Transalp 2013 - part due

Part two - stages 5 to 8 - the Italian bit

Four stages down, four to go...
(linky if you missed part one, or Rachel's review of her expectations)

Stage 5: Alleghe to San Martino di Castrozza
73km, 3150m climbing
In all honesty we hadn't really looked into the profile of the latter stages of the race before we'd headed out so it wasn't until they were upon us that it dawned on us quite how big these days were to be.  The day started pretty well with an undulating profile rather than one or two big climbs until the final mammoth climb which passed through an incredibly picturesque valley.  To our surprise we were also making time up on the teams in front of us in the overall ranking as well as putting time into those behind, maybe everyone else was feeling even more tired than us.

Going up...

Stage 6: San Martino di Castrozza to Crespano del Grappa
104km, 2800m climbing
On paper this stage didn't look too bad, there was considerably more downhill than up and a long road section in the middle to eat up the kms.  Or so we thought.
We reached the bottom of the main climb of the day at 3hrs in with temperatures in the mid 30s.  We then preceded to climb a 10% average gravel trail for 10km before another 10km of more undulating trails in which we gained another 400m elevation.  I'd run out of drink about half-way up the climb, although Ant had manage to conserve a few mouth-fulls for nearer the top.  The lack of fluid alone was a killer but it also impacted on how much we were able to eat.  Over two hours later we finally reached the feed station. We were absolutely exhausted struggling from the heat and lack of fluid and food and limped slowly back on a gravel descent which included over 100 switch backs.  Amazingly we finished within a few seconds of our closest rivals, we weren't the only ones who'd had a hard day.  A delayed transfer to our hotel and lost driver just about finished us off, the toughest day by far. 

Stage 7: Crespano del Grappa to Roverto
120km, 3000m
I was still suffering from the heat and dehydration of the day before when we were on the start line of stage 7.  The fact that it was over 30 degrees and not even 8am wasn't helping and the 3000m in 120km ahead was seeming insurmountable.  I had to have a very big chat with myself that morning.  Luckily for me Ant is nothing if he isn't a team player and after we got started decided to make me feel better by having an even worse day on the bike than me.  We were very glad to see the end of the stage.  With just one short stage to go we were pretty much there.

Stage 8: Roverto to Riva del Garda
39km, 1300m climbing
Today was more about the finish than the stage itself with less than 40km of riding to do, just one up and then one down.  If you'd made it this far - and over 25% of starters hadn't - then you were as good as done.  The route headed out through town for a few km until it kicked up the road for the climb, a natural point for a quick change down through the gears.  Or, if you prefer, to snap your rear mech, break a spoke and puncture.  We couldn't believe it, we'd made it this far and with just over 20 miles to go we were risking not making it.  We set about bodging a fix the best we could whilst the rest of the field rode on by.  Then the marshals collecting in the direction signs rode on by.  And then, after stopping for a bit of a chat, the sweeper bus went on by.  The final insult.  Eventually we got rolling again, or, in Ant's case, wobbling on a very wonky rear wheel on a newly built singlespeed.  The sweeper bus team, who had stopped ahead to point us in the right direction given the removal of the direction signs, applauded as we went by.  We gradually began to pick off the back markers and eventually made it up to somewhere reasonably respectable in the field.

Singlespeed-pain face

By better luck than judgement the fix held on the rough descent which meant we could at least enjoy the way down.  Ant's singlespeeding had gained him the respect of several riders and he was rewarded by a tow through the olive groves on the final 8km stretch to the finish by an Italian with thighs the size of the Dolomites themselves.

Italian saviour

We finished well down in the pecking order and lost a couple of places in the overall standings but quite frankly at this point we didn't care as despite our best efforts to sabotage our whole race on the last day, we'd made it to the finish.

After 680km and over 20,000m of climbing we finished 29th out of an original 58 in the mixed pairs.  Not bad but lots and lots of room for improvement, if only we had some hills to train on....

Finito!

