Today the cannondale pro cycling hit the Tarmac for it's 1st race ever as a team. It's is an extra special moment for me as it marked my return to the team I have dreamed since beginning my cycling adventure to be apart of. Despite my year away I have seemed to slot straight back into to the fold and today was a great reminder of what a special team cannondale pro cycling really is. I still have to pinch myself everytime i pull on the cannondale jersey to remind myself that being part of the team is more than just a dream. The name is new but the staff and riders that made liquigas and the bright green jersey so famous still remain and have ensured the family atmosphere has continued.
The city critirium raced tonight is not officially part of the tour down under, but serves as a great warmup for the European riders to blowout some cobwebs and that lingering jet lag following there journey from the euro winter to our scorching summer. Without a designated sprinter the objective for myself and my 6 teammates was simply to role around in the bunch and give the legs the opportunity to feel some of that all important race rhythm.
Not surprisingly the culture so instilled in the team was immediately evident with us all moving as one though out the peleton. This is somthing that comes naturally for the team and with the all important tour down under beginning on Tuesday, this team work was an important box to tick to set us up for the challenge that lays ahead next week in the Adelaide hills. It's a special feeling for me moving in the peleton with this team. Not only is it easier to move as a group compared to alone but for me it also makes me feel save. That feeling that you can trust your team mate in front of you to guide you where you need to be and knowing that there will also be a team mate behind placing equal trust in you and ensuring your safety aswell.
The race itself went to it's usual script. A small breakaway which the peleton let dangle of the front for 3/4 of the race before slowing cranking up the pace to warp speed giving the fast men a chance to flex there muscles in a bunch gallop. The big German bull Andre grieple duly won the stage he was odds on favorite to win and the rest of us were treated to 1hr of speed and agility training while his lotto team and all the other sprinting teams did all the hard yards cranking out the pace on the front. The speed was pretty impressive tonight and consequently gave me a great opportunity to test out my cannondale evo at race tempo in and out of corners and through the bunch. Having sent plenty of time on the training track I was aware of how responsive and agile the bike was under those conditions but to feel how comfortably it moves you around the peleton at speed was something else! The evo is as comfortable as sitting in a lounge chair and I quickly realized that I was saving a huge amount of energy compared to normal simply by being aboard such a well designed bicycle. In and out of corners, in and out of the saddle, on the brakes , accelerating, you name it this bike seems to just move as one with you. So I must take this opportunity to compliment the cannondale tech gurus for building such a magnificent office for us riders.
So the season is now underway. The atmosphere within the cannondale camp is one of excitement and great anticipation for what the season will bring. The name has changed but the soul well and truly remains. This team is a family and we all can't wait to get our teeth suck into the 2013 season.
Cjw
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Sunday, January 20, 2013
Saturday, September 22, 2012
China 2 stage 5
Bombed out big time today. I had been so so confident going into todays 18km individual TT and this in the end proved to be my downfall. I ultimately finished 5th on the day and dropped to 4th on GC and am very very disappointed in wasting such a golden opportunity.
I had everything mapped out and plan in place to ride the exact time and speed I felt would be enough to win the stage and the race. In the end it would have been more than enough but unfortunately it was not me who performed it. Stefan shumacher defended his lead by proving he was the strongest man in the race of truth and winning todays TT.
For me all went perfect in my preperation and I arrived on the start line supremely confident. My warmup which I have completed so many times before went perfect and I was ready to rock and role. I started great and it all felt so easy. I was immediately a couple of kmph above the speed I planned and was having to hold back my enthusiasm to keep a lit on blowing my engine. I could immediately see that I was gaining quickly on the 2 riders ahead of me and assumed I was most likely putting time into my greatest rival shumacher in the process. In the absence of race radios our team director and I had devised a plan using the car horn to keep me updated on shumacher relative to me. Pretty simle, 1 honk was I was pulling away and 2 honks he was closing. Just as I started to settle into a perfect rythm and confident I was flying into the race lead I got a 2 honk when I had been exppecting 1. This immediately changed my mindset and confidence and while I could still clearly see I was closing on the 2 riders ahead of me to the tune of taking 20seconds out of them in the first 8km, shumacher was not following my script and was surprisingly closing. This was where the wheels feel completely off. Instead of relaxing into my comfortable fast rhythm I was now on edge and pushing the fraction harder than I knew or wanted to and was no longer racing my race. The 2 honks continued and I started to concede that if he was closing I had to except he was stronger and simply start to conserve in a bid to hold my own position of 2nd on GC. This seemed a relatively easy task considering I had taken 20-25 seconds out of the 2 riders directly behind me within the first 10km.
