Day 3.... 4 and 5!

Day3: Brittany pulled out all the stops today to make it one hell of a tough day in the saddle! From the off it started raining and with a fairly stiff crosswind all day we were in for a fun one. I can keep this short because there isn’t much to shout about on my part as after about 60km I realized I had left my legs back in the hotel as the cold settled in. Before this I was going fine, up the front, followed a couple of moves generally comfortable but I was soon in trouble. I couldn’t tell you what happened in the second half of the race as I was either sitting just on the back (of what was a pretty well strung out peloton all day) if not I was just surviving in the cars. Twice I dropped back into the cars but made it back into the peloton before the final hill before the finish circuits on which I found the grupetto and rolled in for the last 25/30km’s eventually coming in 17minutes down but happy to have finished for the day. As it happens there was already a grupetto after about 25km’s in the crosswinds so I wasn’t even in the last group, and with 18abandons for the day you could tell the weather had taken its toll! Roll on tomorrow, more of the same apparently. The winner for the day was Laurent Mangel from the local continental team Besson Sojason, taking a solo win 22seconds in front of a small group, after which team leader Clement Mahé rolled in amongst the 2nd group at just over a minute.


Day4: After a rough day yesterday I wasn’t sure how I was going to be going today and had a slight fear of going pop early on if the cold had properly nailed me yesterday! However after a brisk start with a powerful break of four clipping away early on, things calmed a little as the teams hit the front too reel in the break. With mainly a head wind it was fairly easy to sit in and get the legs back. The stage today had six good KOM’s on which I found I was climbing fairly well. However after a short but very sharp climb our team leader was stuck in a split behind and I decided to hang around to give him a hand. After a hard chase back on with a few other riders we got back on to the back of the peloton but my legs were hanging. A small group of us were then gapped at the back of the peloton and another chase was on. We got back on to the back of the group again but just as soon as we hit a wall where the grupetto formed over the top and that was it for the day. Last 40/50km’s easy, or so I thought. I think some of the guys with me wanted to get home quickly.


Day 5: 170km today with a few good KOM’s thrown in for good measure. After a fast start I got myself across to a split of about 30odd and we soon pulled out a good gap but there were too many sitters on and the group split in 2 with Clement and myself in the 2nd half, the wrong half! After trying to close the gap and realizing it wasn’t going to happen we were swallowed up by the peloton and the chase was on straight away as there were some motors in the front group. After the last KOM at 100km in we hit the front with the gap at just under two minutes and gave a helping hand to the leaders team as we weren’t represented up front either. I re-found my legs that I had lost the previous two days and spent the next 30odd km with six or seven others and brought the gap down to 40seconds on the entry to the finish circuits. However while giving it some on the front, we caused some splits behind one of which included our team sprinter but we didn’t wait as he wasn’t feeling top. On the finish laps the sprinters teams took over and closed the gap but Jimmy Engoulevent attacked his breakaway companions and held his gap to the line with the sprint for second arriving on his wheel on the line. I finished cool in 41st position of what was left of the peloton and all in all had a good day on the bike. Promising for tomorrows 24km TT.

day 2

Day2: After being broken in fairly convincingly yesterday, I was in for a pretty tough stage two. My orders before the start were to get in an early break, or at least try which I had a couple of digs at, once getting away in a small group including Rob Hayles not long after the start, but nothing was sticking. The fat tailwind didn’t help affairs and kept the pace high with an average of 48.5kmh in the first 90minutes. Nothing gained more than 15 or 20 seconds on the small twisty country roads until about 80km in when two riders gradually pulled away. This called for a nature break in the peloton and their gap soon grew to a max of eight minutes. The Rabobank TGV hit the front and the pace was back on. Not long after someone turned the tap on and the skies properly. This caused a bit of mayhem including a big crash with at least 20 odd riders hitting the deck. Luckily I was a little way in front and just heard the carnage behind instead of seeing it… apparently not nice! He pace then remained high until the finish laps where the break still had about five minutes and looked set to take the stage. The finish circuits were up one side of the town and down the other… steep and twisty decent with lots of slippy white pedestrian crossings… not my forte. After losing it a bit on the downhill and then having to re-close the gaps on the uphill the legs soon gave way and i was quickly in the second group being passed by the cars and getting the order to ease-up till the finish. This allowed for a quick catch up for some of the GB lads in the group before we finally rolled in, 7mins down, with the break of two holding over three minutes by the finish! Chapeau. Tomorrow, lots of small country lanes, lots of wind and rain forecast… set to be another eye-opener. Just got to keep trying for the break to get the jersey on the TV, keep everyone happy. If only it was that easy.

