Thursday 21 August 2014

Learning to love the science of cycling

Learning to love the science of cycling. Each to his own but at this level, who we surround ourselves with makes the difference. 

I thought whilst I have a bit of time on my final flight to Geneva, I'd give you a short recap on the past months racing, and travels up to now. 

I know reading race reports can be boring, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Eston Classic is a big one for the team, being a KZN based team we take pride in the event. It almost seems as we have to win it. I knew I was in good form, a slight change in metal approach and coach has made a huge difference. The sport has become a science. You see athletes pitch up on a start line and think all they do is train, race and maybe win, I wish! Each and every day is analyze. Tweaking certain elements to gain a watt or two. Yes even I think that's crazy!

Getting back to the event, impyEvents has to be a leader in there field. Understanding the importance of keeping the professionals as well as the weekend warriors happy is a job I'd hate to do. I think they hit the spot every time. Thank you👍

Again there was a massive turn out, if I'm not mistaken 4000 riders😳. The golden rule of winning Eston is to win the KOM. It's almost a given if you win the KOM you will win the race..... Almost😁

I had a big block of training in my legs (thanks to John) I couldn't get away, I tried my luck several times but each time Brandon and Max were there. I couldn't let Brandon beat me in a sprint again😉...  In the last 10km, roughly 20 different ideas of how to win ran though my head, over and over again. Luckily I picked the right one😁 and happily defended my title🏆. 

Next up was the Clover road tour, I must say I hadn't been that excited to race in years. That soon changed after day one I seriously doubted my road riding ability. After data analysis I realized the cadence destroyed me. On the MTB our AV rpm is roughly 80. On stage one I averaged 97 rpm, by the time we hit the climb I had nothing. 

After day one the engine was ready, I haven't felt that good on a bike in years and it just got better day after day. I loved every minute of it and it left me feeling confident heading off to Europe. I must say I'm pretty bleak about missing out on the points jersey by ONE point.

I'll try my best to write something small each day, while I'm in Europe.  

✌️✌️

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