It was a pairs race but we're indebted to the help of many for getting us there and helping us through:
A Quick Release coaching - we can only dream about emulating Kate Potter's win
Cotic - if only our legs were as strong as the bikes
Torq - our bags were a lot lighter on the way home after we consumed all those gels, bars and drink to keep us going
And a special thanks to Sally and Dave at Topeak-Ergon who looked after our recovery drinks each day so we could grab at the finish - it's things like this that make all the difference.

Transalp 2013 - part eins

Part 1 - stages 1 to 4 
(part 2 is here or here for Rachel's review of her expectations)


After Ant took on last year's Trans Pyrennes and Ruth and I raced the Andalucia Bike Race earlier this year we both fancied trying our hand at a bit more stage racing so decided to team up for this year's Transalp.

As we are both endurance racers so hoped we would work well together and approach it with a similar attitude which would help us in motivating each other.  It would however leave us with the same weaknesses, most likely in terms of speed, aggression and power.  Having both raced in a same-sex pair in our only previous experiences we were both a little apprehensive how we'd get on with the potential for a big gulf in strength and fitness within our pair.  There was going to be plenty of time and distance to see how things would pan out.

Stage 1: Mittenwald to Mayrhofen 
111km, 2100m climbing
As expected stage one kicked off at a ferocious pace on predominately tarmac and double-gravel track climbs.  By the time we'd reached the top of the first big climb at 30km things had settled down a little although the descent was rather sketchy; it wasn't so much the loose, rocky trail littered with switchbacks but the inability of the majority of riders to hold a line, be aware of others around them, listen to or make calls or generally ride safely - this was going to become a common theme throughout the week and added a certain level of excitement for us throughout.
We were able to make better headway on the second descent and formed part of a strong group for the 40km race on the flat tarmac to the finish.  And that's when things started to go wrong.  My freehub locked up and it took us a while to get going again in which time we'd been passed by many a racer.  We worked hard to get back into a reasonable group but were riding a good 5km/hr slower than before and the effort to work our way back into the pack began to tell and we struggled for the final few km.

Stage 2:Mayrhofen to Brixen 
100km, 2500m climbing
We were pretty frustrated with our performance on stage one and as we kicked off the day with 25km and 1200m on tarmac and gravel and things felt much the same.  Then the trail changed to a rocky, technical singletrack through a glacial valley and we started to make our way through the field of riders ahead who were struggling on the more technical trail. Feeling somewhat happier than we started the day, I pootled along at the top waiting for Ant to catch up when I rode over a fist-sized rock at walking speed.  Despite the innocuous nature of the incident I managed to put a 2 inch rip in the sidewall of my rear tyre which we set about fixing feeling massively demoralised as all the riders we had past on the climb rode on past.  The size of the hole and nature of the trails left us anxious as to whether the fix would hold for the remaining 70km and so I had to really reign my speed in on the descents.  It took a couple of further fixes later in the stage for the tyre to finally hold.  More mechanicals, more time lost, more frustration.

Stage 3: Brixen to St Vigil
57km, 2800m climbing
From the day we entered we knew this stage was going to be a beast - short it might be but with 1800m climb in 18km it was going to be brutal and it hurt every bit as much as we thought it would.  We were also both starting to struggle with colds at this point, a lesson in looking after yourself during stage racing. Despite our concerns before the race of being mismatched in terms of strength and fitness this hadn't been the case over the first few days, something that probably had a large amount to do with the fact that Ant was just a few weeks post a 24hr solo at Mayhem.  Until now I'd seen this as a positive thing, we were a well-matched team and I wouldn't have been happy about being helped up these hills.  But the sight of the majority of other female riders in mixed pairs getting a tow off her male counterpart was starting to look pretty attractive.  More objectively, it meant that my climbing weakness was losing us time against the other mixed pairs around us.  A short-sharp climb near the end of the stage with temperatures in the high 30s just about finished us both off, I take full responsibility for the pain it caused by uttering the fateful words "It doesn't look that bad".  It was a brilliant technical descent though so I forgave myself for my pain miscalculation.  

