Cobbled hills and Pouring rain!!!

(what a bike..... COBRA Flanders!!!)

Since Antwerp I have been spending a large majority of time trying to get my body to recovery from the battering that it took. I did this mainly by Taking short low intensity recovery rides that allowed my body to steadily flush the excessive lactic build up from my legs, 15mins of stretching each evening focusing mainly on my legs steadily worked the tightness and knots out of my muscles increasing recovery, I also used arnica based muscle rubs such as Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies Joint & Muscle Rub working it into the muscles on a regular basis to help reduce post race inflammation which I find very helpful after hard bouts of racing and training, another way to reduce the inflammation was to take the arnica in Tablet form from the brand Weleda also available in the pharmacy you may be under the influence reading this that I am just trying to flog these products but the fact is studies have shown that all these methods do indeed promote faster recovery and in turn better performance, but its hard to beat an ice cold post race bath which dramatically reduces inflammation and increases circulation. I also own compression socks and tights so wearing these as often as I can increases circulation in my legs and aids the Lymphatic system to remove toxins and lactic acid, the compression also increases the rate at which damaged and worn muscle tissue repairs. In terms of post race diet, I focused mainly in keeping my protein intake high (not overdoing it) adding a boiled egg to my normal breakfast and a tin of tuna to lunch with a small protein shake alongside dinner for a few days after, providing my body with the nutrients needed for recovery. I was also recently supplied a self massaging tool from my sponsor Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health food stores which is one of the best items I have ever gotten my hands on, It is a rolling pin design with raised foam edges that work deep into the muscle triggering knots and forcing tight muscles to relax, It also has soft handles which can be used to target sore and tender trigger points. I have been using the massager after races and hard training sessions, apply deep therapy and light work when it is needed, I feel it has aided in my post race recovery massively and within the next while I intend to have a detailed video post on the item but with me being in Belgium and the availability of massages being very limited means having a portable device like this is invaluable. Again all of these products and many more are available In Molloys Lifestyle Pharmacies and Health Food stores. It’s important that when one intends to get as much as they can from their sport that they focus on all aspects of development and it is the recovery and nutrition that is often overlooked, and in the words of well known professional cyclist Bobby Jullich “My number 1 asset as a bike racer is my recovery”.
Recently my front cosmic carbone SL wheel gave in on me. when cruising down the road on it the braking surface literally bent out under the pressure of the tire, this was due to wear on the braking surface and the more the surface wore down the weaker it became until eventually the 120psi within the rime exploded out, fortunately I was not injured. Without wheels I had to make my way to the local bike shop were i got my hands on a pair of fulcrum 5's which are running great at the moment but after a few cobble sections and curbs put them through the test we shall soon see
I raced twice over the last weekend, it was meant to be Saturday and Sunday but due to some bad cooking on my behalf I was bed ridden on Saturday but no fear as I managed to pull myself round to race both Sunday and Monday instead.
Sunday’s race was 15km from my home so it was to provide me the perfect opportunity to warm up properly before the event. On the start line I was feeling nervous about what lay ahead, especially with the sickness taking the wind out of my sails 2 days earlier. But as the flag dropped and we rolled out, natural instinct kicked in, battling my way to the head of the bunch I kept out of the wind and positioned myself good, my team mate at this stage was attempting to launch an early break away move but was unsuccessful as the technical course and strong wind did not suit such a move. In each lap there was a challenging hill, short but very steep and what made it worse was that we descended down a narrow lane and then immediately turned onto the climb which killed all momentum and made it even harder for those at the rear. As the laps rocked by the sky began to darken and out of nowhere it rained cats and dogs, Bucket loads spilled onto the streets and the mass amount of surface water made cornering treacherous, splits began to occur in the field and those unable for the relentless pace were left behind, luckily I was upfront and as the paced increased further, nerves of steel and good bike handling skills enabled me to keep up, With 1 final lap to go the front bunch had been whittled to a mere 30 riders and as we rounded the last bend I sprinted hard in the closing metres to attain 18th, one of my best results to date. If you are interested in reading about my Race on the Monday and how I got my best result in Belgium so far, Pick up a Sligo Weekender Newspaper and get my final few weekly updates about my racing in Belgium from my column inside!!

Back on Belgium Soil and Antwerp!!

