Blog special: Sportiving, cycling's new black

Blog special: Sportiving, cycling's new black

What is it about the sportive that seems to entice so many bike riders? They're long (often more than an hour!), difficult, usually done on tarmac, so I mean, seriously, what's to like? My first encounter with a 'sportif' was in France where my ride pal Jon and I stopped in a nice restaurant for a two course lunch (the Sportif Special I seem to remember). It was only after we got back to base that it dawned on me this was a timed event and the challenge was in getting around the 170km as fast as possible. Silly me I thought we were there to enjoy a day out on the bike in the spectacular Ardèche countryside. Schoolboy error (#1). This sportive season I've done three local but seriously challenging events as 3 Peaks training fodder.

First up, Etape du Dales (Yorkshire and Cumbria, Dave Rayner Fund, 178km) where recent good form in the Scotton 100 meant that I could expect to motor along and pull Chris around in my wake. In the event the opposite happened. The schoolboy errors just kept on coming: started too fast, not enough to eat or drink, over cooked it on the first climb, you name it, I did it (#2,3,4,5). Lucky for me a serious mechanical failure on Chris's bike meant he could only descend on the back brake so we struck together and he literally towed me home on the flat sections with our mismatch in climbing and descending levelling us out a bit. I decided that's it for me, no more Sportives this season.

That is until Chris offers me a spare slot on the Tour De France Stage 1 route (Yorkshire, Cyclists Fighting Cancer), I couldn't say no. The Tour de France in Yorkshire!  (CX riders: this is a big race for roadies, a bit like the CX World Champs or e.g. Koksijde). But say no I should've. We arrived at the first feed station with an average speed of 32+kph (20+mph) and I was well into the red zone, when will I ever learn? (#6). I waved my companions Geoff and Chris (Beamish Odd Sox) goodbye, and set about solo-TTing it around the rest of the 197km course as best I could. It wasn't pretty, but I got home.

So then club-mate Paul says to me "are you doing the White Rose Classic next week? It's the toughest course by far" (Yorkshire and Cumbria, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, 183km). I know. I've done it twice and been broken twice. Proper shattered, snails pace for agonising km after km. I was too late to enter, but dopey me I got in touch with the organisers at Ilkley Cycling Club who said OK, you can ride. But here at CXM we like to tell it as it is, so in fairness they did ask me to mention it in the blog. So I'm gonna mention it.

This time no stupid mistakes, I quietly departed solo and early doors from the well organised ride HQ at Ilkley Rugby Club. An error free ride was the aim, time not important, but remaining intact was. First hill: Norwood Edge, where our club (Harrogate Nova) organise a hill climb TT, so I know this one well. A treat for the riders was French style km marker stones telling us gradient and distance to the cols and sommets. A nice touch. Then a slog on to Grassington, where as luck would have it CX friends Sophie and Rob Thackray with the Paul Milnes club ride are heading and I shelter in their wake in a severe headwind section. They turn off and I find myself riding with Nick from Hope Technology. Yes, you do know him, he's the one who shows you how to fix your bike in all those great videos.

Next up Fleet Moss, not the up so much but the down that can be a bit nerve racking. It's not hard to get to 80 or 90 kph on this run down to Hawes, but a nice headwind tempered this a little (71kph). Hawes for me is lunch time, sadly no restaurant (couldn't we maybe stop the clock?) but a quick cheese sarnie and a bag of crisps (hula hoops).

Then a fast rolling section to Coal Road climb where I ride with Nova sportive suprema Corrine who's on a mission today. She sets off up this 20% gradient and I revert to my own pacing strategy (survival, intact). Onto Ribblehead and this is what I came to see: all three of the peaks that await in September. From this distance they don't look so big but by the time you get to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, the third peak of Pen-y-gent looms large and I keep checking to see any kind of route up or down that looks bike-able. There isn't one. I'm confused.

