Round up

So, it's been a fair while since I last gave my poor blog any attention.

The last time I updated it was coming to the end of the Spring races and I was gearing up for our two week stint in China back in May. Seems a long time ago looking back now!

Not going to drag this one out and go into detail but just thought I'd best update just to keep you folks from home and those who are interested in the loop on what's been going down.

Since May I've had plenty of ups and downs as per usual throughout a cycling season! Highlights have been our China trip where the team managed to have multiple wins with Giorgia Bronzini and Charlotte Becker plus we finally got our lead out dialled which was cool. All up a solid trip. Other race highlights were the Giro Rosa which is the biggest women's Tour on the calendar and then participating in the first ever women's Le Course held prior to the final stage of the Tour de France along the Champs Elysees. Pretty neat experience!

Then, of course rocking the fern in Glasgow for my first Commonwealth Games. Don't think I've ever felt so proud to be a kiwi, was a cool feeling. Even better, I had my parents, sister and fam friends there to cheer me on. The Com Games were definitely my target event for the season so I was a little disappointed in the result with the team missing out on the medals. I missed the winning move holding an elite group of 7 girls so was unable to contest the finish or support Linda Villumsen in the very late stages. Not what we'd hoped for but in the end gave my best and all up was a pretty special experience! Thankfully Linda was able to take the Gold in the Individual time trial. She has been hunting it down a while so I was thrilled for her to take it away. Also plenty of other kiwi success on the bikes and off. A great team to be part of!

Cheers Bara girls!

Since the Games, I've raced the Ride London GP where we had a great team performance to deliver Giorgia to the line for the win just outsprinting Marianne Vos herself, so a good day there! Following this I had some down time to recover from a bit of sickness and prepare for the next block. My last event was the Tour of Ardeche in France. This race is brutal especially if you are not at your best. It's just up down all day long and very tough on the bod! The first days were a big struggle for me after bouncing back from illness. A real mental game it was but managed to get through and battle it out with respect to Linda who was in pink (leading) since day 2's TT! Come day 4 I came good and managed to get stuck in and help to keep the jersey to the finish plus set Gio up for a good finish and win. Was good fun! After a solid week there my love for going down hill has definitely grown. Some sweet climbs and scenery around the Ardeche area that's for sure. Would be an ideal spot for a training camp! So nice catching up with the girls too after a period of time away.

Next up for me is the World Champs next weekend in Ponferrada, Spain! Very pleased to be back representing NZ and have been feeling pretty solid post Ardeche into a decent training block so hope to have a good one out there. We have a strong wee squad of Linda Villumsen, Jo Kiesanowski and Reta Trotman. I look forward to joining them there early next week to scope out the course and get set.

First up Linda will compete in the Individual TT on Tuesday so fingers crossed for her there!

Here's a link to catch us live...things kick off tomorrow with the Team Time Trial. My team, Wiggle Honda won't be competing but there's a few kiwis in there including Jo Kiesanwoski, Greg Henderson, Jesse Sergent and Jack Bauer. With plenty of Orica Greenedge lads based here in Girona might be giving them a cheer too...not often I go for Aus, in fact never! ;)

Worlds

All up it's been a nice season. I haven't raced as much as last season so have missed a few cool events but I've continued to develop and learn from the more experienced riders on the team primarily playing a domestique role. It's been nice learning more about the tactical side of the sport, getting into lead outs and protecting the odd jersey along the way. Races like China and Ride London were favourites as we had the opportunity to attack and make things tough. This is what makes me love racing a bike so hopefully will continue to improve in this depo!

My base this year has also been a big highlight for me. Living in Girona it's hard to complain about anything. Such a beautiful wee place, good weather, training roads and I've come away with some great mates!

'Good people, Good places, Good times' (Quote of the year)...CP crew 

For now, I have a few more days training in Girona before my last Euro cycling adventure for 2014!

Will confirm plans for 2015 following the championships, for now that's the focus :)

Cheers to New World Remuera, Maurice Verkerk, The Athlete Project, Wiggle Honda,
Honda NZ and Rocktape for your support and big thanks to all the messages of support around Com Games time, especially from the kiwis. Very cool!

Also thanks to dhb for having me on board this year as an ambassador for your brand. Was a pleasure. Great people and a top clothing line.

Tacx trainer time in the Tacx studio, Holland earlier in the season.

Ciao for now!

Season beginnings

So, it's been some time since my last blog back in February and a bit of a whirlwind over the last few months but can now happily say I'm starting to find my feet again in the European pelo.