Since arriving back to Belgium, I have steadily worked myself back into the routine of waking every morning, training or racing and spending the remainder of the day recovering or working on my column in the paper. Back living with my house mates having the same old crack is priceless, having no English channels on our T.V and with the music channels playing Katy Perry and snoop dog a thousand times a day they to offer very little entertainment. But at the end of the day I’m not here for entertainment, I’m here to better my cycling ability and this can only be done by intelligent training, adequate recovery and challenging races one of which I experienced in full last weekend.
Ronde Van Antwerp (Tour of Antwerp) is a 4 day stage race, stage 1 is 140km, stage 2 is 120km, stage 3 is 170km and stage 4 is 188km. The racing was fast and aggressive, I rode well on stage 1 finish in the bunch and managing to avoid the abundance of crashes littering the roads with mangled bikes and bodies, overall the team performed great with all 6 of us finishing in the main peloton.
Stage 2 was a 4 lap race of 120km in total, the many bends and the pouring rain made for treacherous riding and I was to experience this first hand as we raced through a wooded section on slippery cobbles coated in rotting leaves. 2 laps in I came a cropper landing on my arse sustaining no injuries but unfortunately ending up out the back of the peloton, behind the team car I did my best to make contact with the bunch once again, hugging the rear bumper of the car I attained speeds of up to 100km/h but it was all in vain as there was too much ground to make up and as I tried my best to reach the peloton the extreme wind and wet roads succeeded in stopping me. I finished 7 minutes down which was very demoralising but it’s part of racing, you have you good days and your bad days.
Stage 3 was a 170km haul of 4 X 42.5km loops, the pace was frantic and with the large open roads the peloton was exposed to savage winds leaving it strung out in 1 long line as riders fought for cover, my team mate Dan Patten made his way into the break of the day which went from the gun but unfortunately crashed on a sharp bend, he was picked up by the peloton and hung in strong till the finish. Once again the team stood up to the challenge and as the miles ticked by they seemed to have little or no impact on us as we rode strongly at the head of the peloton. We all finished in the main bunch happy with our rides.
Stage 4 was a long haul of 188 km, I was nervous the night before thinking of what await me on the road tomorrow, I had heard rumours of heavy rain and savage winds which would leave the race in ribbons. But I was confident that I had the form needed to complete the race. With the drop of the flag the heat was on from the gun strung out on the long open stretches, riders were breaking down left right and centre as the effects of the last 3 days were taking their toll upon their legs. With each of the passing lap and as those up front turned on the gas even more; I could feel my own legs suffering under the intensity. As splits occurred ahead of me on a cobble section I was left helpless to close them, in the stormy weather and plummeting temperatures I could do no more, my group rolled in to the finish are only to be pulled out a lap early. When I look back on the situation it is easy to say I should have been up the front or I should have tried harder, but at the time you have to accept what happens and hopefully taking something away from it that will benefit you next time. In regards to recovering during the stages, the fact that I had my Kenetica 100% recovery at my disposal and was also using my roller massager on my legs in the evening everything went to plan. check out the video blog below were I give a little more detail on the products.
But now with Antwerp behind me and the end of the season a little over a month away I can focus on finish strong and strive my best to achieve that illusive Belgian result that I so deeply crave.

But right now I'm just back from a training ride with Dan Patten & Arne Opsomer, we went for a nice steady cruise to Ronse which is the town that the pro tour event The Eneco Tour will be starting and finishing at. Whilst there we visited a friend of ours Wouter Mariesse who gave us some cola and then made us buy him coffee. It also gave me a good opportunity to test out my new wheel set Fulcrum 5's, which performed excellent but for the fact that the entire cassette fell off down the road.

Also my nutritional sponsor James Geraghty of Molloys lifestyle Pharmacies and Healthfood stores and Paul Dunne of Ballina dental practice have also began a blog on there quest to complete and Iron Man in 2011, more details to come but it may be to some of your liking.

Also check out my most recent Video Post.

Suir Valley 3day!!

