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Rapha's typically detailed and well illustrated guide to the Etape is now up:
http://www.rapha.cc/index.php?page=300
Well worth reading to get a sense of what lies ahead. There's plenty of video floating about the web as well which I'll try and collate when I get time.
« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
My second big tester, the Highclere Sportif didn't go half as well as I had hoped. It didn't go disastrously though, which is a crumb of comfort. Read my fuller report here:
One hell of a day at Highclere
Maybe I was having a bit of an off day or went off too quick. Still, excuses won't do at this stage and the time is indicative of me spending a long day in the saddle in the Pyrenees.
On the plus side I didn't experience any trouble riding for that long other than the usual sensation of tying up in the last few km and enduring a couple of patches where things were going badly.
My knee has, touch wood, stopped troubling me for the moment but I haven't been able to get out on a long ride since due to work. I was working the weekend just past and as I'm racing tomorrow didn't fancy a long one today as I'm feeling a bit run down from theeffects of 7 days straight work.
As I'm racing (albeit briefly) on Saturday at the Smithfield Nocturne and working next Sunday I'm struggling for long rides. At this stage it's not crucial and perhaps I should concentrate on a bit of intensity work. So Saturday morning I'll do a Park Ride and try and push it a bit then do a couple more laps after a coffee.
Other developments are that I've gone and bought some new wheels, a pair of Fulcrum Racing 1s in silver. I know it's a bit extravagant but I promise no more after this. I'm thinking of sticking my pair of 25mm Michelin Pro Race 2 tyres on on them instead of buying ever more tyres. They're Service Course ones and roll pretty well. the 25mm has a bit of a tight clearance under the fork but should smooth out the ride and give me a bit more in the corners. If not I'll do a bit of swapping as I've got to swap the casette anyway.
As for weight, I seem to be working down a bit and I'm now hovering around 71-73kg rather than 74-75kg. This is good, so more pasta, greens and salad and stay off the takeaway for a few weeks.
Next big one is the UK Cyclosportif on 1st July. See you down the front with the big blue London Dynamo train.
« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
A little over five weeks to go and the enrves are setting in. The doubts start to pop up and nag away before I manage to shut them up for a while. Being a dreadful worrier, it's never long before they come back.
The most common of them is whether 34/26 is going to be low enough to get me round. I've looked at Sheldon Brown's gear calculator and, no matter how many times I check all the possible variations, a 27 would only result in about 0.3kmh difference. Compared to last year's setup, when I was pushing a 30/27 as my lowest gear, it's 2kmh more at a good cadence and about 1kmh at a 40rpm grind.
Am I that 2kmh fitter than last year? I certainly think so. I've not found myself struggling to push my lowest gear so far in training and I've done a lot more quality training rather than a lot of volume. I've been racing on Tuesday nights and long rides on Sundays with Saturday sessions when I can manage them. I've made it manageable and have had a much better base level, having started building up in January rather than only starting in earnest in March.
My bike handling is better but my climbing is still downright average compared to the standard I would like to be. That, however, is still much better than last year not just in terms of how fast I can go but how long I can go before I hit my limit. Plus I've improved my drills for eating and drinking so I'm avoiding getting into energy deficit so often.
Now comes the tough bit - trying to avoid injury and other disaster between now and then. I had hoped to be a 3rd cat by now and to ride the Guildford critierium race the week before. As my colleague (and a pretty handy racer himself) Phil Sheehan pointed out, that would be foolhardy in the extreme. I am however going to keep on doing races up until the UK Etape on 1st July. Then it'll be a gentle tapering down until the big day itself.
Now is there anything else I could do with for the bike? Well I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a pair of Mavic Ksyrium ES wheels. Perhaps I might persuade myself to unleash the credit card for a small spree in the next week or two...