8 Months for 8 Days!!

8 Months for 8 Days!!

8 months training for 8 days of racing. The time has come once again, Bags are packed and body is primed all in advance of Irelands toughest bike race “The An Post Ras”. The Ras is an 8day stage race UCI 2.2 which over the 8 days covers 1180km split between 8 stages. It has been running now for years and every year the level of competition grows; former winners of the Ras have gone to be World cycling champions. Below is a layout of the Race stage by stage. 

An Post Rás route 2013 (UCI 2.2):

Stage 1, Sunday May 19: Dunboyne to Longford, 135.4 kms:

Stage 2, Monday May 20: Longford to Nenagh, 160.4 kms:

Stage 3, Tuesday May 21: Nenagh to Listowel, 141.1 kms:

Stage 4, Wednesday May 22: Listowel to Glengariff, 153 kms:

Stage 5, Thursday May 23: Glengarriff to Michelstown, 150.2 kms:

Stage 6, Friday May 24: Mitchelstown to Carlow, 154.6 kms:

Stage 7, Saturday May 25: Carlow to Naas, 141.2 kms:

Stage 8, Sunday May 26: Naas to Skerries, 144.6 kms:

I have been working towards the event every single day since September when my 2012 season finished. Constant attention to Training, Diet and Lifestyle has all been paid in order to bring my body to the event in the best condition that I can achieve. As always sickness, injury and logistical issues can slow ones preperations, but genuinely I feel things have gone to plan quite well.

Hammering up the cobbled climb in Lincoln last week!!

During the winter months I worked hard on developing a solid base which was greatly aided by attending http://functionalfitness.ie/functionalfitness.ie/ spin classes and circuit training which kept some intensity in my legs as well as bringing on my endurance base. From this I worked with http://www.fitscience.ie/ to bring on my road training and develop a program which would give me the fitness that I needed to compete with the best. All this combined with the nutritional and diet support provided by www.molloyspharmacy.com/ helped get my weight down steadily as well as providing me with the fuel to power my engine through the countless hours on my bike as I ploughed through rain, hail, snow and lack of sun.
When the racing season closed in I was very lucky to be chosen to be a sponsored athlete of http://www.chaindrivencycles.com/ who provided me with a top of the range racing bike “Bottecchia Supernova SP9” and a “Powertap Pro” training wheel. The bike was great performing well with no issues and the Powertap allowed me to take my training to the next level making the most of every mile I rode.

After all the races and training sessions I am finally here, The Ras begins on Sunday and I will be competing at the top level, Last year I finished a solid 33rd overall & 3rd Irish rider in the race. This year I would hope to perform the same or improve on it further. So keep an eye on my twitter https://twitter.com/PaddyClk or my facebook https://www.facebook.com/paddy.c.clarke?ref=tn_tnmn for constant updates over the next few days on my performances on stages. That’s it for this blog and with a bit of luck hopefully I’ll have some good news in the next post.

Pre Ras Blog!!

May Post:
Since my last blog post I have ridden some good races and put away some solid serious training. In the Last blog I provided some updates about the Des, Ras Mumhan & Stamullen, in the post I detailed how the
races went and how I had began introducing Intensity training into my routine in large volumes to really bring on my form for the Ras.

I was provided a G2 Powertap Training wheel by Stephan Mullane from www.chaindrivencycles.com this totally transformed my training and gave me the ability to see my level of progression and power out from and during my intervals. I have used power in the past and I can honestly say that there is no better way to train. I began by doing a power test with http://www.fitscience.ie/, from which I was able to work out my training zones, this then in turn gave me the ability to ride using the power meter and be able to correctly train my endurance, tempo, threshold, VO2 and Anaerobic training Zones.
It was great to see my numbers rapidly rise over the past few weeks and  especially with the An Post Ras Just around the corner nothing is more motivating than the knowledge that I am on the up. I have been working my way through a solid block of intensity over the past 3 weeks mixed in with the Nenagh Classic and Tour of Ulster.
Regarding my Nutrition over the past few weeks, I have began a course of Molloys Energy+ Multi Vit and Mineral capsules along with a course of Iron tablets with Vit C which are available at www.molloyspharmacy.com/‎ or in stores. I am doing this to ensure my body is properly topped up prior to the An Post Ras, Its important for anyone who is racing consistently and with big events approaching to make sure their nutrient levels are at 100% or as close as they possibly can be

(Sprint In Nenagh GP for 9th)

Nenagh Classic: Nenagh has now become one of the most represented and heavily challenged races on the Irish Calendar. I travelled down the day before and took part in the Team Time Trial where we took second place to the Elite Dutch Guest team. The Squad then raced the following day in The Nenagh Classic road race, I was well primed for the race and it showed when we hit the 40km mark and the bunch exploded on the second KOH of the day, I made way into the front group which whittled down more and more as each climb came. In the end I finished a solid 9th against a strong field which was a good result and one that showed my form was on the way up.
After Nenagh I again put away a solid block of training that I hoped would continue to bring on my form, I travelled to Girona for 4 days in the climbs in the surrounding mountains which went great. I had good health and savage training which is going to pay off when I’m in the climbs in Kerry during the Ras.

 (Time Trial in Tour Of Ulster)

Tour of Ulster: The tour of Ulster is possibly the 3rd hardest event on the Irish Calendar behind Ras Mumhan and the An Post Ras. With all the top Irish domestic teams at the race I was happy to get on as well as I did, taking 12th overall. On the First stage I had a bad run of luck missing both moves coming in around 3 mins behind the winner. In the Time trial I rode well finishing 10th which I was happy with as it gave me reassurance that I could compete at the top level. Stage 3 I went out full throttle riding into the break after 5km and staying up the road for the entire stage in the end I finished 8th on the stage. Again on stage 4 I went into the break after 5km driving it clear from the bunch and working in it for over 100km, we were then reeled in by the hard chasing bunch which I blended into and hung on for dear life finishing 11th on the stage. I was pretty happy with the result as I had been in the breakaway for so long and still had the legs as we went over the climb the final 2 times.

As for my Equipment, I rode my Planet X Stealth TT bike in the Time Trial & on the road stages I raced my Bottecchia Supernova SP9 which was supplied to me by www.chaindrivencycles.com It is a great bike and again this weekend it proved it, its ability to climb mixed in with its stiffness in the sprints makes it a perfect ride for anyone looking to upgrade to a better bike, looks wise the bike is classy especially with its aero profile mixed in with my campagnolo record groupset and fulcrum zero wheels.
Next up for me is the Lincoln GP in the UK so I’m hoping my good legs will continue and if I can pull of a good result will be real happy.