Day 1

To keep this simple my end instead of doing 2 tour de bretagne blogs i'm going to copy and paste one i'm doing for a certain well known UK cycling mag on here too so here goes:

Day 1: New type of racing this Pro malarkey for me! Well it’s still pushing the pedals, but not like the big amateur races I’m used to. It was good to catch up with a few English faces today though as there is a composite GB team here with some old faces from junior years. Anyway… the race. Break of 5 went not too long after the start and then it was feet up for 60k’s where I was tempted to fall asleep from time to time! No, I soon woke up when the race ripped to shreds on a cross wind section and with a crash helping to split the bunch, I was in chasing in the 2nd split. We chased all the way to the finish making contact with the leaders about 5/6km out only for my legs to die while chasing splits at 3k’s out in the crosswinds. I went on to lose 1min20 in the final 3km to the front group of about 40/50 odd, pretty gutted to be honest! With only 3 cat2 (easiest apparently!) climbs today, it was a relatively flat fast stage leaving the wind to do its job, tomorrow though starts to gain some gradient with the finish circuits sure to do some damage with a nasty climb each lap. Legs up now, massage next, then dinner! O yea, the winner was Dennis Van Winden from Rabobank.

Quick update...

Just thought i'd drop in quickly to blab on a bit on how this weeks gone. Pretty sweet to be honest. Mainly because the weather has been spot on, tshirt, shorts and thongs today! (thongs as in flip-flops of course!) The weekend managed to pass quite quickly even though i wasnt racing, mainly because i could watch 2 local pro races on saturday and sunday. The first, Tour du Finistere starts and finishes in Quimper so was obliged to get out of my hovel and pedal up to meet the rest of the lads out on the finish circuits. The race itself was won by Dimitri Champion from the local conti team Bretagne Schuller in impressive solo style after attacking Voeckler (spelling?! sorry thomas) and co a fair few k's out.

Sunday, the Tro Bro Leon, was a case of legs up and watch it on the tele as it was about an hour and a half away from here, so after an easy 3hr spin on the TT bike and a quick top up of the tan lines (they're coming on a beaut now!) i sat back , cracked open a Bud (hahaha yea right, more like necked a delicious recovery shake and watched how its really done! The race is like a mini paris roubaix however instead of cobbles, they ride on mud/dirt tracks. There's about 24 in total and they made for some good watching, especially when a local training friend from Roubaix Lille Metropole took a pretty hilarious slow-motion tumble over the barriers into the field while trying to cut a corner too tight! He wont live that one down for a while!! The race was rapped up in a sprint finish, with the last breakaway rider getting passed at about 150metres to go, poor sod! Le Vainquer was a one Said Haddou.

The rest of this week has been spent on finishing touches with training before racing from saturday, with a rather hard session on monday and a trip today up to the TT course for the 6th stage. I equiped myself well with lots of directions on firstly how to find the start and then where to head out after that but i knew that it wasnt going to be straight forward! It just never is! To cut a long story short (i need to as i wanna go to bed) i managed to get lost in the start town Douarnenez which really isnt very big at all! and then when i finally found where it started i couldn't work out the first Km or 2! At one point i was heading down a mud path with bomb like craters dotted all over the place thinking .... this isnt a very good TT course... until the road ended abruptly and i nearly ended up riding into a farm barn... "think i went the wrong way back there".