Two more lumps to go, first is Settle to Airton and a 25% 'côte' before the final feed stop. I’m not kidding, 25%. Try it, then try it after 135kms. You get the idea. As with all the feed stations on this event, it's well stocked with everything, including the choice of champions, fig newtons. I stuff a handful in my pocket, I know what's coming 'cos last year I watched at all I slow motion: super narrow country lanes, gravel and broken surfaces (CX riders paradise) and rolling up and downs. I get super lucky again and meet CX aficionado John Graveling who pulls me along Wharfdale to the base of Langbar, the final côte in the tail. Now John is heading home to Ilkley and could of course go over Langbar (at only 20%), but why on earth would you? Well, one reason is to have your photo taken by Rick Robson (an example of his excellent work is shown below), the other is the sneaky timing mat at the top of this nasty little côte. So I'm back riding solo, but I know I've got this one licked now. Over the top, a mad descent and I'm back safe, tucking into the WRCs complimentary sausage butty and coffee with club mates and the other tired finishers.

photo coutesty of Rick Robson

Sportives eh? Great summer training events for CX riders everywhere. But be careful what you wish for, you might just get an entry.

eye's down for a full house...

All eyes from the cycling world were focused firmly on Yorkshire recently. The Tour de France Grand Départ 2014? No, you’re well off the mark there, think much, much bigger. Yes it was the annual lottery to see who gets one of the coveted 650 starting places in the annual 3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross race in September. 

Remembering that this year I’ve said I’m going to attempt it, picture me (and thousands of other CX racers) sitting at home staring at the computer to see if a lucky e-mail arrives. It should be worth noting that this is a lottery you can rig in your favour if you are willing to make the sacrifice. A guaranteed place is available to those brave enough to marshal at the event, or in my case regular readers will remember I spent a freezing cold Saturday with YCCA setting out the excellent Bradford National Trophy race. But I’ve learned to never confuse theory with practice. So I waited and waited, and finally it came….

“An invitation has now been issued for Ted Sarmiento - MV40 to enter this event”

Photo by Neil Hendry (PH-Mas cycling team)

I’ve don’t it! I’m in! Oh crap, I’m in.

Then social media lights up like a Christmas tree… You in? I’m in. And for the next few days you get to see who’s in and who’s out. Both parties celebrating in their own way. In also are cxmagazine teammates Edwyn and Joanna. I’ll do exceptionally well to come third in our team. 

But I’m in and now I’d better get on with the show. Or as club mate Paul put in very succinctly “the 3 peaks pretty much ruins my summer”. So with my summer riding ruined it’s time to plan for the big race, now just three months away. Yikes!

3 Peaks, 4 months to go

3 Peaks 4 months to go......

While not strictly 3p training, I rode another edition of the Scotton 100 km challenge. This is a brilliant renamed 'sportive' to fit with the British Cycling categories, the other new name on the block is 'gravel racing'. This event pre-dates both nomenclatures and is an on/off road course which makes bike and tyre choice critical. CX racers normally pick out their best bike, sling on some faster rubber and set to. A puncture in the latter stages limited my performance to an equal personal best, so all good there. Plus I enjoyed riding it from the first to the last km, pretty much. A good group formed and I am very grateful to all those I rode round with on a very windy day. Most importantly money was raised for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, and York Cycleworks made sure all riders got a new coffee mug as is the tradition.

Scotton 100 gravel sportive (photo Trevor 'The Machine' Schofield) 

So onwards and Southwards. Spring training this year has taken place in the new cycling training hub de jour of Mallorca. This place is fascinating (bike fans). You wanna see cycle training on a truly industrial scale, come to Mallorca's North Coast resorts around Alcudia. The nearest I've seen to this is the massive Ardechoise sportif in France with some 15,000 participants. But in Mallorca there's no sportive going on, just training by plane loads of giris. Some big names too, Wiggins spotted here and there but this eagle eyed rider picked out CX legend Nick Craig and co. Rumours also of Telenet Fidea team on the island. The sunshine, great roads, bikes and organised riding thanks to SunVelo meant that team mate Sarah and I really got the kms stuffed into our post season legs (I suppose that's pre-season legs for non CXers).

Sarah, Scott and Ted training like the pros in Mallorca by stopping for a photo op

What next? I can't put this off much longer, at some point the running shoes will have to make an appearance, and if so I'll be back to report on progress. 

