The last two weeks of racing have given us some great results and racing but also some serious moments where riders are unleashing some completely unexpected tactics. Firstly in Roubaix we had Boonen pretending to do a Cancellara and now we have Wiggins doing a Mark Cavendish. As spectators we grow acustomed to seeing races go down in a certain way and riders behaving the way we expect them too. However in these two ocassions both riders made me stop and stare and look at them in different ways appreciating them more than I did before.

This last week Wiggins has added a win in the Overall at the Tour of Romandie to his March win of Paris-Nice. This year I have been a lot more appreciative of Wiggins as he appears to be far more aggressive then in previous years. This paticulary came out in Stage 1 of Romandie when Wiggins won the stage from a bunch sprint. When I heard that Wiggins had won a sprint I was really quite shocked. One of arguably less exciting riders in the peloton had gone out and given us something to cheer about. However on reflection Wiggins winning a sprint from a whittled down peloton shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given that he was the World Madison Champion at one stage with a certain Mark Cavendish. So while not expected it is still exciting to see a Wiggo prepared to take risks. Team Sky have also done a superb job with Wiggins’ National Champs kit and it is probably my favourite kit in the peloton.

Boonen was just in a leauge above at Roubaix but his style of victory really suprised me, he risked everything by launching such a daring attack yet he managed to pull it off in the style of Spartacus himself. Boonen’s panache was what we want to see in races riders not hedging there bets in the final climb, mountain, berg, metres or sector;  we want to see them take risks and bring back the energy into racing. I never thought I’d use Wiggins and Panache in the same sentence but now I am and I’ll happily accept the consequences. There may be trouble in paradise but maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all?

My first road race of the season was without a doubt a disaster. With a lack of fitness I went into the Alpe d’Buffalo already with my excuses and come the finish my result was exactly what I deserved, atrocious. It was after a slack summer the wake up call I needed and with a big training camp in Eildon straight after Buffalo I got going quickly. When I realised that last Saturday I had the opportunity to race at Northern Combine I leapt at the opportunity. This time I’d started to get some solid training in following Eildon and I came in with an improved frame of mind. I knew the course profile suited me with a hard hill finishing two km’s from the end. Now all I had to do was race the race with no excuses and 110% effort.

The race itself was 60km consisting of three laps around a 20km loop out at Kyenton. The first lap started typically at a relatively sedentary and come the only real hill on the course towards the end it was obvious how decisive it would be in the last lap. The second lap continued on in a similar pattern with a cruisy pace with nobody really trying to get away. When we hit the bell lap still there was no action and coming up to the first rolling hill the group was still 40 strong. When we reached the bottom of the climb I was about 4th wheel and I decided halfway up to lift the pace and move to the front and try to shell out a few riders. As I moved to the front I realised how good I was feeling and I decided to keep going and by the top of the hill had a 30m gap. I decided for the meanwhile to not give it 100% but to just ride tempo and see what happened.

The group caught me after about 2km after I had sat up deciding to save my matches for the final climb.As I rolled back I noticed that the group had shrunk and was now only 20 riders strong. Happy with my work I tried to now conserve as much energy for the finish and stay at the front being vigilant. Clearly everyone had the same idea as me and despite a little attack the group stayed together till the climb. Quickly riders started to get dropped on the climb and a Sunbury rider tried to go off the front and had about a twenty metre lead. I attacked the group and by the top off the hill I was five metres behind the Sunbury rider and 50m in front of a chase group of 4. On my junior gearing the descent being fast and straight was made challenging on my 48 x 16 but I managed to catch up to the Sunbury rider and we were in the lead till the final straight at 300m to go. Two riders went rushing past and already spinning at 140rpm I couldn’t make the leap. The next two riders went past and I leaped on, now sprinting for 3rd. One of the riders moved towards the left and seemed to run out of gas so now I had one rider to get past in order to podium. As I prepared to move round him he moved to the left and I went blasting up the middle of the road and took the lead with 50m to go and coming to the finished comfortably took third.

Reflecting back on the race it was as much the mental attitude as the physical condition which provided the improved results. This was again proved the next day when despite racing the day before I set a new PB up the 1:20 riding with the Bike Gallery guys. A great way to cap off a great weekend of riding.

