Tour De Perth and Prior.

What do I put into a blog that’s more than several months overdue? It can’t be any long winded stories or very few will read any of it, if not all of it. So heres a quick up date to get you up to speed.

After leaving Belgium I remained very sick, but true to any obsessive cyclist I continued to race and train through it until the point of injury. I had 2 weeks of very sedate training only just before Tour of Southland where I would have my debut ride for Genesys Wealth Advisers (who later went on to be Avanti racing team) my 2014 team. I went into the tour to help my team mate and friend Joe Cooper win the tour for them. A golden opportunity and the all clear from Joe left me chasing a dream of mine and winning a stage at Tour of Southland. Most importantly the first stage finish at the top of Coronet Peak.

I carried the momentum all the way through to the New Zealand Elite National Champs Time Trial. I won the Time Trial  by a small 12sec. My first National Title on the road! It was a little unexpected but also something I did feel one day I could win, I just didn’t expect that day to come so early. I had put such a huge effort into the ride I had no legs for the following road race. Something I will certainly look to correct for the next year.

Since then my racing has been very well controlled and planned out. I raced Tour of Manawatu which was a personal disappointment and what I felt was a missed opportunity to perform well in. I left the tour learning a lot and exactly how my team works. It was quickly followed by a trip to Brisbane for the Oceania Champs. A strong ride in the TT placing 6^th and supporting the team to strong performance in the road race meant that Avanti Racing won the “Oceania Tour” qualifying us for a spot in the Team Time Trial at the World Champs in Spain in September. This is certainly something I would love to be a part of for sure.

After Oceania Champs I had a good chance to build into my most recent race, Tour de Perth. Good weather and the structure of being home helped and had brought on what I thought was some good fast legs. However on the first road stage while covering a attack my gears slipped which threw me off the bike and on to the ground. Falling heavy and hard and requiring a spare bike I was left to get my own way to the finish and out of contention. It wasn’t all bad though, the team performed extremely well throughout the tour. By the last day Joe Cooper was in the leaders jersey and we also had Mitch Lovelock Fay in 3^rd and Ben Dyball in 5^th.

In the final stage Joe had a slim lead of 4sec over 2^nd place and our job was to defend the leaders jersey. A day on the front leading the peloton around a challenging course was a lot of fun. With the great support from the team mates and other teams trying to get the better of you it does become a bit of fun. Although at first it may hurt its cool to thing that you are leading the charge as you ride the front of the peloton defending the leaders jersey.

With 6 weeks at home before I start my next trip to Tour of Japan and Tour of Singkarak I have the chance to really focus on the finer weaker points of mine that were exposed during my racing this year. It seems really weird for me to be sitting at home living a “normal” life as for the first time in 5 years I haven’t needed to pack my bags and ship out to the far corners of the world and leave everyone behind. This is my chance to make the most of the adventure with Avanti Racing and see if I can really make that next step in the sport, but for now its solo training camps at Mt Ruapehu and laps of the Coromandel for me while the sun still shines. 

Half time.

Its been awhile between my last blog and there has certainly been some very low moments and very high moments that seem to be the main reason for the long period between posts. Either the low points I didn't want to share at the time and the high points I simply wanted to enjoy.

Where I left off I was building for Tour de pays Savouie in the French Alps. With a few other team member we spent a week living halfway up Col Du Glandon for a mini climbing training camp as the hills on offer in Belgium are non existent. It was a spectacular few days in the mountains as we rode some of the world famous climbs such as the Col De Madeleine, Col Du Chaussy, etc. It was an amazing experience riding the climbs but it certainly wasn't going to be enough to prepare us for the tour. Each stage was a hill top finish with another 3 Cols (mountain passes) during all four stages.

However my experience was to be short lived when a case of" bad luck comes in 3's" kicked off, 1hr before the race the food I had eaten earlier all of a sudden wanted to leave my body as quickly as possible. Not feeling the greatest up the first climb 19km into the race I went over the top in the second group on the road and chasing the peloton 20sec behind. The I punctured.  With 110 motorbikes and nearly as many cars in the race I thought a replacement wheel wasn't going to be an issue. As I patiently waited for a car to stop they all seem to drive past waving back at me as I waved my wheel. 15min later the Broom wagon and Race Com pulled over and said I am no longer racing the tour as I am too far behind. Politely said, I was rather frustrated.

