but no where near good. Hopefully a bit more specific training next year will prepare me better.

National Junior Road Championships

2008-08-11T08:26:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was the National Junior Road Race championships, one of my main goals for this second half of the season and probably a lot of other riders'. The race was being run by Doug Collins, famous Twickenham CC member and ex-pro rider, and he had chosen a brutally hard course that would certainly split the field of 86 starters to smithereens! I did a recce of the course last weekend in the rain and was in 39-26 on some sections. I was looking forward to it though as I am pretty good on the climbs and my stamina is good. It was also my Dad's birthday so I was extra motivated to do a good ride so as not to waste the day.

The race started with me skipping my chain on the first climb. I had to hop off and put it back on but was soon back in the bunch after a kilometre or so. My plan for the first part of the race was to sit back and conserve my energy. A break got away with a few dangerous riders, Erick Rowsell and Tim Kennaugh, but no one else so I knew they would be easy to catch with some of the other riders.

About half way through the race I attacked with Joe Perrett, Andrew Fenn, and George Atkins and we bridged across to the breakaway quite easily. It seemed to be going pretty slow and I imagine many of the riders in it were either cramping or running out of energy.

There were quite a few attacks in the last couple of laps (15k each) but it wasn't until the penultimate time up the finishing hill that things really split. Erick Rowsell attacked and I tried to respond but my legs were cramping. I managed to form a group with Andy Fenn and Tim Kennaugh and we worked together to try to pull Erick back. Despite our pulling erick was still clear at the bottom of the climb so Andy Fenn attacked. I tried to follow but my legs were cramping. My strength wasn't quite back to normal after my bout of food poisoning last week. I managed to beat Tim Kennaugh however and crossed the line 3rd and with a bronze medal.

Afterwards there was a great prize presentation with lots of prizes. I am the one on the right with the Lovedean polo on. The race was certainly hard as only 26 riders finished out of a field of 85. Next week I am off to a track training camp in Newport, Wales, in preparation for the National Track champs the following week.

Thanks to Doug for organizing a great race and all his helpers. Also thanks to Gerry McManus for the pictures.

Niedersachsen Stage Race, Germany

2008-08-04T14:13:00.007+01:00

Last Weekend (July 25th-27th), I was part of a GB team that went to race in the Junior UCI ranked Niedersachsen Rundfahrt, not far from my last race in Munsterland. The trip was quite long so we stayed over in Duisberg for the night and made the rest of the trip in the morning.

The first stage started on the Friday night and was only 66K however the course was quite challenging with lots of technical areas and narrow lanes. It was almost inevitable that a break would go away and our job was to get 2 GB riders in it. After a nervous start in the town of Wallenhorst (the whole race was run from this town), the race commenced. GB were good at tagging the moves with all the team following wheels. Luke Rowe got in the break of the day which Mark Chrsitian then jumped across to. A few teams missed out including the Norwegians. There coach wasn't too happy as we could hear him screaming each time we passed the start line. Luke was 3rd in the sprint and Mark 4th. I came in around the middle of the bunch.

The next day we had a time trial. My legs didn't feel as good as yesterday and my head wasn't with it. I finished a solid but unspectacular 28th. Erick did well finishing 2nd behind a Norwegian and Luke gained enough time to get yellow.

The 4 of us who didn't get in the break on the 1st day were now domestiques as the break gained 1:30 over the bunch. We had to protect Luke's yellow for the 96k race along similar roads to yesterday. Me, Erick, and Andy Fenn did a lot of pulling coming to the finish and Mark clipped of the front with 1 other rider and got 10 seconds. This moved him into yellow and Luke into 3rd

The final stage was longer at 130k and was very hot. It was up to GB to keep the race together and protect Mark's lead. We managed it by 1 second! We also won the team prize.

I ended up around 35th on GC but my work as domestique was pretty satisfying. For the rest of the week after I had food poisoning so have been out of action for a bit. Hopefully will have recovered by National Road Champs.

Hillingdon July 22

2008-07-22T22:55:00.002+01:00

Rode over to Hillingdon today after watching a severely disappointing tour stage. Plowman Craven turned up with 4 riders which could have made the race interesting.

