Slacker

Once more I have been letting my mother and all of my regular readers down since... well... I can't even remember when I last wrote something for my blog.

 

It's a loooong story, but I have been enjoying life in England settling into the new team and surroundings (but not enjoying my 'personal' side of the cycling so much).

 

Right now I'm in Quebec, Canada with the team, doing the Tour de Beauce and celebrating Matt Cronshaw's win in the Crit! Two days ago Darren Lapthorne won a stage as well and Tommy Southam is sitting pretty on 10th on GC, so all in all I think it is fair to say that we are having fun.

 

Some pretty cool pictures and stories from the tour so far, so with a bit of effort I might just overcome my usual procrastination and actually share them with you.

 

Now I need to get some sleep though. Two stages to come. Should be fun!

 

d

RSA

Sunny Africa my love! Here I come!

Sitting in Gatwick on my down to SA for the Tour de Boland, Giro del Capo and of course the Argus after a lovely week in Spain. Although training was not the best due to some cool photo shoots and my leg still nagging me (more in my mind than anything else) I am looking forward to the early trip home.

Just hopped across the channel chatting to a Saffa Expat, chatting all the way and loving every moment of it. Amusing how the most arbitrary trips can end up being become something special cause of a good chat!

 

I just love the way things turn out

Late Morocco Pic

I was just sent a few pictures from the African Champs in Morocco, back in November last year.

Unfortunately I still don't have any photos from the actual contact with my dear Moroccan friend, but at least I now have this pic. Notice how close to the line and to the banners he is ;)

 

Thanks Theresia.

Chilly Times

Training in the UK has not been quite as bad as I had expected. Which means that I have actually been able to train as opposed to sitting in the house all day sulking.

Somehow my body seems to have acclimatised to a reasonable extent and I have been out and about in three degrees with snow covered fields and freezing toes and fingers. That means the rides have not been as long as they would have been back home and I'm nervous to find out how that works out down the line.

At least the team's off to Spain again soon, so we'll get in some more miles there and I hope to have a bit more power than the last time we were there.

For now I'm just happy to be healthy and in a good mindset concerning the cold. Fun and games!

 

*Pics are from the plane on our way back to Manchester Airport after the first training camp in Spain and a look out of my bedroom window after another nice and chilly night.

Rapha-Condor 2009

Although the last weeks seemed to take forever to go by, the time to jump on board an Air Namibia Boeing and jet into London finally came.

I landed in a cold and wet London, Friday 23 Jan and headed over to the Rapha offices to meet some of my new sponsors as well as new team mates. After an amusing afternoon there and a quick stop over at our accommodation for the night we moved on to the posh Hotel Malmaison for the team presentation.

I was asked to introduce the bike to the crowds so had a few nervous moments in the spotlight and froze nicely when we went outside for a team photo!

Other than that the night went by in a flash as there was always something to do and somebody to talk to. Had a ball.

 

After that I had two nights in my new house for the next few months before flying out to Malaga, Spain, for the teams second training camp. While every else is enjoying the sun and warmth, I have a sore throat from the cold... Not what I had in mind, but then again, also nothing new or different for my return to chilly Europe.

I'm already feeling a lot better so after two overly cautious days I hope to be out on the bike again for a proper ride in the morning.

 

One observation using a piece of Davide's old wisdom's. A teams spirit is measured by their actions at the dinner table. As everyone only gets up about 15minutes after the last person finished eating I think we are headed in a very good direction!

 

 

Alive n Kicking!

Don't I just love doing my disapearing act!? Especially at this time of year.

 

Do forgive me for not updating my blog much, but every offseason I just go home, put my legs up and tend to forget about everything. Which of course includes my blog, my RIDE article and in many cases, good behaviour...

 

But all of that is over for another few months and I am back on the bike and working at building up for what must be my most exciting year so far!

 

A new team, a new country, a new level and just about everything else! all makes for a lot of excitement and my nerves are starting to go balistic as my departure date comes ever closer and closer. Only five more days now and I am off to London to join my new Rapha-Condor team mates for our team presentation. Shortly after that we hop across the pond to Malaga in Spain for a training camp (Mallorca is apparently too cold this year!?) and not long after that we fly down to the beloved Cape for the Giro del Capo and Argus! Can't wait!!!

 

In the mean time, I might have to learn to stay upright on my bike...