After a few tries i was on the right track and proceeded to find my way correctly round whqt is going to be a testing but pretty fast circuit. Its based on mainly country lanes with a few main roads but the first few km's are mainly uphill so it'll be a case of pacing yourself early and then really winding it up in the 2nd half as it gets a lot quicker on the way back. All in all i think that i could go well there, however i dont expect any kind of real result given the company. We'll see!

Tomorrow i've got an easy rest day which ill spend packing before we head out at 4pm friday avo. I'm really up for it now, especially not racing this weekend it's given me more hunger to get back to speed. I'm sure after a few days of breathing out of my arse i wont be looking forward to the following stages as much but for the moment i can be excited!

11pm! Time for beauty sleep... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

p.s. this is one reason why everybody should do some sort of physical activity:

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

Stuff...

found another action shot of the horse in the peloton at the Circuit du Méné on monday! Big strong fella he was!

Also, the teams for the Tour of Brittany have been announced and are as follows:

BRETAGNE SCHULLER

BESSON CHAUSSURES SOJASUN

ROUBAIX LILLE METROPOLE

TEAM U NANTES ATALANTIQUE (amateur)

COTES D’ARMOR CYCLISME / MAITRE JACQUES (amateur)

S.C.O DIJON (amateur)

C.C NOGENT SUR OISE (amateur)

VENDEE U (amateur)

BREST IROISE CYCLISME 2000 (amateur)

VAN VLIET EBH ELSHOF (Pays Bas)

RABOBANK (Pays Bas)

TEAM CAPINORDIC (Danemark)

AMORE & VITA MC DONALDS (U.S.A)

JONG VLAANDEREN BAUKNECHT lotto- Museeuw bikes (Belgique)

JOKER BIANCHI (Norvège)

EQA-MEITAN HOMPO-GRAPHITE DESIGN (Japon)

C.C BOURGAS (Bulgarie)

LOTTO BODYSOL PCW (Belgique)

KATYUSHA CONTINENTAL TEAM (Russie)

EQUIPE NATIONALE D’ALLEMAGNE (Allemagne)

EQUIPE NATIONALE DE GRANDE BRETAGNE (Grande Bretagne)

BEVEREN 2000 / QUICK STEP (Belgique)

going to b a good one

Bad blogger!

Ok so i know i did a pretty pants job at updating while i've been away since saturday but .... actually dont really have a reason apart from never got round to it! Sorry!

ok so saturday was Circuit D'Armorique, 15 laps of about 8.5km circuit, pretty flat with a bit of wind to mix things up a bit. After what seemed like a personal photo shoot on the start line for Johan Le Bon (junior european/world champ) we set off ... flat out. On the second lap 4riders were just starting to pull away without a Bic2000 in it so to the front we went and put the hammer down to bring them back. After pulling off the front to take a breather as more riders got to the front, i dropped slightly too far back and while doing so a split of 19 formed just off the front and immediately pulled away. We had 3 riders up front but i was annoyed to have just missed the main move as they pulled out to a minute very quickly. I followed a couple of attacks in the next few laps but they were out of sight out of mind up front and with a big race the following day, many of the teams behind gave up the chase and pulled out. With 4laps to go i followed an attack by cedric hervé from cotes d'armor and with 2more tagging along, we clipped away to the finish. Knowing the race was already up we weren't really giving it full gas but in the last few km's of the final lap we were coming up on a group of about 10 infront. I just thought this was a group at a lap down however as we caught them just after the finish line i realised it was the 2nd half of the main break which had split in 2!! They were riding for 10th place and we came home just behind for 20th with me taking 22nd for the day.