THE Three Peaks

Les trois sommets (well it is Tour de France in Yorkshire time)

My first ever 'cross race

It all started here, 13th October 2007. Well maybe a bit before. Tony, one of my cycling pals from Uni, oh so many years ago, had his Italian custom made steel MTB stolen. This was proper custom, integrated seat post and everything so no-one else could really use it, ironic eh? So he replaced it with a……  ‘cross bike. A what? Not an MTB, not a road bike, what is it?  “I’m gonna race it” he said, sure OK, that’s what you do. “No, I’m gonna race it over the Three Peaks”. Now I knew he’d lost the plot. But with a little further persuasion we set off for Huddersfield New College for a typical Yorkshire series points race. My first ever. I can distinctly remember two things: 1) a high speed wipe out on a super fast corner when I decided this was the sport for me and 2) Tony insisting I leave nothing out on the course (I didn’t). I was hooked. Now it was me badgering him to get to the next race.

So cut to six or seven years later and I’m regularly racing National Trophy with two bikes, supported by a great team and cycling club and enjoying it more than ever. So why spoil the party? Well, I suppose ‘cos it's there, always lurking in the background of everything, everywhere and everyone in UK cyclo-cross: The Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race. Tony has been racing it every year, killing his bikes and crushing wheels but placing higher each time. He makes me sick.

Now let’s get one thing straight, it’s not a cyclo-cross race. Yes there’s a mass start, yes there’s National ranking points available (lots in fact), race numbers, entry fees, marshalls, a course (!), prizes, winners, finishers, times, DNFs, DNSs, etc. You get the idea. But that’s where ANY comparison to a cyclo-cross race ends. It’s a sportive/enduro/mountaineering/fell race or something like that. But it’s there. A bit like Paris-Roubaix in that if you tried to organise this race for the first time today, you’d be laughed out of the Health and Safety briefing.  It’s surely not sensible. But yet it’s there and it seems it aint going away. So it looks like I’m gonna give it a go. My plan: do it once, finish it and hopefully forget it. Forever.

Let the training commence…..

CXM - DS's review

As I sit here confined to quarters through injury, it struck me as good a time as any to look back on cxmagazine.com Racing Team's (CXMRT) first season. The highs and the lows.

Whilst the team was my idea, it would be fair to say that we could not have possibly functioned through 2013/14 without Ted's efforts and enthusiasm. So much so that that it was only reasonable that Ted and I now take decisions jointly around all aspects of the team's operation. Ted has supported and mentored Sarah selflessly through this season, whilst Heather and I have kept the logistics of racing week in week out on the road. The fact that Ted was involved in delivering cyclo-cross training sessions was a key factor in him coming to the team in the first place, in spring 2014 Ted's going to achieve British Cycling accredited coach status. This can only be good for us.

CXMRT was created to provide a springboard for talented U23 riders of both sexes to race cyclo-cross at a national level with some support around logistics of travel, pitting and competition. Through the generous personal contribution by Cyclocross Magazine's Andrew Yee, some input by Ted and myself, we have established a competitive presence right across the UK that will continue through 2014. We have raced in every round of the National Trophy, the North of England Championships, the Inter Area Championships and the National Championships. We have also been present at regional level having scored several wins across the CXNE and Yorkshire series and have new British University Cyclo-cross champion in our team.

As with all things, the devil is in the detail. Getting the team clothed and affiliated took us longer than hoped. We suffered some setbacks around agreeing a clothing design due to the sudden vogue for predominantly black clothing designs in the UK - presumably 'The Team Sky effect". Frustratingly, CXM had been racing in the US for years with an existing design that I naively thought we could just register over here. It wasn't to be as British Cycling wanted a more overt design and to their credit they were easy enough to work with on this. A fiercely contested competition was run via the cowbell forums to come up with a design, and the winner's design by Anne Racioppi is in our totally objective eyes flattering, distinctive and incredibly classy!

Our two riders, Ed and Sarah have flown the flag with some considerable success in 2013/14. It should be noted that these two have made their achievements whilst busy with academic study at high level.  Ed during fever pitch study for his A levels and Sarah at a crucial part of her medicine degree and training to be a doctor.

