2018: The Year in Review

In 2018, I was reminded of a few things that I had started to forget. Namely, that increased performance does not always equal results, cycling is a frustrating game and sometimes, well laid plans do not work out. I shouldn't have forgotten any of those, but after a 2017 where I felt like nearly everything went right, it was wishful thinking to expect 2018 to be the same. I honestly feel like I was a better bike rider this year; lighter and more powerful across most durations...but the wins just didn't want to happen as much as they should. I will break up this year's review into three sections; highlights, lowlights and all of those second places. 

Highlights

This was a tough one but I have managed to come up with three:

Queensland Individual Time Trial Series - 5th
5th place overall in A grade was a result that any 45 year old should be happy with. I wrote an extensive blog post about the series HERE.

Masters Queensland Road Teams Series - 9th

I thoroughly enjoyed the series competing as a guest rider with the Wray Organic Trademark Racing Team. The field was 30+ years in age so many guys well and truly ten years and more my junior were in the mix. I ended up 9th on GC for the series and 3rd (Elimbah TTT), 4th (Warwick ITT), 5th (Warwick Road Race) and 5th (Gympie Road Race) on stages. I had good, consistent form across the three weekends. 

Charles Coin Memorial Road Race - 7th

7th place in Elite A in an extremely tough version of this prominent Queensland road event. As was the case with the Queensland Individual Time Trial Series, being 45 years of age, I had to be happy with that finish. Blog post is HERE. 

Lowlights

These were pretty easy to come up with!

Queensland Masters ITT Championships - 2nd
That sinus infection... It had been over three years since my dreaded sinuses had flared up that badly. Extract from my blog post about this:

They say things are not meant to be easy and on this occasion 'they' were right! If you know me, you know that I have struggled with sinus issues most of my life. I have had surgery previously to address some of these issues. Having said that, over the past few years I have been managing things quite well and have escaped with relatively few problems. So, a little less than three weeks from race day, I started to get a cold. No big deal, minor cold, let's see how it plays out. A few days later it becomes worse and (after having been here so many times before) I know I have two challenges in front of me. Firstly, to not have this cold go to my chest and secondly, to not end up with a sinus infection. Either of those could result in a huge problem for me and my ability to drop watts on a time trial bike. The good news is, the cold stayed off my chest (phew - no coughing). The bad news is, I woke up one morning at 3.30 am with the familiar pain in my face and teeth and knew I had an infection. Off to the GP I go for a course of antibiotics and with ten days until race day, I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Race day comes and it’s a routine I have been through scores of times previously. Unfortunately, I did not have a good day at all. I felt quite strong uphill but struggled to find any decent rhythm otherwise. You could see plain as day in my power numbers and heart rate that all was not right. I finished in second place with a 29 min 17 sec, a scant 3 seconds off the win. I was angry, frustrated and gutted... The last couple of months I had literally been in the time trialling form of my life and now a state title had slipped through my fingers because of a stupid bloody cold. Not happy...

Australian Masters Points Race Championships - 2nd

Another blog extract:

This would end up being an extremely frustrating experience for me. Apparently, there has been a rule change in masters points races, where the final sprint no longer carries double points. Unfortunately the program had not been updated to reflect that. Also unfortunately, riders who entered the track from the side of the track where Queensland were sitting, were not privy to the pre-race briefing which advised of this rule change. So I headed off thinking the final sprint was double points. Can you see where this is going? The event turned into a two horse race very quickly, those horses being Stuart Grieve from NSW and myself. Stuart held the lead the whole way, but I chipped away at the points and stayed close. I won the second last sprint and then checked the points and saw that If I won the last sprint (assuming double points) I would be Australian Champion. I dutifully put myself in the twilight zone for the last sprint, won it...and then was advised it was normal points only and I had in fact won...the Silver medal. Gutted..

Queensland Masters Road Race Championships - DNF

On current form on the day, I had every right to consider myself a good chance for a medal. Regrettably, you can't medal when you are laying on the bitumen. One third of the way through the race, my front wheel was taken out and it was all over. 

All of those Second Places

It was the year of being on the second step of the podium:

• 2nd: Australian Championships - Individual Pursuit (MMAS4, 45-49) 
• 2nd: Australian Championships - Points Race (MMAS4, 45-49) 
• 2nd: Australian Championships - Team Pursuit (Open Masters) 
• 2nd: Queensland Championships - Individual Time Trial (MMAS4, 45-49) 
• 2nd: Tour de Valley - Individual Time Trial - 72km - (MMAS, 40-49) 

I blogged extensively about the three national track silvers HERE.

