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September 12, 2009
I guess one of the advantages to riding for small teams throughout your career, means that if you have a decent amount of ability you can pick and choose which races you want to do during the year and skip the ones that dont interest you. It was certainly my experience in the US even through until Bissell, when the team added mountains of strength. Ironically the first time i nearly had to deal with missing a team was going to be the 2008 edition of the Tour de Georgia, which turned out to be the best 7 days of racing i could have ever hoped to string together.
So now, despite being sick for the last 4 weeks, it still hurts to watch your team mates disappear to the US for Univest and be sitting in my apartment all alone for 6 days. The sting made all the worse due to the fact that i had to drop them at the airport for their departure, which was a 3am-7am job…grrrr…
I guess, on a very small scale i am getting a taste of what it is to be on a big team. A team that has constant rotation of its roster and consistent battles for positions on teams. Simon Gerrans experienced it this year with the Tour…and im sure that it has happened to everyone at some point in time…but this is my experience with it. Having said that, i dont deserve to be there in our team of 6. This is not a complaint about our selection for teams…just merely a reality of the sport that i have never faced before…
Fortunately i am writing this later than i initially intended and we can see the benefit of racing without me…the boys rocketed in the TTT and won the opening stage, with my roomie and best mate Mamos, now in yellow for the road race. A jersey that i think he will keep today. He is flying and i find it hard to believe that anyone can challenge his overall lead today…my prediction is either him or Starchyk will also take todays road race honours…but whatever happens, im sure that the boys will bring home the yellow jersey.
Mean while, i count down to my finial race for 2009. A 1 day race not far from Lucca and then my flight that leaves for home the very next day. It has been a long and successful first season in Europe. Lots of great learning experiences and lots of great racing to add to my training diary as having experienced. But this year, different to most i will go home and put the bike in the shed earlier than usual. It is my normal schedule to compete all of October in Australia, with Tour of Tasmania, Herald Sun Tour and then Melb-Warrnambool…but this year, as it has been my longest and hardest the bike will get a rest. Instead i will challenge myself with the Melbourne marathon on October 11. From my last race i have 3 weeks to train my body to run and try and achieve my goal of a sub 4hr marathon time. This idea has been in the back of my mind from the beginning of the year…to most it would seem to be my attempt to measure myself against Lance…but it is actually inspired by Judith Arndt. She did a similar thing in 2007 a few weeks after Road Worlds, and now its my time to swap the carbon soles for the rubber and feel the beat of my feet on the pavement…should be interesting…
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Filed by Richard England at September 12th, 2009 under Richard England, Road Blog
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August 28, 2009
Back in the game, but not on my game. Thats about the best way to describe my recent attempts in the Italian one day races that go together to making up the Trittico Lombardo. Finally after nearly 6 weeks of nothing but feeling average and looking every bit as average to go along with it, i was able to make the race deciding break of Coppa Bernocchi. The break was a group of 25 or so that formed on the first notable climb of the race, some 60km in. It was formed after 3 smaller groups formed off the front and then came together. I was one of 2 from my team and the break quickly established 3 mins on the chasing peloton and from there it was always going to be decided from this group.
We raced over 5 laps of a circuit before retuning to the start finish some 50km from the top of the last KOM. Unfortunately…when i say i was not on my game, it means that my last ascent up the KOM saw me some 30secs off the back of the group, which was now forced into 3 after some tough pace setting from Aqua & Sapone. After a 20km chase to try and return to the group i finally hit another climb on the way to the finishing circuits and the lights went out…back to the peloton for me…now sitting about 5mins down.
So it was a positive…finally i got to actually be involved in a race again. Feel competitive and not just be some douche who kitted up and happened to be able to find a number and pin it on. But back to reality…not many races left in the season, so time is running out to go out on a high.
This week was full of blood tests and recovery…trying to find a fault with my body so that i have something to blame. Unfortunately…not much to report. Apart from lower than ideal iron levels, everything looks relatively normal. The iron is low for what an athlete would like it to be, but still well within the scope of what is considered normal for the average person…So back to the drawing board. Fortunately i feel that this week i have begun to see some light at the end of the tunnel. The legs are definitely starting to come around. The wrist and the body are still feeling average…but the legs have got a little spark this week that i have not felt for a while. With a little more of the correct training and stretching im hoping that my last 2 races in Italy can be successful ones. Heaven knows the 2 weeks recovery between them all has to mean i will be fresh…
Then its home time. Dates in the midst of being organised. The question is??? When October rolls around, will i be riding the Herald Sun Tour or will i be running the Melbourne marathon. Unfortunately the dates mean that only 1 will be possible…but whichever way i go, i know that i will be buckled and spending some time in bed come the end of October…be it with all kinds of leg complications because of my desire to run a marathon without training for it, or racing a 7 day tour at the end of the longest and hardest season of cycling i have known…the only good thing…it will be time in my own bed. Something that i look forward to like you wouldnt believe.