There are many things in life that I am passionate about, one of them is cycling, another is blogging, I also have a particular fetish for good ice cream and chocolate but one thing I am extremely passionate about is correct sock height. After writing two posts regarding the state of sock height I feel that I can be qualified as an expert of sorts and along with Lee Hollywood one of the great authorities on the matter. Such is my interest in sock height I have gone great lengths to find the perfect sock and I think I have found it in the Rapha Pro Team Socks.

Rapha as a brand appeals to me, I love their great design, their websites and in particular the continental movies which they produce. I have spent many an hour frothing over Rapha products however it was not till this Christmas I was given the Pro Team Socks, my first piece of Rapha apparel. The socks themselves are about as simple as you can get and are almost completely devoid of branding and the only design feature is a little black tab on the back. Aside from this they are white, white and white. Which is, in my opinion, absolutely perfect.

As you may have realised, I love the design of these socks, however if they don’t perform well enough, the design counts for nothing. This is not an issue though as these are the best performing socks I’ve worn. The cuff is mildly compressive and gives the socks a great feeling around your calves. The bottom half of the socks is super breathable and comfy and as such they keep your feet nice and cool. Herein though, lies my only complaint of the socks, The reinforced sections of the sock at the toe is in my opinion too small. This though, is only an issue when putting on the socks and it feels a tad odd, however when on the bike there is no issues with the size.

Of all the things Rapha says in their description, one stands out to me:

At first when I read this I wasn’t sure about how well they would pull up from the washing as most socks I own either lose whiteness or elasticity, however for the Rapha socks this wasn’t an issue in the slightest. I’m sure by now you can tell that I truly love these socks. They are in my mind perfect and I can’t imagine how any other sock could improve on the perfection of these. However as often comes up with Rapha products is the price. These socks retail for $20 which is neither expensive or cheap in comparison to a lot of other socks. At the beginning of the post I claimed that these are the perfect socks and while you may not agree with me, for me the combination of performance and design makes them the socks that will be my first pick to wear.

You know, it really was the 8th interval that got me today. Until then I was in pain and suffering but still going ok. However as I turned the corner on that fateful 8th interval my legs instantly started complaining and the smooth pedal circles I’d been pedaling turned awfully square. The pain seemed so terrible yet it motivated me and as I got through the climb slowly eating up the road and edging nearer to the top I found the energy to speed up and nail back a couple of seconds. Here it struck me, the issue of interval training is not the interval itself but the recovery which never seems to be quite long enough. Now as I descend back to the start point round the maze of streets I see someone behind me and I increase the tempo.

Now two intervals to go I round the corner at the beginning of the climb and see a lone solitary rider 20 seconds in front of me weaving from side to side out of the saddle. My motivation has suddenly reemerged. I sit there bum firmly in the saddle and instead of shifting up I don’t take the painkiller but I lift my cadence in an effort to catch him. All throughout the climb my lungs are screaming, my legs are burning and my heart feels like it is about to escape my chest but I push on. Now it’s just me and Rider X and the race to the top. As I approach the last 50m I still have 20m to catch so again I lift my intensity to see if I can get anything else from my body. It responds and I have once last burst of energy and catch him 5m from the top.

Now one more climb, one more moment of suffering. I’m not feeling too bad, maybe today is a good day to try and beat my Strava PB time, my legs are great and I can’t be too far off it. I round the final corner before the climb and when the climb begins I give it 110%. I start to speed round the first corner but then I realise my mistake. I’ve overcooked it terribly, my fluid style of the climb before is gone and now it is just a struggle to get to the top. My mind against my legs who will win? I someone manage to finish the climb and I wonder was the suffering all worth it. As I ride home and my legs feel shot it all becomes clear, the suffering was the goal and now through the suffering I have improved as a person and a rider. I guess you could call it a religion of sorts. While Yarra St may have broken me today as I sit writing this I think about how tomorrow is a new day and another day to tame the monster.

Background

In the time since SRAM first launched their road groupsets they have taken the groupset industry by storm. Since their entry into the road market their DoubleTap technology has both been loved and hated and was significantly different than the competition. After recent groupset updates from Shimano and Campagnolo, SRAM Red was expected to be updated for 2012. SRAM followed a very Apple-esque approach to their announcement of the groupsets with little information which lead to many rumours and speculations about the upcoming group. Among these rumours was the speculation that SRAM may go either 11 speed like Campagnolo Record or go electric akin to DI-2. In the end neither of these turned out to be true but what SRAM produced was not revolutionary but rather evolutionary instead.

