Trans Portugal, DAY1, BRAGANÇA - FREIXO

1st STAGE / 10 MAY
BRAGANÇA > FREIXO
142 Kms
Climbing - 2468 m

Weather - 32c, hot and dusty
Stage Place - 5th
Overall Place - 5th

Well we started at 9am as the last bunch once again.  I stayed close to the front and I'm sure by the first wee bump in the road some were off the back.  At 5km the first only real significant hill of the day arrived.

Well Jose Silva was off to never be seen again.  Close to the top of the climb a 2nd Portugese rider came past also never to be seen again.  I stuck my head down and kept going solo.  Hoping to pick up a fast bunch in front.

This didn't happen.  I caught Danny and Edgar at about 35km in and though they would do.  I looked back post a climb and they were gone...they were the last two left from the bunch in front so it was going to be a long solo day.  In fact I think I rode solo from km5 till the finish at km 144

Did a splash and dash for water at about 55km and the guts were starting to not feel very well.  You have to get food and drink into you for the energy but when your guts don't want it, it becomes very tough very quickly.  My legs were cramping a wee bit and I just had to take the gels and water anyway.

I eased up from about 75 km when I'd taken another gel.  The legs felt good but the guts not.  I passed a few more riders here and there and guessed that there was 3-4 riders still in front.  At 100km I had to take an emergency toilet stop in the bushes.  Not great fun but I did feel a lot better after this.

Trundled my way to the finish and had no riders come past me and I didn't catch any more either.  Fairly happy with the 5th knowing i'd backed off and that the guts were having an off day.  Haven't seen the time gaps or anything yet but a good first day.  No mechanicals, no crashes and not a bad result.  Long way to go yet and some of the riders will have destroyed themselves on the first day. 

Danny was only three mins behind me in 6th and Edgar in 9th about 25 mins back...

I managed to smile at the end of the stage

Trans Portugal, DAY0, BRAGANÇA

Well where to start...

Left the rain and cold in Switzerland on Wednesday to Lisbon.  Caught up with quite a few of the guys from previous years over a meal that night and relived old tales.

The bus ride up to Braganca on Thursday and we were actually on time.  Yes thats me giving a V for victory...(with a new haircut)

Friday has been a fairly chilled day and we've done the usual briefings and had GPS lessons.  Put the bike together and no major dramas.  Feeling fairly relaxed and taken the bike out for a bit of a blast.  Great to see all the staff and be part of a big family.

Weather looks hot dry and dusty.  Expecting 30 degrees and sunshine.

The competion?  Well who knows...lots of tanned skinny looking people and big legs is always a bad sign for me.  But hey the Fast Portuguese guys have been talking about me and Danny and we've talking about them so I guess that's good.

I'll ride my own race and not be intimidated.  If I feel good I'll stick it out and if not well, I won't disgrace  myself.

Tomorrow from 9am we will know.

2014 Planning and Prep

What have I done different this year so far?

Maybe the question should be what have I done the same?

Well I've still ridden my bike a lot.  Just very differently. 

I started my training a bit earlier this year. I've certainly been helped by less snow and ice in the Swiss winter.  I started getting some decent time on the bike back in December.  But even looking all the way back to June each and every month I've done more hours than last year...

I got to January and I was already in much better shape than the previous year.  My weight was less and power more.  But when you ride a lot alone and do your own training and planning and always have some doubts if your are doing the right things.  I guess it's easier if you race a lot and ride with a lot of other people to gauge form and where you are going.  I knew I had good endurance in previous years but always felt in better form after racing.

I was getting a bit nervous about knowing where I was actually at and being able to compare with previous years.  I'd been looking for an English speaking trainer for some time and finally lucked upon Nigel at BPM.  http://www.bpmcoaching.co.uk/  First thing of course any Trainer wants to know is what your goals are and how committed your are.  Shortly after after this they want to test you, to know where you at, so they can plan where you are going.

