New job

Just a quick little anouncement.

I've been hired by Chann Mcrae Cycling as a staff coach. I've been coaching for a few years, I ususally have between 5-6 athletes. With CMCI I am looking to add a few more, with the prospect of possibly being able to do this on a more full time basis in the future.

The website will not be updated for a few more weeks, but we will be offering everything that you would normally find in a world class coaching company.

Info on CMCI

Info on Chann

Fayetteville Stage Race

An interesting weekend of racing for sure. I knew my form was really starting to come up, even so, i decided to take the conservative approach. The goal for the first RR was to sit in and stay out of trouble....also to eat alot! Probably one of the easiest races i've sat in on in the last couple of years. No sweat.

Rode back to the truck started getting the recovery going, eating, drinking and relaxing. Not sure but this may be what i'm best at in cycling. Relaxing.

TT:

Honestly, i have not been on my TT bike as much as I probably should have been this year, but i have done quite a few interval sessions on it and am relatively comfortable. Last year I averaged ~330w, so my goal this year was 340+. After it was all said and done, i had averaged 350w (5.2w/kg) for just under 16min. Good power, average time. Obviouly my position leaves a lot to be desired. I need to work on that before i get to Fort Davis.



Sitting in about 40th on GC, my goal was to help the team. Vasanth rode a killer TT, but with questionable form he wasn't ready for the burden of team GC rider. So it was left up to Karl, who has been riding very well for the last month or more anyway.

I sat in staying sheltered, trying to tell myself that i felt better than i actually did (i know now that i felt bad because i got sick the next day, but was back to riding on wednesday).

About 1/2way through the race Willis started yelling into the radios that we needed to get to the front to help chase. I knew that it was going to be tough and that i'd be done for the day if i just pulled as long as i could. We pulled the break within striking distance and karl was able to bridge across. I was trashed and feeling a little woozie. We finished 7th on the day and 10th GC.

Lago Vista

Saturdays race was brutal. My legs hurt, they felt empty and my energy level wasn't all that high. However, i'm tired of this little mini-slump (of about 2weeks) i've been in. I know what caused it, a miss step in my training, but I had been waiting to finally turn that corner and get my legs back.

Saturday i tried going with some of the earlier stuff. When the break went, i wasn't in it. At some point Wheeler attacked the main group trying to bridge up to the large break up the road. I don't know what spurred it on, maybe just luck but i decided to go with him. The chase eventually included about 6 guys including another teammate. We finally made it across after what seemed like forever, but was probably more like 15mins.

Once we made the group, I was dead. My goal was to sit in until the end and see what I might have left. After 20mins, I got gapped off of the back, picked up by the chase group and eventually fell off of that pace too. The effort to get across took its toll. I couldn't turn the pedals over anymore.

The second day went much better, sort of....

I felt great, my legs were giving me good signals that i would be able to be competitive today. Maybe I've turned a corner? The pace started of fast, really fast. I think THSJ's goal was to split the field in the first lap. I survived.

5 laps in I found myself rolling to the front as the field was coasting, so I attacked and got a decent gap. After a bit a few riders came up, but not riders that I felt were protected riders. Unless some bigger names come across, we are doomed. After about a lap we came back into the group. And i sat in, to recover. The race was pretty tough, the pack split and was guttered on the back side each time. I was able to be in each selection, or jump across.

With 4-5 laps to go, somebody went down on the climb, and I found myself chasing back to the main group. Minutes later, as we are flying down the back side, a deer decides to see if he can 'frogger' his was through our pack. We were doing ~40mph and the deer probably about 25... The fawn made it all the way through from left to right, and hit a THSJ rider on the far right side. It looked like a terrible crash. I slowed as i wasn't sure if would get taken down by other riders or debris. I made it through ok, but again found myself chasing back on. Just made it with a few laps to go. Although there was a break of 10 up the road, the main group only had ~25 left in it. For some reason, my legs were still good!? So I attacked the group to see if i could draw a few guys to go with me. Unfortunately i did cross the yellow and was DQ'd! No reason to shout or scream at the ref, i did it(although an accident) and i got caught. My day was done.

Trying to end on a positive note here, my form is back and i didn't go down this weekend.