 

I had a little run in with my front quickrelease this morning, which lead me to getting up close and personal with the tarmac miliseconds afterwards...

 

One broken helmet, front wheel, rear deraileur and brand new pair of Giro sunglasses and RAPHA shirt later I think I perfected my new look for the upcoming team presentation.... :(

Sorry John!

12-12-2008. FNB Desert Dash. 340km. Windhoek to Swakopmund

A few months ago I was sitting in Switzerland, all innocent and minding my own business when I received a mail confirming my entry to the Desert Dash. Solo. I had no idea about this and with a bit of investigation was able to find out that a certain mad Irishman had something to do with the entry.

 

So on Friday I lined up at the start of the event, completely under prepped and not knowing what I was letting myself in for… I spent as much time as possible trying to persuade people that I was not going to race as I had only just started training again and had no idea what lay ahead of me.

 

So much for that..

As planned I started with the leaders amongst the 211 strong field, but instead of slacking off as planned I clung to Mannie Heyman's wheel and was dragged into the desert at an alarming rate. Unable to offer much help with the pace making I hung on and decided to go until my body decided that it had enough.

 

By the 100km service point I was still with Mr Africa but gulped down a bit too much lasagne so once we started up again it was not long before I was struggling to hold the wheel over the extremely nasty rollers. Before I knew it I was on my own and riding towards the setting sun, trying to regain my breath and enjoying the one or two river crossings along the way.

 

By the mid way mark the night had well and truly set in and the full moon peeked out from behind the clouds every now and then, confusing me, making me think that a car had suddenly crept up on me. Truly amazing moonlight in the middle of the desert!

 

With 140km to go I thought another backup vehicle was about to pass me, but it turned out to be Willie Engelbrecht (riding in a two man relay team) with some serious lighting dripping off his incredibly snazzy MTB. We were able to exchange a few niceties when all of a sudden we hit some thick sand and he disappeared behind me. Later I found out that he'd punctured, but I was not very bothered. Put my head down and found an amazing rhythm (after 200km of MTBing!) and blasted off into the night.

 

On three occasions I thought I saw Mannie's lights off in the distance, but each time it turned out to be a car or my imagination playing games with me.

 

I was not impressed.

 

With 60km to go Willie's team made, Wim, was biting at my heels but thanks to his equally bright lights I could keep an eye on how far behind me he was. That was, until he decided to follow my stealthy example and ride with moon light alone. As I still had my red back light going, he knew exactly where I was, but I thought that he had dropped. Until all of a sudden I caught sight of a dark blur moving past on the opposite side of the road, trying to pass me.

 

Bugger!

 

After some choice words and hard pedalling I was panting, but on his wheel. Where I decided to stay, leaching for the time being. Problem was that 30km from the end Willie and Wim would get back together and keep on riding to the end, while I needed to refuel.

 

Fortunately there was a bit of chaos at the sign in and Marc Bass did a super fast refuel for me so after a few more choice words and hard pedalling I caught up to the pairing and some mad riding at full tilt ensued. Fortunately we were all sharing the work, but then realised that we were hurting ourselves for no reason. Mannie was long gone and there was no one behind us for nearly an hour.

 

From there I was very glad to take it easy till the end, as we cruised through the dark streets of Swakop with an escort (the marshals were still in bed, not expecting us so early) crossing the line at 4h28 a whole 13h28 after leaving Windhoek. 15 minutes behind Mannie and almost 10 hours before the last solo rider.

 

I'm still trying to recover as my body took a decent beating, but I am really impressed with how the legs handled it all. Evidently I have not lost all that much form from the last season.

 

What a great event. Certainly worth the trip up for the many South Africans who came up to join us.

Thanks Aiden and co. Job well done (just please change the last confusing loop through Swakop)! Pics to follow.

more reading

http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=3627132

 

Another very interesting read. Now we just need a few more people who think like Suzanne!

Another worthy read

Cyclingfansanonymous is proving to be the undisputed leader in cycling journalism! Of course Pez and Cyclismag rock, but CFA just gets down to the nitty gritty like no one else.

 

Here is another amazing piece well worth a read

 

http://cyclingfansanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/12/testament-of-youth.html

Quote of the month (or of the last 6 months)

Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.    Anonymous

All Africa Champs Road Race, Casablanca, Morocco 9 November 2008

The African Cycling Champs Road Race was held on a reasonably flat 11km circuit along the coast where the men had to complete thirteen laps to make a total of 143km. There were 70 starters from 13 different African nations making it one of the best attended champs in its short history.
 