After chatting to Nigel for some time and meeting him and working out everything we went down to the Swiss Olympic Centre in Sion and got tested. A bit of a big wake up call really.  My "FTP" was down approx 50 Watts from 2012 and Peak power down approx 30 Watts.  The good news was my VO2 max was a bit higher and I was approx 5 kgs lighter.  All in all it meant my FTP was basically the same from two years ago.

So since I rode much better in 2013 and I thought in 2014 I was already better than 2013 what was going on?  Simple answer is in the way that the tests were made.  In Holland in 2012 each min the power was upped by 15 watts.  In Switzerland every three minutes they upped the power by 30 Watts.  This gives enough time for the Lactate to build in your muscles.  Basically use the same Lab if possible and the same test protocol for consistent results.

So what changed post this.  Well a full on training plan from Nigel.  Customised to me with help a phone call or email away.  The plan involves a lot more structure around workouts.  Each workout has a purpose and a goal.  Not finishing a workout or missing a session is not a failure and it's important to listen to how the body reacts too.  We all get sick and it was interesting to see that my body could not do what was required when I was ill.  (Better to skip the session until recovered)

I brought a Wahoo KickR (review here) and use TrainerRoad (review here) and got on with the sessions.  The awesome thing about the KickR and TR is you program in the session and because TR controls the power for the KickR there is almost no escape.  (you can increase and decrease power by percentages but you can't just decide you've had enough to coast for a few minutes to recover).  Sessions were based around various things including spinning, power, and intervals of various powers and various lengths.  I still get to ride outside a lot but the trainer gives me a way to easily measure my performance in a lab and make sure we are targeting exactly what we want.  No course or wind and rain can interfere with the results.

The difference's so far?  Well each 4 weeks when we test my results are up 20-30 watts and my testing ground on a hill I'm carving 2-3 mins of it.  My heart rates are lower and the easy rides are way easier.  The harder rides are also much much harder.  First race is only a few weeks away and I'm sure all the pain and suffering on my KickR (and other bikes) is going to be worth it.

New Bikes in 2014

This year I was quite lucky.  Two new bikes joined the others.

Finally finished my Colnago.  I brought the frame in New Zealand some time in 1997 I would guess.  It stayed there as a frame till my sister finally brought it to me in about 2010.  The winter of 2013/2014 finally saw me build it up.

It's a 1995 Colnago Superisimo with an 11 Speed Athena Group set.  I got some wheels of ebay with Campagnolo hubs and had brought other new bits and pieces whilst in Holland.  All parts are Italian except for the pedals and bottle cages.  All parts were new or NOS stock except the wheels.

It's a joy to ride and the only thing missing are some decent light wheels with Tubular's.  One day...

 

I also finally took possession of an ALU Eddy Merckx.  This was going to be the donor bike for the group set for the Colnago.  However this bike was from about 2001 and in perfect condition.  I just couldn't take it apart,  A few paint chips and that was about it.  Replaced the chain, tyres, brake blocks, cassette, jockey wheels, handlebar tape, and the awful seat and it was good to go.  I added the mudguards a few weeks later and it's been a perfect winter bike.  Full Daytona 2001 10 speed group including seat post and hubs.  It's a bit heavy but most of that's in the wheels.  It does struggle with a 39x27 up a few steep hills but in winter I stay away from them anyway as it's just to icy.

2014 Race Season Plans

Well It's been a while in the planning,  It's also been a while getting the races actually booked and missing out on a few entries as well.  So here's the plan for the year....

Two, week long MTB stage races and only one Road event.  I missed on all the other road event entries this year or they clashed with a few must do MTB rides.  I guess this year it's an MTB season with the excecpetion of Mt Blanc.  But hey 3300Km and only 8000 climbing meters in one day should be easy...

