Al Murison: livin' the dream..

"Basically first I decided to ride to the race, but had to ride my tub on the back wheel, which of course I then punctured on the the way there. Get to the race, 2 minutes before the start find a spare wheel but its the sh!ttest thing I've ever ridden. The race was disgustingly hard, and my roommates got dropped. I thought I was on for a good result, except punctured my front wheel with half a lap to go, in the process nearly killing myself and half the bunch. By the time i get back to the start line, my roommates WITH my spare tub have ridden off home. Plus I still have my punctured tub. Have to walk to the train station, except when i get there theres not a train for 2 hours and then eventually get a lift back with a randomer who thought I was Dan Patten and I couldn't be arsed to correct him. A bad bad day."

Chin up son.

GP Affligem Interclub

On Sunday I raced in the GP Affligem a 160km interclub around many of the notorious sections of the Tour of Flanders, including an alternative route up the ‘Muur’ and straight onto and up the Bosberg. Of note here is a certain E Merckx who won the race in 64 and 65. We were to face a 100km opening lap before four times around a fifteen kilometre undulating finishing circuit.  I had a good feeling during my 20minute spin out on the rollers in the morning, and started the race confidently, although it wasn’t long before I was found myself drifting toward the back of the 200 strong peloton. However, with the ‘Muur’ approaching I moved toward the front and indeed had my 15 seconds of fame (actually 1.5 seconds) leading the peloton toward the rapidly approaching ‘berg’.

Hitting the foot of the climb, I was well positioned and held my form over the steep ascent. With just 5km separating this and the Bosberg, the peloton was singled out as chaos arose in the splintering field. Summiting the Bosberg, I felt strong but with over 100km of racing left, perhaps not brave enough to attack into what turned out to be the 11 strong race winning break. With riders ahead and the peloton massively reduced in size, we cruised around the remainder of the large opening lap, almost the calm before the imminent storm of the finishing circuits. The 15km lap featured a couple of long drags, and the main short sharp climb 1km from the finish line. I knew I was having a good day and always felt as though I could jump into a break. After a couple of attempts, I got away with 30 km remaining with one other rider, and bridged to form a chase group of 20 or so. With the pace lifted by well represented teams, Bianchi with 4 of their 6 riders in the break, we soon distanced ourselves from the peloton, but with the leaders still out of sight, it quickly disintegrated into a free-for-all fight to the line rather than a collective chase effort. Knowing a top 20 position at least was possible, I kept pushing on but each time I found myself back in the group, as riders seemed unwilling to attack out of it and join me, preferring to keep the group together.

As we approached the final few kilometres, a couple of speculative attacks went but to no avail and we faced a 20 up sprint for 20^th place. I stayed in 5^th wheel up the final climb, knowing the false flat to the finish would be too far for an attack on the climb itself. Initiating my sprint, I instantly got the jump but paid the price for my earlier efforts falling 5metres short with one rider piping me on the line!

Nevertheless I am very pleased with the result. It’s only 21^st - 20 people still beat me, but to put it in perspective in the same race last year I lasted 40km before blowing up on the Muur and spending the next 20km grabbing onto the team car until I was pulled out... It’s a huge step up, and is a welcome result. I had good sensations throughout and it’s given me the real boost of confidence I needed, and hopefully a good sign of things to come. 

Bever

 It’s always difficult coming to that ‘next race’ after dropping out of the previous one and my confidence had taken quite a beating. However, spirits were raised once the ever professional Al Murison, a team mate of mine at Glendene, appeared on the scene 20 minutes before the start: “Have you got a track pump? And cable ties?... And anyone to hand you drinks”. Nice Al, nice.

Today’s race was a return to Bever, the same race as last years edition , with some 250 riders starting the mid-week affair.

After an unexplained 15 minute delay the race got underway at 3.45 and it was not long before the obligatory crashes occurred in a peloton of this size after the early panic of 250 riders aiming for the top 20 wheels before the main climb of the circuit. Starting slowly, I twice found myself caught behind unexplainable crashes which split the peloton, both occurring at exactly the same place on the wide, smooth, open road... Similarly to last year’s edition, the complete road closures synonymous with Belgian racing were poorly instrumented and seemingly every corner we were greeted by newly parked busses, tractors. And crashes. I knew we had travelled West, but didn’t realise we’d made it back to England already.

