dur times

After last weekend's mishap, where I ended the race with my bike in basically pieces, I luckily (with the help of my team mate and the local bike shop) got the bike back up and running within a couple of days.

To be pretty blunt the season so far hasnt been good for me. The standard of racing here is incredibly good and no race has gone by without being lined out in the gutter. To be honest I havent managed to adapt to this well and after the first month or so out here the type of racing now is completely different.

Where as in February and March the races were longer and more controlled, now the majority of races are kermesse like, on small circuits, still very fast and just lots of attacking and lasting normally 100km or so.


Realising it's not quite happening at the moment for me, my team mate (winner of over 40 races, so a lot of experience) got me working on my power in the week. This meant a good 3hr plus ride with big gear efforts up the 1-3km climbs. Safe to say it was a hard session. We have also been working on sprints and especially that initial jump.


So after a couple of hard days I lined up for The Trophee Daniel Le Breton series race in Ploemel. A mere half an hour drive away for me.


Arriving with my team mate Sebastien and Sam Allen (both not racing due to injuries) I signed on at the podium and began a warm up. Being a 3.2km circuit this meant I was able to get a good few laps in. Feeling a bit tired the days leading up to the race I was surprised I felt ok as I rode round and did a few efforts to open up.

The circuit was a wearing one. Consisting of a short climb upto the finish, a very fast section and a quite nasty, if short, drag round the back. Oh yes and also two nasty dead corners to sprint out of!


So 3:30pm and lined up. Just over 70 riders. AC Lanester, VCP Lorient, Hennebont Cyclisme and BIC 2000 riders were all present. A good quality field as ever. For UCL Hennebont we had myself, Gurvan, Pascal and Rene. What lay ahead was 31 laps, some primes and an invevitable fast start.


Knowing the roads were narrow, there was a lot of corners and the sheer speed I made sure, as we were waved away, I was sitting in the top 10-15 riders. Feeling surprisingly good, within a few hundred metres attacks started to fly.

Following wheels I was in a good place, and although not comfortable, I was ok. After a lap (just shy over 30mph average) gaps were opening. Breaks were going and then being reeled in. Onto the drag round the back of the circuit and an attack went. I was sitting a dozen or so riders back and jumped to follow. I couldnt quite get on terms though and was dangling a handful of bike lengths behind. As the drag eased out I was joined by an ASPTT Rennes rider. But it was to late. Turning onto the main road and the break of 10 or so riders were dangling but with just myself and one other rider and a fast, windy and open road it was to little to late. The break were soon gone. I'd missed it.


The rest of the race was pretty disheartening to be honest. In the bunch and feeling strong, knowing I should and did have the legs to be in the break just annoyed I didnt have the legs at the time to follow the attack.

One lap to go and the peleton was a mere 15 or so riders as the pace and parcours took there toll. Onto the drag for the last time and with a lot of riders up the road in a number of groups were werent racing for much. Still its a race and I wanted to finish with an effort. Half way up the drag and a rider attacked, I jumped and got on and we were soon joined by a couple of other riders. 1km to go and into the finish and the last turn onto the finishing line.


After grounding my pedal on this corner earlier in the race, I was cautious and not willing to take risks for a 25th-30th place. Easing back I was 4th man and thats the way it finished after coming across the line.

A disappointing race, a very nearly good one, just plain and simply didnt have the legs and the right time to close that gap to the break.

In better news Rene finished 12th and Pascal 18th. Myself 30thish and Gurvan in what was left of the peleton.

Getting a bit tired of writing about getting a kicking so will leave you with my plan for avoiding this in the future!


Plan from now is to basically train like a crit rider. Short sharp efforts, little recovery and high cadences. I am determined to crack these races and do well out here...just gonna keep plugging away, train, rest well and what will be will be!

Photos - SPORTBREIZH - tout le cyclisme et le cyclotourisme en Bretagne -

Photos - SPORTBREIZH - tout le cyclisme et le cyclotourisme en Bretagne -: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

An expensive afternoon in Pleucadeuc

The Boucles du Val d'Oust, a 1/2/3 cat race was the plan for Sunday.




After the plainly shocking display at the semi nocturne on Friday I was in the mood to make amends.




12:30pm and Nick and Tony arrived at the house to drive me, the hour or so, to Pleucadeuc, a town the other side of Auray. Another pretty hot day in store.




Arriving and the wind was howling, as usual for Brittany! Signed on and ready to roll. I had a half an hour warm up with some sprints to open the legs up.


After Friday's shocking race I took Saturday relatively easy with just a light spin on the bike and a much needed massage. Although my legs weren't feeling great, warming up, they were a great deal better than Fridays.


So 2:30pm and we were lined up on the start ready to go. This was a pretty impressive field of just over 100 riders including Sojasun, BIC 2000, Cotes d'armor, Hennebont Cyclisme, UC Nantes, Cholet, VCP Lorient and AC Lanester to name just a few. Representing UCL Hennebont was the experienced Rene, and the not quite so experienced...me!




Off we went. 90km en ligne then a 5km finishing circuit to be done 8 times. So 130km. You wouldnt have thought it was 130km though the speed we set off! With the bit between my teeth I battled to the front and after a mere 1km saw one of the race favourites (Vincent Ragot, Lanester) go on the attack. Keen to get away and make the break I jumped across. Yet the bunch were in a fierce mood and soon it was all back together.