Dates	Name of Event	Bike	Website
09-18 May	TransPortugal	MTB	http://www.tran-portugal.com
07-08 Jun	Elsa Bike Trophy	MTB	http://www.elsabiketrophy.ch/v2/index.php/de/
21-22 Jun	BerGiBike	MTB	http://www.bergibike.ch/site/
21-Jul	Tour Du Mt Blanc	Road	http://www.sportcommunication.info/TMB/#accueil
16-17 Aug	Eiger Bike Challenge	MTB	http://www.eigerbike.ch/info.php
22-Aug	Grand Raid	MTB	http://www.grand-raid.ch/
29-30 Aug	Nationalpark Bike Marathon	MTB	http://www.bike-marathon.com/
15-20 Sep	Swiss Epic	MTB	http://swissepic.ch/
27-28 Sep	Iron Bike	MTB	http://www.iron-bike.ch/home.html

Trans Portugal, DAY9, MONCHIQUE - SAGRE

MONCHIQUE - SAGRE, 12th May 2013

Length - 99km
Climbing - 2058Metres
Weather - Warm and windy with blue skies
Stage Place - 9th
Overall Place - 8th

http://www.trans-portugal.com/Etapa9.pdf

Last day.  Big day as well.  We got to start at 10am today and it was going to be fast day.  I completely screwed up this stage last year and was determined not to do the same this year.  Marco need to make 30 odd seconds to get 2nd place on GC which meant it would be go go go right from the start.  I needed to catch two people in front who were potential challenges.  One was 1 min behind and another was 8 mins behind.

We hit the first 700 metre climb about 3km from the start.  The plan was to stick with Marco and ride with him.  Good plans don't always work all that well.  It was a very steep little rocky number.  At the top Marco was 30 metres in front and when I looked back there was 300 metre of empty trial behind me.  Not a good start.  I now had 95km to go solo as Marco had gone.

I made fairly good time but spent the next 25km chasing small little groups of riders.  None of them enough to help the chase.  Finally I saw Scott in the distance and caught him.  He was with another SA rider called Johan who we had just passed each day.  However today he stuck with us.  We worked together and caught the next group who contained my main rival who was one minute behind me.  Francisco was not in good shape already and we still had 50km to go.  I thought I'd stay with him and try and make sure he could secure his position in 8th.

When we got to 60km it was obvious that Francisco could not make with us.  Johan decided to put the pedal down and within two kilometres it was just the two of us by the beach into a head wind.  After maybe 3km when I looked back we were maybe 2 mins ahead of the group we were with.  Johan was riding incredible strong and I wondered where he'd been for the last 8 days.  We took some turns before we came down onto the beach.  

A one km run across the beach pushing the bike.  First gel at the end of the beach and straight up a big climb.  Down another climb where we picked up Morton who we had ridden with other days. Then another two short but sharp climbs and we were back on the flats.  Johan once again stuck the hammer down.  Basically he was riding me off his wheel and it was some of the strongest riding seen all week.  Morton was gone within another 2kms or so.  Johan was now sitting up to wait for me.

We still had 20km to go and I'd not caught the man 8 mins behind me.  Johan was basically towing me all the way.  I couldn't do much more and Johan was still waiting.  I knew the course fairly well and the last 15km was downhill and fast.  We finally hit the cliffs within the last 4-5km was a relief.  I knew I could make it and secure my 7th. 2km from the finish and Johans tyre started going fizz, fizz, fizz.  He started to slow down to dismount and I'm screaming at him to keep riding.  Small argument followed.  He was still riding but reluctantly.  We turned the corner to see the finish line flag and suddenly Johan knew the tyre would now last.  We crossed together but it was all Johans doing.  30 mins later Johans tyre was completely flat.

I finished 9th.  Time for some well deserved beers.  I found out much later my ride had not been enough.  Not bad and I was ok speed wise but somebody else was much better than me that day.  They jumped from 9th to 7th on GC and I went backwards.  They matched my stage time but because they started twenty mins in front they had gone form 8 mins behind to 12 mins in front.  Johan had spent all day trying to help me.  I wish he'd had more belief in himself as he would have done much better on GC.  

Losing a position on GC was really my own fault because of missing the stop sign and getting a penalty.  I missed it because it didn't show on my gps.  Maybe it was off screen or maybe I just didn't notice.  I also didn't see the additionally stop signs they put on the road either.  Also if my rear mech cable had not broken maybe that was more time and enough.