At around the half way mark a group of 15 riders managed to break away from the peloton and soon enough we had a sizable lead on the chasers. With just less than four laps to go the attacking started from the front group and after a slight lull in the attacking a Moroccan rider went solo and built up a sizable gap to the chasers. Somehow I didn't even realise that the guy had gone down the road. This was the same guy who stuck his tongue out at me (it was more his look than his tongue that got to me) and spat at South African Jay Thomson, so lets just say there was no love lost towards this dude.

 

With seven kilometres remaining in the race I broke away with  an Algerian rider started chasing the lone leader, even though I did not actually realise that he existed at this point. Going over the only two short climbs in the race I dropped the Algerian and it was only at this point that I saw the lone leader and realised that I was only in second position.
 
Having been out on his own for almost 30 kilometres he was rather buggered and I moved in on him quickly, but not quickly enough....

 

Coming into the final bend, with less than five hundred meters to go I was still behind him and even though I was already going flat out I had to dig even deeper and force some kind of sprint if I wanted any chance of catching him.
 
Mr  Morocco was in the left most lane of a four lane road, taking the shortest route to the line. As he saw me coming up on his right he started swinging right across the road to block my way.
 
With the African Title on the line this was one time that I was not going to back down and the two of us made contact as I came past with virtually no place to spare on my right hand side. I don't think that he was expecting this reaction to his dirty tricks and as a result he lost control and crashed a mere fifty meters from the line as I struggled to keep my bike upright and cross the line without any hint of a victory salute.
 
Had the outcome been any different and had he been of any other nationality he would have been DQ'ed.
 
I had come to Morocco to win the Gold in the time trial but I was only able to take the bronze medal. So making up for that disappointment in this way is fantastic, especially as the road title is more valuable. I would rank this as my second most important victory after winning the 1.2 GP Cristal Energie in France, but back home this one will mean a whole lot more!

 

Although I have still not heard from any managers, the response from friends and family has been amazing so far! My Facebook is absolutely overflowing and I am really humbled by the experience!

 

Thank you everyone! Especially Splashworks, First Cut and Rosewall Agencies; the three companies that made this trip a reality!

 

Now the bike is in the bag and it's going to stay there for three weeks! It's about time I had a real holiday!

Michael Barry on Svein Tuft

This article is worth a read

 

http://www.velonews.com/article/83593/michael-barry-s-diary---head-down-and-go

 

I really enjoy the way Michael Barry writes, and since seeing Svein for the first time at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006 I have been intruiged by the man. Like everyone else, I had not expected him to do so well at the recent World Champs TT. I did however notice how well he was going during the course recon the day before the race so in hindsight I can saw I noticed something.

Must still say though, Respect for that silver!

World Champs Time Trial Race Report, Elite Men, Varese 25.09.2008

Alright

That didn't go according to plan...

 

I have a hand full of valid excuses lined up, but at the end of the day I gave it what I had yesterday and came home empty handed. I was disappointed with my final position, but even more so with the way I felt during the ride. Going over the top of rollers I never felt able to get the right gear rolling to take advantage of the downhills.

 

On a more positive note that does mean that I can do better and that yesterday was not my best day on the bike (who's surprised, first TT in a year... kind of to be expected).

 

My big goal of not being passed was sadly smashed to smithereens about three kilometers from the line when Janez zoomed past me at what seemed like the speed of light. Being overtaken by someone who has worn the Gold Jersey at the Vuelta Espania is not something to be embarrassed about, but its still never a fun feeling. It just proves what you already know, you aint going fast enough..

 

So in the end I finished 51st out of 57, way down from my so called 'ranking' of 32nd.

 

As I finished the race I was stopped by a very friendly and very pregnant lady who turned out to be Hedwig Kröner from Cyclingnews.com

Shocked as I was, I nearly fell off my bike... I was rude enough to let all the questioning be one sided but never the less was very pleased to be interviewed. Even if I felt my performance on the day did not warrant it (had I mentioned my 132 Europe Tour points it might have been a different matter..).

 

So this morning I awoke to this nice little surprise http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/sep08/sep26news2

 

Thanks Hedwig! I really appreciate that and hope to see you at many more races in the future!

