Spring Series March 7th

[Matt]

Congarts to Geoff on another great race!  Hopefully we'll see you out at some road races soon to fly the BPR colors! 

Here is an update from the first road race of the Spring Series in the lower mainland:
 
Stephen and myself were the only two BPR'ers who were able to make it down to this race.  We both signed up for the B group (mostly Cat 3, and some Cat 4's).  This was my second road race ever, and the first after training with guidance from Chris, Andrew and Ginny, and I wasn't sure what to expect.  The course was a flat square, 6.3kms long.  Our race was 80kms.  The weather started out overcast, and quickly turned to rain.  Cold and wet - just what to expect on the coast in March!  The B group (around 50 riders strong) started out a few minutes behind the A group (Cat 1/2 riders), and quickly passed them.  A few laps later they caught us again.  That only lasted for one lap, and we passed them again, and stayed well in front of that group for the rest of our race (The A's had 20 more K's than we did).  Stephen and I road with the front 10 riders for the whole race, taking turns and forcing the pace.  After about 55kms I felt like I needed a little rest, so I drifted to the middle of the group, and Stephen kept attacking, and pushing the pace.  As I worked my way back up again, Stephen attacked with another rider from a team that had about 7 guys in our race - at around 70kms in.  They were able to split the group as the rest of us looked around to see who was going to work.  On the last lap, our chase group had a massive crash right in the middle of it, with about 5 riders going down at 40kms per hour!  Thankfully Stephen was ahead of that in the break, and I was able to avoid the fallen riders by weaving my way through them.  The break ended up have 7 or so riders in it, with about another 10 of us following them into the finish.
It felt like a 2 hour Crit to me!  Our average speed was just over 40kms per hour - I was glad Stephen was in the break so I could sit up for a bit!  I'm not sure of our actual finishing positions, but all in all a great race.  I had a great time, and Stephen was super strong all race.  BPR colors at the front all day!

Look forward to reading more results as they come in.
Cheers!
Matt

[Andrew]

WOW!!!

I knew the test results were impressive for both of you, but it is always really nice to see the lab meeting the road with such a positive result.

So, now the BPR questions of the day...

What was the focus from a physiologic perspective before the race started? Had you thought about controling your HR or resp rate when setting pace at the front. Was there any thoughts on cadence or pacing?

If not, then I will assume it was simply a fun experience with no expectations. However, the goal of racing for BPR athletes should always be to start a race with a plan of challenging some particular aspect of the physiology that has been trained. Then, with careful consideration, review whether the race was successful at putting to good use your understanding, and begin examining where the weakness lies.

Was it an issue of breath control, or a matter of fueling? Was there an issue with bike handling and coordination, or a hydration issue?

When all these questions are answered we can continue to improve on our performance by directing training in a way to overcome the limitations that can only be uncovered in race situations.

Once again...EXCELLENT results.
Mat enjoy the holiday in New Zealand, and the chance to rest your brain. But not too much.
Stephen, fantastic strength to be with the lead pack.
Send us a physiology review of the race when you have a chance.

[StephenU]

Good description Matt - we got a good soaking and were frozen at the end, a Belgian Spring Classic for sure.

Matt did a great race, pushing the pace at the front most of the race, keeping out of trouble, and helping me and a small number of others string the peloton out!  I could feel the pain when he got on the front and hammered!  Unreal result for Matt in his second ever road race. (Cat 3 and fast cat 4's, Matt was right up there)

I was really hoping that both Matt and I could get in a break together, as it would have been much easier tactically to try and control and/or react to attacks.  Unfortunately when I was finally able to get away, Matt could not join me without dragging the rest of the peloton with him.  So being the consummate team-mate that he is, he tried to block and slow the peloton down so I had a chance to succeed.  Awesome!  I am so happy he did not get caught up in that big pileup just before he flies off to New Zealand.

Once the break was looking like it was established I pretty much buried myself to make sure we did not get caught.  I think the end result was the best I could have hoped for on a flat road course that does not suit my characteristics as a rider.  (I am definately not a sprinter)
Jason was certainly right when he said it was sketchy.  Narrow roads with pouring rain make for dangerous racing.

Physiologic Breakdown:
-I tried to  keep a high cadence to conserve my power but as the race went on I found myself mashing gears... (more cadence work needed)
-My average HR for the 2 hours was a staggering 170 but felt powerful until the last 1/4 lap!!  Incredibly, I felt recovered at 165 and was able to respond to moves. (recovery is good)
Respiration was not really an issue, at least I don't think so!!!
-I have been experimenting lately using only liquid fuels on long training rides, based on 300 calories/hour intake.  I carefuly dosed my bottles (Infinite) and finished them on the last lap.  During 5.5 hour rides it seems to work and it also worked during this high output 2 hour hammerfest.  I did not feel like I was having any kind of hunger knock.  Matt and I talked about and made sure our last bit of solid food was over 2 hours before the race.
Another Check mark!
-I know one issue is that I need to be more patient and and not think we/ or I have to be the ones to chase down every break.  (Mental issues!!!)

