So I've left it a while to give you all an update here! 2015 has been a busy year so far, probably grab a coffee, it's a long one...
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| OBUCC Training Camp with Custom Cycle Coaching |
The year kicked off with a week long training camp with the Oxford Brookes crew out in Sierra Nevada, Spain. My coach, Tom Kirk of Custom Cycle Coaching, runs many training camps out there and was a great host. The rides had a good balance of volume and intensity through some breathtaking scenery, and the evenings were full of general student banter. We even had Stephen Bradbury (of Velosure Starley Primal fame) out there leading rides/getting dropped on the climbs. I went out there with very little fitness and form after a 5 week end of season break through December, that was extended by the arrival of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. It was good to get my ass handed to me throughout the week and definitely knocked my ego down a few notches.
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| BSCC Hard Riders TT - Outbound |
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| BSCC Hard Riders TT - up Sunrising Hill |
I came back from camp with a renewed will to train. The next 6 weeks were consistent 450-550km weeks on the bike, with a lot of physio to keep on top of my foot injury. I'm always one to race myself in to the ground but with a huge season ahead I was coaxed in to restraining myself until Spring. I held out until 1st March when I opened up my 2015 campaign with a 2nd place at Banbury Star CC hard riders time trial, not far behind Tejvan Pettinger. I wasn't too pleased with my power in the TT but having zero intensity until then it was to be expected.
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| Teagan - the new Trek Speed Concept |
Discussing things with my coach, we decided that with BUCS just on the horizon now was the best time to get some intensity in to my training. I'm glad I did as I quickly found form. My power for 53 minutes at BSCC TT was 331w, I quickly found myself putting out well over that for similar time periods. To say I was happy was an understatement. This coincided with Beeline hooking me up with a brand new Trek Speed Concept. I'd put some quick times in on my Specialized Transition, but I could instantly tell this was on another level. With my legs hitting form along with this speed machine, I was in a happy place.
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| MK Bowl - 1st place |
I took this form to my first circuit race of the season at MK Bowl. I had a couple of Brookes team mates there but unfortunately they missed the break, so I was alone in a bunch of 8 including 3 Corley Cycles riders. With 20 minutes left, the race was neutralised to allow an ambulance to treat somebody who had hit a steel bollard. I think the organisers need to look in to the safety of parts of the circuit as a Brookes team mate crashed in to the same bollard in an earlier race. Whilst the race was neutralised on the start/finish line, I had a chat with my coach to get his opinion on how best to dispose of the 3 Corley Cycles riders. With 4 laps to go I went off the front and got busy burying myself. The break scrambled and just caught me at the bell. I expected to see somebody to go off the front straight away but it appeared they'd drained themselves chasing me. They let me sit on the front, keeping the pace gentle on the final lap, probably thinking I'd lead them all out. With 500m to go, I kicked off the fun on the exit of the final tight corner, gapping everyone. I gave it everything up the final climb and held on to the finish with a few bike lengths lead. Good first win of the season!
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| Evesham Vale RR - In the break with the big boys |
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| Evesham Vale RR - Breaking Away |
The following weekend was my first road race of the year, Evesham Vale Nat B. The start list was full of plenty of pros from the likes of Starley Primal, Madison Genesis, SportGrub Kuota, NFTO, PedalHeaven and many more. I was looking forward to measuring myself against the best. The course is 4.5 laps of a 22km course with plenty of undulations. After the usual first lap ruckus calmed down, a 2 man break of NFTO and Starley Primal went off the front. Prior to the race I had decided that I would chase down any break containing 2 or more pro teams. The peloton sat up, I stuck to my guns and put a big 15 minute 380w effort, within a few minutes I got within 50m of them and hung off the back for 10 more painful minutes. It was agonising not being able to close that small gap and eventually I sat up, hoping I hadn't missed the deciding move. After I got mopped up, so did the break. I sat in for most of a lap, recovering as best as I could, during which time another break went containing all of the big teams. I made my move to bridge soon after and got across along with Liam Holohan and Justin Hoy. The break worked well until the final lap when, inevitably, the attacks started to come. Most teams were a few strong in the break, and I was left to cover any move I could. Unfortunately I missed the eventual split. With 6km to go, Tank and Justin Hoy from NFTO had a go at bridging. There were cries of "we need to work" in the chasing group, but nobody put any decent effort in. With 4km to go I attacked, catching and then dropping the two NFTO guys, and nearly catching the break at the kilometre to go marker as they were all playing around pre-sprint. By this point I was cooked and the chase had begun to work, I was caught on the line and finished in 14th. Pleased with my efforts, but a bit disappointed on some calls I'd made throughout the race. This was only my 6th RR ever; I guess I can't be too critical.