Stage 4: St Vigil to Alleghe
74km, 2600m
Despite being nearly written off by the previous day's riding this was our best and most enjoyable day in the saddle.  Of course we had yet more long, grinding climbs and a hike-a-bike section in the blazing sun but this time were rewarded with more technical and fun descents where we were able to ride past big numbers and put time into our closest competitors - there's nothing like the pain of lung-busting climbs to put the bit between your teeth to make up the rewards on the downs.  The steel frames of our Cotic Solarii which were getting plenty of comments both on and off the trail, were doing a brilliant job at smoothing the ride on the way down and we reached the day's finish line exhausted but happy with our day's work, the first time we'd both felt we'd given the stage the performance we could.

We were half-way through, sitting 30th out of an original 58 mixed pairs so were pretty close to our 'top-half' target.  We'd had more downs than ups but had managed a couple of days without any mechanicals so perhaps things were looking up.  Bring on part two....

An >X< in Italy & the Stelvio

Katie C reports from her last few weeks out of the UK...

Embarking on some volunteer work in Italy for 5 weeks was the initial idea - to learn new skills, gain insights into a different culture, and get some guaranteed sun.*  Obviously a bike had to come too.  Working for four Italian hosts in central/northern Italy & lots of road riding was the plan. Travelling with a bike box and 5 weeks luggage on public transport was a challenge in itself (not sure why many Italians thought it was a bed)?  And when said luggage weighs almost as much as you...  But the challenge was certainly worth it with some glorious road riding (on which I thoroughly enjoyed even the most intense training drills from AQR coach Kate - amazing what some green trees can do)!  And the pinnacle of it all, the Stelvio pass near Bormio in the Dolomites.

One of our hosts in a far-flung village on the Adriatic coast mentioned the Stelvio over dinner one night (6-cheese pizza and gorgonzola-flavoured gelato).  Having only ever done road climbs in the French Pyrenees/Alps, I'd never heard of the Stelvio.  But the look on my host's face as to it's sheer challenge was enough for me to know that I wanted to ride it.  

So once work was over, I hauled my increasingly heavy bike box (now with dirty gardening clothes in) to the Dolomites.  When I ran out of gears just getting to the hotel, I began to wonder if I was a bit out of my depth in this roadie heaven on my cross bike and muddy spd shoes.  After all, the last alpine climb I did was 7 years ago.  Being a small build, I rely on a high cadence rather than purely high power.  My double ring was mostly okay for the undulating hills and ridge riding I'd been doing in Italy while following Kate's programme.  However, on a mountain pass with an average gradient of over 7% for 24 km, my double ring did not seem to be so okay.  The warm-up rides I did the next few days did nothing to calm my mind, with lungs heaving and legs hurting under such hard gears.  And I had to admit to myself that I may not get to the top on this bike.  Oh well, I'd just have to come back!  

Off I set on a sunny Bormio morning.  It was amazing how many riders (and motorbikes) were testing themselves on this breath-takingly beautiful mountain.  There were sky-high waterfalls tumbling down to our left, and the magnificant hairpins rising up to our right.  I got into a steady rhythm and focused on not blowing the gasket too early. I'd heard the first bit is the easy gradient.  But with the rpm sitting at 60-70 (for the easy bit!), it wasn't ideal for these spinning legs.  Well, I thought, I'm just going to see how long these little legs last!  But once I hit the tunnels and had one-third of the 1600m altitude gain behind me, I felt better (I think my legs take a good hour to warm up these days).  And I just kept going.  Breathing was *quite* deep at times.  But the tight hairpins were great markers, not only for the views (simply stunning) but because they were the only flat bit on the 24km route, so you got a few easy spins before the next kick upwards.  