By half way I was completely puzzled and no longer racing my own race. I knew I was going quick but was demoralized that shumacher was apparently closing in on me. With the u turn it gave me a chance to see for myself exactly how close to me he was. To my surprize I was 15 seconds ahead by my rough calculation however It was a pretty accurate calculation give or take a few seconds. So now I was really confused and could understand why chris kept telling me I was down when I was clearly up at that stage. After this the wheels continued to fall off as the fatigue of pushing slightly harder than I knew I was capable of in the first half was beginning to take its tole. It not easy pushing a rd bike at 50kmph on the flat rd and 15min into the race I had averaged around 450 watts so I was certainly at my limit of capacity for an effort like this and to be able to pull it off I not only needed my body to be in perfect shape but most importantly my head which had gone from concentrating on what I was doing to thinking about everything else around me that I had stupidly allowed myself to worry about.
I pushed on and started rapidly loosing power and speed. I was now down around 46kmph and nudging closer to 45's and 44's instead of the 50's I knew I had to maintain to win. Still I maintained a big advantage over the riders ahead of me while chris kept honking his horn 2 times to remind me shumacher was coming. This was starting to really bug me as I had seen with my own eyes that it was not the case however as I was starting to suffer I assumed now he most probably was closing fast. At 5km to go I had my expert teammate in timing joris balit from switzerland!! To do some time checks and let me know where I was at at what I believed would be the most crucial part of the TT, the final 5km run to the line. I knew joris would be spot on with his time checks so I was confident I could believe in time check. As I passed he let me know I was 15 seconds up which I knew was about the amount of time I was ahead of the riders ahead so figured he was just telling me that but it turns out he was telling me I still had 15 seconds on shumacher which he had calculated with the use of a friend a km down the rd helping out. Talk about swiss precision!! As expected joris had not let me down but by this point I had well and truly let myself down and joris said he could see it in my face. He could not understand why I looked so defeated and did all he could to enthuse me as I went past but it was 2 late. He had seen me pedaling so perfectly as it felt in the first half when I passed him but now where I needed to hit the turbo I was dropping the anchor and visibly coming to a grinding holt.
At this point with 5km to go I was fastest by 15 seconds and in the virtual lead of the tour by 10seconds but I had already lost the race to what turned out to be my biggest rival, myself. If I had been more alert and focused on joris's time check which I knew I could trust and realized I was infact in this position as planned who knows how I would have approached that final 5km. I am pretty sure knowing your winning the tour would have a bit of a mental impact on you and boost which at this moment I desperately needed. In this case however there was to be no miracle. The wheels had well and truly fallen off. I continued to loose power and lose speed coming to the realization that I pushed to my limit and believing i was being still beaten by a stronger rider and was in survival mode. Even though it was not actually the situation and I was actually still on track to achieve exactly what I had set out to do 5km before this thought was long gone. As I slowed my rivals all sped up as I knew I needed to do to win the race. In the all 3 riders, the 2 infront and schumacher behind would take between 25-45 seconds out of me in the final few km and I was all of a sudden dropping completely off the podium into 4th and had blown a golden opportunity.
