For the first time ever in my short cycling career, I'm still working hard in the middle of August. In the past I've burned out by this point...a phenomenon that was probably more mental than physical. After a short down period after finish the Cascade Classic, my last big goal of 2010, I got right back into training similar to what I was doing before the race with some gym work and mountain bike riding thrown in to ease the transition into the off season and keep me excited about going out to ride every day. According to my coach, I'll probably continue this pattern well into September before taking a couple of easy weeks towards the end of the month and the beginning of October. The logic behind this is twofold: First and foremost this is how the pros operate. Riders in Southern California tend to be out of touch with our racing calendar more or less wrapped up by July. But the ProTour doesn't finish until October. Those guys only get a handful of weeks of downtime before they are on the bike again tuning up for the next season. Because of this they are able to build on their fitness year after year, which is why older Pros tend to have the upper hand on younger guys in their early 20s. In the past, although I have stayed active throughout my off-season, I've had too long of a gap between my last race in August and the beginning of base training at the end of October/beginning of November. This caused me to lose most of the fitness from the season before. The thought behind staying in racing shape for longer is to lose less in the off-season and thus be able to build to a higher level throughout December, January and into the new season. The second reason is more personal. When given long periods of time without structured training, I tend to go a little crazy. This leads me to push myself too much too soon and reach my peak sometime in February rather than April/May. For example, about halfway through November of 2009, after training since the end of October, I put in a couple 4-day blocks of 5-7 hour days (basically shooting for an average of 6 hours a day over 4 days...24 hours...1 whole day on the bike out of 4!). So hopefully, come October I'll be mentally ready for a good rest and willing to take it easy.
So with only a handful of minor races left, I've reached one of my favorite parts of the off-season, planning for the next year! I sat down today and mapped out every single race between now and September 2011. Obviously everything is very tentative as dates change and races get canceled. One of my new goals for 2011 is to race Collegiate Nationals in May, which of course means I have to race as many collegiate races as possible to build up the points to qualify for nationals (the USC Cycling team is weak and has no hope of qualifying as a team). What's ideal about nationals is they are located conveniently the weekend after the Tour of the Gila (at least that was the way the calendar was structured in 2010). The Gila will again be a major goal for me in 2011 and these two goals being so close to each other means I will be able to target this period to peak and carry over all my fitness from the Gila to race nationals. Living where I live there are 3 big stage races (not all NRC, although they should be) within reasonable traveling distance: Gila, Mt Hood and Cascade Classic. This year illness and injury scuttled my plans for the first two forcing me to focus on Cascade. However, in 2011 I'd like to race all 3 if possible. However, whereas in the past they each would have merited a major peak in form (and thus it would have been impossible to do all 3 in one year) I hope to use Mt Hood and Cascade as prep races for even bigger goals. Don't get me wrong, I still want to be in the best shape possible for these races but you always come out of a 5-day stage race with better fitness than what you went in with. On that note...Cascade is only 5 days/6 stages for the Pro/1 category...I'm shooting to get my upgrade at Gila. So...Mt Hood and Cascade are already extremely difficult and prestigious stage races; what could they be preparation for? After a mid-season break in May, Mt Hood will be a tune-up for U23 Nationals (British Nationals!) at the end of the month. And while I'm over in Europe I'd ideally like to race on the continent. Back in the US, Cascade, at the end of July will be a final tune-up for a big race or two in September that I won't name for fear of seeming pretentious. And then it's onto planning 2012...hopefully a plan that will include the words "Europe" and "espoir."
Obviously these plans are very tentative. As 2010 proved, shit happens and plans can be completely destroyed in a split second...especially when much of those plans rely heavily on the plans before them. For now, the most important this I can do towards making 2011 extremely successful is keeping pushing myself in 2010...at least for another month.
For those of you that don't know me: I am a 19-year-old road racer (I do some CX mountain biking at the collegiate level). I was born in Northampton, England (and am an English citizen) but I have been raised in Las Vegas, Nevada (I currently live just off campus at USC in Los Angeles). I played soccer from a very young age and picked up cycling at 13 to improve my fitness. I began racing at 15, fell in love, and am now a CAT 2.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Cascade Road Trip Days 9-End
Here's the race report I wrote on Stages 2-4 of the Cascade Classic for my team:
Stage 2
There's not too much to say about the TT...I felt reasonably comfortable in my ability but knew I wasn't about to win either. Again there were some tight turns at the beginning and end of the course that hadn't been advertised in the race bible, which threw me off my game a little. The course basically climbed 1000 feet in 7 miles and then descend back to the finish. The climb wasn't particularly steep so it favored a strong TT specialist more than a climber. I don't remember too many specifics...basically I gutted myself. I kept my power and heart rate right where I wanted them the whole time. In terms of giving 100%, I calculated perfectly. I could feel myself cracking over the last 1 km. Any longer and I would have completely blown up. I was a little disappointed with my 38th place and time loss on GC but all I can say is I gave it my all and I just have to work on my time trialing. That result dropped me to 23rd on GC, 3 minutes down.