And boy did the last few kilometres really kick upwards.  Cadence was slow-i-n-g  d-o-w-n.  Started to see stars at one point, so I had a Torq gel, shook my legs, practised breathing into my diaphragm (rather than my chest) to get more air in (thanks coach Kate), and off I went.  Just keep turning the pedals, I told myself.  And then there I was.  I had made it :)

Somehow, me and my grindingly slow cadence held a strange bond for just over 2 hours to climb almost a mile into the sky.    Exhilarated.  I can't explain how I did it, as I'll never forget how my legs felt on the warm-up days.  But sometimes your body will co-operate in the strangest of ways.  It is the mind we have to learn to quieten down!  All good training, and I'm looking forward to racing the National Champs and SXC back in the UK.  And Luchon in the Pyrenees with AQR in late July.  I love summer!

*  4 weeks of rain.  Will never moan about UK weather again :)

Wiggle Mountain Mayhem 2013: the same but different

Ant reports from the changed Mountain Mayhem:

Out on your own - photo credits Augustus Farmer

Like many riders Mountain Mayhem was my introduction to the world of 24 hour racing. My first Mayhem in 2006 got me hooked, and I had duly made the annual mid summer pilgrimage to Eastnor to ride as part of a fun team. But this year it was going to be very different indeed: a new venue, a new course, even a different weekend of the year and most differently, this time I would be riding Mayhem solo.

After riding five previous 24 hour solo races I have found that as a mere mortal I cannot race more than one or two in a season, so the build up to one of the few big goals of the season seems even more intense, as there isn’t the opportunity to do another one for a long while until you are fully recovered again.  So in the preceding weeks I became drawn in by the snippets of information realised by Pat & his team, by rumour and tattle on the forums and then in the last week by the BBC weather site. The main question was how would it compare with Eastnor and would we get a dry one?

The Gatcombe park campsite was smaller but had the same atmosphere about it. The trade area, similar – smaller, but with the same feel as last year. Our AQR pit was the same organised and efficient haven as usual, but this time crewed differently by fellow AQR team mates Matt and Kirsty.

AQR pits

It was the same elbows out mad cavalry charge run at the start and charge into the first Kenda Koffin descent.  I quickly settled into my pace trying to find a flow on the downhills and singletrack and follow wheels along the double track. It was all going to plan. Then, after two hours the rain came. As most of the course was under the tree canopy it didn’t seem too heavy, but it changed everything. The just ridable climbs became pushes and the descents real testers of cornering skill. As the course started to dry some of the sections of liquid mud became super tacky  - like the famed plasticine woods of Eastnor. But on the whole the course held up reasonably well and I concentrated preserving momentum and eeking out as much speed as possible. But it was tough. 

Kenda Koffin descent - photo credit Singletrack

Seven hours in I had the usual “why am I doing this” thought, but after an on-course pep talk from fellow rider Rory Hitchens I perked up and ploughed on through the night. Chatting to other riders kept the spirits up whilst plodding up the climbs, whilst all the time picking off other solo riders and gradually climbing up the leader board. 

Dawn came and as the course continued to dry the trusty mud tyres were swapped for faster rolling Ikons and from 20 hours in I was in a battle for a top five placing. My pit crew were getting increasingly excited and I did what I could to pull the gap to 4^th place back to just 4 minutes.

It's all a blur

As I came through the lurking zone after 23hrs 50mins I realised only had a very slim chance of catching 4^th place, so decide rather than beast myself with one final effort, that 22 laps was enough, and rolled across the line with the fellow lurkers after the 24 hours were up. 24 hours of riding may sound like a long time to ride, but it really was over in a blur. 

My aim was a top five placing, so 5^th after approximately 165 miles and 7000m of climbing was something I was delighted to have achieved.

And relax...And sort out helmet hair

It was the same fantastic pit support from AQR teammates I have received in the past but this time from Matt and Kirsty aided by Rach, Ruth & Mat. I really can’t thank them enough as they tirelessly worked through the entire race.  Unfortunately Rach had a rather different race experience, here's her report.