This pattern of events followed for around an hour! As attacks went and were brought back. Soon with a strong head/crosswind the bunch were in tatters as the pace, 44km/h average for the first hour, and the rolling parcours took their toll.

Soon a break went. I was in a good place sitting top 15 in the bunch but to be honest just didnt have the strength  to react. Luckily Rene could and soon had got away with a dozen others.


The bunch were not happy to let this go though and hitting a climb attacks were going left right and centre. Legs were feeling pretty average still but head was good and I was keen to bridge to the break. Soon with the climb and the sheer pace I got away in a chase group of 15 or so riders.


With BIC 2000, Cholet and Saur Sojasun in the chase group I was in good company. The break was insight  we had Rene in it meaning I could get a free ride across...everything was looking positive.

Then it started going wrong. I missed the bottle at the feed. On such a warm day this was key. Still I had a few more opportunities to get a bottle. Next issue was the chase group or to put it bluntly the lack of chase! As riders ducked and dived we were a mere few hundred metres at times behind the break. Yet no one was committed. Annoying to say the least before long the peleton came back upto us.




By now the bunch was significantly smaller and sensing the race was going up the road, riders were chipping off the front in pursuit. Soon we hit the finishing circuit, 5km, about a kilometres shallow climb, a short descent and a relatively flat remainder. 


We had 8 laps and after missing the bottle I was starting to feel dehydrated on such a warm day. I did though find myself in a group of around 10 riders and soon we were working well to close in, now what was the second group, on the road.

Lap after lap we were a couple of hundred metres behind the second group on the road but as we were going flat out, so were they! So basically lap after lap deadlock. We were closing the gap on the climb only to lose it on the flat.




So 4 laps to go and onto the climb again. Climbing ok, legs were pretty average as they had been all race. We were coming upto 20km to go and were now in touching distance of the group up ahead. 




That is until the AC Lanester rider behind me decided to ride into my rear wheel. What happened next was very abrupt and very final! His front wheel hit my rear mech and pushed it into my wheel, thus snapping the hanger and in turn ripping the mech and spokes in my wheel..oh and the chain as well!


To put this into persepective I came to such an abrupt stop I took an inch of rubber off my tyre. Hacked off to put it politely. My race was over.


Can only be thankful I didnt crash, mainly due to the fact this happened on the drag. I wouldnt like to think what would have happened if this was on the descent.




Also this occured on the finishing circuit, again better here than on the 90km en ligne. Still as you can tell it could have been a hell of a lot worse.


Still feeling pretty annoyed and a bit down in the dumps about it. A trip to the bikeshop today where I spent a small fortune yet was unable to get a rear mech hanger.


Ordered one now on the internet, hopefully will arrive soon and I can get back into the swing of things for the weekend.


Decided to do just Sunday's race this weekend as need a confidence boost and think better to concentrate on one race rather than two. I am learning a lot, but to be fair taking a hammering. 

Yes, its May and the seasons long but then again I need to start getting to the sharper end of these races...if anyone has any ideas how please let me know!

first semi nocturne: Ploeren

Hello and welcome to my first post nocturne post!

It's 7am, Ive hardly had a wink of sleep, can only mean its the morning after a late night race.


After Tro Div Ster, last weekend, I came out of the race with pretty good legs and was just lacking the rolling parcours to use them on.

So keen to get stuck into more racing I was down to ride The Trophee Daniel Lebreton Nocturne on Friday night.

A 7:30pm start meant a day of chilling. I was quite keen to get a short ride in on the morning but was advised by my team mate to be as fresh as possible for the evening's race.

6pm and picked up in the team car by my team mate Gurvan and his girlfriend. Off we set for the 30 min drive to Ploeren. Arriving at an industrial estate, we parked up. Bikes off and headed to sign on.

72 riders down to ride including such names as David Chopin (ex Credit Agricole stagiare) Vincent Ragot (just finished Tour of Brittany) and Warren Barguil (top espoir often picked to race for national team). So to put it bluntly, with Cholet and a number of others also fielding a strong team, this was gonna be a full on race!


So all kitted up and half an hour to go I set off for a warm up around the circuit. 2.5km panflat, one roundabout, 4 corners, lots of wind and basically a tour of the industrial estate. A few laps done, with some sprints to open up, I got on the second row of the line ready for the inevitable fast start. Team had quite a few riders at this one, six in fact and 36 laps for us to do something in.


7:30pm and we were away, 90km of flat, flat out, industrial estate action! First lap, and the anticipated fast start was not happening. The bunch were happy to roll along and even with a Cholet rider (eventual winner) attacking from the gun, there was little urgency within the bunch. One lap done and the race began!


Attacks left right and centre, tonnes of sprinting out of corners, jumping about and riders cornering like 50 pence pieces! A couple of laps in and other than the constant sprinting out of corners I was feeling ok. Following wheels and trying to bide my time to get in the right move.

A few laps later this all seemed to go to pot. Legs suddenly came over heavy and sluggish. Although I was keen to race my legs were refusing to. So unsurprisingly moves began going off the front and I just couldnt react to them. Soon a massive group had gone. Basically race over.


So in a group of 15 or so we continued. Still feeling pretty rough and wondering where my good legs from Tro Div Ster and Tour des Mauges had gone.