Sunday was a trip over to Redon-Redon, the next of the early season Brittany Classics, and one of the last. 160km on rolling roads with light winds and a sunny day to top it off was on the programme. My orders for the day were to get in the early breaks so the team didnt have to ride until the finish circuits where the race would most probably be decided. So off i went from the flag and did my job. Nothing was sticking and after each try the legs were getting a little more frustrated! After about 60km, with everything more or less together, we turned up at the foot of a beast of a wall... about 5 or 6 hundred metres at over 15%. Over the top about 10riders had clipped off and looked strong with some big hitters in the mix... but no Bic2000... so on the front i jumped and gave a quick call down the radio for a little help with the chase and i had people breathing down my neck who were looking to slow down the chase in anyway possible. bastads. This meant twatting it on the front until anybody else came up the front. A few km's later i gave another desperate yelp down the radio for some help shouting the odd "putain" for extra effect!! This must have done the trick i think as eventually the reinforcements rolled up and lent a hand... finally! With a combined Bic2000 and Team WiloAgem chase the break gradually came back and soon after a counter went with Clement Mahe there for the guys in green. Finally, i could take the foot off the gas! The break stayed away right until the sprint where it was passed in the last few hundred metres... dammit! I pulled the plug in the sprint and rolled in mid-peloton to save what was left in the tank for tomorrow.

After a good meal and massage on sunday eve at the team digs, Laurent, Matthieu, Vincent, Gwenael, Enric and myself set out early monday morning for the 6km TT prologue. My start time of 9.03 was bad enough but when i rolled out to test the course in the cold mist at 8.15, i realised that i had left something very important back at the digs... my legs! I Headed back ad tried to get in a good warm up on the turbo but i couldnt get into it. I gave what i had in the 6k's but knew it was a poor time as i rolled across the line. I ended up doing 9min 12 with the winner (Vendee U rider - french U23 cyclocross world champ and junior cross world champ last yr) coming in with 8min15. 57 seconds over about 6km... that was pretty pants on my part! The afternoon started with the same legs as i had the morning but after sitting in confortably for the first 30 odd k's they started to turn for the better. The race then soon got very interesting as you can see in the photo below!!

It jumped out of its field as we were passing by and did the folling 5 or 6 kms in amongst the riders! It was pretty mad but some crazy riders didnt seem to realise that there was an f'ing big horse racing with us now as the rode up and down past it like it wasnt there! After causing a few splits in the peloton and nearly taking the King of the Mountains points, out unwelcome friend turned off and let us get on with our race.

About 10km before the finish circuits we headed up a stinger of a hill which ripped up the peloton, or what was left of it. A small group clipped off and i was in the 2nd chase group with Vincent and Gwen. Gwen was racing for the 1st time the weekend so had fresh legs and was feeling strong so i took some big pulls on the front and brought bridged us up to the front group. This made a group of about 30 with us 3 included as we hit the finish circuits (3 short but hard laps). After a lap or so another group behind with Laurent in came across and this is how we finished. There were 3 riders just off the front and our top finisher was Vincent in 12th, with myself coming in near the back of the sprint, pretty nailed to be honest! Racing against fresh legs with 3races already in mine made for a hard day but i was quite pleased with how i went.

Monday night me and matthieu stayed in a Campanile hotel (aka french travel lodge) with very good food in the form of a eat as much as you like starter and desert buffet which we obliterated! Then tuesday morning, Vincent, Clement, Ferjeux Beauny, Yvon (DS), George (mechano) and Ludo (masseur) joined to make up the dream team for the tour of brittany. (laurent would have been there but couldnt make it).

Tuesday we rode the 140km en ligne section for stage 4 which is going to be HARD! A constantly rolling parcours with a few big or steep hills with make for a hard day with the expected field of riders.

Then wednesday we headed out for a split training day with 2hrs in the morning and just over 2hrs in the avo ... in heavy cold rain for the 3rd stage. The atmosphere in the team is really upbeat and we have a really good group so all in all its looking really good for the tour and now its just a case of ticking over until we head down to Nantes next friday. I cant wait!

Frustrating race...

Going to keep this one short as there isn't much to say apart from that i wasted good legs on sunday! I did a bit too much early on by attacking and getting in breaks with nothing sticking then paid for it later on the finish circuits. I managed to help get matthieu in the winning break from which he got 3rd after going solo on the last lap but getting caught only a couple of k's out. I eventually got in a small counter and finished around 20th. A pants result from what i was capable of on the day. I still have a lot to learn!

