Those of you who watched the Olympics last year (so that’s pretty much everybody, unless you managed to get one of the seemingly mythical “great deals on a foreign holiday while everyone else is glued to the plasma screen”..) will remember the cycling road race for some great rides and exciting racing.  Lizzie Armistead’s silver medal ride in the rain was, for me, one of the stand-out rides in recent years. Up against the undisputed best rider in the world, Marianne Vos, Armistead proved that she is an all-rounder and a formidable talent. Like Nicole Cook in the Beijing Olympics 2008, Armistead again showed that women’s racing is every bit as exciting as the men’s, and getting faster too!

Cav’s ride in the road race prompted a lot more discussion about team tactics and the, quite frankly, dubious winner! However, as most people said at the time, which nation was going to drag the fastest sprinter in the world over the course only to have him beat your sprinter by a country mile at the end? That, unfortunately, is road racing, negative or not….

A bonus of the Olympic legacy is having the opportunity to ride the road race course and conquer the legendary Box Hill in the Prudential RideLondon 100 http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/Prudential_RideLondon___Events/Prudential_RideLondon-Surrey_100.htm

This challenging ride also  features the opportunity to ride on closed roads (Wow! Closed roads for a cycling event in Britain! How far cycling has come…) in the hours before the Professional race comes through. This makes it a battle against the clock for most people, with a maximum time of 9 hours allowed.

To put this into context, Marianne Vos rode the women’s race at 26.9 miles per hour for just under 87 miles.  The men’s road race over 155 miles was ridden at an average speed of 26.09 mph. Now doesn’t that make you feel a little inadequate? BUT for anyone who is riding an event for a time (that could be to beat your previous time or just to get round in the cut-off time) the effort level to reach your goal is the same – 100% over the distance. Now clearly that doesn’t mean start at a sprint, do the first 200m like Jason Kenny then slow to 7mph for the remaining 99.whatever miles…no, you have to pace correctly based upon what you know about your own limits and this has to be set in training. Even experienced riders can get carried away when they are in an event of this size – jump on a fast group at 15 miles in, hammer the hills like you’re Nibali, experience that “legs beginning to feel like lumps of wood” sensation at 60 miles then limp home after numerous re-fuelling stops. So…what’s the answer? Well, don’t get too carried away and try everything out in training – nutrition, climbing strategy, heart rate strategy, equipment and clothing, everything!

This year I am pleased to be helping a number of riders towards their goals in this particular event. One is Ben Connelly and he has been very kind in making this contribution to the blog. Ben is riding for a charity close to my own heart – they helped his Dad when he was young as they helped my Mum when I was 22. If you want to help Ben raise funds then his page is here http://www.justgiving.com/BenConnolley

Ben will be contributing again to the blog nearer the event – here is his diary to date and I hope it helps those of you who are reading this post and toying with the idea of riding a long event!

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In the summer last year, I watched an advert on TV for the first ever RideLondon event. Feeling pretty lazy and, if we’re being honest, overweight, I decided that I needed a challenge. Before I knew it, I’d registered, selected a charity to ride for that was close to my Heart and I was in! I’d signed up to ride 100 miles on a modified version of the Olympic road race course in August.

The confirmation of a place came at the end of February and I decided that, if I’m going to tackle this properly, bike fitness needs drastic improvement. I put together a 4 month training programme that I felt would work. However, with little knowledge of putting together a structured plan and knowing the finer details of training with a turbo trainer, I thought it best to send it to Tim at Black Cat Cycle Coaching. As I had thought, the plan needed work!

Firstly, I needed to know when I could train and what the best type of training was for me. The first session of course, was to find out what my maximum heart rate was – that was an interesting session! It wasn’t long before Tim sent over a structured programme that fitted in with a busy work life and enabled me to work to a structure that was tailored to me.

Being a guy who likes his gadgets, and one who my father always though had too many fads, I decided to treat myself to a few toys to help the motivation. Although pricey, I bought a Garmin 500 that spits out all the stats you need and has really helped focus me on the particular training session I’ve got on the go. I then get to bore my wife with the graphs showing heartrate and cadence etc! She tells me it’s very interesting!