It wasn't all doom and gloom though, with a couple of unexpected wins:

• 1st: Queensland Championships - Team Time Trial (Elite) 
• 1st: Queensland Championships - Madison (MMAS) 

So there you have it, a year that was at times frustrating and disappointing but also with some success and plenty of positives to take away. Bring on 2019!

Race Report: Queensland Individual Time Trial Series (Including Queensland ITT and TTT Championships)

Full credit to Cycling Queensland for introducing the new Queensland Individual Time Trial Series this year. It was a great addition to the calendar and I really hope they continue with it. For me, it was a big focus and would prove to be a bit of a roller coaster of form, weight and health. The series included four rounds:

• Round 1 - Moreton Bay (June)
• Round 2 - Sunshine Coast (July)
• Round 3 - Purga (August)
• Round 4 - Rosevale (September - this round doubled as the Queensland ITT Championships)

For overall points in the series, riders were graded A - D (I was in A grade) and there was also a masters age related time series, where  riders were given handicaps in terms of their time. I set myself a goal of a top ten in A grade for the series. To be honest, with some exceptionally strong time trial riders in the older divisions, I didn't take much of an interest in the masters age related time series at all.

Round 1 - Moreton Bay (21 km)

The first round certainly didn't go to plan. I struggled every time the road went skwwards and I ended up riding 30 min 44 sec which put me well down in the placings.

I wasn't very happy with this ride. I had been beaten by riders who I often finished in front of. I completed some analysis of my ride file and could see that (as I suspected) I lost almost all of my time going uphill. That discovery would be the kick in the arse I needed in terms of my diet and weight.

Some background... Since getting fit and racing again in cycling part two (the sequel), I had always raced well in the 85 - 86 kg range. I am not a 'big muscular' guy at all, but at 193 cm tall, there is always going to be some weight there. Since starting track racing two or so years ago, I have consistently been in the gym. This has not put a lot of muscle on me, but I can see the difference and now I find that I am racing well in the 87 - 88 kg range. Well I can tell you that at this particular race I was actually 91 kg. I had been very slack with my diet (especially at work) and had let myself go. It was time to sort this out by eating clean, eating smart and becoming a lean time trialling machine!

As there had only been one round, the placings from Round 1 were obviously where I stood overall in the series:

Weight:	A Grade Position:	Masters Position:	A Grade Series:	Masters Series:
91 kg	12th	10th	12th	10th

Round 2 - Sunshine Coast (30 km)

North Arm was a course that had some very hard hills in it and probably shouldn't have suited me. Fortunately though, at 87 kg I felt like I was flying when the road went upwards and I clocked a 42 min 55 sec ride to put me right up there; a vast improvement!

Weight:	A Grade Position:	Masters Position:	A Grade Series:	Masters Series:
87kg	7th	4th	8th	8th

Round 3 - Purga (20 km)

With good legs and now getting around the place at 83 kg, I was confident that this race was going to go okay. I managed a 27 min 22 sec ride which gave me a PB on the Purga course by well over a minute and was spot on a 44 km / h average speed. I still regard Andy Patten as the best and most consistent masters time trial rider in Queensland. He is a bit of a 'marker' for all of us masters guys and this was the closest I had ever gotten to him in a time trial (10 seconds off). This was looking great with one round to go!

Weight:	A Grade Position:	Masters Position:	A Grade Series:	Masters Series:
83kg	5th	5th	6th	5th

Round 3 - Rosevale (21 km)

This final round of the series would double as the Queensland ITT Championships. We all raced in our age divisions, but our times were transposed back into our relevant grades for points. I was in Masters 4 (45 - 49 years) and was pretty determined to win, after going winless all the way through the Masters 3 (40 - 44 years) division (5th, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd). 

They say things are not meant to be easy and on this occasion 'they' were right! If you know me, you know that I have struggled with sinus issues most of my life. I have had surgery previously to address some of these issues. Having said that, over the past few years I have been managing things quite well and have escaped with relatively few problems. So, a little less than three weeks from race day, I started to get a cold. No big deal, minor cold, let's see how it plays out. A few days later it becomes worse and (after having been here so many times before) I know I have two challenges in front of me. Firstly, to not have this cold go to my chest and secondly, to not end up with a sinus infection. Either of those could result in a huge problem for me and my ability to drop watts on a time trial bike. The good news is, the cold stayed off my chest (phew - no coughing). The bad news is, I woke up one morning at 3.30 am with the familiar pain in my face and teeth and knew I had an infection. Off to the GP I go for a course of antibiotics and with ten days until race day, I cross my fingers and hope for the best. Fortunately, because my chest was good, I never actually had a day off the bike at this time. I was sneaking in a forty-five minute spin on Zwift in the warm of the afternoon each day just to keep my legs ticking over. If you have ever had a sinus infection before you will probably be aware that some moderate exercise in the warm of the day can do wonders in terms of clearing your sinuses (I will spare you the gross details). 