I'm in Lisbon today and have hurt myself.  Ride all the way across the county on a bike with no crashes  and walk 100 metres form the hotel and straight into a pot hole in the foot path.  Ankle goes crunch and is now swollen and twice the size.  Oh joy.

Anyway once I'm home I'll upload my tracks and compare with last year.  Have to be happy with 8th but still wish it was 7th...

Trans Portugal, DAY8, ALBERNOA - MONCHIQUE

ALBERNOA - MONCHIQUE, 11th May 2013

Length -138km
Climbing - 3108Metres
Weather - hot and sunny and up to 33
Stage Place - 7th
Overall Place - 7th

http://www.trans-portugal.com/Etapa8.pdf

Today was the day...I had great legs.  Cyclists will know what I mean but I just felt on fire and super strong.  We started again at 9am and within 3km there was only three of us.  Marco, Fanie and me. Michiel who we'd been riding with was gone.  He caught us at the first gate and we waited a bit but with another few KMs he was gone again.  I found out later he had pulled out at the first checkpoint complaining of stomach issues.  We have had a bunch of people not feeling well.

Marco wasn't the best either so me and Farnie were pacing him well.  It was a horrible head wind but we did well to make a lot of time.  We lost Marco at 50km or so on nothing to steep.  He just did his elegant fast pedal and was gone. Farnie dropped his chain so we waited a bit.  We had caught Scott so it was just the three of us from here.  The plan was to stick together till the big hills at the end and then let each rider to the own thing.

We caught Francisco next and it was quickly just four of us.  At the 65km hill which was approx 6km long I felt good and just sat at the front.  We crossed over a road and I looked back and they we all gone.  I climbed the last of the climb which was quite steep and turned the wrong way promptly.  I got back on track and they still weren't there so it was time to press on.  What followed was a long hard day on the bike.  Paced myself well and just put on fast cruise mode with heart rate close on 130bpm. There were some points were you could see a long way back and they were no where in sight so best just to press on.

I stopped for water at 95 km as scheduled and left quickly.  I caught various other riders and went straight past them.  I hit the first big climb at around 105km.  It was probably worse this year.  It was steep hot and what was a forest was just strewn with gum tree leaves and branches.  I could see three people behind me on the climb and Malcolm from South Africa came past me.  I caught home again on the descent and then disaster struck.

No gears...did a quick stop and rear mech cable snapped by the mech.  It was two speed from here with small and large ring only.  I still had 25km or so to go and there was one big hill to still make it up. I stopped by a TransPortugal car and jury rigged the mech.  Wound in the limit stop as far as I could.  That put me in about the 14 tooth at the back.  I rode like this spinning away in small ring on hills and big ring on the flats also spinning away.

It went ok till the big climb.  No way I could do it.  I've been carrying a little rope around with me after seeing it being used very effectively last year on a few issues.  Today it got its use.  I tied the mech up into about the 28th cog on the back and span like crazy up the last big hill.  Made the top and removed the rope and back into the 14/15 and away I went.  I kept looking for the stalking pack but only had three single people come past me.  I had to stop and switch it back to the 28th once more with the rope but and remove again but after that cruise to the finish and spin like crazy.

Unbelievably I passed two of the people who passed me on the climb and I finished 7th.  Six would have been nice and I lost 15 mins due to this but hey...nothing else I could do.  I also missed a stop sign which comes with a 30 min penalty.

So one more day to go and feeling quite good.  Bummed about the penalty and where  I finish now is largely academic.  Not much changes on the last day.  I have 1 min in front of eighth and 8 mins in front of 9th.  Tomorrow will be you tough as they start in front so I will have to chase hard.  Lets hope the good legs are back...

Also Marco won today and set a new stage record.  Glad that I helped in the first 50km with this today as he's an awesome chap.  He moved into 2nd place on GC with this. (Which was later changed to 3rd because another rider stopped to help someone who fell and that person got given a time bonus for stopping)