So far, I’m about 4 weeks into the training programme; focussed on 2 interval training sessions on the turbo trainer on weekday evenings and a weekend ride. Already I’m noticing the weight drop and having to work a little harder to get my heartrate into a particular zone. It’s an amazing feeling heading out at the weekend feeling as though it’s really paying off, spurred on by the stats on the Garmin and the fantasy that I might, one day, become a pro! My dad also thought I was too much of a daydreamer!

Initially, I found that a stressful day in the office and a long commute didn’t help the programme. I had to make a conscious effort to stick with the plan. Without a structured plan I think my training may already have come unstuck due to time pressures of my work life. However, having turbo trainer sessions that satisfy my training needs and are around an hour long enable me retain a bit of an evening with my wife too. As time goes on, I know some people say that turbo training can be boring, but working to a structured plan really works for me. I can already feel that I actually want to get on the trainer and train!

The first phase of the training plan is almost complete – I’m sure there’s a lot more hard work to come. But, I’m really enjoying this!

Let’s see how the next 4 weeks go!”

“Hi Tim, I have entered the Etape/Marmotte/Dragon Ride next year and have just bought a bike and turbo trainer. I have a heart rate monitor and a computer and am really keen to get a Silver standard for my age group. There’s just one problem……I have a full-time job with a 50 minute each way commute by train, two children who have an active social life doing after school clubs, parties, swimming, horse riding etc AND I have a very understanding partner who may not understand any more if I have to train for 12 hours a week!”

A fairly typical enquiry for www.blackcatcyclecoaching.com ! Cycling, quite rightly, is the number one fastest growing physical activity choice for adults in the UK. I was in London recently and was totally blown away by the amount of people riding near Richmond and Kingston on a Sunday. Beautiful bikes and fabulous jerseys everywhere! For someone who was attracted to the sport as a boy by the colours and the “difference” to what I saw as the “greyness” of football, rugby and cricket this incredible upsurge in popularity is just wonderful to see. And the events on offer! Great closed road race circuits like my own local Fowlmead Country Park (http://www.fowlmead.co.uk/) and Gravesend’s fabulous Cyclopark (http://www.cyclopark.com/) are purpose-built for cycling and cycle racing and would never have existed “when I were a lad”. The sportive scene is phenomenal with brilliant British events like the Etape du Dales and the Dragon Ride, not to mention the opportunity to ride abroad in the “classics” of this genre: again, not something that was around in my youth …though the club runs in Wharfedale had a similarly epic feel back then. I remember being 12 and riding from Leeds to Malham with my two pals before heading off-road over Mastiles Lane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkYReL1Vxc4 to Grassington. This was all on sprints and Lion tubulars and I ripped 3 spokes out of my back wheel on the rough track of Mastiles. I vaguely recall ringing my parents from a red phone box in Appletreewick to inform them that I might not make it home for tea (For those of you who don’t know these roads, why don’t you pop up to the start of the Tour in 2014 and try them? Pack a compact chainset.). Ah, to have all day to ride again…Which brings me somewhat long-windedly to my point!

You want to train. You have the bike and the kit. You have limited time! You read generic training plans that say “start with 2 hour rides, build up to 6-7 hours…”. Does this work? Well, yes. BUT not if you can’t give the time over to riding. So, give up on the goal? Not necessarily. I have been telling anyone who will listen for a long time now that you don’t need as much time as you might think. Even in this information age where answers are as easy as a touch of a button, cycling (and cycle racing in particular) is still steeped in tradition when it comes to training. It’s hard not to get dragged along with it and, as I said previously, you can do it with good conscience if you have the time to devote to it. So, an alternative? I’m a big fan of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), researched and promoted by Dr Ross Lorimer and Dr John Baraj. Look them up and you will see their research. Or you may well have seen the Horizon programme fairly recently which detailed this form of training and the effect it has upon sedentary and trained individuals. My own opinion of HIIT is based solely upon the effect is has had on 2 of my coaching clients over the past 12 months. In short, for a much reduced volume (hours) of training, and by increasing the frequency (number of sessions) of high intensity (hard) training they have achieved the same effects on raising FTP (Functional Threshold Power – the power you can sustain for 60 minutes), MAP (Maximal Aerobic Power – the power you can produce over the final minute of a RAMP test to exhaustion) AND Peak Power (Sprinting power) as a higher volume, more traditional training approach. Less hours, same result. Oh, and as a bonus they both lost weight (shed fat) like they were training for more hours.