 

Of course Mariano Botta (La Rgione Ticino) and Pierre Carrey were also there, so I felt like quite the celebrity talking to Journo's after the race. Now I just have to get my TTing to correspond with the big talk :)

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch Bert Grabsch took the win 5minutes 39 faster than me. Svein Tuft the tough Canadian took a well deserved (but surprising) second place and Dave Z got the Bronze. My man Janez nabbed eighth.

World Champs Time Trial, Elite Men, Varese 25.09.2008

So, Today is the day...

I would like to say that the weather is 'nice' but after using that word to death in my last post I think I'll refrain from that this time and instead say that the weather is fabulous right now. Sun is shining and although it is chilly thanks to the new snow on the nearby mountains it will be perfect by the time I roll off the start ramp at 13h52.

 

I am nr 32 of 58 riders, which means that there are 26 riders starting in front of me and 31, everyone at 2 minute intervals. I'll take my mid pack ranking as a compliment, thank you very much! Fredrik Ericsson from Sweden is my carrot while I will have little Felix Cardenas of Barloworld/Colombia starting behind me and Janez Brajkovic Astana/Slovenia behind him . That simplifies my first goal of not being passed by anyone during the race, unlike last year...

 

Final preperation is just about to kick off with a nice bowl of pasta at 9am. This should be fun!

 

Hold thimbs

Pics

This is Lago di Varese, and the bike that will be taking me around it on 25 September.

 

One or two minor adjustments and the bike will be ready.          Will I though?

The long wait

Trofeo Morucci was my last race for a while as there is a gaping hole of 18 days without racing between it and the World TimeTrial Champs. Gaps in racing are fine when the form is off or when rest is needed, but when you're flying (and bored) and there are no races around to do, then it is just plain irritating.

On the bright side I do have a lot of time to play around on the TT bike and get myself ready for the sixty minute suffer fest. I'd still rather be racing though...

 

During the week we took a drive across the border to go and check out the Varese TT course. A mere 60km from here, it still takes an hour in the car thanks to the small roads one has to take. Much better by bike ;)

 

As for the course. I made the mistake of giving Colombo the map and not paying enough attention myself (not that it would have really helped) so we got lost a few times during the first few km's and completely left out the last 5km as we had run out of time and Davide was waiting for us back at the car. We did however get to see the main descent, the long loop around the lake and the main drag/climb back into town.

 

What do I think?

 

I think its going to hurt.

Then again, I didn't really need a degree in rocket science to figure that out.

 

The course is quite nice. I think that TV viewers should enjoy it as the course is nice and open and there are some nice views, especially along the lake. There are a few nice bumps along the way that'll get the blood flowing and a few corners on the descent that will need some more detailed inspection but in general the roads are quite big and open. Flowing is a nice word to describe it. The last 10km will really really hurt though. After 35km of being on the rivet the route climbs up a wide road winding ever so slightly. Nothing steep, but rather long. That's where the big time differences will appear.

After last years embarrassing ride I am heading in this year without too many expectations. Just that I have to reduce that huuuge 6minute deficit that I was left with last year.

47th Trofeo Salvatore Morucci 07.09.2008

This weekend we only had to do a 650km drive in order to get to San Martino al Cimino, just north of Rome, for the relatively short 136km Trofeo Morucci. Last years race was a fun affair where I ended up being dropped on the steep inclines heading towards the line, finishing sixth in my last road race of my Euro season. With better form and more motivation this time round I was keen on making amends.

Hanging around the start area it became obvious that the turnout was rather disapointing and that there were only four teams that were seemed really threatening. With just about the whole Russian National team, Aran/Cantina-Tollo's Fabio Taborre and Anton Sintsov of Calzaturieri Montegranaro having recently won big races it would never be a walk in the park, even if there were just 90 starters. Aussie, Pat Shaw also pitched up for the fun so at least I got a few words of English in for a change!

 

Like last year a break got away pretty quickly and I found myself up front with Konrad and 15 others, all working together harmoniously (amazing). Half way into the race we hit the first of three climbs, this one also going past the finish line and up some pretty nasty bits with cobbles and several walls. Our group started splintering slowly but surely and by the time we got to the top I found myself in front in a group of four. From there on it was pretty straight forward. Ride hard, force the pace on the second long climb, outfox Taborre to win the KOM and get to the base of the final 3km climb.