So all in all Mayhem 2013 was different in many ways but the same in others. It was a brave move to use a fresh venue, but the Gatcombe estate really suits the event, and Pat and his team put on yet another outstanding event. It still had the same unique feel and camaraderie as previous Mayhems and I think it can only get better as it settles into its new venue and eventually gets the dry weather it deserves.

British Cycling National Cross Country Series - Round #3 Hopton Woods, Shropshire

Emma has been at it again, more racing and more blogging...

A busy few weeks before had seen me do quite a bit of riding and I felt like I was definitely making some improvements in terms of my ability to perform over full race distance. With its full on and up front climb, Hopton would be one hell of a test.

 

Thankfully, Pearce Cycles had once again arranged some amazing weather; not quite as hot as last year but at least it was dry, bright and warm. I headed out for a practice lap and it was basically up straight off the start line, with the gradient of the climb being the only thing that varied. For a change, I’d also opted to put a Schwalbe Racing Ralph on the rear since it was dry and I reckoned I could handle it; I tend to prefer having the grip level that the Schwalbe Rocket Rons give me normally but thought I’d see how  the Ralph went. The majority of the first climb was the same as the year before, however whereas previously we’d made a right turn near the top, this time we went left. This led to a really wicked little rooty downhill singletrack which offered up multiple line choices and some jumps before spitting you out onto a fireroad at feed zone 2. It also had these great root ‘nests’ that looked like a mass of snakes. After some more fireroad climbing you sped downhill into more singletrack, with a cheeky switchback into a little rise that caught you out (if you hadn’t been pre-warned)  then more twisty, rooty singletrack.  Even more singletrack (got to love it!) after that, where I found having the Ralph on the back called for a bit of skidding the back end round the corner (getting the hang of this more and it makes for getting round the corner a bit quicker). One more section of fireroad climbing before it all went downhill via various singletrack sections, some hard packed, some fresh cut and rooty, and a fast slightly damp fireroad. The last section of singletrack was carved into the edge of the hill with a loamy base, some small drops and which eventually led you to the last tight berm section and a tabletop to ping you into the arena. My hardest decision was whether the course this year was more or less fun than last year!

Race day dawned and we were soon lined up. I decided that a full on race start wasn’t needed as there was no dash for the singletrack due to the climb we were to face. The aim today was to pace up the climbs and keep people in sight. From the off I was able to keep relatively close to a small group of girls. They managed to open the gap out a bit as time went on over the first lap but what helped me keep pushing was that I could see Anna (my Erlestoke12 partner) who wasn’t that far in front of me. Coming through after lap 1 I was behind Anna with AQR team mate Ruth chasing me. I seemed to pull away up the steeper climbs but Ruth was stronger on the fireroad aspects and caught me part way around lap 2. In a bid to stay with her I came in quite hot to one of the sections where I’d been skidding my back wheel around only to find that it seemed to have become really polished; the result being I almost got the bike through 180degs whilst it deposited me on the ground. I was soon up and running again although had to take a brief breather whilst my arm came back to life. I tried to chase Ruth back down and on the start of  the lap 3 climb I seemed to once again be making in-roads and closing the gap. However, just to highlight the effect of a moments inattention I made a mistake in the rooty downhill singletrack and went down hard on one of the rooty ‘nests’. I also discovered I’d broken my fork lockout lever too. After making sure I was alright, tucking the now loose lockout safely away and making sure my bars were straight I once more set about the chase. I could see Ruth on the fireroad ahead, but unfortunately I was too far back by now. For the remainder of lap 3 and all of lap 4 I was mostly on my own (apart from lapping some of the slower girls in other categories), but when I came across the finish I had a huge grin on my face.

I was so happy with my performance even though I was still the last rider home (one DNF’d). The difference between here and Wheal Maid was tremendous. I was no longer grovelling up the climbs but riding, even though the last lap hurt like hell. I was also able to ride a decent amount of the race with other riders in my category in view. I also felt like a racer again and had done full race distance at a national for the first time this year. This really is a great step in the right direction, and I aim to build upon this and get stronger as the season goes on. AQR Coaching’s Kate Potter is carefully tuning me in a way that allows my body to adapt to the higher intensity exercise and not aggravate my knee at the same time. No rest for the wicked though, Sunday 9^th June brings on a 6hr mixed pair at Britsol Bikefest, this time with AQR teammate Matt Prior.

