English
Moving into Spring
Since my last update things have been very up and down for me. Training overall has been good, but there have been some tough times as well. The death of two grandparents within a week and aftermath really hit me hard and I struggled to keep a focus on training. Both were very supportive of my cycling and I used that to get back out and riding again and responded with the biggest training week that I have ever done! Using the Cyclops Powertap I am able to accurately measure the real effects of the training, which isn’t possible with a heart rate monitor alone. I am able to closely monitor my training, go harder when able and know exactly when to rest to avoid over training.
The big training week started off with 3 longer rides, then had some interval sessions mid week and a day off the bike and ended with 2 races on the weekend. Ben from Wiggle also come over for the weekend, so we headed out on our Focus Raven bikes and did a few laps of the track at Cwm Rhaeadr.
The first race was Rd2 of the Welsh XC series, held at Cefn Dyrys, near Builth Wells. After a pretty shocking Rd1 I was really hoping that the venue and course would be an improvement. Upon arriving it seemed clear that the venue was more appropriate and after talking to some of the vet riders who had just finished they seemed happy, although it looked muddy and the weather was pretty cold. After hanging around for a while I did a short loop the start section, which was probably just over 1km. This section was fun, with nice wooded singletrack and a few more technical sections. I’m not sure the tracks would have held up so well in bad weather, but I was just thankful that it had been dry for a few days before. Overall the course was about 4km and lap times were about 15 minutes.
Lining up on the start line among the elite riders I knew that it was going to be a tough one, even with Lee Williams not present. When the whistle went I put everything into it, but going up the first short hill my legs were still tired from the big week before hand. I lost a few places as others powered past. Over the course of the first few laps I managed to get back a few places and then I was locked in a battle for 5th with Russell Turner, I had the edge on the longer climbs and flatter sections but he was faster on the short power climbs and on the muddy climbs. After 5 laps he had a 20 second lead of so over me, but I set about catching him and within the first 1km or so I was back on his wheel and took back the spot. This is how it stayed until the end, eventually managing to pull out a fair gap to finish 5th in the Senior category and 4th Elite rider. I now know exactly what I need to work on before Sherwood and that is power and top end speed! Sherwood usually suits me, but given the very fast start that is going to be crucial part of the race.
Straight after the race I jumped on the road bike and rode back home with Ben, taking the scenic route through the back lanes and up the 25% slope of Devil’s staircase. The 60km ride home was a nice cool down after the XC race and a good way to bump up the training.
Next day we were both up early and onto the 2nd event in as many days, the Wentwood 50km enduro. This was a brand new event so I didn’t know what to expect, although the stats were claiming 1500m climbing, which is quite a bit for the distance. Arriving at the event everything seemed to be well organised and by 10.30am we were on the start line and underway. The first few miles were on closed roads and my legs were screaming again! I managed to get into the first group of 4 riders who had split from the main pack of 300. Going into the first off-road section I stayed with the group, which included Johnny Pugh and 2 riders I know well, Simon Smith and Rich Landsdown. All 3 are excellent riders, so with tired legs I knew I would have my work cut out.
Onto the first steeper climb, JP and Simon got clear and I managed to gap Rich to be clear in 3rd. I hoped to get back to the front two, but I was really suffering on the steeper climbs. With my head down I managed to miss a turn and lost about 30 seconds before Rich came and pointed me in the right direction. Sticking with Rich for a short while before again getting a gap I realised that catching the 2 ahead would be tough. I pushed on hard, but pretty soon I took another wrong turn although this time it was a missing marshal at fault not me. I lost well over a minute and by the time I rejoined the correct course I was in 5th. Another big effort for 10 minutes of so and I was clear in 3rd again. The course was proving to be excellent fun, plenty of sweeping singletrack and some fast sections which were technical when taken at speed. The climbs were relentless, some steep and others long, no chance to rest at all. I kept pushing hard, but the signs in places were very misleading and I managed to take a few more wrong turns and had to stop to double check where the course went several times, which was frustrating. I managed to keep clear and finish in 3rd with a time of 2hrs 45min which was just 2 minutes behind JP and Simo who finished together, maybe if I hadn’t taken all those wrong turns!! Although the course signs needed to be improved considering this was the first year for the event I have to say it was fantastic! I’d not ridden in Wentwood before, but the area has lots of offer and I hope they run the event again. Ben was also taking part in the event and he also loved the course, especially the downhills! He spent much of the event riding near Rowan Sorrell, which must have been good fun, especially pointing downhill! I think he had the edge over Rowan on the uphill, his hard training is really paying off.
With the massive training week done a couple of easier days were needed to let my body recover and now I have a good plan which takes me to the first really serious event which is Rd1 of the British XC Series at Sherwood on March 27th. Between now and then I have just one event which is the Black Park XC where I am competing in the singlespeed category. Since I am getting married on the day of the Singlespeed World Champs and will also miss the UK and European champs this could be my only singlespeed race this year, so hopefully I will do well as I love riding and racing the singlespeed.
