only CX race of the year

Decided to race the last CX race of the year on the Alberta circuit.

Figured I'd rock the hard tail. Wow that thing is fast but not as fast as cross bikes unfortunately. I will be doing some MTB races early next season with the main focus still being on Road.

Back to training in the off season & seeing how fit I can get!

I hope some of our Alberta boys crush other riders at Cross Nationals & get themselves on the podium!

Jevro

Off Season

Off season is upon us. For me that will mean working harder than I have in the past winter off season.

As cross season is about to start my energy levels are finally back to normal. Got a hard tail mountain bike that I have been rocking a lot in Fish creek. Good to get out & crush some miles without a dedicated training regime in place.

I won't be racing any cross this year as I want to re-start my training program at the beginning of October. Laying a E1/E2 base from October-January I think will really set things up when intensity starts in February.

Had a great chat with the coach for off season plans & 2012 goals to try our best to achieve.

Looking forward to putting my head down & starting up a larger volume based program.

In the meantime it's riding the hard tail & trying to watch a few cyclocross races here & there.

End of the season

Since Devon I was on a big high feeling strong & confident going into Cat3. I had already achieved 2 of my 3 goals for the season which were winning a race & getting into Cat3. My body unfortunately wasn't ready for the 3rd loftiest goal of getting into 1/2 before the end of the season.

The plan after Devon was to go back into a build phase & be ready to throw down in Cat3. My body ended up in a serious hole that I couldn't get out of despite recovery & top ups on vitamins & rest. I was flat. No power to the engine room was left. I had raced more this season than I ever have yet in Triathlon/Cycling. Even though I was listening to my body & trying to be careful with recovery the intensity had caught up to me. I ended up taking chunks of training days off just to try & bring my body back to equilibrium again. This never really happened & I gave Tour De Bowness a chance to maybe salvage any form that was left for the season.

The road race was 132km in the Cochrane area & although the weather wasn't blistering hot it was enough to bonk my already flat form. On the beginning of the third lap I made a gutsy call to bridge to the 5 man breakaway up front & thought this might be the final selection. The peloton reintegrated shortly after & the race turned bad to ugly for me from there. I started to bonk & became dehydrated & the body started to cramp. Although consuming calories & fluid regularly throughout the race this obviously wasn't enough. I got dropped by the main group on the final hill with serious cramping & clawed my way back on the flats. Tried bridging to a group ahead of us & this ended up being my last match. Ended up reintegrating with the peloton & got popped again on the last hill leading to the finish.

The next day the hill climb went much the same followed by the crit the next day. No power, flat as a pancake & watching the race with no top end power left in the tank.

In summary I went from feeling strong & confident leading into Cat3 to feeling weak & vulnerable ending my season. Not a feeling I wanted however I hope this is a learning curve for the future.

I know I can be strong but have to recognize each athletes body responds differently to all types of intensity in different amounts. I have to recognize that my body was extra sensitive in the ladder part of my season & make future adjustments.

This was a year of accumulating points & next season will be better planned out with races being spaced more appropriately from each other.

I am excited for the off season & will be doing some running & swimming & just general relaxation. Heading to Kelowna with the girlfriend on the 19th to watch the ITU National triathlon championships & catchin up with Birdman.

Devon GP

I was able to race the Devon GP the following weekend which consisted of 4 stages with an overall GC.

First stage was a short 2km prologue through the town of Devon. It rained earlier in the day so the roads were somewhat slick. I pushed it on the straights but played it relatively safe in the corners finishing 4th in Cat4.

Second stage was a 16km TT & was able to take the win. It was a relatively flat course with pretty balanced wind conditions. Not too much of a tail wind nor head wind. Starting to realize that the Time Trial can be a strength for me & I need to be riding the TT bike more.

This gave me the lead in GC which created some nervous energy. Crashing in the Velocity Road Race with GC lead was still somewhat fresh in the mind. Had to shake the nerves.

Third stage was a crit in the town of Devon which had a few time bonus prems during the race. I decided to compete for the prems knowing that this was probably eliminating my chances of the final sprint win. Ended up 6th place & kept GC.