To make a long and quite honestly uninteresting, remainder of the race short, I came in in the group sprinting for 30th or so.


With myself and Gurvan the only two finishers from the team it was safe to say it was a pretty rubbish race for us all!

Chopin was his normal awesome self getting in the break, Barguil and Ragot didnt fair much better than me and Cholet ripped it up and won.

So another panflat, sprint fest. A mixture of bad legs, sprinting out of the same roundabout 36 times and a quality field meant unsurprisingly I got a kicking. One to forget.

Only surprising thing was, I was told, there was actually a group behind ours, clearly going even worse!

So race finishing at 9:45pm and arriving home, 11pm. Still wired after the race Ive managed a mere 4 hours sleep.


Plan today is try and recover some sleep for tomorrows race, a light spin on the bike and a have a much needed massage (not had one in a very long time)


Tomorrow, Boucles du Val d'Oust 1/2/3 race at Pleucadeuc. 90km en ligne then 8 laps of a 5.1km circuit. Really looking forward to this one, which on paper looks to at least be rolling if not hilly!!

Lets hope for a better nights sleep, better legs and a race tomorrow that at least has a motorway bridge!

Tro Div Ster stage 3: getting stuck in!

So after the disappointing TT in the morning I was ready to make ammends in the final stage in the afternoon.

The GC out of the window for us but not for the top few riders who were only seperated by a handful of seconds, this was going to come down to the wire!


Billed as a relatively flat stage with two KOM points a small 2.5km circuit to start with to be done 3 times, followed by a 62.5km loop and finished off with a 6km crit like finishing circuit do be done 5 times.

Saur Sojasun in yellow with UC Nantes and Cholet snapping at their heals, the next 100km would decide the overall and for myself would be an opportuntity to get envolved in some moves and hopefully make a breakaway.

From our lunch stop at Lanester we had a 20 minute drive to the start of the final stage in a town called Erdeven. Arriving and the weather was great, 24 degrees and sunny. Early we headed off for a coffee and chilled out. Bikes prepped by helpers and kitted up, we signed on and I set of for a 20 minute warm up and a look round the 2.5km starting loop.

chat with manager, Yvon before stage 3

Unlike the morning my legs felt good, infact they felt great! So lined up 2:15pm and we were off.


From the gun the pace was on and I sat relatively comfortably in the first 20 riders as Sojasun lined the bunch out. The 2.5km loop was a twisting one and one definately to be ridden near the front.


Coming out of the 3 starting loops the bunch was in one line and the attacks were flying. Keen to get in a move I followed the wheels and was soon away with a Nantes and Cotes d'Armor rider. Feeling strong was not enough as the bunch was in hot pursuit and soon we were back in the fold, only for more numerous attacks to follow.


With a high quality field such as this it is pretty much down to a bit of calculation and luck as to who to follow. I found this out as soon a 4 rider group had slipped away and soon had built a small gap. I'd missed the move, more out of bad luck than anything.


So the break was established at 20 or so seconds. Saur Sojasun were in no mood though to lose the GC and had 5 riders on the front of the bunch and thus lining it out. 40km in and onto the first KOM. My team mate Pascal knowing I was feeling good got me into the top dozen riders as we hit the bottom of the 1km ascent. Feeling good the attacks began and although I couldnt respond to the first one I got in a chase group and crested the hill.


Flat out, Safe to say somes up the next few kilometres as break, chase and bunch were hammering along. 50km and final KOM the pace hadnt let up and we flew up it.


To put it simply the next 10km were the same, in that Saur Sojasun basically kept the hammer down and literally kept the bunch in one long line.


Onto the finishing circuit. Now as dangerous finishing circuits go I think this was well up there...6km loop, 3 roundabouts, 2 train track crossings and a load of road furniture..good job we werent hurtling round it then 5 times at close to 50km/h!

 Across the finishing line for the first time the crowds were big and the atmosphere electric.  The break were holding a minutes lead yet the gap was coming down. Last lap and were break were caught. A big bunch kick was on the cards. Great..for a sprinter!




So with good legs again it was all coming down to a sprint and to be honest I chickened out. Last 1km and with two roundabouts 100 riders and the win on the cards the bunch were all over the place. Not confidient about getting stuck in with this I sat back abit and as the sprint opened up I was about 30/40 riders back and did sprint and surprisingly actually made up quite a few places. 

So final stage done. 44km/h average. Can say 100km done literally km 0 to 100 pretty much lined out!

Very hot and very very fast. Sojasun held onto yellow, UC Nantes won the stage, all our team finished in bunch safely and personally I had given it a good go with a few attacks on the final stage. 

 Unfortunately this was a race really between the big few teams and was only decided by that TT. A shame there wasnt a couple more stages or harder parcours to break things up a little.

Good news is legs are good, just hoping upcoming races have a few more hills in it to split things up abit! Not sure I can face another bunch sprint!

Tro Div Ster stage 2: Team TT

So after a massage and a good meal after stage 1 I got to bed early. Unfortunately a bad sleep was had and with a 7am wake up on Sunday it was safe to say I was feeling a bit sleepy!


So a light breakfast, all kit and bike prepared..ready to go. 8:30am and  the team car and team mates arrived at the house. It was pretty cold out so layered up we set off to ride to the start, 10km or so away in a town called Kervignac. With the team cars following us we were able to get a bit of motorpacing to open the legs up and prepare us for the mornings stage.