Stage 3
The downtown crit was simple and very short. I was four corners and relatively flat around 2 city blocks. The CAT 2 race was only 40 minutes and again there's not much else to say. The pace was relatively fast which kept the peloton strung out and made it impossible for any breaks to last more than a lap or two. It also hurt some guys who were completely spent after the first two stages which resulted in a handful of dropped riders. An innocent crash took out a couple guys about halfway through but that was about as exciting as it got. I sat mid pack and saved myself for what should be a decisive last stage. After the crit I moved up to 21st (one guy who'd been in front of me on GC was dropped, one guy crashed out of the entire race).
Stage 4
The Aubrey Butte Circuit Race is a 16.5 mile loop with rolling terrain and one short but very steep climb of about 2 km. The CAT 2s did 4 laps for a total of 67 miles. In the past this race has finished with a front group of about 30 riders and has tended to shake up the GC a little as guys with tired legs from the first 3 stages struggle on the steep climb near the finish. My goal in this race was to end up in this front group and hopefully move into the top 20 on GC as a result. The race got off to a mellow start and the typical attacks went and were quickly reeled in. Everyone seemed tired and willing to do an easy pace. I sat in and saved my legs until we hit the climb. I had moved to 4th wheel at the front of the peloton leading into the climb to stay out of trouble just in case there was a separation in the group. As we hit the foot of the climb, the 3 guys in front of me peeled off and I was on the front. I decided to test my legs so I set tempo for about a km I managed to string the peloton out and drop a few riders off the back but as we began the second lap there were still 80 or so riders in the main peloton (there were 105 starters). The second lap was even more mellow and we began the 3rd lap still with a large peloton. I decided that if I was going to get into the top 20 then I had to draw out the strong guys and help trim the fat so to speak. When we hit the climb the 3rd time around I attacked on the steepest section at the bottom. Initially no one followed. Eventually one of the HotTubes kids bridged up to me and much of the top 10 followed. As we came over the top, about 10 of us had a reasonable gap. If we kept a high tempo down the back of the climb, we may have been able to stay away and I would have jumped into at least the top 15 on GC. But everyone decided they had no incentive to work and sat up. As the rest of the 60+ rider peloton joined back on and we hit a small roller I attacked again. This time a Metromint rider came with me and when I looked behind we had a gap and no one was working to chase. This looked promising. Apparently I wasn't a dangerous enough GC threat to worry about sneaking off the front. As we hit the roundabout at the beginning of our 4th lap, I made a huge mistake. The Metromint rider led me through and took a strange line through the righthand bend. I freaked, braked, straightened up and completely overshot the turn. I had to turn into the oncoming traffic lane to get back on course and by the time I did this and shifted to a workable gear I was halfway back to the peloton. I sat up and let myself get swept up. The 4th lap was again uneventful until we hit the final climb. I followed another flurry of attacks and again coming over the top there was a small gap between a small front group of 10-15 riders and everyone else. This time the gap was a little smaller though which allowed the group to come back together for a peloton of 50 driving along narrow raods to the finish. I was cooked at this point so I sat in and finished midpack. I had accomplished my goal for the day...the attacks had dropped 2 of the top 20 out of the front group and I jumped from 21st to 19th on the final GC. In the end it was only my poor TT that separated me from the podium....at least I know what I have to work on!
On the Sunday after the finish I drove 3 hours from Bend to Eugene to visit a high school friend. The drive took me over McKenzie Pass which was amazingly beautiful. I think the use that climb in the Pro/1 Cascade Classic...guess I'll have to upgrade for next year! I only stayed in Eugene 2 nights before driving back to Vegas on the Tuesday...almost 15 hours straight! And I made it home in time to spend my birthday with my family.