Just a finishing note…i hope that my boys kick some ass at US Pro this weekend. In particular i want to single out BJM, Zirbel and Zwizanski for the TT on Sat. Zirbel has dominated all year in the TT’s and i really have belief that this could be his year. I have been saying it since he came so close last year…i believe the self belief that it created was the thing that has lit a fire under his ass this year and has developed him into the best rider for the year so far…But good luck to them all…i hope there are no misshaps and its a fair and fast race and the best man wins…
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Filed by Richard England at August 28th, 2009 under Richard England, Road Blog
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August 10, 2009
So it would seem that slowly as i edge closer to the conclusion of my season that the wheels are starting to fall off a bit in more ways than 1. It has been a few weeks since my last entry, much fun has been had but i have also noticed a fatigue that has started to creep its way into my body. I have been battling with my laptop, which has decided that it will only allow me 5 or so mins of screen time before going completely blank…although i know its still on…so please excuse any typo’s in this entry, as most of it will be written in complete darkness…
Tour of Alsance was not quite the success i had hoped for. Returning to a French 2.2 i was confident that i could finish off some stages well and would wear the captains hat for the bunch kicks with Yuri away in China…unfortunately the Gods were not smiling upon me and a crash during the tough 2nd stage saw me land on my hand and do significant enough damage that holding the bars the following day was near impossible and saw me pull to the side of the road in the feed zone, some 60km in.
Fortunately the X-rays showed no breaks but the doctor seemed to believe that there may have been a dislocation of 2 of my knuckles…which was the reason for the pain and significant swelling. So it has meant a couple of weeks of discomfort that is still continuing…
I did however recover enough to front up for our Italian 1.1 on Sat. Not that you would have noticed my presence…well maybe if you were concentrating on the back of the bunch…So this leads us to now…this week is going to be consumed with blood tests and seeing what we can blame for the slump i find myself in. I have tried ever so hard to ignore it, but after 3 weeks of needing 10hrs sleep a night and still waking with heavy eyes and no energy, it has finally got the better of me and something needs to be done. I think the final straw came when i caught myself yawning, on more than 1 occasion during the race on Sat…time to get a check up…
The more i analyse things the more i realise how much a massive step this season has been for me in terms of volume. I worked out, that despite being the only rider based in Europe for my team without previous European experience, that i have had more race days than any other rider on our roster this year…my inexperience showed at the beginning of the year, when despite consistent and long races i was still training a full pace in between…and while it didnt cost me early in the season there is no doubt that it has started to creep up on me…but i am confident with a good diagnosis that i can salvage some of the weeks that remain in my European season.
But with all that bad stuff going on with my riding, i still have reason to smile…
1. Im in Italy
2. DeLuca has finally been busted and i dont have to watch him ruin bike races for me anymore
3. Home time is approaching at a rapid rate and a well earned rest, time for future decisions and a new house all await my arrival…not to mention a 10 year school reunion where i get to share 6 years worth of a professional cycling life…a sport that i didnt even compete in when i last saw these people…
So life is good and sure to only get better…but i do have 1 request before the season ends…please just let me finish with some form…just a little…Not DeLuca or O’Bee style form 
…just Richard style form will suit…
Cheers
Go to the Source – richardengland.missingsaddle.com
Filed by Richard England at August 10th, 2009 under Richard England, Road Blog
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July 7, 2009
So how better to give an example of the difference between racing on the American circuit in comparison to the races i am now doing in Europe, than to contrast the last 2 tours of my season. Both 5 days and both 6 stages…so here goes.
Nature Valley GP vs. Course de Solidarnosc (POL)
Day 1. Stage 1. 10km TT 82km RR
Stage 2. 42km Crit 123km RR
Day 2. Stage 3. 106km RR 224km RR
Day 3. Stage 4. 54km Crit 198km RR
Day 4. Stage 5. 145km RR 154km RR
Day 5. Stage 6. 44km Crit 158km RR
TOTALS: 401km 939km
So i only contrast this, not to compare the quality or the difficulty but to show how different the culture of the 2 continents are. I am a firm believer that a good rider in America can be a good rider in Europe but, as is obvious, it is a different world of racing. No doubt that it is possibly harder to be successful over in Europe. The distance, difficulty and money in the sport over here make it far more likely that drugs are part of the pro peloton (an unfortunate and sad reflection on the mentality). But…it is possible. Work hard and making the transition can be done. Just look at riders like Henderson, JJ Haedo, Lewis…and now teams like BMC…
So Poland itself…a hard ass race. The temperature was horrible…worse an more oppresive than that i experienced in Philly last year which hovered around 38 (100+) for the majority of the race. An in your face heat that beat the crap out of you mentally, more so than physically. But the thing that i will remeber this tour for was the casualty list.
6 x flat tires
2 x broken back wheels
1 x broken front wheel
1 x cracked handlebars
1 x crash
1 x bike swap
All of this…was only caused by me, much to the frustration of my mechanic. I did however make it through in 1 piece, which included the 1700km drive back to Italy all through the night with just me and my roomie Mamos. A 6.30am arrival time has left us feeling jet lagged even though we are in the same time zone…But life goes on. A 2 week break now until we fire up again. Time to build on the fitness from my 1000km 5 days and then make some statements with my legs the remainder of July and into August.
Soon to follow i may write about my adventures in Rome, where i will be soon taking a small 2 day vacation…but sometime this week look for my Chad Gerlach story… The Chad Gerlach that i know… by popular demand and interest of many people throughout the season, i will document the friendship that i have developed with Chad and how i see his comeback to the sport of cycling…
Go to the Source – richardengland.missingsaddle.com
Filed by Richard England at July 7th, 2009 under Richard England, Road Blog
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