Arriving, and again all the teams present as was the huge podium, banners and organisation. Signed on I headed off for a warm up of around 30 minutes.

Now The French are not renowned for their love of timetrialling and unfortunately my team fully embraced this! The plan was to just ride 80% and save as much as possible for the final, afternoons stage. So any hopes of a good GC were forgotten and to be honest it was going to be hard to compete anyway with 90% of the teams fully aeroed up on TT bikes.

With no turbo trainer in France I set about doing a few efforts on the ajoining roads.

So 9:27am we lined up ready for the off. Normal road bikes, a rider less than most of the other teams, after losing Yoann yesterday, and no practise of a team timetrial...this was to be interesting.

Off we went and my team mate Pascal set off like a scolded cat. A relatively flat 20.5km TT with a few drags and a block headwind throughout! So getting into it we were rolling through yet I could tell we weren't going well. Compared to the day before my legs felt wooden and other than Pascal, my other team mates legs werent much better.

A few kilometres in and one of my team mates started missing turns. So down to 4 riders doing through and not really knowing where I was going it was a case of just get to the finish! So hitting the finish I can safely say it was one of the worst TT's I've ever ridden!


Not surprisingly we were smashed by Sojasun. The shock was we were smashed by 3 minutes. Sojasun, fully aeroed up and clearly flying did it with a storming ride, considering the headwind, in 24 minutes for the 20.5km.

Disappointing for us, but to be honest what can be expected, no aero aids, no practise and little motivation.

Luckily though in France the three minutes we lost is actually not reflected in the GC! It seems that they work out the GC not based on the TT times but on where the team placed in the stage.

So Sojasun won, then UC Cholet were second, so were put 5 secs back, next team, UC Nantes Atlantique were 3rd so were put 10 secs back and so on and so on. So basically we were 18th team...but seemed to be put just over a minute back so to be honest was a bit confused but just happy we weren't 3 minutes down on GC!


So a good warm down round the afternoon's finishing circuit, changed and headed to the local supermarket! Why? Well this is where lunch was put on. A good lunch it was too of pasta, vegetables, rolls and fruit. Ready and fuelled up for the 2:15pm start of the final stage in the afternoon. I knew I had just one more chance to get stuck in and couldn't wait to get going!

Tro Div Ster stage 1

I write a mere hour after finishing the first stage of Tro Div Ster. Why so quickly afterwards you may ask? Well this was probably the most convinient finishes as it finished a mere 2km from my house!


So how did the first stage pan out?

It all began with a relaxed morning spent catching up on emails and French TV. The plan was to be picked up by the team car at 12. This meant a nice relaxed meal, bike ready and off for the half an hour drive to the start. Arriving and it looked like the depart to a tour stage with crowds building and a big start area. All the big teams were present as well with Saur Sojasun under 23, UC Nantes and Cotes D'armor to name a few. Also present was bright, sunny skies and a lot of wind!

Team today was myself, Sebastien, Yoan, Cedric, Gurvan and Pascal.

So a good warm up done and onto the podium for the team presentation. After Tour des Mauges last week I knew I was comung into some form so was looking forward to today.

Around 120 riders and 130km made up of 82km en ligne and a 8km finishing circuit to be done 6 times. So 2pm and off we went. Knowing it was probably going to be a fast start I made sure I was in the first 20 or so riders. Expecting a fast start and actually having a fast start are two different things. I can safely say it was fast! 2 laps of a small circuit to start with and it was full on lined out like a crit, and this was just the start!

Off the circuit and I finally came out of the 12 on my cassette! Feeling good I made sure I stayed near the front. The loop was a strange one with lots of local roads, descents and wind. Yet the wind seemed behind us and this meant the pace never dropped and nothing could really get away. With the big teams controlling it it was just what I liked, fast and steady. Knowing some of the roads I knew we had a good climb upto Camors coming up so moved to the front ready for an attack.


Lined out up the 2km or so climb I followed a move over the top. But the shere speed of the bunch brought it back.

Coming into the finishing circuit. A rolling circuit, finishing with a 500 metre drag. After breaking my Garmin computer mount in the week, I was racing without knowledge of how long we'd done, quite important with a point to point! Normally I try to eat every 30 mins or so but not knowing I just seemed to keep eating! Suppose better to eat lots than not enough!


So feeling good onto the finishing circuits, my old habit of sitting to far back in the bunch came into force and on such narrow roads it meant with good legs I ended up watching a small group get off the front with 2 laps to go. Annoying is an understatement as not being able to get through the bunch and at least try to attack and use good legs is very very frustrating.


Coming into last lap and the break had around 20 seconds, Cotes D'armor were chasing hard as were Saur Sojasun. Finish and the break held off with Renou (winner first stage last week at Mauges) winning the stage and myself and all the team (except Yoan, who was dropped and DNFed) finishing in the big peleton 20 or so seconds behind.

A good stage and 45km/h made it a fast one, all I can say is roll on 20km team timetrial tomorrow morning and a circuit race in the afternoon. Its still all to play for. Positioning is the key tomorrow and hopefully can use my legs and go on the attack and make that break...whatever the speed! Will keep you posted!

ent

Tour des Mauges stage 3

Back at accomodation after stage 2 I again was one of the first into the showers. French seem to be a lot more relaxed about getting out of kit after a race it would seem!