I reflected a lot and knew it was all my own undoing. I had made the fatal error of taking the focus of myself when I knew all was going perfectly with myself but allowed the honking of a horn to completely change my focus in the race. In chris's defense he said they found it difficult to take time splits of trees looking a minute behind them in the rear view mirror. He said they were doing there best but not really sure exactly what was going on. In reality it was dum of me to even suggest using such system and even dumber allowing it to dictate how I raced considering I felt I had a full proof plan anyway. I was confident I could win the race and did not need any more information than that. I needed to simply execute what I knew I was capable and when things got tuff which they do for eveyone use some mental strength to stay within my own body and push through and execute my plan. I have blown a great opportunity to win a race in the circumstances I always dreamed I could win one. Start the final day TT in a perfect position and ride into the jersey. It was my first chance to make the dream come true and I let it slip. I simply choked in every sense of the world.
It is days like today that remind you how important it is to be not only be physically at your peak but mentally aswell. Whenever I have done my best races or sporting performances it has always been after using a sports psychologist which are hugely under rated or arriving at an event with a clear mental plan and not allowing any outside distractions to waver me from my path. Today this focus alluded me and the result was disastrous, it brings me to the very simple conclusion. No matter how good I think I am or confident in my condition I have to ensure I am 100% mentally on the money as well. I am not and have never been the athlete that can rock up to any old event and use natural talent to dominate a field. The simply explanation is because I don't have any natural talent. I have only ever performed at the highest level and achieved my best performances when I have perfectly prepared for an event, both physical and mental. I don't have a switch I can flick. Any results I will ever garner will come from a specific period of training and preparation and its as simple as that. I am sad it taken another spectacular failure on my behalf to reinforce a fact that I certainly knew deep down but just another little reminder that we are always learning! Its ok to make mistakes, we all do!! The most important thing is what you learn from it and do differently in the future to ensure it does not happen again.
Cjw
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Friday, September 21, 2012
China 2 stage 4
Same same but different was the order of today. Same race plan as previous days with same expected outcomes. And as it has often turned out in this race that is exactly what transpired. A break got away a little earlier than normal which gobbled up all the intermediate sprints preventing our "sprint machine" anwa manan from adding to his tally of points in the sprint competition. The stage was by far the slowest and easiest of the tour which meant a more chaotic sprint than normal was on the cards. This is a by product of a peleton full of fresh legs and all of sudden every tom dick and charlie fancy them as a sprinter and riders go absolutely everywhere. Its at these moments I simply take no risks and sit up and ensure I don't lose time and maintain my position on GC. The crazy sprint rendered me useless in aiding our "sprint machine" and "bundy bullet" in the final km however the craziness of it all meant that after a few more riders than they were comfortable with bumping into and off them they also aborted the mission and were simply happy to finish the stage with all skin intact. With that anwa lost his blue jersey however in his true flare and exuberant nature declared it "no problem mate" in his finest aussie accent and plans to have it back by the time the race wraps up on sunday.
So the day has finally arrived that I have been waiting for with anxious anticipation. A 18.2km test against the clock which will most likely decide the winner of the tour of china 2. I feel good and have had the luxury of saving as much energy as possible for the race of truth so will see what happens.
Time for a little shut eye
Cjw
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So the day has finally arrived that I have been waiting for with anxious anticipation. A 18.2km test against the clock which will most likely decide the winner of the tour of china 2. I feel good and have had the luxury of saving as much energy as possible for the race of truth so will see what happens.
Time for a little shut eye
Cjw
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Thursday, September 20, 2012
China 2 stage 3
Back to the racing and we had again some simple objectives for what has been a very simple race thus far. Firstly was to set up our "speed machine" from malaysia anwa manan for the intermediate sprints should the group be together. Anwa Is perhaps my favorite team mate I have ever had, just having him around cheers everybody up. While he could be describe as a little lazy by many I beg to differ!! He is just a true blue through and through sprinter. He want waste a single lick of energy he does not need to such as you will often need to knock on his door for about 10minutes until you either wake him up or he has decided that you must really need him so he will raise himself from his royal rest and greet you at the door!! He is without a doubt a great character and one guy I love racing with! In malaysia anwa is a serious sporting star thanks to being the only malaysian to ever win a stage of there national tour, le tour de lankawi which he achieved in 2010. Why is this significant well I will explain. He is the regarded as the fastest and greatest rider from malaysia. Here in the tour of china there is also his old team from malaysia whom are determined at every turn to try and steel the kings thrown. Where he goes they follow!! Look in tour of china 1, one day anwa 4, another malaysian 5, anwa 30 another malaysian 31st and so it goes through out each stage it is so funny to watch!!