The remainder of the tour for me I feed water bottles to my team mates on the side of the road and spent a day as the mechanic for the team in the race car in the convoy. Like any tour a bad day isn't the end of the world and I was hoping to ride through to the end so I could continue to race and maybe one day have a good ride but it was cut very short in a cruel blow. A very disappointing low point of my season for me to say the least.

It was however followed by the highest point of my season. A quick train trip to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and my girlfriend was arriving for 3weeks in Europe as I had my first ever mid season break planned.

Playing the typical tourist we had a great adventure in Paris and later on London before we headed back to Belgium.

A weeks panic training and sightseeing of Brugge and Ghent while Madi was still here ended up being the preparation I needed for a hard days racing Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. 190km in the rain, wind, mud, cobbles, hills, and sun made the race a long day which would wear down the field. For me my legs started off in the most horrible state but I eventually rode into it and got stronger and stronger. Once in the finishing circuits I was able to follow and chase the riders every time the pace went on and still attack myself. The outcome was a good day of being competitive and really racing the race only to spoil it by cramping 500m to go and not having a lot to show for it.

I am now building back up for the remainder of the season and have recently just ridden a team time trial which was a lot of fun and brought back memories of the old days back racing school boy team time trials on the Auckland waterfront. A discipline I have certainly missed.

Refreshed and ready to go, the focus is racing as much as possible for the remainder of the season. I have only ridden 6 of the world famous Kermesse styled races here in Belgium so a few more for fun would be great for experience and hopefully the wallet if all goes well.

Until next time.

T

Racing Races.

Its has been a while since my last blog however I have been racing.

We lined up for our first Tour of the season in Orleans, France racing the Tour de Louriet. It seemed pretty straight forward 3 days all of which were 100miles each stage and just like Belgium. Flat.

The tour kicked off in great fashion, with the cliché kiwi sayings "this one time at Tour of Southland" and "this is good training for Southland" being most suited to give you an idea of what we were facing. These clichés seem to be said by most kiwi riders all over the world when challenged by the cold and cross winds. No greater way to start the tour than 100guys single file in the gutter.

Day 2 saw the exact same pattern happen again. This time I wasn't caught napping at the back and made the selection of 15riders which consisted of all 6 riders from the French Army cycling team and no Yellow jersey. We covered 58k in the first hour so there was a motivated group of guys we were riding with all the way to the finish.

The final day we had a team mate Ryan 2nd of the General Classification which made for a straight forward day. 2 of our team mates sacrificed their race and rolled on the front for the entire 100miles with the French Army Team who now had yellow. We protected the teams GC placing and rode a great tour as a unit.

No road trip is complete with out its fair share of stories. On the way to race one of the team cars broke down 100k from the race hotel. That left me and Eoin stuck in a road side gas station for 4hrs people watching and patiently waiting to be picked up.

Closely following that we raced a Pro Kermesse. To experience one of these race is a unique one. Imagine 200+ riders 80-90% of which a eager amateur races like myself wanting to become a pro racing against the professional teams of Belgium over 12-15km circuits for 180km on the tightest of roads no more wider than a single car. CHAOS! With a fitting tour hangover and still feeling tired, the race was a battle for me but towards the end I made the 2nd split in the race and was happy to have the gas at the end especially after a tour.

Again quickly after I was lining up for a Top Competition race which was challenging with its constant rolling hills. Seems like my body was still a week behind and hadn't fully recovered.

From there I have had a week to come right and recently race another Pro Kermesse. This time the real big names lined up. Phillipe Gilbert the current world champion, Tom Boonen the current Belgium Nation Champ ex world champ and 4 time winner of Paris Roubaix to name the highest profilers on the line. Although the racing was a lot more controlled it was a lot of fun getting stuck in.

