15th Overall & 2nd on Standard
CIGARS, GRANDMASTER FLASH and THE RAPTOR
"Close, but no cigar" was the immediate and appropriate repost from my Langsett Cycles Race Team boss, Mr Elston
on informing him of my rather bitter sweet 25 mile TT personal best at the RealTeam 25 on the fast Neath Valley course in South Wales....and how right was he!
Recording what should be a super pleasing 50min 01secs averaging 30mph but obviously falling agonisingly short of the elite sub 50min club by the closest of margins, but worse still an excruciating 5 seconds short of the long standing National Age record - aaaagh! - a little tidy up at Group (regional) level is the consolation...rather mixed feelings post race
However, there wasn't another second in me, although my overall "numbers" were actually below par for that course, consequently whatever purgatory is, I visited it over those last 6 miles - total guts and strength, no control whatsoever and finished in absolute bits - oh the joy - so a healthier return one day is a necessity in order to redress
Anyhow, personally a great recent turnaround in my season, starting with the 19-11 10mile TT 4 weeks ago - in that regard I have to say a big thanks to the
Raptor (Dan)
and Jonny at Watt Shop for the fine tuning and identifying that missing piece of jigsaw that I knew was absent but I struggled to find - cheers boys!
[April 2020: Although a PB in 50-01...I knew that there was something not quite right...my power was down over 20w where I would expect...this led to a friend 'lending' me his coach, John Morgan. John got access to my Training Peaks stats...and recognised firstly that my training was unbalanced, too many of those HIITs...meant I lost my base / strength, which showed on the longer races...hence the low wattage. But also, he recognised that I raced at a high cadence, and suggested I drop it, from mid 90's to mid 80's - this took not many races, but my power went up 20w, essentially using big legs, rather than an emphasis on aerobic output - significant - this was the final piece! I eventually returned to Richard for coaching with a snivelling crawl...and as they say, the rest is history!!]
Also thanks to Garry at GBM Photography for the photo from yesterday's race
Finally, those cycling aficionados may be aware of the controversy concerning the race yesterday - the results have been suspended pending an investigation into the "winner" one Marcin Bialoblocki a Polish pro cyclist, who last year broke the UK best for both the 10m and 25m TT distances - yesterday he bettered his 25m time, but was apparently witnessed racing ON the white line (allegedly) of the dual carriageway between the two lanes - I assume forcing close pass from vehicles on either side of him, gaining huge aero advantages, not to mention the disregard for the safety aspect and the wrath of the long arm of a number of authorities - which could of course impact the future of racing on open roads.....a decision on him by the cycling authorities is imminent - anyhow we all learn by our mistakes, and assuming Marcin is willing to learn, may I suggest in the future as part of his warm up he adds into his motivational playlist - the following track, just as a little reminder, in case he forgets, some wise advice from Grandmaster Flash (not forgetting the Furious Five) although I doubt Mr Flash had cycle racing in mind =>
https://youtu.be/HB-Kkvf5j5Y
WHITE LINES (DON'T DO IT)
A very early start (up at 4.30am) for this rescheduled National VTTA 25m Champs....overtime, it is clear that I do not race at my best at these really early starts, associated to that my HR is always suppressed - knocked a sub 51 mins but it felt really hard from the start and 7th overall, which at the time was a great result (btw not the race photo!)😉