Ed was second U/23 at the Three Peaks which given the number of participants and nature of the event must only bide well for his future. The only sadness for us was that due to the delay on the clothing, this achievement was made in the colours of the now defunct Boneshakers Team. Maybe he'll go one better in orange and black next year. Later in the season he achieved wins in senior races at regional level, remarkable given that it was his first season as a senior.

2013 was very much Sarah's first 'proper' year. When Ted suggested taking Sarah, we didn't know much about her other that she'd made a big impact in the comparatively small number of races she'd done in the first season. BOOM, she delivered beyond our wildest dreams with being on a completely different level to the other women in the North East. She was consistently top ten in National Trophy races and ended up ranked in the top ten nationally. She is mixing it week in, week out with the very best national level riders and given the typically non linear nature of progression in cycle sport, I get the sneaky feeling that one day she'll suddenly ride away in a National Trophy.

Ted, our rider-manager just got better and better as the year went on. Us old guys are supposed to go slower and slower.....but that's not the way it was for Ted. After a race at Milton Keynes that we all thought was solid....but Ted was disappointed with, he never looked back and just got faster, fitter and technically better each race. Unbeknown to us, Ted was really revved up for the National Champs and he delivered a great race with spectators remarking how well he'd ridden in the mudbath that was Derby.

Looking back, I now know where we can make improvements to the way we race. In particular, we need to improve our logistics and preparation. We need to arrive earlier, work on our warm up and course pre rides. We also need to make our pit arrangements more resilient and find ways for Ted and I to better support our riders in subsequent races, whilst looking after our own basic needs post race (food-warmth etc).

We have achieved great exposure for Cyclocross Magazine with the our friend Matt Payne never missing an opportunity to mention us when announcing at major national events.

My final thoughts and thanks should go to some of the friends of the team who've helped us race. Heather, my girlfriend has been nothing short of an angel, driving us to events through the night and then doing a full day in the pits. Our friends Ian Caswell, Dave and Sally Morris, Scott Fraser, Tim Evans and my son Callum have all done hard service in the pits and spent Sunday evening's removing mud from places it shouldn't be....

Smalesy - Trials & tribulations of the off season.

The National Cyclo-cross Champs was my last cross race of the season. Whilst cross is my first discipline, having the event behind me couldn't come soon enough. I was looking forward to laying some high quality road miles in to build some base fitness ready for the road season.

I set to. Well and truly, I was in the groove. I always put a couple of kilos on through the cross season and was sat at a reasonable eight percent body fat the day after the champs with my power to weight on the turbo 'there or thereabouts' from last year. On track, reasonably rested and good weather conditions available for road training. 

Two weeks in, I'd laid down two back to back weeks nudging ten hours of volume, moreover quality volume. Perhaps the fact that I'm currently helping a couple of local riders with advice around training at the moment was helping me keep rigidly in the zone, as knowing that they would be looking at my training files - they'd be certainly wanting me to practice what I preach. Perfect, feeling physically tested at the end of each session but also like I could have done a little more.

At 9.30am on Tuesday 28th 2014, everything changed. As I ran back into the house from nipping out to my vehicle for a phone charger, I fell. I heard the crack. To cut a long story short, as I sit here writing this, I have an eight inch long set of stitches, a titanium plate and four screws that I didn't have before. I've also had my first experience of an emergency hospital admission, hospital food and morphine.  The low point was undoubtedly being told ten days in that I had to have my leg re-broken to adjust the alignment which had shifted. Back to square one. 

The standard of care I have received under the NHS was second to none, however I am now left to feel like I am subject of a one size fits all recovery schedule. Despite the surgeon telling me that the plated bone is very nearly as strong as if nothing had happened, it would seem that the timelines are set much the same as if I was relying on natural knitting of the bone. It would seem that the fact I weigh less than 75kgs makes no difference to the point where I can load bear. Perhaps the consultant's seen it all before....obsessive endurance athlete's who start load bearing early, resume full training when they'd normally still be in plaster and then end up getting airlifted of Helvelyn half way through a fell run. So it would rather seem I'm stuck with six to seven weeks in plaster. 