So I get to five days from race day, with a program carefully designed by long time coach Mark Brady and we are confident we can pull this off. It was time to regather and try to make this happen. My weight was now 82 kg and this was not the time to push that issue any further. Given I had dropped 9 kg since the first round of the series I was happy to proceed as is. 

Race day comes and it’s a routine I have been through scores of times previously. Unfortunately, I did not have a good day at all. I felt quite strong uphill but struggled to find any decent rhythm otherwise. You could see plain as day in my power numbers and heart rate that all was not right. I finished in second place with a 29 min 17 sec, a scant 3 seconds off the win. I was angry, frustrated and gutted... The last couple of months I had literally been in the time trialling form of my life and now a state title had slipped through my fingers because of a stupid bloody cold. Not happy...

Series wise, I did manage to salvage something and took advantage of a competitor in front of me not racing on the day (sorry Gwynney!) and moved up to 5th overall. Given my original goal of a top ten, I was pretty stoked about this.

Weight:	A Grade Position:	Masters Position:	A Grade Series:	Masters Series:
82 kg	9th	18th	5th  😀😁	8th

The very next day, the Queensland Team Time Trial Titles were held on almost the same course. Darling Downs Cycling Club entered a team in the Elite category with included Tom Gough, Matthew Locker, Richard MacAvoy and me. One young gun and three masters riders. Tom had won the U23 title the day before and managed to win overall in the state series in A grade. He is a time trialling talent and the challenge for the rest of us was to hang onto his wheel. We managed to do just that and came away with the win in a time of 1 hr 16 min 25 sec (7 seconds ahead of Team Campos) for the 58 km. Believe it or not, this meant back to back wins for me, as I won this event the last time I rode it, which was in 1998 (only twenty years ago!) I still wasn't feeling 'right' in this race, but managed to get the job done with as much work as I could manage. It was a tough day out.

So there you have it; ups, downs, swings and roundabouts, all standard in the world of bike racing!

Race Report: Charles Coin Memorial Road Race, 19 August 2018

The Charles Coin is arguably one of the most important road races on the Queensland racing calendar. It is a course that suits me and one that I enjoy very much. Given that, I raced Elite A on the day, hoping that I could get in there and mix it with the young uns'.

So...128 km would normally be a tough ask, but with 40 km/h South-Westerly winds blowing and with gusts stronger than that, it was always going to be a battle of the cross-winds in the gutter. I wasn't to be disappointed and within the first 5 km of the race, with a howling cross-tail wind, it exploded. Fortunately, possibly due to me being a grumpy old man who has seen such conditions many times 'back in my day', I saw the bomb coming and at least prepared myself for it. I didn't have the legs, but I did have the positioning. 

By half way through the first lap the field had splint into the lead three, being chased by five (including me), being chased by another five, then everyone else in bits and pieces. The two groups of five did come together shortly after to make a solid chase group of ten.

So we chased, and we chased and we chased. It was all to no avail though and as our group shrunk down to six riders by the last two laps it was clear that we were racing for fourth and as long as I could hang on, I would sneak into the top ten.

But it didn't all go to plan from that point. It's pretty rare for me to cramp, but that is exactly what happened with 20 km to go. Luckily (and to be honest I don't know how), I had a little stretch, a big drink of water and a truckload of sugar and I managed to pedal through it and out the other side.

After that our group got all attacky on the way into the finish, leaving five of us sprinting for the scraps. I managed 4th in our group and 7th overall.

No doubt about it...this was one of the toughest days I have had on a bicycle for a long time:

Masters Road Racing and the Four Keys to Success

This article applies to Queensland masters road racing, which as a very general rule are two to three hours in duration on flattish or undulating courses. If you do any 'non-high level' road racing of about the same duration and course profile, then this article may be useful for you. When you head off for a Queensland masters road race, there are four things you need in your back pocket; endurance, strong power across the 1 - 4 minute durations, repeatability and a sprint. I am not going to get into specifically how to train for these four things as that information lies behind the DRP Coaching paywall :)