We have a big Top Competition again this weekend and then for me I will be looking at Tour de pays Savouie in the French Alps fromt eh 13th-16th of June. 4 days of hill top finishes on some of the Tour de Frances most famous climbs. Its been a long time since I have climbed some real climbs so hopefully we get to go down the week before hand to get some time in the hills before hand.

Cheers for reading.

In the Grind

It has nearly been 2months since I have been here in Belgium.

I have been challenged by the wintery conditions of the snow and freezing temperatures to the gale force winds that sweep across the flat fields and health 20 + degree temperatures. The weather is slowly becoming more consistent which helps with more consistent training.

When the sun shines it has been important to make the most of the good weather. With a few months of racing including a few big tours targeted by the team and myself for selection to race these events it has been key to take advantage of the time of being based in one place with familiar roads.

During my training block I have raced some local Kermesse races and a 2 day UCI tour. Each Kermesse start I have had the legs to come away with some positive results. The first was in Bellegem where I went away on the second lap as I bridged across to 9 others. Being a hilly and twisty course we stayed away to the finish. After the attacks and final efforts for the glory I came across the line 5th.

Moorsele was the first U23 Kermesse. Following another early move we also stayed away to the finish. During the race there was a sprint competition worth a few extra Euros where I place 2nd. By the time we got to the finish it was one sprint too many placing me 12th.

The team then competed in " days of Graverstreek, a UCI tour only 10km from where I live. Both days we raced up the Kwaremont, a famous cobbled climb of the Tour of Flanders. It was a good 2 days of racing up and down the climbs of the Vlammes Ardennes but every day it finished in a bunch kick which isn't exactly my strongest aspect.

Another week passed and rounded out with another U23 Kermesse in Hooglede. 4 riders went clear from the start and never seen again. From there was nothing else but to race in the chasing break where I closed the line 9th.

3 solid weeks of training saw me come very close to 2000km, so a weeks recovery was definitely needed if I were to gain any benefit from the hard work but also a chance for the body to recover. As a racers life goes it was ended with yet another race. The GP Affligem was a important race but the tactics were simple, to follow rider number 13 because he will win the race. The unfortunate timing of taking my eyes off him for 5sec saw rider number 13 ride up the road to go one and win the race. A simple mistake but also a lesson learnt. Some times racing can be very simple.

A week of good training again and with warm sunny days a team training ride saw us go out for 6hrs and ride 200km, nearly 34kmph average speed. I am still enjoying every moment of being out on the bike and have plenty more racing to come.

Cheers for reading.

T

Settling in: Belgium in Winter?

A couple of weeks ago I boarded the plane bound for Europe feeling fit and ready for the season ahead.

I was mentally prepared for the cold and typically bad weather that Belgium is most famous for, but spring has only just sprung so how bad could it be. When I first initially wrote the draft for this blog I sat looking out the window watching the snow fall, and boy did it fall, near blizzard like conditions with horizontal snow and near white out conditions.

Recently I have moved from Zottegem to the South East of Belgium to a little town near Kortrijk, right on the edge of the Vlammes Ardennes but also near the French border. It is still flat but at least there are climbs, and cobbled ones too.

With a week quite literally snowed in by a healthy 1'foot of snow at our front door we have been stuck to either the rollers or the erg. The conditions have been made even more challenging by the fact the only English channel we can watch is Discovery Channel. Cabin fever would have set in if we didn't have to walk 10min down the road to the super market.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Especially when there is all this snow here in Belgium and the record summer back home in New Zealand, but I am starting to settle in and get into the simple routine of a full time amateur in the epi-centre of cycling. Wake up - Eat - Ride - Eat - Recover - Sleep.

Our teams main focus of races starts in May and pushes right through to July before we then later prepare for the Pro circuit of Kermesse races in September to close out the season. However I have been able to get a couple of races done. My first race was a few days after my arrival. We raced up the Kemmelberg, a famous cobbled climb and the other surrounding climbs in the area in some very cold condition. The Kemmelberg is challenging when you don't know the climb expect for what you see on t.v. but for me was made harder when chasing back on from a couple of rookie crashes.