I am looking forward to some races where the road tilts up a little bit.

thanks for reading, 
Stephen

[JasonK]

Good job boys!  Man, my heartrate is climbing while reading this.  Looking forward to next weekend.  Saturday is a great warm up for Sunday with more corners and small rollers.  Sunday is the infamous Armstrong hill so you will definitely get your chance to shine Steve!!!

[Andrew]

Great report Stephen. The feedback, and thought process at the bottom shows very good thoughts, and an excellent review of your physiology.

I agree that the ability to maintain high cadence for the full 80km, especially at that speed will likely take some more focus. I needs to be a constant focus in training, even if this means a few weeks of doing lower wattage, or slower riding, giving the challenge instead to the neuro system. On a day where you feel the neuro system is really fried, it will be easy to still get an excellent training stimulus by switching to a much lower cadence, or switching off the bike and doing a strong hike up in the trails.

The high HR is a demonstration of the dynamic nature of how the body generates cardiac output, and will be discussed at the next EES session. The more we learn, the more we recognize that HR alone does not tell the whole story on intensity. Stay tuned...

The nutrition/hydration seems as though it was well taken care of. It will be even more essential for those carrying more muscle mass like Matt to focus on fueling and refueling, especially on the multi-day event week-ends. It can play a huge role in performance, and as Stephen mentioned should be "practiced" at every opportunity.

Great job to both of you. Hopefully there will be a few more BPR boys in the pack with you soon.

[Matt]

Thanks for the feed back Andrew!  I have to admit, I was a little nervous, and wasn't as focused on how I was reacting to the demands of the race as I could have been. 

However, in hind sight I can make some comments:
My primary focus during training has been on controlling my respiration rate.  During the race, after exceeding my balance point I did make a concerted effort to control my breathing, and seemed to be able to control it well for the first 1.5 hours.  I don't recall struggling with my respiration rate like I did recently during some interval work. 

However, at roughly kilometer 70 everything became more of an effort - I noticed I wasn't turning over as high a cadence, and I had trouble getting my heart rate up to my balance point, and on the last two sprints out of the corners my quads started to cramp a little. 

For nutrition I had two bottles of Perpetuem that were 270 cals each - but I only drank one.  I had a hard time getting them down due to their consistency.  I will give the Infinite product a try next month.

I did a test with Chris a few days before the race, and my balance point was 162.  My average HR for the race was 156.

My guess is that respiration was still the limiter of my performance during this race;  there was a clear time when I realized that I had stopped recovering as quickly from each effort - it seemed like everything was effected - HR, cadence, and muscle cramping. As I was 'sitting in' most of the last bit, my HR was a bit lower, and it was easier to control my respiration.  I probably did not do as good a job as I thought controlling my respiration as I only paid strict attention to it while over my balance point.  I know from previous testing that my respiration rate changes at 140 bpm as well as at balance point - I may have been able to delay the 'cooked' feeling a little longer if I had done so.  I would also guess that nutrition/hydration was an issue as well with muscle cramping near the end of the race. When I realized my cadence was an issue, I did seem to be able to increase it again - but at that point I was in the chase group not putting hard efforts in.

I definitely learned a bit about reading the race - mostly that I have a lot to learn!  There were two riders in the split that did almost no work all day long.  In fact, I was joking about it at the front with them just before the split - last laugh is on me! 

I look forward to reading all of your comments!
Cheers
Matt

PS
Steve and Jason - you guys have fun on those hills next race!

[SimonC]

I love reading war stories ...  
Some of my worse days on a bike have been at the Spring Series ...  

I remember doing that River Rd Race one year in the pissing rain and having the B and C groups catch us  

A couple of comments ...

Flat races like that one are always tough as they are pretty fast. It usually takes several attempts for a break to get established and will not succeed until the pack is happy with the composition ... ie all major teams represented. Once that occurs, then the real fun begins in the break. It sounds like Steve did a lot of the work which is great for a training race but often spells racing disaster unless you have the strength of Svein Tuft ... Never a good plan to drag sprinters to the line. Often guys will try and shame you into doing the Lions share of the pulling ... in essence they are trying to get you to work for them. Don't fall for that BS !!! The key is doing just enough work the help make the break successful, but not too much to cook yourself. It often comes down to opportunistic attacks at the prime moments ... ie if you are a shitty sprinter better off attacking later in the race and going solo. If you get caught you are no worse off as the sprinters will bury you at the end.

