After a busy promising week with a great day at Newport velodrome with bike science and aero guru Rob Barrett we got very good position on the TTE and learnt a lot and I'm looking forward to going back and trying a few things we didn't get chance to test on the day, it's a great way to test things in a stable environment and we got some constant data that showed the difference in the changes we made, so much so bike science Bristol are now offering a testing day at the velo as part of their extensive service which is great as it also gives me another area to explore future set ups.
I was feeling confident and ready , illness has gone and I'm feeling strong again and the tte was ready to roll out,that was until a broken front brake part put everything out as the part needed to be shipped and wouldn't get here in time.
Luckily I could fall back on the boardman 9.4 the only downside is being a shop test bike it's set up and ready for customers to test so I can't go taking out cranks ,extensions , bars etc etc to get it just right for me, that being the case I thought I would try something new and very low at the front for Sunday's race ( needless to say it was a disaster but at least I learnt something now rather than at a key race )
Looking at the forecast it was going to be wet,but I thought I would chance it and pray for a dry spot for my ride,on the road to the start it was savage,a lot of spray and foggy,I was thinking it might not be run until I seen a small figure emerging from the mist on the other side of the road, the rain seemed to clear for a short spell but it wasn't going to carry on and was soon raining hard again.
I started my ride already soaking wet from warmup hoping I would soon be back in the car and dry,I was again running without a power meter, I ride like a robot and have got so dependant on it that I am totally lost without it,people say listen to your body and the power meter makes no difference but when you train fully focused on it taking it away for a race is a bit like someone blind folding me spinning me around twenty times then sitting me on the bike and telling me to go for it.
It was tail wind out and I went out far to slow as I didn't even have the garmin on as in the rush I forgot to stick the garmin mount on so I really was riding blind as I could of got a bit of a indication of pace off of heart rate,I couldn't even make it back on the return leg as I was running out of leg speed on the fats way back on the 53t front ring, I finished and the legs felt like I had just finished a decent warm up not a 10tt, I knew I was going to be a lot slower than normal but In truth it was a disaster in my mind and a waste of a trip.
Looking back its a race in my legs,I learnt something from trying a set up that didn't work and found out I need to ride to data or at least just destroy myself on the way out and hold on for the return.
It's been a frustrating start to the year and looking back I should of just backed off if the set up wasn't spot on and trained instead of racing,it's really hard to jump on a bike totally different to everything you normally train on day in day out and be at your best,and I guess I can't expect to just jump on any set up and everything will be fine.
It's crazy as the form is there, the power is up everything is going great but I still have the thought of letting people down in the back of my head,it's at times like that the people behind you make the difference and put you back on the path,Matt assured me we are hitting all the targets and building strong and we are where we need to be for the bigger picture,and Andy has everything sorted on the bike side and we will soon be set up and rocking a rotor LT power meter to give me the data I need,and I'm going to spend some time in bike science riding the TTE on the turbo in the tt position until the brake parts are in and everything is just the way I need it .
If I've learnt anything this last few weeks it's to hold back until everything is right and focus on the big goals.
I guess learning the hard way is tough but it makes you stronger and push that little bit harder to get it right and despite a rocky start I'm feeling good and knowing it's going to be awesome when everything clicks.
The podcast which I recorded with Mark Florence at cyclingtimetrialpodcast.libsyn.com came out Sunday and man I sound bad with a cold, but it was great to have the chance to do something new and it was great to be asked to do it as a three part series over the year.
Next up is the R25/7 but we have decided that if everything isn't spot on we will just train on through and focus on the next race.
It's easy to forget how long the year is but we will keep building and learning until we get everything right,I have huge total faith in the people that support me so it won't be long before everything clicks and the ropey start is but a distant memory.
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