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| Varsity - Longest lap 1st place |
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| Varsity - Team Pursuit 1st place |
The midweek was a welcome break from the highly competitive races with the annual varsity event against Reading University. It was being held on Palmer Park outdoor velodrome with a scratch race, team pursuit, kilo, elimination and longest lap. It’s nice to have some friendly competition and play around with race tactics within the team. The scratch race was fairly successful with 3 of us getting clear and lapping the field around 8 times. Our coach, Tommy K, had drilled us all hard on the team pursuit in previous weeks, so both teams smashed that, lapping their opponents. I went on to win the kilo, elimination race and longest lap. A fairly successful day, 5 wins for myself and a final score of Brookes 53 – Reading 9. That's the 3rd year in a row Brookes have won, good going I'd say.
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| Brill Hilly TT - 1st place and course record |
On to the next weekend, and Brill Hilly TT awaited. This is run by Oxonian CC and is a local staple event, taking in 3 different ascents of Brill hill. I was hoping Tejvan would be racing so I could have a bit of a rematch after the BSCC TT a few weeks prior. I hadn't counted on the first round of the RTTC Classic series being on the same day, so no rematch. I had prepared well for Brill, having done many training rides around the course in the previous weeks. Tejvan's course PB of 40:31 was my target, and, if the legs were there, to push to get close to Danny Axford's course record of 38:47 that has stood for 12 years! I went out hard and at half way my average power was over 380w. I dialled it back a bit on the descent in to Long Crendon to recover a little and then started to build it back up as the course twisted and turned its way back to the Tram Hill ascent of Brill. I was doing the maths in my head and knew I was just on the cusp of Danny's CR. Up the final climb I gave everything I had, crossing the line in 38:35 and just taking the course record! My power was good, 376w despite all of the descents and corners, a good marker ahead of what I had planned for the coming Wednesday!
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| #RaptorHour - Before the pain arrived |
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| #RaptorHour - The agony afterwards |
Since the hour record resurgence, I've been a keen followed of all of the attempts. I've been asked a number of times by friends and family how I think I'd do. I've given a few good educated guesses from my power and aero data, but with my recent form I decided that I'd have a proper go! Unfortunately I don't own a track bike and can't currently afford to hire an indoor velodrome, so my Trek Speed Concept TT bike and Palmer Park outdoor velodrome would have to suffice. So Wednesday afternoon, just a few days after Brill TT, I travelled down to Reading, kitted up and got down to business with a few friends helping to time keep, photograph etc. The first 20 minutes went by uneventful other than the feeling that my legs were a little flat, too late to do anything now anyway! I had set Garmin LiveTrack up with my phone and had sent the link out to Twitter and Facebook for friends and family to track me on. This was a massively motivating factor when the going got tough; nobody likes to go down in flames with everyone watching! At 35 minutes in the pain started to bite. All I wanted to do was stretch my back and shoulders, but I couldn't sacrifice those few metres. I had targeted 375w, which seemed sensible but the numbers were dropping off, I was giving everything to see anything North of 360. Oddly my legs were hurting but I was far from out of breath. Looking back at data, my HR drifted down from its peak 20 mins in, possibly a sign of residual fatigue. With 15 minutes left any restraints had gone out of the window and I was doing my best at holding my power, position and line. 50 minutes in and my vision was getting blurry at the edges, my head was hot, my legs were screaming to stop and my mind wanted to give in. I knew I couldn't, I only had a few minutes left, I'd hold on even if it meant I exploded. I had imagined my final 5 minutes to be a glorious period where I picked the power up and floated around feeling awesome. That wasn't how it turned out; I was suffering...a lot. I was counting down the seconds until I could get off this stupid bike. The final lap came and went, still holding on to 46kmh on the final lap. The total distance was 46.89km. I rolled round to the start finished straight, pulled on to the athletics track, fell off my bike and lay there. My hamstrings were shot to pieces. In that moment I totally understood what all of the pros attempting the hour were going on about; you can't rest, you can't stretch, you can't move. It's utterly relentless. It's amazing how much the slight changes in pace, position, corners etc. help you to cope in a normal TT. I tried a short cool down and then spent half an hour with my friends dressing me as I couldn't move my legs. If you want to check the ride out, click this
Strava link.