Since receiving my SRAM Apex equipped Trigon RCC11 in September I have been continually impressed by the performance of the system.  The rear shifting proves to be quick, accurate and smooth which are all desirable qualities. The braking is both powerful and easy to modulate and the ergonomics of the levers were a definite improvement over the Campagnolo 10sp levers I’d been riding previously. However I felt that the front derailleur shifting was adequate but compared to the rest of the gruppo a bit of a let down. When I received the new SRAM Red bike to test I had high expectations of the groupset and to the most part they were met.

The Positives

Two aspects of the group stood out above the rest for me, the first was the new brakes and the second was the solid front derailleur shifting. That is not to say that the other elements of the group were bad however it was these two things which really stood out to me.

Without a doubt the highlight of the group in my eyes was the braking, it was incredibly powerful and despite during the ride, never having to max out the brakes they still showed their quality. The application of the power was absolutely unbelievable, all the way through the braking curve there was a solid increase which was both predictable and comfortable. These brakes are in two words: confidence inspiring, I only managed to ride down Beach Rd for the test but at some point I would love to ride them in the Dandenongs where they would make a truly measurable difference.

The front derailleur shifting was regarded as the Achilles heel of the old SRAM Red, however this seems to no longer be the case. The front derailleur has been completely redesigned and now features Yaw technology which means it pivots meaning that trimming is no longer necessary. I was initially skeptical of this but after riding in Big-Big and Little-Little I can confirm that I experienced no front derailleur rub through any of the gear combinations. The new chainrings and front derailluer also claimed to have much better shifting and throughout the ride I found that the shifts were crisp and precise even when out of the saddle. However, I found the action of shifting to the big chainring to be quite heavy but I believe this to be a fault of the internal cabling present on the review bike not the groupset.

The Negatives

In the test I wasn’t impressed by the performance of the rear derailleur as I found it wasn’t shifting very well. However I believe that this is because of the frame not because of the groupset itself. Having run Apex now for close to six months the rear shifting has been flawless and the real highlight. The frame on the test bike was branded as SRAM and had internal cable routing, I belive that this was the cause of the issues in shifting as everywhere else that has reviewed the grouppo has said that the rear shifting is perfect. This would also explain the heavy front derailleur shifting.

Overall

The New SRAM Red is in a complete different level to Apex, the braking is phenomenal and you really have to ride it to believe how good it is. The new shifter shape is slimmer and supposedly better ergonomically but to be honest I don’t believe it is much of an improvement over the older generation. The front derailleur shifting is very strong and precise however it was compromised by some bad cabling on the test bike, likewise with the rear derailleur. These issues though appear to be with the frame rather than the components, I think though that if SRAM really wants to show off the groupset the lack of care or thought in the frame choice, was dissapointing as it was limiting the perfomance of the gruppo.

Without a doubt SRAM Red is a top class groupset and certainly compared to Apex shows its class. I’d like to thank both Bike Gallery form letting me test the bike and I’d like to thank SRAM who both built up and supplied the bikes to be tested.

This past weekend the city of Sacramento has been home to the annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show. While for many this is a comparative non-event compared to the likes of Eurobike and Interbike this is the show for all handmade bikes. Last year I went down to North Shore, Geelong to have a discussion with Darren Baum about Baum cycles and his views on creating bikes. The two hours I spent chatting to him were two of the best spent hours of my life. His knowledge is just extrodinary and if I ever had to spend 7 grand on a frame I know where it would be going. The bike above is one of the Baum bikes on display at NAHBS and as I am sure you will agree is simply stunning. My only issue with it is that for a track bike I would think the dropouts should be slightly longer.

APS Regatta at Carrum

While not cycling related this weekend I took part in my first rowing regatta down at Carrum. Amid the horrible weather my Quad raced to a first and a third a great effort given that we have only been rowing since November. Since starting rowing I have phenomenally enjoyed it and despite being a tad on the short side of rowing I have been a reasonably competent rower.

Humevale Rd TT

Yesterday I rode at Coburg’s Humevale TT and despite not being in top form I did fine. At the end of March the first major race for my road racing season the Alpe d’Buffalo is going to be run, yesterday was for the experience of racing an uphill TT similar to the one I will face in Buffalo. The race itself showed what is so great about racing as the atmosphere was great and relaxed and everyone was just enjoying the weather and racing.