Compression tights on again and a recovery drink taken I put my feet up ready for lunch. Down for lunch and more pasta, bread and cheese. After a hard race I often find it hard to eat and thus avoided the cheese and the rice pudding to finish. I did though try and get some pasta and meat down me in in preparation for the afternoon's final stage.

Stage 3:

 Kitted up and signed on for the third and final time. Another warm up done as well. With all the stages the start and the finish has been the same. This therefore favoured the sprinters, as it was relatively flat, yet also meant there were no nasty surprises coming into the finish. So 2:30pm and 122 starters. What lay ahead was the finishing circuit, from the 1st stage, to be done 13 times, 5.6km with a kilometre climb every lap, a few farm tracks, lots of wind and lots of tired legs...a kermesse in essence.


So again a pretty short stage. Usually the longer the better for me but there you go. So away we went and with the wind and rain starting just as the flag was dropped it was a nervous bunch. With humid conditions the roads, now wet, were lethal as people were sliding left right and centre. Luckily after a few laps the sun came out and rain stopped.

I'm not sure why but my body really doesnt seem to get going very well in afternoon races. This is a huge problem as 90% of racing here is in the afternoon! ( need to find a solution!?) Therefore although feeling strong I felt very lethargic. Legs were there, head not so. Half way and a break of 7 had clipped off the front of the fast moving bunch. Riders were already starting to be dropped and the race was now on!

3 laps to go and I started to wake up! Onto the climb and nearing the top I attacked taking 3 or so riders with me. Flying along the back of the course the bunch were in no mood to let anything else go and we were swept up.

Last lap and Stephane had unfortunately been dropped, leaving myself, Rene, Pascal and Philippe in the bunch. The breakaway had a mere 25 seconds and the bunch were in one line. I made sure I was sitting in the top 20 and with 5km to go hung on for my life! Last kilometre and it was flat out as The Chamberry team (now holding the GC lead) were hunting down the break. Last few hundred metres and I'd slipped back to 30th or so in the bunch. 200 metres to go..a touch of wheels and a rider came down at about 55km/h, avoiding it I gave it everything in the sprint and basically just held my position across the line!


The break held off the chase by 22 seconds with the win going to UC Orlean. So race done and today had gone a lot better. Felt good morning and not to bad in afternoon once I woke up! Shame about Saturday's stage as with a good ride there it may have been a different story. Still I thoroughly enjoyed the race, steadily moved up on the GC,  top 20 (possibly top 15) in under 23 classification, Pascal had finished in top 20 on GC and we were 9th out of 20 teams, some of which were much bigger than ourselves. So a respectable if not amazing weekends racing.

Team manager seemed happy. All there is to do now is make sure I'm prepared as well as can be for next weekend's stage race The Tro Div Ster. Meant to be harder, on local roads and a 20km team timetrial as well! If it's anything like as cool and enjoyable as Mauges I cant wait. Just gotta work on getting in those winning moves and starting stages awake!



Stage 3 result: 72.8km

1st Romain Gioux UC Orleans 1:44:47
19th Pascal Hue UCL Hennebont @22 sec
37th Daniel Kogan UCL Hennebont @22 sec
55th Rene Taillandier UCL Hennebont @22 sec
64th Philippe Nedellec UCL Hennebont @45 sec


FINAL GC: 263km

1st Clement Chevrier Chambery 6:26:50
18th Pascal Hue UCL Hennebont @42 sec
35th Daniel Kogan UCL Hennebont @3:27
38th Rene Taillandier UCL Hennebont @3:46
78th Philippe Nedellec UCL Hennebont @15:35

136 starters and 93 finishers

http://www.directvelo.com/actualite/11963-tour-des-mauges-classements.html

Tour des Mauges stage 2..bring on the climbs!

After finishing the first stage and  having a bit of a warm down back to the accomodation. I found I was the first rider (out of 136 riders!) back for the showers, at least I had won something today! So showered and compression tighted up I got my feet up, recovery drink in me and had a nap before dinner.


Dinner served and it couldnt have been more French if it tried! Consisting of an entree of vegetables and potatos and lots of bread, followed by pasta and meat of some sort, a cheese board to rival the worlds best cheese boards and a fruit compot to finish (very popular it would seem over here) After eating well it was time for me to head back and chill out in the room. My team mates on the other hand, bearing in mind this is 9pm, opted to go for a strong coffee, nothing like some caffeine to get you to sleep!

I have found out in my 3 months of being here some interesting facts about the Frenchs' ideas on recovery after races and my team mate, Gurvan's is definately one of the coolest. Basically a electro pulse meter sort of thing that you strap to your legs and it vibrates to basically give you a massage and get the inflammation of tired muscles down.

So to sleep and with what seemed to be a dawn chorus of slamming doors we were up at 6:30am for breakfast.

stage 2:

So down for breakfast, and I think it's safe to say this is where The French do meals most differently. At the table and a bowl, some bread and jam. The bowl for cereal? pasta? Nope...coffee! A bowl of coffee then bread and jam which they dip in the coffee, once the breads gone they drink the coffee..supose it saves on a cup and the washing up!

I though brought some cereal with me so used my bowl for a different purpose!

Breakfast complete, changed off to sign on and a warm up. Although it was just gone 8am it was rather humid and the sun was already high in the sky. Warming up and the legs were feeling really good, nice and fresh. I would soon be thankful this was the case!