My son sent me a text - "You're the master of timing, love Callum x", to which I replied "So when is it a good time to break a leg? Love Dad x". But ultimately I can manage this. The break to my fibula is about 2" up from the ankle and the surgeon's work has not impacted on any muscle mass. Once I get the cast off, I can ride. I've done lots of reading on the subject and in summary, it sounds like the bad news is that I'll suffer some muscle wasting and around a 20-25% decrease in VO2max etc over the eight weeks. The really good news is that the longer and deeper an individual is trained, the faster it all returns back to pre incident levels. The key principle for well trained riders would also seem to be you get it back at the rate you lost it. 

Realistically twelve weeks training then after the cast comes off in early mid March. Nineteen weeks from now, I'll be pinging again. 23rd of June it is then. 

The challenge now is to make sure the day the cast comes off, I slip a pair of S-Works shoes on and gingerly climb onto a turbo (note the rollers will have to wait), I'm in the best physical condition I can be. If I'm going to be initially down on power, then there needs to be a little of me as possible to haul uphill, push through the wind. My BMR is about 1700cals, plus activity factor puts me a 2150cals. Out come the scales, the rice cakes and the cottage cheese. 72kgs is the target. No sugar, desserts, biscuits or cakes. The core is getting an hour of solid training a day along with some modest quad work.

In terms of racing, I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I start in mid April, and race below par? Or do I delay and lay down a solid 100hrs of base before turning a wheel in anger. Mixed emotions and lots to consider. But I've got lots of time to think about it.

One thing's for sure - I'm not retiring yet.

    

What a Season: Sarah

December (if you can remember that long ago!) is in many ways the apex of the cyclo-cross season. The races come thick and fast, everyone is going that little bit quicker and it's generally freezing, which unfortunately seems to be a necessary prerequisite for "proper" 'cross. Unfortunately I picked up a cold towards the end of November which I didn't manage to shake until mid-December. Note to self: book a holiday next year!

Ploughing through the Boxing day mud

Coming in to the 5th round of the National Trophy at Bradford I hadn't been able to train as much as I would have wanted to so I wasn’t optimistic about doing particularly well. However I'd watched the nationals on the same course in 2013 and I knew it’d be worthwhile because, if nothing else, the course looked like great fun.

I was gridded on the front row for the first time which was both exciting and daunting; I knew I had a real chance of doing well but if I didn’t start well then I’d be holding up everyone behind me up. As it happens I got a really good start and by the end of the first lap I had established myself in about 8^th position, in a group with Delia Beddis and Amira Mellor.

We remained together for the remaining laps until Delia managed to power away, leaving myself and Amira Mellor battling for the 7^th spot. On the final lap, I managed to sneak in front on the final run up before the finish straight and sprint away for 7^th place. I was super happy with the result considering my training prior to the event. I would like to thank Dave, Alison, Ted, Steve, Heather and the Cyclocross Magazine gang for all the help!

After the race I left my Yorkshire student digs and headed back to the Newcastle homeland for Christmas. Next up on the race calendar was Cyclocross North East in Carlisle on the 22^ndDecember. What is usually a pleasant drive across the A69 became a battle with the driving rain. The only description which comes close to doing it justice is biblical and even that’s an understatement. To give you an idea the fastest mode of the windscreen wipers wasn’t even keeping up! A standard day up North right?

To ride or to run? That is the question....

A “quick” lap (about 10 minutes in actuality!) of the course was enough to realise it was going to be nothing other than a slog fest. Again I got a good start, cemented my lead which, with much hard effort and multiple bike changes I was able to maintain to the finish. 

Four days later it was time for the South Shields Boxing Day cross. It was a beautiful crisp morning, a bit frosty and a low winter sun. Conditions were perfect for cross and the mud was just about right. Again, a good start, pushed me well up the field, which I managed to maintain with some camber riding I was quite proud of! Two great CXNE courses and two top steps of the podium served as a lovely confidence booster heading into the headed into the final round of the National Trophy in Shrewsbury.

Sloppy....

Coming into the final trophy round, I was lying 9^th overall in the series, just one race away from my top ten goal at the start of the season. A super early start from Knaresborough began the mammoth commute to Shrewsbury in treacherously icy conditions. After a significant detour, we arrived running purely on diesel vapour – sure enough the van ‘konked out’ just as we were parking. But at least we made it! Getting petrol back in the car and back on the road (that minor, trifling issue) was something to be confronted later, right now it was race time.