On arrival in Europe late February it was straight into Belgium to get stuck into the first spring classic of the season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Jetlag what?! Much to my surprise the weather was a solid ten degrees warmer than the previous year's edition so there was no need to worry about potential frozen eyeballs or snow fall (yes, frozen eyeballs are a real thing)!

I managed to jostle my way through the race after 3 early spills in the crazy nervous peloton. Lucky for me I came out unscathed but very annoyed I had moved back to level 0 in mastering the cobbles after being away for many months without them. Only in Belg can cobble technique truly be nailed!

The next series of Spring events proved to be a fairly rocky start with a mixture of bad luck (as expected in Spring) and just slowly weening my way back into Euro mode. After spending a few months racing in NZ, my mind and racing style had clicked back into small peloton, friendly rider racing. In Europe and especially during Spring  this is not going to work out for anyone! Field sizes of 200, narrow roads, cobbles, bad weather and some serious nervous energy always makes for some exciting but crazy bike racing. You certainly need some luck to perform well but having that extra bit of skill, determination, aggression and grit in you will go a long way.

Ronde Van Drenthe World Cup. Soldiering up the VAMberg (man made trash climb)! Wiggle Honda

My biggest disappointment came at Omloop Het Hageland where I was gifted with numero 1! This was the race I won in 2013 and brings back some great memories. I was happy to kick start the race with good legs and a strong team of girls but ended up being caught in a race crucial crash right before the deciding climb of the day along with my team mates. Huge bummer as even after a heck of a chase from Giant Shimano and Wiggle Honda it never came back. After a couple of races like this, I had definitely started to question myself and my positioning. After the first two races I had been a lot more weary this time and in this case the crash had been near the front so guess sometimes you just can't win with these things! 

Frustrating but part of the game. I have to blame myself however when I look at riders like Vos, Bronzini and Johansson who are almost never in the wrong spot at the wrong time and very seldom get caught up in or stuck behind crashes. This is something I'm definitely working on and hope to become better with through experience.

Hageland. Surprisingly warm! Wiggle Honda

A highlight a little later was being part of the team at the GP Dottigne, another one day UCI race where Giorgia Bronzini took the first UCI win for the team of 2014. It was a long time coming so we were thrilled to finally do it. It was a good battle and everyone worked well together to make it happen then Gio nailed it with a classy kick to the finish.

Late March we also slipped a team camp in to have our launch and properly kick things off! Was nice to see all the girls and officially get set for the year. We stayed in Italy, not far from Treviso in a pretty cool castle. Lovely spot but not so nice riding up to it ;) We had a great week all up.

Between training I spent some time out in the mountains doing a shoot for dhb. This year, I've happily taken on the role to be a dhb ambassador alongside Aussie Peta Mullens. After a day out with these troops there's definitely going to be some fun along the way! dhb make some neat cycling apparel to suit all levels and it's all very well priced. Check it out on Wiggle at www.wiggle.com/dhb/

FAVE dhb crew Selfie by Steve

Following the season beginnings I've recently taken some time to settle into my new place in Girona, Spain. It's been nice getting to know the area and the roads as well as getting in a decent training block to revamp for the next block of racing. So far, I'm really enjoying having a base here. The weather is a big plus, there's plenty of people around and it's very convenient for traveling to and from races. It's also just nice to have a 'home away from home'. Coming from NZ, it's a long way and a big period to be gone from home so having a place here definitely makes things easier. My lovely flat mate Lucy Martin has been a great wee guide around the place so slowly finding my way around town! 

Coast ride with Lucy, Loren and Dave

Home decor...

Already barbie weather in Girona. Credit to skillful barbecuer, miss Emilia Fahlin

After some hard work over a two week block I was ready to get back into it kicking things off with some Dutch and Belgian races before the Tour of Luxembourg (this past weekend). I was happy with my performance at Dwars door de Westhoek last week. After a good month of not feeling my best racing, I was just glad to be back feeling strong on 2 wheels and managed to get stuck in and have some fun out there. 

The week prior I spent an afternoon at KOMSPORT in Germany where they created some SOLESTAR innersoles for me. I've always had knee issues since beginning cycling and over the past year it's just gotten worse. My knees tend to turn inwards a lot, to the point where they will be banging away against my top tube, especially when putting the hammer down! Not ideal and for sure I had to be losing some power and perhaps could have created some long term issues from continuing to ride like this.