 

Long before we reached the final climb it became obvious that the fourth rider was just hanging on for dear life. Taborre seemed fresh as a daisy and I could not tell how the Russian, Kochetkov, was feeling (how unusual). As we hit the climb Kochetkov went and I was on his wheel. Taborre jumped next and I was there again pretty quickly. Almost immediately he went again and this time Kochetkov was dislodged (the other guy was long gone by then). I pushed the pace to distance the Russian but worked a bit to hard as we were on a wall and as I told Taborre to go through he jumped and immediately got a gap.

Try as I might there was no closing that gap, so all I could do was go as hard as possible for the last kilometer and sprint up the brutally steep finish to grab a very nice second place.

 

This gives me my sixth result in the top five out of my last ten races. Not too shabby me thinks.

 

Next up... Worlds TT... And now I have to make sure that I don't make a fool of myself like I did last year...

Brief update

After going AWOL on my blog for a while I decided it was about time to peek back in and get some updates posted. There was a brief upset with the link from DC.com to the blog but thanks to Carinus that was quickly put right again.

As for actual news from my side, after a lot of fabulous one day races in August I ended up getting sick right before Giro Valle d'Aosta, my seasons goal... I just had a nasty cold and cough. But with all of my power gone and only 36 hours before the start we made the decision to give Lukas my spot and I took a step back. Irritating to say the least but there was nothing else to do.

Needless to say I was healthy pretty soon so Konrad and I set about putting in some good riding to get over the pain of being left behind and making hay while the sun shines!

 

Now the hay making is over as the bad Cape Town weather has spread to this part of the world and we have a wet week ahead of us.

 

That's broken up by a little trip to Rome for Trofeo Morucci on Sunday. Got sixth last year and loved the course. Interesting times!

GP Folignano 05.08.08

After a lekker rest day which certain people spent by the swimming pool, turning into a lovely shade of robot red we moved on north towards Folignano. My favorite race of the season.
I have a slight love affair with Folignano because it is the only race that I have done all four year since I have been with FidiBC and the first time I did it I had my backside handed to me on a plate. So badly in fact that I was amused by it and the next year I came back and won the KOM as well as most aggressive rider. Last year I had another good race and ended up coming fourth for my second best result of the year. This meant that I lined up this year with high expectations!

The First 80km are on five flat circuits followed by 80 km over six and a half laps with two climbs on it. The first one 4km averaging 4.5% and the second one 2km and averaging 7%.

I managed to behave myself during the flat laps and remained hidden in the bunch soft pedaling most of the way, even though the average must have been close on 50km/h. The team did a decent job keeping an eye on things but Stevie B really put it all out there and stepped up a level on this trip! As soon as we hit the climbs I got nervous and moved to the front.
By the time we hit the second climb (still first lap) I was off the front and going 'bos'. Fabio Ursi (first time that I have raced with our 'crosser', 7th at the last u23 world cyclocross champs) jumped across to me with some others and we made a half respectable attempt of getting away for a while. Unfortunately that did not last long but I was off the front again and soon was going well with another buddy, Simon Clarke from SouthAustralia.com

We were going well but I was spending way to much energy and even miscounted the laps and started attacking way to early which only brought on the threatening cramps even more. From there onwards it was a uphill battle, against the cramps, the climbs, the heat and my own stupidity. Coming to the bottom of the last climb, only 4km to go to the top we were in a group of 8 riders. I was cramping and could only watch as some attacks went on a kick in the climb. After that Matteo passed me a 1500ml bottle that I used up in its entirety within 10 seconds.
I was able to recover slightly as no one wanted to chase the lone rider who had gone off the front. Coming into the final KM I put in an attack or two but got nowhere as I had long wasted the energy that I so desperately needed then. In the last 300meters Simon took the lead and was starting a perfect lead out/sprint/attack until his chain fell off and I found myself in front with 200 meters to go. I had no choice to punch it but was passed by three riders before the line so came home a really disappointing fifth. One place off last years result.

At least I know that my form is good.. Next time I'll just have to use my head a bit more!

Cigno Pics

Scheming that the recently installed white Hudz did their job!

Pretending to sound intelligent but the soundsystem in the background was so loud I could barely hear myself thinking, nevermind the questions.

First and second did not seem very impressed with things... I heard talk of tempers flaring in the final sprint but who knows!?

Some of the fans that were hanging about. Always impressive how people come streaming out of every nook and cranny come race time.