Now I can’t offer this as a scientific study where lots of people have been using the protocol under the same conditions etc. It is just my observations of progress made. But it really has made me think again about how to train and what is the best way to do so?

You may want to make up your own mind. Perhaps your time is limited, or you are just getting a bit stale and want to try something new. Here’s an example of what you could do using the HIIT principles (A similar programme appeared  in The Journal of Cycle Coaching issue 4 2012 – written by Drs Lorimer and Baraj and I reproduce part of it here but tailored slightly to represent the sessions my clients have been doing ).

Each of the repetitions requires a resistance load of between 7.5% bodyweight to 11-12% bodyweight (level 15-20 on an exercise bike, or a 1 in 10 gradient hill with increased gearing. Resistance on a turbo? Your top gear should feel a little over geared to start with – increase from there). I would advise you to warm up for 10-20 minutes (20 minutes if you are over 40) steadily.

Try 6 x 6 seconds flat out (seated) sprints with 1 minute rest between each one. Each repetition should be at your absolute maximum. You should experience a diminished recovery as you work your way through the reps – you should feel not 100% recovered by the end. Not hard enough? Increase the number of sprints and/or cut the recovery (max 12 reps, min 30s recovery). Want longer reps? Try 10 seconds, work up to 30 seconds ( 4 reps max, 2-3 min recoveries). These are very unpleasant indeed but the nice thing is that, according to the research, there is no benefit in making the reps any longer (or doing any more of them).

Sceptical? Already trained? Apparently research has indicated that adding 3 sessions of HIIT per week to  the programme  of a high-level athlete will elicit a substantial improvement.

Like most things, you won’t know until you try. So why not give it a go? Clearly, as with all exercise programmes, you shouldn’t undertake these intervals if your health may suffer as a result: this is particularly true of the over 40’s. Check with your GP first if you are in any doubt.

As I said before, I am a convert and by way of thanks I offer a plug to Drs Lorimer and Baraj’s publication High intensity Workout 2012, Dundee University Press. Now, where did I put my Wattbike? Time for some 10 second reps before I get the kids ready for ballet…..

BlackCat rider Stephen Swindley (PMR Toachim) is currently at University in Sheffield, combining his studies with some high quality racing. As a 2nd category (British Cycling categories – 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, Elite) rider he often comes up against Elite level riders (Sheffield and surrounding area is a traditional hotspot for cycle racing in the UK). Stephen doesn’t feel daunted by this, recognising that he is on the way up and has the talent and determination to go higher. A consequence of improvement is going into another pond with bigger fish…..mentally this can be where athletes from all disciplines “break”. If you are used to winning or being in the front of the field all the time, then you suddenly meet someone who gives you a kicking it can be very poor for motivation! To illustrate the point, back in the early 1990’s I sold a track bike to a rider who was a very good time triallist based in the South West. He had ridden a very fast 10 mile TT course through the Savernake Forest  many times and was used to winning club and open events. He informed me that the last time anyone had caught him in a time trial (for those of you who don’t know, riders start at 1 minute intervals and are seeded so the fast riders tend to catch the slower ones: Alex Dowsett once caught this particular coach in a 25 mile TT – he started 13 minutes behind me…..)  had been 10 years previously. That was until a certain Mr Chris Boardman turned up in his run-up to the Hour record and produced a blistering ride, catching him for 4 minutes!! He still couldn’t quite get over this….

Another consequence of racing regularly is the advent of crashes and punctures – another of my clients Jo Van Velzen (Deal Tri) felt her spirits deflate along with her tyre at a circuit race this Saturday. Jo has an impressive pedigree in Dutch national level swimming, though, and has a stoic but determined attitude to temporary setbacks. That’s the thing with setbacks, they are only temporary. Take Nick Saunders, another client who made his racing debut this weekend. An extremely windy day and very strong field meant that it was difficult just to stay in the bunch – as soon as any accelerations come  you have to be in the right place and react quickly.  Nick was doing both of these things well but made a decision not to close a gap and became detached from the group. A moment’s inattention and that’s it when the bunch is travelling at 27-28mph. Nick recognised this – his email feeding back to me showed that he had analysed his performance and was going to learn from his mistake. Oh, and determined? No he didn’t climb off when he was dropped, he rode until other dropped riders came up (and there were lots) then raced with them. He still got his workout and didn’t miss the training. And if this happens to you in your first race? Finish if you can, do this and you beat the quitters. And if not? then the next day or the day after get back on your bike, train and as you do this look objectively at what went wrong. formulate a plan for next time and brush the incident under the carpet. Stephen has suffered a crash, as you will read, but he is back training and has shrugged it off.  Both riders are shown here and both photos, in different ways, represent the realities of cycle road racing. In fact, of all competitive cycling. Actually, when you come to think of it, of all aspects of life!