9am and lined up. Not a usual time to start a race in France (much more English!) so there was a lot of grumpy faces! 127 riders starting today and I'd been told by Rene (who won the race in 2001) that the morning stage was "tres dure" and one for the grimpeurs! He wasn't kidding!

60km stage and being so short it was going to be a fast start. It didnt disappoint. Off like a criterium, I was feeling good and sitting in the top 20 or so riders. Never one to really be up for a fight for position the narrow lanes, constant turns, descents and climbs made it crucial to be near the front.

First climb and after about 10 mins the bunch exploded! Literally bodies everywhere. Feeling good and climbing well I was sure this was going to be a war of attrition. What followed was constant climbs, descents, corners and in the gutter racing. I can safely say, even feeling relatively good, this was one of the hardest races I'd ever done. Climbing well is one thing but if your not near the front you get stuck behind riders losing the wheel. This is exactly what happened as riding to far back I was having to scoot round riders blowing up and making life for myself pretty hard.

Just an hour in and the 127 rider bunch was down to 60 or so! Myself, Rene and Pascal were present and I was making sure Pascal, who was best placed on GC, was helped as much as possible.

Last 20km and we turned a tight right and can only be described literally as a wall. I'm not joking, although only a couple of hundred metres long I'd never ridden up anything so steep! To put it into context there were riders grinding to a halt and having to walk up it. Luckily I managed to get up it on my bike!

Top of the wall and this was the shallow part, luckily hear race leader Renou hardly looks to be breathing!

Over the top and all together it was all to play for. Coming into the finish and the last climb of a kilometre or so. 3km to go and it was all lined out in the gutter. I was going 100% and the sprint hadnt even begun yet! Two riders had managed to clip off the front and were holding a 20 second gap. Into the finish and with the pace so high the bunch literally finished in one line, with the two escapees holding off the bunch by 20 seconds.


To say the stage was hard is an understatement. To put it into figures we did 60km, just over 1hr 39 mins and over 3000 ft of climbing with the last group on the road over 15 minutes behind!

Unfortunately we'd lost Gurvan in the stage to a broken chain and thus would be starting the final stage with 5 of us. I was feeling good, Rene was riding strong and we had Pascal still very much in the hunt for a good result in the general classification.

Stage 2 Results: 59.8km


1st Romain Marchand ECP Dinan 1:39:11
46th Pascal Hue UCL Hennebont @ 20 sec
56th Daniel Kogan UCL Hennebont @ 20 sec
60th Rene Taillandier UCL Hennebont @ 43 sec
84th Stephane Potier UCL Hennebont @11:16
92nd Philippe Nedellec UCL Hennebont @11:16

Tour des Mauges stage 1

Welcome to my first stage race blog!

I write after what has been one of the most enjoyable, varied and at times savage races I've ever done.

It all began bright and early on Saturday morning. After what has been a slightly stressful week with moving accomodation (now temporarily in team mates house) and trying to catch up on sleep (managed to get in an 11hr sleep by Friday night) I was ready or for the first stage race of the season and my first stage race in France.

Picked up from my team mates house by my manager in the team car, at just gone eight, we set off to pick up the remaining riders for the quite long drive to Beaupreau, a town the other side of Nantes. By quite a long drive it is still relatively short by English race standards! Just over 2hrs in fact. Two team cars for this race as we had six riders, team manager and a helper.

Dictionary out I made sure I didnt miss any vital gossip and race info as we headed towards the race. Arriving at the town our first port of call was lunch. Put on by the race organisation we parked up next to a convoy of AG2R vans and cars. Slightly worried that a top pro cycling team had turned up I later found out it was infact the feeder team, Chamberry http://www.chamberycyclismeformation.com/


Slightly relieved we headed into the restaurant and sat down with all the other teams for lunch. A typical French affair of vast amounts of pasta, cheese, grated carrots, bread, you name it... the lot!


After a nice meal we set off round the corner to the accomodation for the weekend, a school. Arriving to see lots of team vehicles, each team was allocated a room and we got our bedding and kit ready for the 1st stage of the race, which was to start at 2:30pm.

Stage 1:

Kitted up and ready to roll and with rain and wind we set off for a warm up. The French love a good warm up and after sitting in a car for a couple of hours so did I! A good half an hour done and we went to the sign on by the finish podium, had the team presentation and readied ourselves for the start.

Lined up of the start there were a few big teams present for this one, UC Nantes, Chamberry, Cholet and a few teams I hadnt come across before. On UCL Hennebont we had myself, Gurvan, Pascal, Rene, Phillippe and Stephane present and with the other 19 teams this made 136 riders.

Soon we were off for an en ligne and finishing circuit stage making just over 130kms. A nice gentle start to the weekend? No. Soon the flag was dropped and the pace exploded, the bunch was lined out and the wind was howling. I wasn't feeling such a fast start and after an hour (just over 46km/h average) a break or should I say portion of the peleton had managed to get away. Luckily Pascal was feeling good and made the 30 or so rider group, which was now holding a minute on the bunch.

Yet with a couple of teams missing the break the chase was on and the gap soon came down to 30 seconds. Yet the rain and the wind direction soon changed and the gap went out again. I was beginning to feel a lot better and onto the finishing circuits followed the wheels and managed to get away in a 20 rider or so group along with Rene. Feeling better as it went on and with the pace high it came down to a sprint from our group which I tried to lead Rene out for. Finishing we had lost some time on the winner (UC Nantes' Renou) yet Pascal, even missing every feed! had managed to limit his losses and finish just under a minute off the winner.