Dirty Deeds 2012

Today while sipping the customary friday afternoon latte in Bike Gallery I made a bold claim. That claim was that Cyclocross will be the next big thing in 2012. Only time will tell whether this prediction is accurate but I as much as anyone will be hoping it is because I believe that Cyclocross would be great for Australian cycling and specifically Melbourne cycling. Over the last couple of years the folks over at Brunswick Cycling Club have run a four race Cyclocross series called Dirty Deeds CX.

Dirty Deeds in my mind was showed everything which is good about cycling. People were turning up to have a laugh and in general not take the whole thing too seriously. The only race I rode as part of the dirty deeds series was the final race at Brunswick’s Harrison St velodrome. Other than the Australia Day Madison this was probably the most fun I have ever had during a race. Despite having some initial dreams of glory I was quickly dispatched and within the first 200m I had no chance of victory. This didn’t take away from what was probably one of the best 20mins of racing in my short career.

Already last year Dirty Deeds broke records for the most 3 ride permits sold and with the queuing involved at race #3 I wouldn’t be surprised if this happens again this year. Last year Cycling Victoria also held the first to my knowledge Cyclocross open in the Darebin Parklands. This year CV is going one better and there will be a Vic Champs in late September. Hopefully it will truly take off and hit the big time. My current record with predictions is pretty good as my last one was about the release of Ultegra DI-2 sometime in 2011. The way I see it the biggest thing that will get in the way of cyclocross is the lack of a dedicated season in Australia. I feel in that scanerio it may take a couple of years to properly tweak it but I reckon that cyclocross will be the big thing in 2012.

I love racing but recently in the past couple of months since Christmas I’ve raced far too much given my season objectives. My main season objectives are in July and I’ve been racing my heart out trying to do as much racing as possible. However as anybody would tell you right now my energies should be spent Base training in order to achieve peak performance later. Today I had possibly my worst race performance wise ever.

In a big D Grade field at St Kilda I got shelled out within the first 10km and despite chasing hard for 10 minutes the bunch got further ahead every lap and it was not even like the average speed was that high, being only 39km/h as opposed to the 41 or 42km/h speeds of late. Just last week I wrote about how despite feeling great I was thwarted by tactics and bad decision making. However this week I was just nowhere to be seen. However after a chat with Dad I will settle down and start preparing properly for the road season and hopefully get some results among others a road race win.

However even though my race didn’t go quite as planned the sun was shining and the conditions were somewhat nicer than last week’s killer winds making it still an OK day. As I get into the rinse and repeat cycle that is school expect more frequent posts and commentary on the Melbourne cycling scene.

I love racing crits, particularly if I get a coffee somewhere along the way. However despite my love of crits and the fact that I have ridden 15+ crits this year I’m still without a result better than 4th in D Grade. While there is nothing wrong with fourth and the fact that I profited $40 I’m always so close yet so far. This week has been a case in point. After a few tough days of training I had two days of rest on Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday I raced down at Kew and despite having good legs ended up fiinishing 9th, shaking my head knowing I could have done better.

At Kew the reason for my failure was completely self inflicted, I underestimated how hard it would be too move up in the last two laps and when I was in 15th place a km to go I was stuck and when around the bendy descent on the back side of the course the rider infront dropped the wheel I only just managed to reach the main group heading into the final corner and by then it was too late. The worst part of the race though was the fact that I was flying up the hill sprint and had I been in a better position I could have possibly placed instead of coming 9th.

Today though I raced down at Glenvale for a change and in a tough day of racing with lots of wind I finished 6th. However as often is the case the final score does not reflect the race itself. After the ten minute neutral section I attacked straight away and gained 50m before an accident in B grade neutralised the race and I was caught. Then as soon as the race started I attacked and gained a bit of ground before being brought back.Then after about 500m the counter attack was launched and I got on someone who had tried to follow before they had sat up and when I tried to bridge across I was stuffed.

I tired to pull back the break but there was little cooperation in the bunch and I spent a quarter of the race on the front in an effort to try and get the group to chase. After half an hour of chasing we came round a corner to find three of the four breakaway riders sprawled across the road after a crash halting the breakaway after an almost certain victory. Now though my legs were pretty tired and I did the best I could to conserve energy for the sprint but when it came the tank was decidedly empty.

This week despite having great legs all went pear shaped but two impoprtant lessons were learnt, one about positioning and another about spending too much energy chasing, Anyway tomorrow is another week and another couple of races, Sandown here I come!