 

 

Recently, with the weather slowly starting to clear and become more consistent I went out and explored the local roads and find the Vlammes Ardennes. The only way to beat the cold is wrap up and wear as much as possible. Warmth is the my main priority and help me to stay on the bike for as long as possible. The plan was to get lost, see what I could find. Once I reached some elevation I was able to get my bearing and had a general idea of headings. Hopefully this link will work: http://app.strava.com/activities/44781377

 

With the weather being a lot more typical of Belgium and not apocalyptic snow storms, training is regaining its structure and there will be plenty of time to continue preparations for the race schedule to truly kick off.

 

For now I quietly tick away finding new things to keep me busy and more books to read.

 

Stay tuned.

 

T

Count down to take off.

It is now exactly 2 weeks until I fly and start my adventure over seas with Terra Footwear - Bicycleline in Belgium, and it would be fair to say I am extremely excited.

From my last post I haven't done a lot of ridng. First up was a short break, 2 weeks of casual rides that will help the body recover not only from Nationals but the build up to the race also.

With the season only just starting there is no point charging on through with training and burning myself out by May. In recent weeks however I have been back pedalling the roads of Auckland where Aaron Strong (Steel Springs Coaching) has been working on reinforcing my fitness. With a lot of tempo work being the focus more so than the endless hours of "base" miles.

This has been a great way of training I have found works for me where I have seen some great results, but it also means I am getting better quality of riding done in a shorter amount of time and still having enough time in the day to work!

By work I simply mean A, working in a bike shop (Kiwivelo) and B, working for my Dad. All the work however has kept me pretty honest and has helped me to save a bit of money to fund my trip away. Being amateur again when PBR weren't offering any racing plans for 2013 it meant I was in a situation where if I wanted to continue chasing my dream I would need to fund it myself again for what will hopefully be one more year as I aim to make it my bike riding my profession. All this work has proved to be just as important to fund the trip as riding.

Realistically this opportunity wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for my parents and the people around me who support me. It feels great to be back in the Kiwivelo colours and seeing the amount of support from the local cyclist. Thank you to Rob Nichols who has one ear to ground for me and always looking to the horizon towards the future and a big thank you to RealHealth and Dr. Bill Donaldson for looking after me with Chiropractic work and their amazing in-house nutritionist Kaytee Boyd.

Bring on the 2013 season.

Looking ahead in 2013

Time to fire up the blog again as 2013 is going to be an exciting season.

This year I will be racing for Terra footwear Bicycleline and be based in Zottegem, Belgium.

The season has already kicked off to a good start, with a successful Tour of Southland I had a little bit of time off to spend travelling the South Island. After that I was able to build the form from Southland up towards Nationals.

From the experience gained and learnt from my season last year I had big goals for Nationals, both in the Time Trial and Road Race. I invested a lot of more time on my time trial bike than I have in the past and worked on a lot of aspects off the bike like Nutrition, Bike Position and Gym work.

Finally the time arrived and I was off to Nationals. The time trial is a very straight and plain 40km race with only 1 corner on the way out the same corner to navigate on the way home. Although I wasn’t overly pleased with my own personal performance I still placed a respectable 3^rd, gaining my first National Road Medal.

Two days later was the 180km Road Race on the same course it has been on for the last 3 years. There is one prominent climb that withers down the field and it never seems to get easier, each year we only seem to go up there faster. I was feeling a lot stronger today than I did on the day of the time trial, but the nerves were a lot greater due to how unpredictable one day road races can be. I had a race plan to keep myself protected as much as possible and make my move towards the end of the race. I battled all the way to the finish and in the bunch kick placed 6^th u23.

To finish the nationals road race is an achievement in itself, with over 80 starters we had one of the highest number of finishers with a total of 20 riders making it to the end. The race is notorious for its high attrition rate.

For me now I am focusing on another little break and working to raise funds for my time in Europe. Then I will be keeping my riding pretty basic and least likely going to do any racing. My riding will be based around “collecting k’s” and build my legs up for what will be a long but good season of racing in Europe.