Unfortunately they weren't really there to race and just wanted to do a training ride. Its a bit of a shame for those of us who do go to race but you can't really do much other than complain. I gave it several attacks and got a gap quite a few times but they chased everything down even if they had a man in it. Coming into the last lap some guy rode into my front wheel and buckled it so I had to abandon.

Annoyed but will hopefully do well this weekend.

Weekend in Belgium

2008-07-21T09:25:00.007+01:00

After Spending Saturday lounging around the house, Sunday I headed off at 7:30 for a race in Strijpen, Belgium. It took 4 hours to get there however a lot of British juniors made the trip including a team from yorkshire. I went with John Barclay who takes over British Juniors almost weekend.

The race (90k, 10 laps) started fast and fortunately I was near the front. A break of five went up the road early which Joe Perrett and I bridged across to. This break was then joined by ones and twos until it was about 20 riders strong. For the next few laps, attacks whittled the group down to 10 riders. With 20k to go one rider attacked but our group kept chasing fairly well- knowing he would tire. Unlucky for us, he didn't and went on to win by 50 seconds. Our group ended in a bunch sprint which I screwed up by following the one guy who didn't bother. I came 7th in the sprint so 8th in the race. Erick Rowsell came 2nd and Joe Perrett came in 5th.

A bit a of a frustrating race as I direly need a win after loads of 2nd, 3rds, and top 10s this season. Hopefully some of the coming races will provide me with a win.

See the results at:http://www.wielerbondvlaanderen.be/

Follow the link for Uitslagen and 20/7/08, and scroll down till you can see the junior Stripjen race.

Next race is Hillingdon on Tuesday and this weekend is a stage race in German which you can look at on the website:

http://internationale-niedersachsen-rundfahrt.net/html/presse08juniorenrundfahrt.html

In other news the same guy French guy who own the European Road Race just won the World Road Race in South Africa.

First Blog- July so far

2008-07-17T14:55:00.007+01:00

I have set up this blog site to help anyone who is interested in seeing how I am doing with my cycling and what kind of stuff I am up to.

This last month of July has been good for racing but also pretty relaxing. I took part in the European Junior Road Race Championships held in Arona, Italy. I arrived Thursday 3rd for the Race on the 6th. The weather for the 2 days preceding the race was beautiful at around 30 degrees however come the Sunday, the heavens opened.

4 hours of heavy rain and thunderstorms coincided with our 9 am start time and as we were lining up, we were all already soaked and shivering. We started at the back so I spent the first half lap moving to the front. It was pretty crazy as most people couldn't see (I was alright with my new glasses), and were swerving everywhere. The course had a big climb in and as we hit it my legs started to feel pretty poor. To add to my problems my back brake pulled through making the technical descents interesting for the rest of the race.

With just my front brake I was losing time on the descents and having to chase back on on the flat. I managed to get to the front a few times but didn't have the legs to do much. Coming into the last lap of the 130 k race, I was still in the severely reduced peleton however I managed to skip my chain on the last climb so I had to chase back on. I watched a ukrainian go straight into a ravine in front of me so I kept it steady knowing I was out of the race.

Luke Rowe did a great ride coming 2nd (a frenchman won it) with some help from Mark. I was pretty useless and the other guys all crashed out or had mechanicals. I ended up 60th, 3 minutes down on the leaders.

For the next week I got to have a desperately needed rest week which I spent fixing bikes and catching up on schoolwork I had to do. I also started driving now that I am 17 in my tasteful Nissan Micra.

I did Hillingdon on Tuesday 15th after doing a long training ride in the morning. I felt ok though and managed to get away in the closing laps with 7 other guys. I was planning on counter- attacking Colin Roshier's move however he never came back and I came 3rd in the sprint. At least 4th is an improvement of 45th that I got last time I rode.

This weekend I am doing a race over in Belgium. I am not sure which one but it will be in West Flanders. The following weekend I will be over in Germany for the Junior Rundfahrt stage race with the GB team (http://www.international-eniedersachsen-rundfahrt.com/html/rundfahrt_2006.html). Then its Belgium again and the National Road Race Championships which is one of my main goals.

This evening though I have got a 18.2 mile time trial down in Chertsey which should be painful!