My legs were not feeling great at all for the beginning of the fourth stage which was a 90km road race. The hamstrings were really tight so I knew I didn't want to gamble on a sprint. Early in the race was at the front feeling the presence of riders waiting for the chance to mark GC leaders. I eased up when a few riders went off the front as I was in the mood for some strong accelerations throughout the race. before the 30km mark I attacked the group approx half a dozen times trying to bridge to the 3 man breakaway. I was successful but by the time I got there the group was cooked. The peloton came back together shortly after. A few riders surged on a downhill section into the valley & I tried going with them to see if any separation would occur. Peloton stayed together & we all ended up climbing out of the valley in a large pack. A few good rollers were up ahead before the turn around & there were already 2 riders that had attacked up ahead. Patrick an Independent rider attacked to bridge & I went with him as we rode up to the 2 riders. We caught the break which were Isa & Dave H & we had a 4 man break at the turn around. Patrick & myself immediately took up the pace making as we saw the peloton was strung out at the turn around. In doing so Dave H played his team tactics of shutting me down in the race by disrupting our 4 man paceline. With this disruption 4 other riders caught us which brought the break away to 8. I attacked a few more times to see if we could get some separation but the break stayed together. The hill back out of the valley dropped Lance Adamson with Juventus, Dave H & Isa with PRW & we were down to 5 riders. I sensed a bit of fatigue from Chris H so I launched another half a dozen attacks once our 5 man selection was made. I was hoping he would get popped & his other teammate would be inclined to pace his GC man back up. Was almost successful but the group ended up staying together until the end. With all the attacks throughout the day I didn't have an enormous sprint but enough to take 2nd place & 1st in GC.

The GC win this weekend felt really good as I worked tremendously hard trying to force a break in the RR & it finally played out that way. Isolating riders in a break is something I feel will be a strength in the future.

Coach AKA Big Boss Man Jack VanDyk is putting me into another build phase before the upcoming Tour De Bowness stage race late July & Jason Lapierre race first week of August.

Congrats to all other racers this weekend & thanks to the Volunteers & town of Devon for hosting a great race.

Banff Bike Fest

Raced the Crit & part of the Road race at Banff Bike Fest last weekend.

Weather was very rainy made it quite dangerous for cornering.

The crit was a fast pace with a hairpin turn in it. This turned out to be a playground for sketchy riders causing mayhem each lap. lines being cut off, brakes being used like drug fiends. Just an abundance of sketchiness for the crit. Managed to finish safely in 5th place. It was a dangerous race but good to see what the crit peloton is like in the rain.

Road Race was a 6 lap course around Tunnel Mountain with the end of each lap being a very wet descent into downtown banff. Tried bridging up to two other riders early On in the race but was reeled back in by the peloton. Had to recover at the back of the group for the remainder of the lap while a 4 man breakaway was able to make some ground on the group. Since the Cat 3/4's were combined this race it made for the largest peloton (50+ riders) I've experienced yet. Was good experience. on the 4th lap I tried bridging to the breakaway again hoping someone would come along & it wasn't happening. Instead RMCC waited for me to tire & then one of their riders launched off on his own. I think he ended up bridging to the group which is quite impressive. I didn't have the gas to go on my own & ended up back in the main group again to recover. Flat rear tire shortly after & my race was done.

Being able to experience a few races in the rain in a large group with fast speeds & a tricky descent was valuable for me.

Hopefully Devon GP & Canada Crit coming up on the schedule.

inching closer & closer to Cat 3...

Slick video

Compliments of our veteran teammate Dallas Morris.

Top Gear RoAD Cycling Team. from dallas on Vimeo.

Ride With The Coach

Great Shot of our Top Gear/Road Team

Yesterday my Coach Jack Vandyk & I pre rode the Banff Bike Fest courses for 2011's upcoming races.

Jack has really helped me develop a strong base in the off season & continues to develop my riding ability into the race season. We have a longterm plan & I'm excited to see what the future brings.

The Tunnel Mountain road race will be a great race with some good rollers & a couple of somewhat challenging hill sections.

I will be racing the cat4 criterium & the Cat 3/4 road race coming next week. As Jack says try to keep the ponies in the barn until the time is right.

Pigeon Lake Road Race

A frustrating race to say the least.

111km 4 lap road race.

Got away with an ERTC rider in a break but the pack turned it up & we were caught within 2-4km

Beginning of 3rd lap got caught up in a "no where to go" situation with a crash in front of me. Ended up slamming my adams apple on some guys rear wheel so hard feels like I have strept throat right now.

Got in a few other surges off the front which didn't end up successful.

Tried soloing away from the pack on the 4th lap but shut down as well.

Uphill sprint to the finish didn't have enough juice ended up 6th-7th.

Burnt all my matches before the finish when my plan was to chill out.

Pretty upset with myself right now.

Oh ya to top it all off ABA apparently ruled me as a DNF so am not eligible for any points.

Awesome.

Back to the drawing board.

Jevro

Velocity 2011- Bitter Sweet Sensation

Velocity consisted of a TT/Crit/RR over a 2 day period.

I was able to ride strong for the short TT circuit & take the win & overall GC lead for the first event.