Anyway, coach Greg Henderson set me up with an appointment with Solestar and after spending the arvo with them I was very stoked with the outcome. It's only been a few weeks since but I instantly felt a lot better on  my bike and have since been riding with straight legs! Miracle... ;) Big up's to these guys.

www.solestar.com

Dwars door De Westhoek, Belgium. Wiggle Honda

Following Westhoek it was onto Lux for the 3 day Elsy Jacobs Tour. I had only ridden my TT bike once since January so wasn't expecting a lot come the day 1 prologue. I am a fan of the short, sharp lung sapping event though so kept positive I could maybe whip out a good performance. After reconning the 2.6km course with the girls 7 or 8 times I was set to go. It was a fast wee course and not too technical. I popped it in the big dog and went for it. With heavy wind I was a bit of a whimp on the corners and probably lost time there but my biggest mistake was flying into the last corner before the final uphill stretch very over geared. I was so 'in the zone' I forgot to change gears and so had to settle for a big gear grind to the line. Aside from that, I gave it my all. I finished in 14th behind some hitters so was happy with the result but in a very short effort like that you can't help but be critical of your performance as every little mistake really makes a difference! Marianne Vos is definitely back as she blitzed the field to take the win. 
I would have loved to be in her follow car coming around some of the corners...

Elsy Jacobs Prologue Edmond Friess

Day 2 and 3 were very similar in terrain. Plenty of lumps and bumps and pretty aggressive racing. I did what I could on day 2 but often struggle with recovering from a prologue. I get that hoopy cough, heavy lungs and legs. I'm sure most riders get it but I'm still trying to find a way to deal with it and overcome its effects on performance the following day. Giorgia still got up for a 3rd place taking second in the kick behind Shelley Olds after Rabobank hitter Anna Van Der Breggen made a late race solo escape to take the win. Rabobank are certainly dominating at the moment in the women's peloton so the next months should be interesting to see If we and other teams can challenge that. 

Day 3 was much better for me, I felt strong and managed to get pretty stuck in at the front end of the race. Gio had had a good finish the day prior so we were hoping for the stage win and a bunch kick. This meant being on the defense and covering the moves. Being in the breakaways but not driving them. I had good legs so was happy to be in the mix. Come the final km's sh*t hit the fan and things got very chaotic. No teams were able to get organised with a lead out as it was just carnage. We were the same and although we were all there we couldn't get organised amongst the craziness. I guess this is something we should have considered earlier on! Coming up the right side I could see Giorgia tucked in up on the left. She managed to stay well positioned until the final technical turn to the finish where a lead rider slid out causing some big changes in position. Unfortunate for Gio who had to settle for 4th but fair play to Vos, Johannson and Julie Leth for taking the podium spots in such a crazy finale.

I've now returned to Girona for a week of recouping and training before my next adventure...China bound! 2 weeks hopping from random islands around Shanghai. Hopefully no time in the Chongming hospital this year and yes we are packing plenty of protein bars... :O

Meanwhile, some of my team mates are kicking things off at the Womens Tour of Britain tomorrow in the UK. It's the first time this event will take place and has had some major hype surrounding it. Very exciting for women's cycling. Cheers to all who have made it happen and best of luck to the Wiggle Honda ladies.

Thanks again to support from back home that keeps me going with this fun but challenging cycling lifestyle! Means a lot. 

Special thanks to Maurice Verkerk, New World Remuera, The Athlete Project and team sponsors. 

I have recently joined the Athlete Project agency. They currently already represent some great kiwi athletes so it's exciting for me to jump on board alongside them. 

www.athleteproject.co.nz


Adéu (goodbye in Catalan) :)

Quick Update!

Just a quick update on what's going down in NZ and pre season antics!

My last and most recent racing episode took place in Christchurch, NZ for our elite road cycling champs. Prior to this I had good prep coming straight off NZ's Tour de Vineyards in the lovely Nelson. One of my favourite kiwi races, top courses, good organisation and relaxed nature. I was pleased to take the win in the opening time trial and closing hill circuit stage finishing up 4th in the general class. Up's to Reta Trotman for taking the overall tour win and a big thanks to the Lush family for having us stay and treating us like Queens!

Post tour treats with Jo and chef's Samara and Emma

Onto Nationals...with both myself and Wiggle Honda team mate, Linda Villumsen carrying good form into the event we were confident between the pair of us we could pull off a result.

After allowing an early move to break free of the peloton and a bit of mucking about in the opening laps of the 120km event (7 laps including the harsh 1.5km bugger of a climb, Dyers pass) eventually the small but select peloton of NZ women began to whittle down until there were 6 left chasing the 3 moving NZ track representatives ahead.