Stage 2
There's not too much to say about the TT...I felt reasonably comfortable in my ability but knew I wasn't about to win either. Again there were some tight turns at the beginning and end of the course that hadn't been advertised in the race bible, which threw me off my game a little. The course basically climbed 1000 feet in 7 miles and then descend back to the finish. The climb wasn't particularly steep so it favored a strong TT specialist more than a climber. I don't remember too many specifics...basically I gutted myself. I kept my power and heart rate right where I wanted them the whole time. In terms of giving 100%, I calculated perfectly. I could feel myself cracking over the last 1 km. Any longer and I would have completely blown up. I was a little disappointed with my 38th place and time loss on GC but all I can say is I gave it my all and I just have to work on my time trialing. That result dropped me to 23rd on GC, 3 minutes down.
Stage 3
The downtown crit was simple and very short. I was four corners and relatively flat around 2 city blocks. The CAT 2 race was only 40 minutes and again there's not much else to say. The pace was relatively fast which kept the peloton strung out and made it impossible for any breaks to last more than a lap or two. It also hurt some guys who were completely spent after the first two stages which resulted in a handful of dropped riders. An innocent crash took out a couple guys about halfway through but that was about as exciting as it got. I sat mid pack and saved myself for what should be a decisive last stage. After the crit I moved up to 21st (one guy who'd been in front of me on GC was dropped, one guy crashed out of the entire race).
Stage 4
The Aubrey Butte Circuit Race is a 16.5 mile loop with rolling terrain and one short but very steep climb of about 2 km. The CAT 2s did 4 laps for a total of 67 miles. In the past this race has finished with a front group of about 30 riders and has tended to shake up the GC a little as guys with tired legs from the first 3 stages struggle on the steep climb near the finish. My goal in this race was to end up in this front group and hopefully move into the top 20 on GC as a result. The race got off to a mellow start and the typical attacks went and were quickly reeled in. Everyone seemed tired and willing to do an easy pace. I sat in and saved my legs until we hit the climb. I had moved to 4th wheel at the front of the peloton leading into the climb to stay out of trouble just in case there was a separation in the group. As we hit the foot of the climb, the 3 guys in front of me peeled off and I was on the front. I decided to test my legs so I set tempo for about a km I managed to string the peloton out and drop a few riders off the back but as we began the second lap there were still 80 or so riders in the main peloton (there were 105 starters). The second lap was even more mellow and we began the 3rd lap still with a large peloton. I decided that if I was going to get into the top 20 then I had to draw out the strong guys and help trim the fat so to speak. When we hit the climb the 3rd time around I attacked on the steepest section at the bottom. Initially no one followed. Eventually one of the HotTubes kids bridged up to me and much of the top 10 followed. As we came over the top, about 10 of us had a reasonable gap. If we kept a high tempo down the back of the climb, we may have been able to stay away and I would have jumped into at least the top 15 on GC. But everyone decided they had no incentive to work and sat up. As the rest of the 60+ rider peloton joined back on and we hit a small roller I attacked again. This time a Metromint rider came with me and when I looked behind we had a gap and no one was working to chase. This looked promising. Apparently I wasn't a dangerous enough GC threat to worry about sneaking off the front. As we hit the roundabout at the beginning of our 4th lap, I made a huge mistake. The Metromint rider led me through and took a strange line through the righthand bend. I freaked, braked, straightened up and completely overshot the turn. I had to turn into the oncoming traffic lane to get back on course and by the time I did this and shifted to a workable gear I was halfway back to the peloton. I sat up and let myself get swept up. The 4th lap was again uneventful until we hit the final climb. I followed another flurry of attacks and again coming over the top there was a small gap between a small front group of 10-15 riders and everyone else. This time the gap was a little smaller though which allowed the group to come back together for a peloton of 50 driving along narrow raods to the finish. I was cooked at this point so I sat in and finished midpack. I had accomplished my goal for the day...the attacks had dropped 2 of the top 20 out of the front group and I jumped from 21st to 19th on the final GC. In the end it was only my poor TT that separated me from the podium....at least I know what I have to work on!
On the Sunday after the finish I drove 3 hours from Bend to Eugene to visit a high school friend. The drive took me over McKenzie Pass which was amazingly beautiful. I think the use that climb in the Pro/1 Cascade Classic...guess I'll have to upgrade for next year! I only stayed in Eugene 2 nights before driving back to Vegas on the Tuesday...almost 15 hours straight! And I made it home in time to spend my birthday with my family.
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