Endurance

This is not what you think. When I talk about endurance, I am referring to the ability to be strong and competitive across the duration of the race. This is the difference between hanging onto wheels and finishing in the main bunch vs. being able to actually take part in the finale. This kind of endurance is not the ability to ride for 5 - 6 hours at a steady pace; it is the ability to ride for 2 - 3 hours at a high Normalised Power. How high? If you want strong legs when it counts, then you need to be able to put out a Normalised Power that is at least your high Tempo Zone. So if your FTP is 250 watts, then you need to be able to put out a Normalised Power of around 215 - 225 watts for 2 - 3 hours. If you can do this, you will be ready, willing and able when it counts. Training Peaks' definition of Normalised Power is here: LINK

Power Across 1 - 4 Minute Durations

Most surges, bomb blasts, explosions (call them what you like) in Queensland masters racing are between 1 - 4 minutes. These can be attacks, surges in the cross winds, following an attack or a hill / climb (pretty rare to climb for more than 4 minutes). As a result, you need to be strong across those durations. If not, you will have a weak spot which can and will be a limiter for you. For example you might be strong at 1 - 2 minutes but then your power curve fades. If so, then a  3 - 4 minute surge in the cross winds is going to be the end for you. 

Repeatability

I bet many of the avid cyclists reading this article work really hard on their intervals. I also bet that those same readers enjoy a lovely little recovery spell between those intervals. Does that ever happen when you race? Afraid not. Those 1 - 4 minute efforts just mentioned need to be repeated with minimal or at best patchy rest inbetween. You need to drop those bombs again and again with sometimes almost no opportunity to recover. This is something that you need to train specifically for and this is an element of coaching and training that I think is vastly underdone. You see good criterium and track racers with excellent ability to repeat efforts and it doesn't happen by accident. 

Sprint

The reality is that the win in most Queensland masters races involves a sprint. You do see solo breakaways but they are not so common. Be it in a group of three or fifty-three, a sprint is an important part of this. It is not always about being a super quick sprinter either. If you have developed the endurance mentioned earlier, then often that translates into a strong sprint simply due to your freshness.

So there you have it; four things to work on if you want to improve your Queensland masters road racing (and other similar types of road racing as well). Good luck!

Making Clubbies Count

Food for thought...completely ignore this, take it on board, do what you like. This is written with my Coach's hat on and also in an effort to contribute to our team:

I have raced A Grade in Toowoomba for 6 years now and yesterday was the first time I have experienced a club race like 'that'. I am also pretty sure it is the first time I have seen all starters contest the finish (unusual). A disappointing and surprising outcome.

Let me break this down for you... club races (if you have bigger goals) have a specific purpose. That purpose being to absolutely blow your doors off, empty the tank and leave nothing out there. They differ from open or important races in that there is minimal strategy and very little conservation of energy. My memory of local A Grade is exactly that; an absolute bloodbath of attacks, surges, breaks and everyone flogging themselves into submission. Yesterday (regrettably) was negativity; chase / stop / sit on / chase / stop. I heard someone say after the race 'well what are you supposed to do when two riders are clearly stronger than everyone else?' The answer to that is easy; attack, chase, surge, counter attack, go over the top, go again. To be fair, some riders did at least try this a little.

My point here is that clubbies are a brilliant opportunity. A chance to put some absolute quality into a Saturday ride and I would say that for the majority of the A Grade bunch yesterday, that didn't happen. And before I hear 'sour grapes from Dean because he didn't podium' trust me I couldn't give two shits about a club race podium. My legs were ordinary before the race, during the race and even now, but I am satisfied with the work I produced (I was actually legless for the last few minutes - could you tell?)

Are you satisfied with your club race? And before you answer that question...if you 'failed to participate or barely participated' in yesterday's race until the last lap, then your answer should be 'no'. You missed an opportunity.

Please don't take any offence at this or feel insulted as it is not my intention to do either of those things. My intention is to make you a better bike racer. 

Zwift Rides and Races; finding some of the best spots to spend your indoor time

Anyone who rides with me or is coached by me knows that I am a huge fan of the indoor training platform Zwift. I just can't get enough of it! 

If you are new to Zwift, it may be difficult to navigate your way through the multitude of events that you can participate or compete in through the Zwift Companion App. The following rides and races are events that I have found to be spot on in terms of achieving what I need from a particular session (keeping in mind that I am in Australia and obviously ride in that time zone):

SAS 1-2-3 Ride: 

5.55am, 45 minutes, weekdays. This is a great recovery ride with some good social banter. The pace is nice and steady and perfect for spinning out those sore legs. Always on a flat course.

AHDR Bacon Rolls:

5.50am, 60 minutes, Monday, Tuesday, Friday. Very similar to the SAS ride (above) but the pace is higher and duration is a little longer. This is my 'go to' recovery ride on a Monday and Friday. Always on a flat course. 