As the race progressed - while avoiding various scraps of carbon- I felt surprisingly strong, a vast improvement on how I have felt so far this month, and held a good position at the business end of the race, even offering my hand in a couple of attacks although with no repayment for my efforts. A couple of breaks did manage to gain ground, although the fast speeds generated by the charging peloton put most attacks on hold. Into the final lap and a 4 or 5 man group had just done enough to fight it out for the win. With a downhill finish, I backed off a little in the sprint, 150 riders diverting off course into a separate finishing straight isn’t exactly my forte - coming in 41^st place.

It’s a vast improvement, and a much needed one. GP Affligem this Sunday should be a good test of that statement. A couple of times up the Muur and Bosberg will certainly tell me all I need to know about my form.

Not going to plan.

It’s only a short blog this, but there’s very little to write about...

I knew it was never going to be easy coming to Belgium in April with no racing under my belt, but after all my hard work during the winter I’d hoped for more than this. Hoeilaart went ok last weekend, 21^st of 198 starters with only 60 finishing but sitting in and having a dig for the final few laps to finish outside the top 20 isn’t exactly my style – but it’s all I can do for now, and even that was an impossibility after an embarrassing 45minute stint in Heers yesterday before the rear of the peloton disappeared up the road.

To top things off, in 2 races I’ve managed to crack another Zipp rim – these seem to break just by putting them into the bike: I’ve had the rear rebuilt after spokes randomly snapped, front and rear rim cracked and rear hub rebuilt, has anyone else had problems with the 404 tubular?

Return to Belgium

With perhaps a slightly ambitious turn-around time and a race thrown in for good measure, it’s fair to say I had a fairly hectic weekend planned. However, I’ve only 4 weeks break now until starting the final term in the beginning of May, and am determined to make the most of it. I’m planning 2-3 races a week and it started last Sunday.

With term finishing last Friday, I arrived back in Chelmsford Saturday morning, and it was straight to the Chelmer Cycles workshop for a ‘surprise’ visit to prepare my Cannondale SuperSix for the next 4 weeks of Belgian kermising. With a complete service to do, tools were put down my bike was worked on all afternoon and into the evening to get it ready for the 5.30 departure the following morning. These guys are legends. I’d like to suggest there are few bike shops around who would refuse to put tools down and work well past closing time to complete the job. What I’m saying is, if you want your bike built (and built with anal precision), then pay Chelmer Cycles a visit. 

After a late night, early morning and plenty of travelling, racing was perhaps a little ambitious on Sunday, my thought process being that my first race was never going to be great - it never is - so why not get it over with? 50 minutes later, it was. My second season in Belgium had begun. And I knew it.

With the next race not until yesterday, I re-convened after the long winter with Hamish Haynes - http://www.hamish-haynes.com/ - for a good training week, including a near 7 hour epic in the Ardennes, with over 3000m height gain. A realistic ride for the Alps! Who said Belgium was flat...?

Yesterday I raced in Heist op den Berg, a 110km evening race on a totally flat circuit, blessed solely with 3 corners, good road surfaces and not even the slightest breeze to contend with. 208 riders took to the start on what promised to be a fast race – and hopefully a chance to get some speed back into my legs after an elongated winter period. The plan was just to sit in, get some race kilometres in and see how it played out. Half way through the race and 25 riders hovering a minute or more up the road, I moved toward the front and tested myself with a few efforts. With 5 of the 20 laps to go I attacked into a 12 man chase group and quickly distanced ourselves from the peloton, but had left it too late to bridge to the leaders. After the longest sprint in bike racing history – 3 of us side by side for 800metres?! – I finished 28^th overall. The result being irrelevant, I had good feelings during the race and felt I was riding well in-side myself during the chase effort; all good signs for a hilly one tomorrow in Hoeilaart. 

OptimumNutrition?

When a small* Irishman told me eating Weetabix with my skimmed milk in the morning was bad, and that his diet consisted of over 50% fat, I feared the sport nutritionist we were meant to be seeing had cancelled and a bald* Gillian Mckeith had stepped in as a last minute replacement.

How wrong I was.

After an eye-opening seminar from Barry Murray of OptimumNutrition4Sport, I am now working with him to get the most from my diet. Barry provides leading-edge, expert sport nutrition and has revolutionised the way I see food and its potential for performance gains. I couldn’t possibly do Barry justice in explaining his approach to nutrition but the staple pasta and low fat diet has gone, replaced by good fats and low GI carbs. Controversial? Perhaps, but a visit to Barry’s website, and facebook page may just open your eyes too.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”  La Rochefoucauld


*Barry assures me he is "5'9' and 'light' on top"