The French Experience - Part Deux

A friend sent me a text message saying ‘living the dream’. It rattled me a little. I was having a bad day. As yet the English speaking members of the team haven’t arrived. I have some sort of virus. I am staying alone in a pretty basic apartment. Training spins at home are full of good natured banter with great friends – here those relationships are still being built. The honeymoon phase has definitely worn off. The days are long when your only task is a training session and they are even longer if it happens to be a rest day or heaven forbid you’re sick. France is a lonely place when you’re sick and craving nothing more than some home comforts.



In one of my quite moments (I have quite a few over here) I began to think about why riders find it difficult to base themselves abroad.

You’re living on an absolute shoe string budget. It’s not a massively glamorous life. You make do with the living subsidy providing by the club and have little or no spare cash for luxuries such as coffee stops.



The language barrier is immense. Although I am doing my best to pick up the language as fast as I can - it’s difficult. Obviously the early stages are hardest. With a reduced ability to communicate forming friendships and bonds is especially difficult.

Also beyond the obvious day to day communication and conversational issues, what is also missed is positive re-enforcement. I began cycling with my friends. During these days training goals were simply – to beat your buddy to the top of the local hill. Training was being rewarded with constant validation from your peers. The language barrier removes that daily validation and I think its one of the obstacles that makes being based abroad so difficult for Irish riders.

Also it never helps you settle when you have a lunatic French neighbour who likes to pump music out in the middle of the night. What’s the French for ‘I’m going to break your legs if you play music after 1am again’?

I am sitting here compiling this list and all of a sudden. Ding dong. Ring on the door bell. Bonjour Anthony. Les nouvelles velo sont arrives. A new bike and some new kit – just the thing I needed to cheer me up from my sickness induced despondent state. Maybe like the text said I am living the dream, lets hope I don’t wake to a French reality. Things will get easier, in one sense, this weekend when racing begins. I’m looking forward to it.



Bassor Basque – bring it on!!

http://www.directvelo.com/ is a decent French site for checking up on the French racing calendar, results etc.

The French Experience - Part Une

I am beginning to settle into life in France. I am based in a small town called Pons. Pons is a picturesque medieval town which is best known for its proximity to Congac. In my short time here I have found the locals to be extremely welcoming. The town embodies values common in rural communities around Ireland. The community are fanatical about cycling, it’s their GAA. All local businesses are represented on the team (Apoge Super U) jersey and there exists a passion for the sport evident from the number of volunteers working within the club.

Although I only arrived a week ago, I am settling into a routine which is slowly being instilled by management. We rise early, disappearing into the French country side. My daily ride differs from what I have become accustomed too – cars horns have been replaced by cries of ‘allez’ and suburbia has been exchanged for an expanding vista. Those not familiar with racing abroad wonder about the language barrier but on the bike no such barrier exits. The universal language of cycling transcends such barriers. We have been learning the language since we began cycling and it is etched indelibly into our psyche. Visual prompts replace words and we have honed the ability to interpret the posture of team mates, to analyse the way their bodies move and adjust our responses accordingly.

I have logged over eight thousand kilometres in my base period which began in late September. The winter break left an initial lethargy which took a couple of weeks to dissipate. The recipe this winter was simple - high volume and relatively low intensity. Now, only two weeks away from my season opener, Essor Basque, the focus of my sessions has changed. Since arriving in France I have begun to add some intensity into my sessions. My body is shocked as the steady four hour ride it has become accustomed to is interspersed with periods of up to twenty minutes riding at threshold. Training is beginning to replicate the demands of racing with increasing specificity as the season draws closer.

I am not sure what my French experience will hold but I know when I roll up to the start line that I have prepared well. I have continually been disciplined, abstained and foregone – all in the name of cycling performance. I know this journey will have many highs and lows but first impressions are all positive. Let the racing begin!

Media

I have been a big fan of SportsTagId since the company began trading and I hope they have a successful expansion in 2012.