AHDR PretzHELL:

7.02am, 72km, Sunday. For my money, the best longer bunch ride on Zwift. Normally over the Watopia Pretzel course with a big group and plenty of climbing. There is a mini-race at the end if you are keen. If you are wanting to avoid the cold conditions outside on a Sunday morning and get a great workout, then this is the ride for you. 

GGCC Glasgow Green CC Cat & Mouse Training Ride:
5.45am, 30 km (varies), Wednesday. I stumbled across this organized group ride and it is an excellent option. You select which group you start in and then the ride unfolds as a 'handicap training race' where the faster groups have to catch the slower ones. A good steady pace with plenty of work at threshold. This is often a great mid-week ride for me.

The Chop (WBR) Race:

6.00am, 30 km (varies), Thursday. This is one of many races hosted by the WBR (World Bicycle Relief) Zwifters (I am a proud member of the Race WBR team). This is very much like the Cat & Mouse ride mentioned above, except that it is a full gas handicap race. Riders start in graded groups and chase each other all the way to the line. This is a quality workout! 

WBR 1 Lap Flat Race:

Various times, 10km (varies), every day. The WBR 1 lappers are probably the best 'bang for your buck' rides in terms of time on Zwift. Quick warm up, race, quick wind down. Some big efforts and a hard workout all over in thirty minutes from getting on the bike to getting off. Always good sized fields and a high pace. If you are short on time I can't recommend these enough.

KISS 2km Pursuit League:
7.05pm, 2km x 4, Saturday. A really bad time slot (Saturday nights), but a unique and fun race that involves four 2km Individual Time Trials with a twenty minute break in-between. Something different and a guaranteed heart starter!

So there you have it, a few options to think about if you are trying to work your way through the huge number of events available on Zwift.

Ride on!

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Race Report: Australian Masters Track Championships, 2-3 March 2018

The Darrebin International Sports Centre (DISC) in Melbourne hosted these championships a little over a week ago. I competed in the Individual Pursuit and Points Race in the MMAS 4 (45-49 years) division and the Team Pursuit in Open Masters. I had prepared well and was hoping for a strong performance. 

Individual Pursuit

I was looking to beat my PB of 3.34.13 in qualifying. The track was not running especially quick with a slightly cool morning. Maybe I wasn't running especially quick as well? Either way, I qualified in second place in a 3.35.37, 1.33 seconds behind Victoria's Matthew Bowman. Now guaranteed of being on the top two steps of the podium, we would race for the medals later that day. With John Eder calling me, we opted for a strategy in the final of starting steady and then bringing it home. History shows that this approach works better for me. In the final Matthew had a steady first lap and then went very hard. He had me three seconds down by halfway. At that point I clicked and started to reel him in. I made big gains in that second half but ran short by 1.3 seconds with a 3.35.31. The two of us had ridden identical times in the final down to tenths of a second! So a Silver medal for me. 

Points Race

This would end up being an extremely frustrating experience for me. Apparently, there has been a rule change in masters points races, where the final sprint no longer carries double points. Unfortunately the program had not been updated to reflect that. Also unfortunately, riders who entered the track from the side of the track where Queensland were sitting, were not privy to the pre-race briefing which advised of this rule change. So I headed off thinking the final sprint was double points. Can you see where this is going? The event turned into a two horse race very quickly, those horses being Stuart Grieve from NSW and myself. Stuart held the lead the whole way, but I chipped away at the points and stayed close. I won the second last sprint and then checked the points and saw that If I won the last sprint (assuming double points) I would be Australian Champion. I dutifully put myself in the twilight zone for the last sprint, won it...and then was advised it was normal points only and I had in fact won...the Silver medal. Gutted...

Team Pursuit 

Our Queensland Team of myself, Andy Patten, Robbie Reid and John Eder were always going to have a hard time of it. Firstly, Robbie was as sick as a dog and it was a miracle that he even started. Secondly, Hunter District had a red hot team with an average age of at least ten years younger than us, who we raced in the final. We gave it a good crack though and ended up with the Silver medal. Our time was 3.06.28 after (inexplicably) the final was run a lap short. I really feel for the Hunter District team as they were on track for an Australian record. 

So there it is...three events and three Silver medals. A part of me is immensely satisfied with three from three, but another part of me is pretty miffed about not being able to secure at least one Australian Title.

So what now? The racing calendar is pretty quiet for a few months. I am interested in the new State Individual Time Trial Series that starts later in the year so we will see how that goes. Might need to get back into the Zwift racing zone for a while!