Well I didn’t really believe that a marked improvement could be made in only 4 weeks, but what can I say – it worked!

Discussing my disappointment at the 10 minute gap after the Departmentals in March I asked Steve what I needed to do. “You’ll never improve your speed and stamina by just going out and riding up to it all the time” he said, “you need to ride over it, faster than your race speed would be.” Steve hands me a book “This is a great book, it’s won me races. It’s written for road and criterium racing but the principles of training are the same.”

The book is written by Eddie Borysewicz (BOR-E-SAY-WHICH) and he was the 1980-84 U.S. Olympic Coach. He is actually Polish and has a bit of a history before going to the US and he is a fascinating bloke. No sooner had I started reading it, my head was stuck into it at every opporunity. It’s a must read for the competitive cyclist, very well written and not labourious and full of jargon.

Getting back to my training programme. As I mentioned before, I have this problem with working hard in the garden clashing with working hard on the bike. In recognition of this, Steve gave me a schedule which tried to strike the balance.

Over the past 4 weeks, I hadn’t really felt as if I’d spent a huge amount of time on the bike and it didn’t feel like a chore. Although some of the sessions were tough, I didn’t feel the continuous tiredness that I had experienced previously when I was just going out and battering myself on rides.

So on the day, I didn’t really believe I had made much of an improvement. How wrong I was. I could feel the difference. Yes it was just as hard but I could cope.   Better still, the girl who beat me at the Regionals addmitted afterwards that I gave her a bit of a fright at being so close!

Too Afraid to try – Physically I’d done a good job, mentally not so good. If I was honest, I didn’t have the confidence at the top of that first climb (at the Regionals) to stamp on the pedals, get past (the eventual winner) and give it a go. “What have you got to lose?” Steve said on discussing the issue after the race “If you try it and they fold then great. If they come back past you again then that’s ok too. It might have been tactically better to get in front of them before a tricky section to give you that buffer you need. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know”.

It sounds obvious when you sit and talk about it sitting in the relative calm of your living room. All too often we think about how much it’s hurting us when we could be thinking how much it’s hurting them.  Another lesson learned, which is what it is as much about as anything else. Each race is a learning experience and you can use it to improve the next one.

The Nationals - I’ve been invited to represent the Limousin to ride at the Nationals. Although daunted at the prospect, I gratefully accepted as it is a great opportunity and sounds like a good weekend. It’s a busy time in the garden now spring has arrived, but I’m going to ask Steve to write me a program to the Nationals. If I can do at least as good there as I did at the Regionals, I will be very happy.

After the Departmental Championships back in March, I was a little disappointed at the 10 minute time gap between me and the winner, Sylvie. So during the last 4 weeks, I have been trying to improve my speed and stamina ready for the Regionals. Steve who was duly appointed as my coach, wrote a training programme for me to follow. The programme wasn’t overly taxing but what mattered was the quality of what I did when I did it.

The big day arrived, I didn’t feel as if I had improved that much but I decided to keep cool and be positive. I’d had a great night’s sleep and the forecast, although cold, was for dry weather – a bonus!

We arrived at the race venue in Ambazac about 11.30 so we had plenty of time to sign on, eat, and take a look at the first and last sections of he course. We had already ridden the circuit a couple of weeks previously and there was a tricky muddy section near the start to evaluate.

The drier weather had turned what was a sloppy muddy bog into something more like stiff porridge. There were a number of riders there looking at lines and riding sections. I made the decision to ride the first section and run the next. We went and checked out the finish. There was a twisted chicane of tape routing you round a small lake across the horse trodden fields back up through to the start finish area. Fortunately it was hard packed, and fast, but very bumpy.

As start time approached I watched as they set off the other categories, including Steve. Next thing I knew I was sat on the start line with 5 seconds to go. I took a deep breath and we were away. I was amazed to find myself in front of Sylvie. She passed me just before a right turn and onto the first climb. I gritted my teeth and stayed with her to the top. As we crested, I was still with her and now on the rivet, I just kept saying “stay with her”.

Down the trail and over a small road climb, left onto some gravel and into the muddy section. I rode into it with the intention of keeping a good momentum but found myself grinding and sinking into it. Meanwhile, Sylvie had seemingly floated over it. But, she was still in sight and I hammered down the next descent to make up some time. I got back up to her, and as we continued onto the next few climbs I fought to stay in touch.

Into the arena for end of lap 1, she had about a 30 second gap so there was still a fighting chance. Into the second lap a typical scenario of her cresting the climb as I was at the bottom of it. Hit the muddy section again – same result – by which time she had disappeared from sight. She wasn’t that far ahead so I kept at it, making the most of the descents.

At the start of the last lap the gap had widened but I kept up the momentum as there’s always a chance. I was beginning to fade a bit now on the climbs, but one thing that my training had given me was the ability to cope better with the hard effort.

As I came into the arena for the last time I could see that Sylvie was into the final chicane, and heading for a 1st place finish. Still determined to keep the time gap to a minimum I pushed on and finished about 2 minutes down.

Overall, it was a good race for a number of reasons. I reduced the time gap on Sylvie significantly from our last meeting, and although I was still tired, my stamina was much better. I think that on the right day Sylvie is beatable, and that day is now closer than before. Best of all though, I have my official invite to be part of the team representing the Limousin region at the French National Championships in May!
A BIG THANKYOU to Steve for sorting out my bike. He got a disc converter from one of the lads at the shop and now my trusty old Stumpy has disc brakes. Not only that, he also let me borrow his fastest race tyres.