In the crit I wrestled with trying to protect my GC by marking riders & also trying to remain in contention for a potential podium. Ended up burning too many matches & placed mid park with GC lead in tact.

Road race was vicious. 4 laps 90km total with horrendous cross winds & head winds that took a toll on all Categories today.

Being the only Top Gear/Road racer in cat4 this weekend I had a difficult time protecting GC & remaining in contention for the win.

It seemed as though I was being marked by certain teams in the group that waited for me to make a play. A few breaks tried to get away in the first 3 laps but were shut down by the pack.

the main pack allowed (Maybe I'm wrong) a 5 man group to pull away on the beginning of the 4th final lap. Trying to be disciplined I watched them drift ahead thinking that the wind would be too much. If it wasn't hopefully they wouldn't be to far away for me to bridge to them & then make a final attack.

They ended up gaining time on the group & I realized I was in a real dilemma. Attack to bridge & get caught or get away. A synergy rider had already tried bridging & was between the peloton & the breakaway. I waited for the cross/tail wind section to start which was about half way into the lap & I attacked. I was able to bridge to the synergy rider & then we pushed the pace to try & stay away.

We passed a few guys who popped from the break away & it looked as though we would be racing for 3rd/4th place.

I took the final turn which would lead to an approximate 1.2 kilometer cross windy section to the finish & when I was just about to finish the turn a cross wind gust seemed to of caught my 808 rear perfectly & I flew into the ditch.

Some roadrash & some psychological struggles I was back onto my bike for a very disappointing solo ride to the finish. I'm sure I got bounced out of Top ten in the GC with the crash as a bunch of guys passed me.

Overall I am happy with the performance this weekend. Protecting GC even in a cat4 race with no teammates is no easy task. I am learning that this can be a daunting responsibility & difficult to balance if you want to win races as well as GC.

Learning about wheel choice with strong cross winds & maybe thinking a clincher is better than a tubular in road racing for braking is another good lesson. Aluminum braking surface may be the best way for better control especially in crits & Road races.

All in all not sure if I earned enough points to move into Cat3 but we will soon find out.

If not keep trucking in Cat4!

Wildcat roubaix

Wildcat Roubaix was a very difficult 50km race consisting of close to 18% grade gravel hills & plenty of other difficult rollers.

Dallas Morris hosted a great event that turned out to be an incredible sufferfest for all who participated.

It was a group start for the open A/B Men/Women as the total field was only around 40. Great turnout for the first race!

A lead break away quickly formed at the first climb which happened to be the KOM consisting of Shawn Bunnin, Troy H & 2 other strong riders.

I raced tempo with Top Gear teammate Craig Fraser along with Speed theory Trev W. & Synergy's Mark M. & other fellow riders to try & bridge the gap. I was able to latch onto an independent rider trying to bridge to the breakaway & we were able to bridge starting the final lap. I wasn't able to recover quickly enough at the back of the group & with rollers ahead got dropped by the now 5 man breakaway.

Ended up working well with Trev W. & Craig D. all the way up to the final big hill.

Trev gapped me near the peak but I was able to close it down near the top & nipped him in a sprint finish.

6th overall no ABA points but this race helped set the tone for the beginning of 2011.

Thanks to Dallas & all the volunteers for making this race happen!

Quotes From Cavendish

Passion was the difference between riding at 100 percent & 110 percent. Passion allowed you to suffer through pain. Passion was emotion, not science; racing, not performance. Passion was what separated me and dozens of more talented lads whom I was beating and would continue to beat.

I had two things he couldn't plot on a graph: passion & ability to suffer. To me, there was no limit. There was no universal rule of cycling except that the bloke who rode faster won the race.

Time To Step It up in JB's absence

Over the weekend athletes & friends of Jon's wished him the best as he embarks on his Olympic journey. He heads off to Maui for a 3 week training program & will continue his training at the NTC in Victoria.

Jon & I met about 3-4 years ago when I needed some swim guidance. I contacted him & he suggested I come out for a few sessions to work on my swim technique. From that point we developed a training/coaching/mentorship relationship that has become a strong & valuable friendship.

We also took an a very challenging goal of riding our bikes from Penticton To San Diego with a month deadline to complete. This is the type of trip you remember for the rest of your life. A trip that pushed us to the limits physically & mentally but ultimately this has led to a better understanding of eachother & in turn a stronger compatibility as friends & athletes.

I wish him the best in his endeavors to compete with the best triathletes in the world.

In his absence I strive to pick up my level of motivation & intensity that the Birdman brought to every coaching session & training ride.

Onwards & upwards trying to stay injury & illness free as race season slowly approaches!