Training this week is fairly light as i've got a big weekend ahead. I'll put some updates as i go hopefully if we have internet access at the hotels.

King Of The Mountains

I've added a new link on the left to the Best Cycling Holiday chalet in the alps in my opinion! Aptly named King of the Mountains and situated just up from Bourg D'Oisans in the sere region, it's run by Guy and Helyn who offer amazing food perfect for before and after a great slog up and down the best mountains the alps have to offer. I am a personal fan of the amazing home made Cakes!

I'm not sure if i still hold their guests Alp D'Huez time record but i did for a while and as i'm just working out when i can get down there for a training break during this season, i am already thinking of resetting that title!

The chalet is about 10/15km from Alp D'Huez and not far from most of the other well known beasts!

Check out their website for more info at http://www.kingofthemountains.co.uk/

Week of pain, little gain and a bit of McCrap!

This week started with a cheeky pizza restaurant on monday night but with some interesting company; team mates for the evening were Matthieu and thibault from Bic, as well as a rider from Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Bretagne Schuller and also Roubaix Lille metropole, all local lads and training pals from time to time. This made for interesting table talk as recent races they'd just come abck from included Criterium International and Castilla-y-Leon with Leipheimer/contador mopping up the competition.

On the way home however, their professional attitude was put on the backburner for the eve as we rolled up at McDonalds as they wanted to get a quick McFlurry! Tut Tut! I however was the only one not to over some Mc Crap! ;-) (more of a KFC man to be honest!)

After our monday night antics, tuesday was pre-race day and 2 hrs were on the programme with 45mins behind the scooter tempo. However i was in a pretty grim state all round. Managed to pick up a cold after the weekend, and today it had moved to my head making me feel shite! Then when i headed out on the vélo the legs were non-existant! Smallchainring (aka granny ring) felt like churning 53-11 ... in non-cycling terms imagine a nice gentle stroll, but say a horse on your back! Felt something like this! Although the scooter effort did manage to loosen up the legs a bit making it not all doom and gloom looking ahead to wednesdays race.

Race Day: Rolling out today for the lads in green were Clement, Matthieu, Vincent, brothers Glenn and Yann and myself, making for a small but strong team or so we thought! The race started under warm blue skies but the the classic brittany wind was out in force again. From the start i knew the legs weren't great but still found myself following an early move before getting shelled on a hill before returning back to the calm of the peloton. I found my rhythm and started feeling gradually better when a break of 10/12 clipped off without any of us in it. This called for a quick jump onto the front and some pain to be dished out all round. As it turned out, we started chasing as we hit a long straight road with a nice cross wind so we were soon joined by Cotes D'Armor and Bretagne Schuller in trying to bring back the break while also splitting the peloton up behind. This quickly had an effect with the DS shouting down the earpieces to keep the hammer down and lots of people were getting shelled behind. One of the riders doing some huge turns up front was Lilian Jegou from Schuller, easily pulling through at 4or5 kmh faster than anyone else! So after bringing back the break we tried to keep the pace ûp but some of the groups came back together and more attacks started.

Later on after what can only be described as a wall (see photo... im somewhere a lot further back i think!) which we all slogged up, the race split to sh1t and the break of the day went. I was way too far back on the hill and could do nothing! However i attacked later on and ended up doing a 3up time trial with Matthieu and Yann Guyot from C-D'armor for the last 20km, nearly getting up to the break after closing down about a 45second gap however they pulled away in the last 5-10k's leaving us to finish between the front and the peloton for about 30th place! Not great! Again on my part i know where i went wrong in being way too far back as we hit the bottom of the "wall" and was catching up all the way after that!

An easy few days now before my first non-elite race of the season, a 1,2,3 cat race at Pontivy, home turf for Salva Vilchez and co, and a race which always gets a good field so should be a good race and hopefully if i stop riding like a plonker i can get the good result that i know i deserve!

Gotta go put the washing on!

Enjoy the sunshine (if its sunny where u are that is... lovely here, blue skies, 18degrees! sweeeeeeeet)

Tom