Check out their website. Thanks for the shout-out boys!

http://www.sportstagid.com/2011/11/18/sportstagids-1st-intl-cyclist-lands-professional-contract/

Sticky Bottle

A good article from the lads at Sticky Bottle

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/ucds-anthony-walsh-ready-for-tilt-at-french-scene-doesnt-see-age-as-a-barrier/

Lenister team

I have had two outings with the Lenister (regional) representative squad in recent weeks. The first was a week of Kermesse racing in Belgium and second was a one day premier calender event, the Richmond GP, in the UK.

Ciaran has kindly written a report for the club website on Belgium so that saves me some typing. What follows are an example of his incoherent ramblings that I am forced to listen to at stage races around the country all season.




Three UCD riders made a week long trip to Belgium last week to try their hand at their Kermesse racing. Ciaran O Conluain was, as always, riding for UCD whilst Colm Cassidy and Anthony Walsh were honoured to be riding for both their college and their provence, Leinster.In the races they faced some of Belgiums top teams including riders for Omega-Pharma and Topsport. They also raced against many Irish riders based over there and the An Post boys Bennett and Lavery. Friend of UCD Eoghan “Galloper” also joined in the action and all the riders were cheered on by people who would cover the entire course at times such was the populartity of the racing there.

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The races were all approx 120km in length with laps varying from 5-9km. This meant you would get very used to the circuit and if one part of it didnt suit then it was always going to be a difficult day. One of the courses had 5 cobbled sections while another had a 140m ascending on each of the 11 laps (same as Howth each lap!). The main differences from Irish racing was the speed coming in and out of corners which showed that technique is a vital skill here. Also the lineouts out of the corners and the very narrow roads used meant it was often impossible to move up through the bunch and if you got caught in a bad spot then it was going to be a short day in the saddle. The weather was also very mixed with rain in almost every race.


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Richmond Premier Calender




I was part of the Lenister squad for the Richmond GP last weekend. The Richmond was the last race of premier calender season and would decide this years overall victor. The premier calender races are always a bit special. They have a great atmosphere about them. The Eurosport cameras and cycling media hang about the start looking to get some snaps of home town heros. This time around Russ Downing from Team Sky seemed to be getting a disproportionate amount of press.

The weekend didn't get off to get greatest of starts for me. I turned up at Dublin Port fashionably late. It turns out fashionably late isn't the best idea when you are using transport on a strict timetable. I scurried from one ferry terminal to the other in the hope of a solution to my missed boat. I managed to get a sailing with a different operator thirty minutes later but arrived in Hollyhead before the rest of the squad as I got the faster boat. One nil Walsh! I bumped into some of the Cycling Ireland staff who were headed to Denmark for the World Para-Cycling champs on the boat. They took the piss out of me something fierce for missing the early boat.

A long drive down to the race hotel. I couldn't wait to just crash out on my bed. You have to be kidding me - sharing a double bed. The glamour of cycling. We (me and James Davenport) made the best of a bad situation and had a decent nights sleep. I was the big spoon, in case you were wondering.

The race itself was very hilly. Probably the most undulating course I have ridden this season but it was nonetheless a top class, well designed race. Narrow roads, plenty of corners and climb after climb were the salient features of the parcours. The famed 'Butter Tub' climb came early in the race. It was about 5km long with an average gradient of ten per cent and it sucked as much as you'd imagine.

I missed a vital split with about thirty kilometers to go when a twenty five man group slipped off the front - never to be seen again. The race winner was Andy Tennat from Rapha Condor.

I sprinted up the final cobbled climb to the finish as part of a much depleted main bunch and exhaled a sigh of relief. It had been a long testing day and an even longer season. It's time to put the feet up for a few weeks and re-charge the batteries. It's been one hell of a season. From Kilmallock to Milwaukee and back!

Ballinrobe 2 day

Ballinrobe was the venue for my second stage race on consecutive weekends. We had a slightly depleted squad with a couple of late withdrawals but it turned out to be a great weekend.

We dominated the race claiming thirteen prizes from a five man squad. The highlight was the overall win which was taken by Colm Cassidy. The win was made that extra bit special as Irish Olympian, David O'Loughlin placed second on GC. I placed third overall, getting 6th on stage one and 5th on stage two along the way.