Sounds like you guys had a great time and I look forward to racing with you guys and helping you guys win some races !!!!

Good stuff you guys !!!

SC
 

[SimonC]

Good Luck to all the guys heading down to do the INFAMOUS  Armstrong Climb !!!
Do us proud !!!

Simon

[StephenU]

Those big, FAT Sprinters don't have a chance on Sunday!!  Jason and I are not going to mess around....

[SimonC]

I hear the BPR boyz kicked ass in Langley this weekend !!!
Congrats to both Jason and Steve !!! 

[StephenU]

I was not there on Saturday, but Jason blazed to a 4th place finish!!  ( he can explain it )

I managed 2nd on Sundays hilly Armstrong Rd course..  Thanks to Jason for calming me down.  He was right all day!  We caught the mini break ahead of us on the last lap and I was able to drop everyone except for one guy on the climb.  He rode my wheel to the line up the false flat and then came around me!! (again, jason told me not to pull on that part of the course but I could not let off the gas) I was ok with it as the winner and I (probably not by coincedence)were in an early break in which we shared the work evenly.  It was doomed because of a head wind on the flats, no way to stay away although we were gaining on the climb. So I was not surprised when this guy was able to stay with me on the last climb.  I had previously saw that he was climbing well.  It was a great race and I owe thanks to Jason for sure!!  He was a beast, riding back to back days.
I am still mulling over my physiological take-aways from it.    (Jason and I are still trying to figure out what that word means!! HA - Kidding!  )

Thanks,

Stephen

[Andrew]

WOW...a very impressive showing.

It sounds like Simon and Tom could help a great deal with sharing advice in terms of race tactics, but that Jason has already picked up some tremendous knowledge during his short racing career.

Two notes for you both, at the risk of sounding like a broken record...

1) Recover...the huge efforts on these early week-ends of racing take 48-72 hours to recover from. So, be very cognizant of proper hydration and nutrition, and sleep. You will feel an urge to "fix" any perceived weakness by working HARDER in the next few weeks, which is exactly the OPPOSITE to what is really needed. Continue to develop structures that support your conditioning, and use each race as a functional stimulus. If you do have a week-end without racing, then you can consider some interval type sessions that are focused on challenging your full system, recognizing that your weak link will take the longest to recover, and the training may impact your next few structural sessions.

2) Enjoy your success, but consider where the focus needs to be to improve in the races that matter more later in the season.

Once again...congratulations, and we look forward to hearing more details from Jason. Seems like his concerns from a few weeks ago might have been unfounded...

[JasonK]

Ok, things are almost back to normal and found some time to talk about the race.

Saturday's course was relatively flat with a slight uphill finish and some windy sections.  I originally thought cycling BC was giving out points at spring series so I tried to ride as smart as possible.  I took a couple big pulls at the front bringing back the breakaways but other then that I rode quite conservative.  The race was around 75km long.  There was one team with quite a few riders that were definitely dominating.  I don't think there sprinter took a single pull during the race.  With two laps to go I fought for my position near the front.  At 1km left the speed picked up and I was about 6th wheel.  We caught the novice group on the last corner which made things a little confusing but I managed to get back on and sprinted across the line in 4th.  Overall the race was quite straightforward.  I could definitely use a better sprint at the finish.  I also started to get cramps in my quads around 55km.  I sure wish I could solve this issue!

It was great to have a team mate like Steve there on Sunday!  The race was around 80km with a solid climb on each of the 11 laps.  I recovered as best as I could from Saturday's race but definitely did not have the jam like Steve did.  A few laps in and he was gone in a breakaway.  I moved towards the front to keep an eye on the action and to cover any counter attacks.  Once they were caught it didn't look like it took him long to recover and he was near the front again a few laps later.  A few other breakaways went away and I did some work to pull them back.  Started to cramp again around 60km.  On the last lap I watched Steve drill it at the front as we all got strung out and gaps opening everywhere.  Unfortunately I couldnt handle the pace and finished somewhere around 10th.

All and all a good couple days of racing.  Now that I know there are no points for these races I will definitely be doing some experimenting at the front next time I make it down there!

[kiwichris]

Great work guys - well done on flying the BPR colors with such alacrity.

Jason - your cramping is most likely due to nutritional choices - how many calories are you taking per hour, how much clean water etc......

Steve - well done buddy - I hope that you continue to listen to your body in order the keep the strong start to the season going

Chris