There has been a small stall in my blog posts, but now that I have personal things more on track its time to start laying out the news. Its been a pretty exciting past few weeks, End of the TDF, Suir Valley 3day, travelling back to Belgium, and Dan Martin winning Tour Of Poland,.
With Contador having sealed his 3rd TDF and shockingly having being pushed to his max and what seems like beyond by the Schleck, made for cycling the likes of which we haven’t seen since the days of Big Jan turning the 53/11 up Alp D’Huez In pursuit of what is now a Fallen hero Lance Armstrong. Nicholas Roche once again put in a sterling performance this year and could have achieved even higher if it weren’t for the terribly timed attacks of his team mate John Gadret. Roche came on bad luck when he punctured in the closing kilometres of a mountain top finish and almost immediately, unaware of Roche’s problems Gadret attacked, sparking responses which in turn left the Irish rider chasing in vain. But for Roche next year is another season and another tour, one in which we can all be rest assured he will perform excellently in.
What was simply 7 days after the tour another top Irish Pro Dan Martin stepped up to take overall victory in the Tour Of Poland, The 7 day stage race containing a mixture of terrains and strong teams were to prove no obstacle to the man who is quoted by many great cycling names as a potential Grand tour winner.
But back to more important matter yes you guessed it….. Me!!! For the many riders out there who claim racing back home in Ireland is a doodle in the park, the displays of racing at the Suir valley 3day would easily put that comment to rest. Arriving to Clonmel on the Friday night in order to avoid the exhausting trip on the sat morning was a very wise choice. I woke Saturday morning fully motivated for what the day had on the cards;
The 115km stage 1 was to be a very tough race, covering a number of category 2 climbs in what was terrible weather would soon sort the thick from the thin. Meeting up with my Irish Team at sign on and getting ready was pretty straight forward. I lined up among the other competitors and racing began pretty quickly, We shot out the Carrick On Suir road at break neck pace covering the initial 15km in a mere 14minutes. Break away attempts were going almost from the gun and adopting my experience of racing like this in Belgium I did my best to respond to those that looked in any way a possible success. Wet roads caused multiple crashes but I raced hard to keep at the front avoiding problems. Unfortunately I missed the Initial break and was left with no choice but to attack the remains of the bunch and make chase on those in the lead. Joined by 5 others we worked ourselves to exhaustion on route to the finish, with 15km to go we managed to make contact with what was the riders who had been shelled from the break away, We continued our work efforts for the remainder of the race narrowing the advantage of the riders still ahead to 35seconds at the end

Stage 2 was a 95km trek with initial attacks from over anxious riders almost immediately being put to sleep as the main contending teams took control establishing a fast and consistent pace. Efforts to escape and gain time would be pointless so I held strong in the Peloton and in the closing Km’s I made multiple attempts to crack those up front, using the many small climbs as spring boards to launch my attacks. As much as I tried I was shut down rapidly by the An Post, Eurocycles, Isle Of Man team and other Strong Irish riders who were well aware of the threat a rider would pose if let go. The stage was to finish in a bunch gallop with the technical and winding streets to the finish line proving fatal for king of mountains Mark Cassidy who came a cropper on the final bend.

Stage 3 was a 1.4km time trial around the streets of Clonmel. Still running joint 7th with 10 others it would be this event that would sort us out. I performed my warm up and made my way to the starting area for my turn to roll down the ramp and attempt to post a rapid time. As the Commissar counted 3, 2, 1… I was away. Hammering hard on the pedals giving all my effort, I lined myself up for the bends and swooped through them gracefully. I gave it 100% of my effort and reaped the results placing me in 8th overall for the stage. I had completed the 1.5km course in 1min 42sec.

Stage 4 was a 100km race, which would be my final chance to attain the race lead if such a thing was possible for anyone, The yellow jersey was now sitting on the back of Andy Roche and backed by an extremely strong 10man Isle Of Man National Team victory seemed certain for him. 1min down on the race leader I was still highly confident that if I could sneak into a break away and press on in the final Km’s I could win. With the Isle of Man Team protecting their rider Andy Roach and his yellow jersey I bided my time allowing others to wear them down with constant attacks. A strong 8 man break escaped the IOM clutches and wasn’t reeled in until 15km to go. At this point I decided to make my move as the fatigued IOM team were shattered from the chase. Attacking with all I had I managed to get one or two breaks moving but were all short lived as the few riders left in the peloton were all under the same thought giving it their best to get away. It wasn’t until 5km to go, just after one of my attempts to escape had been foiled, that 5 riders countered and jumped clear, totally exhausted from all of my efforts all I could do was sit back and watch as they rode off into the distance. Among them was Thomas Martin of the Eurocycles team who managed to gain sufficient advantage over Andy Roche that he walked away with the overall race lead and the Yellow Jersey.

Looking back many people shined that weekend, Tigerneach Murphy my team mate managed 2nd in the Mountains competition, I myself managed 11th overal and my brother Ciaran whom was under the view when starting the event that he would be hammered came in 37th, a great ride all round.