A bit gutted my legs had taken so long to come around, and thus losing over 3mins, I was set on getting a good meal in me, lots of rest and thus try to make up for it on Sunday


stage result: 130.4km

1st Mickael Renou UC Nantes 3:2:10
26th Pascal Hue UCL Hennebont @ 42 sec
46th Rene Taillandier  UCL Hennebont @3:23
53rd Daniel Kogan UCL Hennebont @3:27

64th Philippe Nedellec UCL Hennebont @4:16
72nd Stephane Potier UCL Hennebont @4:16
79th Gurvan Hamonic UCL Hennebont @4:16

Trophee Job Morvan Moustair Ac Video

http://youtu.be/kZyUWEYTvTQ

Video from 3rd round of series and my second race of the 3 race block. Video shows break being chased down and the bunch being lined out by my team mate Rene, for it to come down to a bunch kick for the win.

Enjoy!

Concerntration..or lack of in Crach

Third day of racing and if you have read my previous posts you would see this was to be my final day of a 3 day block.


Final race was at a town by the coast called Crach. After feeling pretty heavy legged the day before, I had gone into mega recovery mode and compression tighted, feet up and very early night in a bid to be as fresh as possible for the final leg!

After a morning of cleaning the bike (yet again after the second wet race in a row!) I was picked up by the team car at 1pm for the 40 minute drive to the seaside town of Crach. With myself, Laurent, Sebastien, Gurvan and Laurent's daughter it was a tight fit but the mood was jovial and although tired I was feeling upbeat about the race.


Arriving and the smell of the sea greeted us! Whatever happened it was at least a day by the beach. Signed on and kitted up we set off for a warm up. A 3km circuit lay ahead, with flowing corners and a very very small drag upto the line. Basically a kermesse.

With the back of the circuit literally skirting the sea, it was very picturesque. Warm weather and sunny skies were the order of the day and after the last two days of getting wet and covered if Brittany's finest mud, it was a welcome sight!

A good half an hour warm up with some efforts and my legs felt surprisingly good. 3pm and on the start line.


As like the race on Saturday this was a 1/2/3 cat race, so quite a big one. Just under 90 starters including riders from Veranda team, Cotes D'armor, AC Lanester and Saur Sojasun under 23 team. This was a star studded field yet again.

Off we went.

Feeling good I sat in the top 10 or so riders and soon with following wheels got away with a Saur Sojasun rider and one other. Through and off and I was feeling the best I'd been in the three days, promising signs.

Soon though we were caught and as we were a counter attack was launched. Now I dont know why but for some reason I watched. Yes, just watched as riders pinged off the front. Why!!? It was one of those cases of really missing the boat. Before I knew it the break had gone up the road. Luckily 3 of my team mates had got in it!

So good legs and I was stuck in a now uninterested peleton. What followed was a constant pace yet no real action. 3/4s of the race done and the big group of the break was miles in front. Still in the bunch was, the usually amazing, Zelinski (VCP Lorient), who had also seemingly missed the break and 70 or so riders. A few laps to go and wanting to get something out of a bad situation I attacked, hard. Yet the bunch were in English racing mode. I mean they didnt want to race when it mattered and now when I wanted to stretch my legs and get some training in they were happy to chase. A few failed attempts and back to the bunch I rolled in for the finish mid bunch. A day of little wind and sunny skies had get the pace high over 40km/h in a very unmotivated peleton.

Safe to say I was annoyed with myself. Good legs and wasted a perfect opportunity due to lack of concerntration.

So after 3 races what can be taken from these:

Positives:

1. I recovered well. 3rd race feeling strong hopefully is a good sign.

2. Got away, all be it in a chase group, on Saturday and felt stronger as the race progressed. Had my group contested the finish a top 10 was a possibility.

3. Hid and used my head on Sunday's race when I didn't feel so good

4. Finished 3 days of hard racing and although results werent there came away with a top 20 against some good competition on the Saturday.


Negatives:


1. Did not feel good on second race, not sure why

2. Results still not reflecting strength.

3. Concentration, or lack of it on Monday's race, only myself to blame...huge wasted opportunity

4. Not adapting to stop/start racing, change of pace and sprinting from slow speeds need to be looked at.



So over 300km of racing. All races completed and lots more learnt. Tour des Mauges, a stage race consisting of two days racing and 3 stages, is next up this coming weekend. Hopefully this block of racing will put me in good stead for a good result next weekend, just need to think and use my head!

Moustair AC

Stop, start…repeat


This pretty much sums up my second race, of a three-race block!

So after feeling quite good against some high competition at The Trophee Daniel Bretonne in Plougoumelen the day before, the next race on the cards was a lower key affair. A round of The Trophee Job Morvan Series.

Moustair-AC was the town and after the storm like conditions the day before the morning did not hold much hope of a dry race, with torrential rain. Picked up by The Mills’ it was a mere 20 min drive to the town of Moustair-AC where a 3:15pm start greeted us.

Signed on and the wind was howling and the skies were grey with the occasional flurry of showers. As the only finisher from my team the day before today we had myself, Pascal, Laurent and Rene in the mix today.