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| #RaptorHour - Trying to relax afterwards |
A few days later Road.cc covered my attempt (
See here), which was absolutely awesome and I received a lot of praise which I truly appreciate. I also had a few detractors; I'd like to address one of their major criticisms. Yes it was a road TT bike with 'shifty bits', but unfortunately that doesn't mean much as once you're moving at a constant speed gears are of no use. I stuck in one gear once I was going, so maybe I accelerated slightly quicker, marginal. My average cadence was 108rpm, so quite a bit higher than everybody that has attempted to record so far, I don't think I'd struggle to spin up a fixed gear bike. I plan to attempt an indoor hour later this year where with the lower air density and rolling resistance, more aerodynamic track bike and a proper taper I hope to break 49km. If anybody wants to help support my next hour then please get in contact.
A few easy days and I was straight back in the deep end, this time at East Anglia CC 25 mile TT on E33/25. The course itself isn't fast, nor is it particularly exciting, and it was bloody windy! The reason for racing it was that it's the course the BUCS 25 mile TT championships is being held on in a few weeks and I wanted to have the course fresh in my mind having not ridden it in 2 years. With the mental wind I switched my front wheel out for a slightly shallower one and set off reasonably steady. My legs were definitely feeling the effects of Wednesday but I ploughed on regardless, managing to pick it up a little on the second lap. I finished in 54:39 for 360w, taking first place by around 2.5 minutes over second. I'm happy the day was constructive and I look forward to knocking a few minutes off my time on the 25th April!
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| Two Thirds of TriPackRT pre British Elite Duathlon Champs |
I spent the first few days of Easter with the TriPackRT crew, meeting them at the British Elite Duathlon champs where Tom picked up 9th in the junior race after putting in a dirty fast bike split that made everyone look a little bit stupid. Afterwards we headed down to Neil's pad in Gerrard's Cross, putting in some good bike sessions over a few days, and enjoying a few beers ofcourse. It was great to catch up with the rest of the team to see how their winters had gone. There'll be some big results coming this year, so keep an eye on the rest of the team!
After the TriPackRT camp I decided I should probably join the family for Easter. It was a welcome break from uni life along with a nice change of scenery on the bike. I headed out for a few rides with my older brother who has recently started cycling. He's been improving fast but I did enjoy putting him in the box during a few efforts! He's taking on my little brother in Blenheim sprint triathlon this June so it's been good to keep tabs on what training they're both doing. My current take is that my older brother needs to actually go to the swimming pool, and my little brother needs to fix a puncture he's had for what seems like months. 14th June will be an interesting day. Whilst I was back I stopped in to see Becky, my physio, for a quick once over and a further opinion on the plantar fasciitis I've developed in my foot that has stopped my running for a number of months. She's super supportive and has given some good advice that I'll be sure to follow to get my foot fully resolved.
The coming weeks are very exciting for me with all three BUCS TTs in three consecutive weekends. Last year was a disaster, puncturing in all three with the pace to podium in them all. With Beeline Bicycles hooking me up with an awesomely fast Trek Speed Concept and Custom Cycle Coaching building me some big watts, I am feeling confident. The Brookes team this year is the strongest it's ever been, I anticipate some big rides by them, especially on the TTT where we've all been super well drilled by our coach Tom.
Apologies for the long update but I hope you enjoyed the read. As always I am extremely grateful for all the support my sponsors give me. I couldn't compete at this level without them.
