the adventures...

Thursday, January 17, 2013

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 20riders 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.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Busy, but also a little bit Slack...

Its been a wee while since my last post.

I last wrote when I was in Boulder, training in the heat of summer whilst sipping coffee and watching the Tour de France. Sounds good? It was.

Suddenly I was on a big plane heading south. But towards Australia for the Tour of Gippsland and the Tour of Geelong. Gippsland was my first race since Mt Hood so I was well trained but missing that slight edge you get from lots of racing. Gippsland was my blow out tour. With plenty of hard work and aggressive riding once Benny had given us a kick up the ass for missing the race winning move one day.

From there we spent 10days in Geelong trying to recover and get set for the next tour. During the 10days free we had Alex had arranged for us to visit some local school to talk about cycling. Seemed like a bit of bit. I can easily chat away with adults but with 5 year olds, I FROZE! however it was all good fun.

The greatest thing about the Tour of Geelong was there was only one day where we raced 2 stages, where as Tour of Gippsland was full of "double days". After what we as a team felt like was a disappointment at Gippsland We were set on starting the tour on the right foot, and with James Oram and Dion Smith joining the squad with fresh legs we wanted to make a bigger splash than we did previously.

Before the tour started we did a fair bit of course recce (recon) so we could have a structured approach to the tour. Where to best spend our energy over the 5days depending on our goals. We were looking for a good General Classification placing and to win a Classification Jersey.

Right from day 1 Alex was in the Sprint ace after an aggressive racing style which also earned him the most aggressive rider of the day award.

A hill top finish in the afternoon and we were sure the field was going to split like it had in the past, however this year was the exception as we rolled into the finish on top of a 2km climb in a bunch.

The next day was another simple crit looking after alex and helping him to build his lead on the Sprint Ace Classification. It was a hard day in the wind leading him out but we got the job day. Now we had to recover for the "race of truth" or the time trial the next day which was surely going to separate the field and set up the General Classification.

For me the TT day was a great day in the books. The result of finishing 9th wasn't exactly what I wanted but I was pleased with how I had ridden the tt course and still pulled off a good result. This had finally moved me into a definite 7th overall in the tour with 2 days remaining.

The tt was a big day, so the 140km Road race afterwards was a huge challenge but I held on over all the big climbs to finish in the front group of 18 riders after 140 people started and 70 withdrew from the race. That wee effort and fight had bumped my up to 6th on the overall standings.

The day was another crit, and being only 3 secs from 5th on GC it was my job to try get a few time bonus sprints during the race. It took alot of effort and a few risks but it all paid off and I was able to jump up to 5th on the Overall standings thanks to the help from my team mates.

All up the tour was a great success for a "under dog" team racing against a strong field who live and breathe for these Aussie tours. Alex finished the tour in the Sprint Ace jersey and the overall Most Aggressive rider also.

Now I am back home. trying to decide my next move and when to point myself in the right direction.

The Goals are being set and its bloody good to be home. Making the most of a few days easy and eating alot of Kwi food thats always a treat. But I will be back into it in no time and looking to make a bit of noise this summer.

Fingers Crossed.

Photos to follow.

T

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Boulder Based

To be honest 100% honest there nothing to complain about this years season. I have been incredibly lucky to live in the little town as Boulder. Its taken its time but I have finally got use to altitude and am hoping the proof will be there next time I race.

I've probably said it a few times too many but living in the same town as 12 of your mates who ride for the same team and to also have more Kiwis and Aussies around it has made my first real season away from home a lot easier. It is only now, after knowing I will be heading towards home very soon that I have really starting thinking about NZ.

But before I go home there is a bit of a detour. I am now scheduled to go race the Tour of Gippsland and the Tour of Geelong. I haven't done much racing so far, so the goals are set high for a strong performance in the second half of the season, and with the Tour de France on what more motivation could you ask for.

My days now consist waking up and rolling down to the local cafe to watch the stage finish of the tour at around 930am, thank god for time zones! then the days resumes with the normal training schedule and routine of life. Its proved to be a popular meeting point for all the Pureblack Racing guys so no one is ever lonely on training rides.

One conclusion I have come to about training in Boulder is, that you never go training in "the hills" because the climbs are so big here you often get 1 big climb which can take you nearly over 1.5hrs to climb. However one big climb can sometimes be better than heaps of small ones I guess.

Over and out.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mt Hood Classic

Out of the 4 of us guys I think I was the one most excited about the tour. Not just because we were racing again but also that there were a lot of changes to the stages we raced last year.

It proved to be full of challenges which created a scene for highs and lows of tour racing.

I have fallen into a bit of trap and have been rather dependent on being told what to do during race, but at Mt Hood we could race a bit more for ourselves, and still work together. It worked well for us as there was only 4 PBR riders doing Mt Hood instead of the usual 8 so we had to be smart and come up with plans as a group.

In true PBR tradition we kept the racing aggressive, especially for the crit. I think I got a bit carried away and crash right infront of the live stream camera. It was a bit of a front wheel slide out on a hair pin corner when another rider went down in front, nothing I could do expect copy (not a cool trend I recommend to follow).

The final stage was set to be on a testing course, with not alot of flat and alot of climbing. 10,200ft to exact. I haven't been too confident of my climbing recently but it seems i found my legs and was with the select few including team mate Louie over the 3rd climb. Yellow Jersey had dropped so I was on the front keeping the pace honest, it was great having some legs back! A puncture for Louie meant a quick wheel change between bikes because the roads were almost too narrow for the follow vehicles. I was left to chase back on on a long twisty decent. Seems like if you carry too much speed into a corner you can't turn. I flew off the road and down a fair wee way into the bush. Past a couple of trees. Just a bit of excitement really. To add salt to injury 15km from the finish after my 2nd crash my spare wheel punctures. Race over.

A week in Portland of riding and relaxing and in my case recovering. Monday was full of good unhealthy food like M&M's and caramel, I wish I could say I had a few cold beers also but I am still not of age here so no chance.

Time for a pedal.

Over and Out.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mt Hood Classic Stage 4 by teegun at Garmin Connect - Details

Last day. The legs were back and climbing well. We dropped yellow on the 3rd climb and drove it.

Louie punctured so a quick change had him back on the road. Seems I chased a bit too hard and went off the road into a tree or more at a fast rate of knots. Then another puncture.

Still enjoyed every bit of the race.

Mt Hood Classic Stage 4 by teegun at Garmin Connect - Details