Off for a warm up and straight away my legs felt heavy. Spinning up the drag on the finish line I gave a couple of digs to open the legs up. A 20-min warm up and onto the start line. I had done a couple of laps of the 4km course and with 23 laps it was going to be a war of attrition, or so I thought.

As this was a series, the leader, Bapiste Haye (the giant I have spoken about in previous posts) was in the yellow jersey and again had a number of team mates present.

About 70 riders lined up and starting on the second row we were soon off. Away we went and an attack from the gun caught everyone out. I followed the wheels and sat in the top 15 riders as the wind put everyone in the gutter. The pace was on…and then it wasn’t!

What I’ve worked out with a lot of these lower key series races, the races are very stop start. One minute 50km/h the next 30km/h. This is the worst possible situation for me as the constant changes in pace really don’t suit. Flat out for 100km would even be more preferable.

So lap after lap and with a long descent as well I can safely say my legs and myself were not happy with this constant stop/start style of racing. Felt like a session of intervals more than a race.

With the day before just being pretty much fast throughout this lower key race was proving a lot more difficult for me.

Anyway soon a break had formed. None of my team had got in it! Rene being the powerhouse knew this and got on the front and lined out the bunch as for about 8km he drove the bunch in pursuit of the break, which for the whole race only hovered around a minute ahead of the bunch.


The yellow jersey had also missed the break and had his team on the front driving the pace.  Five laps to go the gap was coming down. This was going to come down to the wire!

Three laps to go and the break were in touching distance, about 20 seconds in front. With the pace now high and the chase on, the break was holding a mere few hundred metres as they dangled in front for another 8km! Last lap and 3km to go the yellow jersey’s team had closed the gap. All square, expect for a last survivor of the break holding a mere 10 seconds or so out the front.

Flying down the final hill. 1km to go and the last corner 300 metres to go the lone escapee was caught! Talk about tight! Bunch sprint and I rolled in mid bunch.  With Rene paying for the work he’d done earlier abandoning, Pascal getting up in the sprint for 9th and Laurent finishing just behind me.

After feeling a bit frustrated with the style of racing and legs feeling heavy I had used it more as training and had another good 100km of racing in the legs ready for the final days race tomorrow.

Crach tomorrow. A crit basically. A high quality one so I’m led to believe. 3km circuit to be done 35 times. So on paper not quite for me but last day of racing so gonna give it my all and try and better the top 20 placing from Trophee Daniel Bretonne from Saturday.

Trophee Daniel le Breton: Plougoumelen

I write after what can only be described, as a dramatic race…picking up number 13 at sign on should was a bit of an omen.

It all began with a 40-min drive to Plougoumelen for The Trophee Daniel Breton race. It was a 1/2/3 affair with some big hitters such as the Pole, Zalinski (VCP Lorient and former Skil Shimano rider) and Chopin (Hennebont Cyclisme and former Credit Agricole stagiare), both two of the best amateurs in Brittany.

So arriving at sign on and again only 50-60 riders but as I said some high quality riders. As the race was near the coast and we were in Brittany it was bound to be windy and it didn’t disappoint. A 7km lap to be completed 14 times. So a pretty short race and a kermesse like course with just a drag up to the finish and a few quite sweeping corners…oh yeah and lots of wind!

So 3pm and we were away. After a good warm up I was feeling good. Surprising after the last few races feeling rubbish at the start. So away we went and following the wheels I made sure I stayed in the top 15 or so riders and made sure the big names were in eyesight.

Not sure exactly when but soon a break had formed off the front with two of my team mates in it and none of the pre race favourites. The bunch rolled along quite uninterested and soon the break of 8 had a minute. A few laps later and after following the wheels and hydrating well on what was still a warmish day, I was feeling ok.

Soon the pace started to lift as Hennebont Cyclisme had missed the move and were chasing to bring it back. Before long the break was back and it was all to play for again. A few laps to go and the elastic started to break.


Soon a break had formed and even though feeling pretty strong I had missed it! Silly mistake. 8 riders had gone including Chopin. A chase group of 10 or so had formed with fellow Brit Sam Allen in it and I had crept away from the bunch in a group of 6.


This six were on a mission though and we were soon working well together and closing the gap on the chase group.  If it wasn’t hard enough the wind suddenly picked up and a full blown storm unleashed itself. Hail, rain, wind the lot. All with 14km of racing to go. Head down I made sure I was first into the corners as the roads were becoming slippery. The chase was in sight and by the last lap we had bridged to them. Now going for 9th.


But something wasn’t right. The group sat up. What was going on!? After a bit of pointing and the word “chute” being used a lot I realised there had been a crash. Not any crash, a crash involving a van coming onto the circuit and hitting Sam Allen and a Lanester rider. This was in the last lap. I was surprised I hadn’t seen it as the group was in sight. We did see a van half out into the road but no riders or evidence of a crash. Very strange.

Still the chase group decided it was not racing and we rolled across the line. Was on for a good result today and best I’ve felt since racing in France, but all that is meaningless as riders health comes first. Still to my amazement we were given placings surprisingly (19th although more likely 15th).  So not a good end to an otherwise good race. Sam is now in hospital with a suspected broken shoulder. So awaiting more news.

Next up is Moustair AC tomorrow-another 100km or so race. Hoping for good legs like today and hopefully an incident free race for all involved/