Hard to come by, easy to go by.

I knew the gravy train had to stop sometime. I kept kidding myself that there was one more good week left in the tank... Alas this week the legs have fallen apart and i'm back to square one.

Not that I am complaining.

Actually the opposite, the past 5 months have been my best ever on the bike. New FTP record, new Mt Keira record, PB's in the two big open races I raced in. Almost a podium in B grade until the camera snapped off (bugger!!).

I probably think its a good thing to get back to basics for a month or so, rebuild the engine, and start the ramp up to Spain! Have I mentioned that yet? In September I'll be following La Vuelta Espana for two weeks taking in the big climbs of the south... Sierra Nevada.. La Pandera and plenty more ball breaking climbs at high altitude (3400m!).

This year i'll be focussing quite a bit on my weight, ideally i want to get over to spain weighing a healthy 78kg (currently 80.5kg). I raced the Canberra tour at 79kg and felt very very strong. I'm sure I could lose another kilo or so and maintain my power.

During the winter, i'll also be keeping busy on the track bike racing friday nights at RAW - Dunc Gray Track is something I want to focus on next year and hopefully get some quality results in some big races.... Time will tell....

Heffron Park

Raced at Heffron park over the weekend. Ended up in a 3 man break that was going very very well. Normalised power ~ 320W and I was pulling some big turns.

Conditions were very hard, very strong northerly wind.

Unfortunately my camera snapped off it mounts ending my race - The Break ended up being success with my two escapees taking line honours..... you can see the race below...

Heffron Park - B Grade Crit - 16/5/09 from Dave on Vimeo.

Il Grand Bel Giro

21 days of cycling on Italian soil. This edition is the 100th of the Italian tour. And whilst is plays second fiddle to the Tour de France, the Italians have a _big_ love affair with this race.

Most of Italy's best take this race more serious than any other as the $$$ from endorsements from potential sponsors/advertisers is very very lucrative. In Italy public profile = $$$$.

You can watch the giro online @ http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=38268&part=sports pick a feed and get watching.

But lets make it interesting. How about 21 days of following the giro live on the net, whilst riding your own Giro on the home trainer?

Lets put the frame work up like this.

1. You have to ride everyday the Giro is on.
2. Time in the saddle should match length that it is live on tv (easier just to ride whilst watching).
3. Intensity ridden at is your choice, however the idea would be; easy on the flats, threshold on all the major climbs, and what the hell, sprints at the end to beat Cavendish to the line.
4. You are allowed a rest during the ad breaks.

I would think the hardest part of all this is the mental barrier. But given the inspiration of watching your favourites riding live should be a pleasant distraction.

So are you up for it?

Canberra Tour

Canberra Tour.

Race 1.

Road Race - 38km - 01.06.23 - 34km/hr - NP 318W

The first race was an out and back course taking in two climbs. Kept myself up front and out of trouble, found myself as pacesetter for the first 10km which was good. Jockeying for position for the first climb I maintained a good position and kept with the lead bunch which splintered the rest of the peloton. 

Hit the turn around and we came back to the base of the final climb and the attacks started coming thick and fast. Managed to keep a steady tempo and reel in all the escapees. I probably have never suffered so much on a climb before, i didn't see the powermeter fall below 400W and there were a few 500W ramps in there also  (5-6W/kg).

Over the top with a group of 10 the fox and hound game began, I made a big mistake attacking the group with 6km to go... held them off for 10 minutes (360w) but just couldn't stay away. Legs were truly burnt out by this stage so I couldn't compete for the sprint, so was happy to roll over the line with the bunch incurring no time penalties.. 10th on GC!!!

Race 2

Criterium - 25 minutes + 2 laps - NP 313W, 41 km/hr.

50 people on a fast criterium certain requires very good bike handling by everyone, especially when there are tight curves. Lets just say that this group didn't have adequate skills at this speed. There was plenty of bumping and touching of bars as people weren't keeping it smooth through the corners.

I was nervous.

Decided to stay at the back and keep away from the dangerous riders... 15 minutes in I decided that I wasn't going to win a sprint with this bunch as it would require a very dangerous position up front, so I attacked the bunch. Now usually the attacks had been shut down quickly - but they didn't mind letting me go. No one bridged up to me so I was out in the wilderness by myself.

Dug very very deep and held them off for 8 minutes, finally I hit the wall and just couldn't maintain the pace, decided to re-integrate with the bunch with the hope of holding on and not losing position on GC. Managed to do that, so ended the day 10th on GC.

Would have been interesting to stay for the final day, but unfortunately other commitments meant that I had to return home.

Overall very happy with my performance. 2 years ago at the Tour I failed badly, not being able to stay with the lead bunch over the climbs. This year my hill climbing has improved immensely, but perhaps my time trialling has suffered as a result. 

Time to rest now and work out what i'll be doing over the winter months!!

Below a short clip of the crit from my GoPro Video

Canberra Tour - Trimmed from Dave on Vimeo.