So back to the race and having anwa fighting for the blue sprinting jersey which he now leads has many benefits. Firstly it gets our super hero up on the stage every day and him a chance to try his charm on the podium girls. Secondly by him going for all the intermediate sprints also means taking time bonus's. This is where it has an extra benefit for us as with me 2nd on GC we don't really want anybody putting any time into me before the penultimate day TT. So with anwa sprinting away that means all his little buddies from malaysia also are going hell for leather for the intermediate sprints and swallow up all the time bonus's!! Its great, anwa is the star and maintains his malaysian superiority and I can stay in 2nd on GC!
Our other plan today was to set anwa up for the sprint at the finish which finished 4th in, oh and you guessed it a malaysian safely tucked onto his wheel in 5th!! but after winning an intermediate sprint he took the lead in the points classification so great day all round. I remain in 2nd so another rd stage tomorrow where I expect much of the same and the race of truth arrives on saturday with the 20km individual TT which will most likely decide the winner of the 2012 Tour of China 2.
this race has also been containing a much more challenging component than the race itself, that been long driving transfers before and after stages and also on designated days of racing which we have had 2 off this week. On both occasions spending 7hrs in the car. And that is where I wright from at this moment, a 250km transfer which we have been informed will take 4hrs despite the fact we have a full police escort and 6 lane wide HWY all to ourselves. Like everything here in china, it makes EVERYTHING EXCESSIVE. Anyways best get back to work directing our mechanic risto whom is driving of picking our way through the convoy so we win the race after the race!! The one to the best spot in the bike mechanics work area!!
Cjw
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Sunday, September 16, 2012
My Dad
Other exciting news from the wurf cycling stable is that my dad today raced the world masters qualification event on the great ocean rd in victoria. In his age category which I regret to inform I have no idea what it was!! He placed a steller 16th out of 300 placing him easily inside the top 10% required in his category to qualify for 2013 world masters rd race in a yet to be announced location. Dad is very similar to me in his approach to cycling, a well suited engine which unfortunately gets used perhaps a little to much in training and consequently turning up to races and not seeing the same results as on the training track!! Fortunately this week which is coincidental as I experienced this aslo, we both came down with the flu and have had to go easy easy to be right for our respective events held today. Surprize surprize we both rocked up fresh as daisies and both performed at a level that is probably our better race performance we have ever done. Could be a good lesson in that!!
Anyway I am very proud of dad's achievement although it comes as no surprize he is going so well so soon after taking up cycling. Firstly he is fiercely competitive with his daily routine consisting of training before cross referencing his session with mine to see where he is at!! This is followed hrs of research on diet, equipment, race courses, training and often uncovering any information on my fellow competitors which he may deem to be usefull info for me. So not only is he a die hard for his own success but like he as always been he a great support and continued driver behind ensuring I get the most out of myself and keeping me armed with as much info and knowledge as possible to achieve it. Unfortunately he lives in queensland while I spend my time in tasmania so we can't train together but that is probably lucky as I am sure we would destroy each other constantly pushing ourselves that little bit further!! He is the perfect training buddy and dude to have in your corner so I am real pleased he has taken an interest in the sport I love and also now enjoying the success's of all his hard work and unrivaled dedication. He is an endless support in so many ways and it is great sharing the journey 1st hand with him.
I am sure with dads qualification for the world masters that his training and daily research will go to a whole new level as he looks to uncover all the 1%'s possible. I am just very fortunate that he does all this hard work for me and look forward to learning daily what he uncovers. Great stuff dad, look forward to seeing you take on the world in 2013. Now I need to get my backside into gear and get back on that national team to maintain the family standard!! Pressure is on!!
Cjw
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