Photos courtesy of Darren Ciolli-Leach and Neil Hendry 

AQR Skills Day, Southern XC Regional Champs & the SPAM Erlestoke12

Emma reports from a busy few of weeks racing and training

A couple of weeks after the last national round in Cornwall I had some domestic issues to sort oop North. Some good friends of mine agreed to put me up mid-week whilst I did some house faffing. However, I ensured that the house faffing was relegated to predominately the morning and early afternoon to enable some biking fun to be had. Whilst the faffing wasn’t good for me in terms of maintaining proper hydration and nutrition, the riding was superb; the new trail at Gisburn Forest one evening followed by a trip to Lee and Cragg Quarries on the Friday afternoon (well it was sort of on the way to Nottingham!). I have to say that the amount of time and energy that has gone into both areas is amazing, hats off to all those volunteers who made my rides fun (even though the weather tried to put a dampener on things).

A small traffic nightmare later and I was welcomed with open arms by my team mates Rachel Sokal and Anthony Jordan. I’m not sure which one was worse off from the effects of 24hrs of Exposure; the rider or the help! Rachel was doubly awesome in that when I came down early Saturday morning to get my bike washed she’d already done most of it; thank you Rach (and Ant you were great in your heckling role!).

I (or Rach) was washing my bike at silly o’clock in the morning as firstly I was knackered/hungry the night before, and secondly I couldn’t possibly show up to my AQR Skills day with a dirty bike (what would Mr Potter say?). I was joined on the day by fellow team mates Matt and Kirsty Prior, it was just us three and Mr Potter since it seemed some of the others had been scared off! Today we were doing some Advanced Skill  work aimed primarily at maintaining speed through the twisty stuff. We sessioned sections of Sherwood’s singletrack, either following the leader or with Mr Potter behind and observing what each of us was doing. It was also quite interesting observing and then critiquing other rider’s styles. I did have one instance where implementing the ‘more haste, less speed’ philosophy was blindingly obvious as I almost careered off the trail into an angry looking rock. Overall  I had a really good day and came away with a few points that I need to work on to help me get that little bit quicker; push the bike into the trail more and more ‘zip’ when switching sides on the bike.

In action at the Southern XC -

Southern XC pic http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernxc/

My mad few days of travel wasn’t over and after my Skills session at Sherwood I hit the road and headed south again. Another early morning and I was at Crow Hill, a fun, twisty, rooty Southern XC course. It was also Southern Champs time. I’d missed round one as I really wasn’t ready, however I love Crow Hill and really wanted to ride and test myself. A good turn out of 10 elite girls meant the front row was full, plus a really good showing in the other categories gave a decent start field. The drawback was that, at the start, myself and another rider had a bit of a coming together, then got partially engulfed as we tried to navigated the sweeping 180° turn and the entire field tried for the shortest line around, i.e. the inside line that we were on. I’d gone well back at this point however the field opened up again and I put the power down to take as many riders as possible before the first section of singletrack. I was told by one of my friends I looked as though I’d been kicked the speed I came past her (helped by a downhill I pedalled rather than freewheeled down). I managed to maintain contact with a decent group of girls for a period of time however once again as soon as the going got tacky and some more power was needed I just didn’t have it. I came through in 8^th after the first lap, got caught by another girl and unfortunately didn’t have the power to even stay with her.  The start of lap 3 was interesting as the Open Men had just set off and as I approached that first singletrack section I could see them queuing out of it. Perhaps my politeness of Cornwall had worn off as I just  muscled my way through (with some ‘pleases’ too of course) and worked my way around some of the guys until things got moving, a really good overtaking practice session I thought (we won’t mention the small departure onto the floor when I reached the limit of the grip envelope). In doing so I must have also overtaken 8^th place briefly as she passed me again, much to my confusion, on the next fireroad! Muscle fatigue was certainly setting in as the race progressed and the course degraded, however towards the end of the race I started to see another rider getting closer. I tried my hardest but couldn’t catch her, finishing in 9^th in the end and just under 2mins behind 8^th but with almost a 6min gap to 10^th. Although I was absolutely shattered I was really happy with how I’d ridden, feeling once again like a racer. Throughout the singletrack I had also been thinking about the skills session I’d had the day before and was really enjoying trying to put those aspects into practice when the course allowed. My speed and power will eventually come as my training slowly ramps up. I said in my previous blog I would be looking for little indicators and I felt that this race was a really good indicator of progress. 