I picked the less favourable side of the grid (although I made the front row again, whoop) which set me up on a dodgy line up the first steep camber. A great start placed me about 4^ththen after an unplanned dismount I settled into 6^th. Then before I knew it, I went over the top of two girls who had crashed. Picking myself up I started again quickly but I had lost so much of my hard earned advantage from the start. Into the woodland section of the course, I worked my way up a few places into about 8^th, but then second lap I punctured. This wasn’t a major problem in the deep mud of the tree section, but it was a total nightmare and practically unrideable on the fast tarmac straights. I lost a further 3 places and to add insult to injury and through no fault but my own I missed the pits so had an extra half lap on the rims. To cut a long, frustrating story short I finished in 11^th position and moved up the rankings into 7^thoverall. Having not had the best of luck this made the long drive North considerably more pleasant. I was over the moon to finish 7^th in the national trophy in my first season racing ‘cross - happy days!

The final race of the season was the National Championships in Derby. I spectated the veteran’s race on Saturday then attempted to ride the course afterwards. My findings from this research excursion can be succinctly summarised: absolute mud bath! In the hour I practised I almost managed to ride one full lap; almost. Amidst the enveloping darkness I retired for the night, with some serious bike washing to be completed before the big race and the even bigger problem of working out how I was going to get round.

Race day, was unusually quite relaxed! With a hotel 8 minutes from the venue, we arrived with plenty time before the race. After a proper warm up for once, I took to the start line with an excited grin on my face. Gridded second row, I slotted in just behind Wyman and Harris assuming they had a good start in them! Luckily they did and I clung to Harris’s wheel into the first corner following her presumably well researched line. I held onto 5^th place all the way until the sandpit, where a bad line took me down. Although the cameras did catch me and it was deemed worthy of a replay on the Eurosprt highlights, about ten minutes in, check it out! Anyhow, this meant I lost 3 or 4 places. However I got back on the bike and settled into a rhythm. The battle with the mud took its toll on me and my bike. It may as well have been made of lead, I could hardly lift it onto my shoulder and that was with changing every half a lap!.

Crossing the finish line at 40 minutes, I heard Wyman joining the finish straight behind me. Oh well, just another 10 minutes to suffer! With one rider just ahead and another behind, it was going to be tough lap. Places 13 to 15 were to be decided here. Sitting between the two riders, I just tried to stay upright. Finally my moment came at the boggiest section of the course, the rider in front slowed and started to run, whereas I managed to stay on the bike and plough slowly through it, which must have looked like a battle of snails! I managed to open a good gap so it was just a case of staying upright to the line, which is a lot easier said than done. I managed to get round the last lap relatively unscathed and I crossed the line in 13^th.   

One of the many tough climbs at Derby

So to conclude what has been a pretty whirlwind season. I started of looking to dabble in a few local races whilst being pushed to enter maybe one Trophy and see how it goes. A season later, I won every CXNE race I entered, won the British University Cross Championships, finished 7^th in the Trophy and 13^th at Nationals. When I look back to Abergavenny in October and remember how it felt to be the last gridded in the rain on completely the wrong tyres, I can see how far I have come in just one season. I was gridded front row in Bradford and Shrewsbury which was an amazing experience

I could not have moved from the back to the front of the grid without the help I have received this year. Such people include ‘Coach Ted’, DS Steve and Chief Cowbell ringer Andrew Yee at Cyclocross Magazine, who have enabled me to race a full season in quality kit. Big thanks also go to the awesome guys at Bioracer for the great kit and Tidds for all their help too.

Further mentions should go to all the gang at CXNE who put on amazing races week in, week out and all the lovely people I have met as a result of racing ‘cross of whom there are too many to mention. I would like to thank everybody who has helped me this year in the pits, Scott, Dave, Alison and Heather. And finally I am grateful to Jamie Brady and Tony Glover for their invaluable cyclocross tips and advice, I don’t know where I’d be without the help!

So thanks everyone and see you in August for some good old summer ‘cross!

Moment of fame