“Hi Tim,

A bit of an update on the last couple of weeks racing.

Tameside 2/3/4:

I went over to Tameside in Manchester last Sunday (7^th April) for a Cat 2/3/4 criterium on a new circuit about 1k long with a few sweeping corners and a hairpin. Weather on the day was very still and mild. I attacked on lap 1 taking one guy with me, he wasn’t up to much so I was pretty much on my own. I was holding the bunch at about 10 or 15 seconds for the first 10mins or so, before a surge brought them back to me. I tried numerous times to get away but unfortunately there were too many guys in the bunch content to bring it to a bunch sprint aided by the lack of wind, making it very easy when in the wheels. I was reasonably well placed on the final lap but clipped my pedal on the second last corner, I stayed upright but my chance of sprinting had gone. Rolled over 18th.

Varsity TT:

The varsity time trial was held Wednesday the 10th, 12 miles through the peak district with long stretches of downhill but also one fairly steep 1.5 mile climb (I think around 8% average). The weather was pretty mild with a light southerly breeze meaning a head/cross wind for almost the entire route. I caught my minute man after about 3 miles, I was flying along the flat and downhill sections but laboured up the climb having to go down to 39×28 on the steepest section! After the climb was a long descent to the finish during which I span out the 11 and caught two Sheffield Hallam riders. I finished in 31:38 (22.7mph average) – this was only good enough for 6th place, which was quite disappointing. However,  only 34 seconds separated me from the winner (Tom Stewart),  a strong elite rider who won the Maureen Baine Memorial Road Race a couple of weeks ago. Also in my defence two of the guys ahead of me had TT bikes and another two had aero bars.

Darley Moor:

I got the train down to Derby again yesterday to do an E/1/2 at Darley Moor. The weather was mild again but with strong winds which play havoc as its a very exposed circuit. A strong field turned up with the likes of Dean Downing amongst them. For whatever reason the legs felt a bit lethargic I missed the main break, got in a chase group but I folded on the crosswind section only about 20m off the back of the break, just not having it in the legs. Downing won the race.

Sheffrec Spring RR:

A shortened national B road race (100km). The weather, although mild, was incredibly windy. On the way to the HQ from the train station I was grinding along the flat in 39 x 24 at times and nearly got blown off the road! A very strong field turned up – Dean Downing was there again, Herbalife, Metaltek, Sportscover, Altura etc… The course was flat but very exposed –  18 laps of a 4km triangular loop, with two crosswind sections and one tailwind. The race started hard and splintered immediately on the first crosswind section. My legs were feeling a lot better than yesterday but I was caught napping in the bunch while two breaks had formed up the road. I attacked on the tailwind section and managed to bridge to the second break. We proceeded to ride eyeballs out for about 50km and managed to bridge to the front break eventually. However a number of riders attacked as soon as we caught them and stayed away. I spent the second half of the race really suffering, although we kept it nice and steady for the last few laps. I cramped up in the sprint coming home I think in the top 20. The race was won by Tom Bustard of Herbalife who went clear from the front break with two laps to go and soloed it – an incredibly strong ride.

Racing didn’t go quite to plan last weekend! I noticed on Friday evening that there was a circuit race only 20mins away from me in Sheffield so I decided to do that as well as the 2/3/4 on Sunday. Unfortunately I crashed! It was quite a twisty circuit and I decided one such twist should be taken at 30mph, whilst two guys in front of me were thinking more along the lines of 20mph and swerved off their line. Strangely, my bike was totally fine, with the only scratch being to my saddle. I was a bit less fine, had to make a little trip to hospital for some bad road rash on my hip, a little notch out of my elbow and shoulder/elbow bruising, don’t think I broke any bones though!”

Won’t be too long before you’re racing again Stephen!