It was an solid performance from the team and the support staff which traveled with the squad. This is the last stage race of the season but with a couple of the younger lads showing impressively this weekend next season looks bright.



My next racing will be in Belgium from the 10th - 19th of August.




Overall
1st Colm Cassidy UCD 4Hrs 26'20"
2nd David O'Loughlin Cunga CC @06"
3rd Anthony Walsh UCD @19"
4th David Brennan Castlebar CC @24"




Photos from irishcycling.com

Superweek Victory

Spirits were high going into the Friday evening’s Brookfield Criterium. We took a lot of heart from the previous nights’ race. Although it was tough, now had a belief we were capable to getting a result. The atmosphere was on the night was special. I normally laugh at the over zealous, ill-guided American patriotism but tonight was different. As the local singer inspired the on-looking crowd by bellowing out her best rendition of the star spangled banner I couldn’t but notice the goose bumps on my arms. It was an atmosphere I hadn’t experienced at a bike race and I loved it. As the national anthem echoed in the background I had a moment to take cognisance of the surrounding and I now knew why Superweek was special. It wasn’t just the racing, it was the entire package: the celebrity announcer (Italian villain from cult classic ‘Breaking Away’), the hoarding, the crowds, Miss Milwaukee as starter and yes, the American zeal.

The race itself was a super technical seven corner, one kilometre circuit. The plan was similar to the previous day with Ed on the offensive early. This time it paid off – Ed found himself in a strong move which worked well together. With Ed away life became easy for the rest of us. We jumped with any move that looked dangerous in an attempt to get a free ride across to the break. About midway through the race I followed some wheels that looked dangerous and found myself in a chase group of about ten riders. With a man up the road no one expected, or got, any contribution to the workload from me. Meanwhile Ed’s group had lapped the main field. Sean, the team director, informed me of the situation and asked me to sit up and go back to help secure the win (very pro-tour).

The chase group was the only immediate concern. The plan was simple. Use me and Kevin to contain the chase group and keep Pete fresh to lead Ed out for the sprint. Time seemed to stand still as we made an uncomfortable tempo lap after lap. We were all expecting an attack from one of Ed’s fellow breakaway companions but they seemed content to leave it to be decided in the sprint. That suited us just perfect. Chemstar p/b United Healthcare also had a man in the break and contributed to the pace making. Kevin and myself lasted until just inside the final lap when the Chemstar p/b United Healthcare came over the top of our lead out train with their own. Pete never panicked. He bumped his way onto the back of their train and sat in until the last corner. Then he went for home with Ed in his wheel. He hit the front of the race with 250 meters to go and pulled to the side. Ed put his head down and opened up, nothing but clear road ahead. I was rolling in a few hundred meters back and I heard the announcer screaming, Ed Veal from Jet Fuel. Yes!! We won a Superweek race.



Ed was almost overcome with emotion as the team embraced to the backdrop of Queens’s iconic soundtrack, We are the Champions. We posed for photos with spectators and soaked up the atmosphere. It was a race I am not likely to forget for a long time -an incredible feeling.

The following evening was, ‘The Downer’, the biggest race on the Superweek calendar. The organisers’ anticipated a crowd of 30,000. In all honesty I don’t think the crowd was that big but it was substantial and made all the more impressive when you consider the crowd lined a one kilometre circuit. The race is held on Saturday night and it has a real Saturday night feel about it – spectators are in party mood, drinking and generally being loud. The Downer had all the atmosphere from the previous night, plus some more. It was a unique experience for me and although we all had tired legs from seven races in eight day, you could find that little extra in the legs when the cheers went up. The race itself was non memorable, we attacked and gave it everything we had but ultimately we came up short. A late breakaway contested the win.

As we took the chequered flag to conclude the race, spectators handed us beers. We rode a few laps to sample the crowd and toasted a great weeks racing.



Photos from www.pedalmag.com
results on www.internationalcycling.com