After some serious commitment from the 6 chasers, including myself and Linda it was looking good to snatch back all 3 riders. Coming into the closing 3km we had almost reached the last solo rider, Rushlee Buchanan. With Linda and I both feeling pretty solid in the small group we decided to use our numbers. With this, Linda went for it with 2.5km to go. The ideal situation here would have been for Linda to solo away for the win and our other option would be that the 5 girls left behind were forced to react and chase her, allowing me a free ride up to take the win in a sprint.

Unfortunately we mucked (f*) up ! As Linda attacked, Rushlee was able to jump on her wheel with Reta Trotman shortly following hanging in 'no mans land' between the two small groups.

Here I was a little helpless unable to do much with my team mate up the road sitting in the unresponsive group. Ultimately it came down to tired legs and no one being able to go with Linda.

Had we have waited until Rushlee had been caught things may have been different but very fair play and well done to her on a gutsy ride and still managing to outsprint one of the worlds best. Congrats Rushlee and also to Linda on her still solid 2nd place.

I finished 4th to win the kick feeling pretty good, obviously gutted with the result. We really wanted the jersey for the team but as a pair we didn't make the right choices and use our strengths at best when push came to shove!

Apart from the final result I was pleased to have the strength to be there with the selection. In the past this course has gotten to me a bit with sickness and under preparation so to be there in the mix was definitely a bonus and a positive for the season to come!

Post race fun cheering on the kiwi lads TDF style! Safari girls...

I've made a few changes the past months and am happy with how things are going so far. For the past few years I have been really lucky to be under the wing of USA legend and phenomenal sprinter Tina Pic. Tina has been a special kind of mentor and coach and I can soundly say she's helped me progress a lot over these years as I've gone through a lot of changes and grown a lot as a bike rider. Tina has a very easy going but supportive attitude which I loved and having been through it all her self in the female peloton she was really easy to relate to, talk to and learn from. A big thanks to Tina for her constant support over these years.

Over the past months, I have been through a few changes. Kiwi cycling hitter Greg Henderson in December introduced me to his new coaching biz. An exciting opportunity I didn't like to not give a go so I took a plunge and decided to see how things work out for 6 weeks. Greg has some pretty impressive palmares to his name and is one of NZ's best on the professional scene, currently riding for Lotto Belisol. He now has some solid kiwi/Aussie up and comers under his wing.

I've been putting in some hard yards but learning plenty along the way and enjoying a fresh change for 2014.

https://twitter.com/coachhendy

Since Nationals I've been putting most of my focus into training and preparing for the 2014 season. Not just the racing and form side but the admin like visas, licences, flights and accommodation too. Takes more time than you'd expect! Happy to say I've recently confirmed a flat in Spain with Aussie Loren Rowney at Specialized Lululemon and Brit Lucy Martin at Faren Kuota cycling team. Although I will miss Belg I'm looking forward to a fresh change and have only heard good things about Spain. Terrain, weather and food are pluses! I will still spend a lot of the early season in Belg as I hope to be present for many of the Spring classic and one day events.

Unfortunately the past 3 days I've been been bed ridden with a dismal virus floating about NZ. Watch out she's not much fun! After 2 days out to it, I'm finally coming back to life today. It's been a very long time since I've lost my appetite so glad to be finally getting a bit back...anyway, it's given me the chance to get things updated.

I've just changed my facebook profile that had largely got out of hand with too many old albums, likes and unknown friendships hogging the newsfeed! So I've made that into a 'cycling info/updates' page linked to this and my twitter, and created a new profile just for close friends and family. Thanks for continuing to follow and support via this page!


https://www.facebook.com/browse/admined_pages/?id=743377918


Next on tap is the Oceania road championships in Toowoomba Aus, followed by a quick departure to Europe late Feb. Bring on the action!

On other news, the past few months I've been very lucky to be cruising about in a smart Honda CRV. Huge thanks to Honda NZ https://twitter.com/hondanz for supporting me over NZ summer. The CRV has done some pretty epic trips from Auckland to Nelson, Christchurch, Welly and home!

Other good news -  I've recently become lucky to have some support from New World Remuera for 2014. Your support and assistance is much appreciated!

New World Remuera has been a favourite local friendly supermarket since I was a wee dot so the support means a lot.

And to NZ bike magazine and Steve Haddock for setting me up with an interview and cover of their latest issue - pretty cool to have some interest in NZ. Cheers!

Lastly on the news front...Wiggle Honda kicked off their first UCI event in Qatar a few days ago and have two stages to go. Lotte Becker was 3rd from a select breakaway in pounding winds yesterday. Go girl! Follow the teams progress and 2014 season updates here:


https://twitter.com/WiggleHonda