2019 didn’t quite go as planned.. After having a very serious crash that could have easily ended in never cycling again I was determined to come back stronger, fitter and more disciplined than before. I finished the year on a high winning a TT, hill climb and road race. Putting out bigger numbers than I had before, weighing less than I had before.
The determination and approach carries through to 2020. Significantly I will be 30 in March, and for me it feels like a bit of a watershed year. Two sayings are going round and round my head at the moment. ‘time waits for no man’ and ‘all men are born to die’. Read into that however you want!
I want to make a big jump forwards over the next 12 months. Whats the best way of doing that? Focus on the process. My process this year is going to better than last year. (and hopefully I don’t crash again at 70km/h).
Last year this was a great race until the crash. Going back and getting a good result would feel like a real achievement. The race suited me, but I was struggling a little when the pace was really hard on the steeper sections.
This is the big one, I rode this back in 2015 and was blown out the back everyday. I struggled round and finished 32nd.. out of 39 finishers. It’s well known to be the hardest non UCI race you can find. Brutal climbs, relentless heat and super aggressive racing.
Key is the two time trials. If I am to get a good GC position finding time on the TT’s will be crucial. I did some time trialing over the last few months with decent results, 2x 1st and and 3rd. All on a road bike with clip ons. My power is 15/20w off the numbers below in the TT position, but with some consistent training I should see that gap close.
While I felt like I made a big jump over 2018, the data didn’t quite show that.
The biggest jump was 5 min power 6.4w/kg -> 6.7w/kg. The big improvement to make is in getting to within 6.4w/kg at the back end of racing.
WKO4’s modelled threshold (mFTP) only increase 372w to 378w. However at no point in the year did I ride for 45 mins + at the 378w. But if I am to get a good result on the TT bike in Martinique or the Nationals, this is what it will take.
Similar to last year, riding longer is the key during the winter. Once the race season kicks off its going to be hard to do long intense training rides. Last year the longer rides got longer. 17 5 hour+ rides compared to 10 in 2018. But too many rides stopped at or just shy of 3000kjs.
3000kjs can be reached faster by riding at 220-240w average rather than 200-220w. To counter balance the increase in intensity, I am going to experiment with recovering in two day blocks.