Anna in action - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinsheldrake/

 The few days after the mad dash around the country and I was super tired plus my knee was complaining, so I opted to rest it up. Thankfully the knee was really just feeling tired and perhaps a little swollen but there was fortunately no real pain. A few days later and I was feeling as good as new. With the rest of my team mates otherwise engaged I was looking around for a pairs partner to tackle SPAM Biking’s Erlestoke12 (although the 6hr not the 12hr race). Finally, about  16hrs before the 1200 start time I managed to talk Anna Cipullo, an MBSwindon/Hargroves Cycles elite rider, out of a solo ride (she thanked me for it afterwards!).  Anna, as the faster rider, started; although the start was a bit of shock being 8mins early and she’d barely gotten her wheel swapped back over after getting off the turbo. We actually had no other real competition as there were no other 6hr Female Pairs. However, our mission was to at least beat the 6hr Female Team and finish as high up in the other pairs categories as we could, bearing in mind we might find ourselves merged into one of them. Anna came through after Lap 1 with only the 12hr Female team of Four4th lights in front. I started a bit hard and paid the penalty on certain parts of the course but it was a fun course so the small torturous bits were just about bearable. It was dry, there was dust, the singletrack was rooty and twisty (more AQR skills practice), steep little ups, fun downs (even a Redbull timed section) and one hell of a grass slog (thankfully dry too). With laps around the 40min mark for us it ended up with us both doing 4 laps. Anna was pretty consistent throughout, however my lap times did drop off a little more as the day went on but I maintained as high a tempo as possible on all laps, even when my legs were screaming at me; I was however very glad I wasn’t soloing. SPAM were very kind giving us our own podium in the end (you’ve got to be in it to win it), however we were more chuffed with having beaten the female team, come 4^th in the mixed pairs and 10^th in the Male pairs, not too bad really. I really am so very thankful to Anna for agreeing to partner with me, it meant that I did one hell of a hard interval session which will help make me stronger in the long run; of course no more friendliness as battle once again commences at the next round of the British Cycling Cross Country Series at Hopton! 

A successful couple of weeks

All in a day's work

Team rider Matt reports from his relay triathlon last weekend 

What better way to spend a day at work than riding my bike around a big lake in the sunshine with a few hundred other people?

 A few weeks ago I took park in the Jones Land LaSelle Property Triathlon as part of my work CRBE Triathlon relay team. Donning a combination of CBRE and AQR kit (great colour clashes!), I set out with a personal goal to beat last year's time for the 20km bike leg of 36 mins 41 secs. Well, I didn't just beat it, I thrashed it by almost 3 minutes with a time of 33 mins 56 (stats from Kirsty - that's a 7.5% improvement!!!)

My team finished the top CBRE mixed team and my bike time ranked me within the top 20 for the cycle leg, finishing in the top 1.5% of all riders! Including some of the 'pointy-helmet' brigade ( you know, the ones that ride full-on time trial bikes!) Pretty impressed with that and it is clear that with personal ambition and aim together with expert coaching from the Potters that results can be achieved. Those times when Kate's punishing coaching drills have pushed me to the limit were worth it - thanks Kate and bring on next year's race!