Nice bike…
My 2011 adventure is in full swing already and we’re only a few weeks into things. I’m in Majorca at the team’s first training camp of 2011. I know a lot of people may be quite interested in what goes on here but I can tell you its all actually pretty boring stuff.
We wake up, at sometimes quite an unsociable hour, and fix the first problem every bike rider has most of the time… hunger. So a few carbs are shovelled down our necks and numerous shots of espresso and we’re on our way to start the day. Every day before training we do a 15 minute “movement preparation” session which, as I’ve explained before, is essentially a bit of muscle activation and stretching to wake our bodies up and bypass that stiff and sore feeling we get at the start of every ride. This way we are ready to go from the first pedal rev.
Next thing we load up with enough fuel for the day. It’s pretty cool with HTC as far as our energy food goes, we have three different sponsors in SIS, Powerbar and First Endurance so we get a great choice of some great products that sometimes taste too good…
Our training schedule for each day is normally handed out the previous night at dinner, telling us exactly what we are doing on the bike and where we need to be at what times. So we head out with a strict plan in our minds of what we need to do and what numbers we need to hit. After training our trainer Sebastian (“the Killer”) comes around and collects everyone’s SRM box from their bikes and then downloads and analyses each and every rider’s training file from the day. Not only can he tell if we’ve done what we should have done (theres no hiding any more) but he can check out where everybody is at, if we need to work on a specific area, if anybody looks overly tired and a whole lot of other things I don’t quite understand yet…
So training done and the body is tired, we head to the physio’s room for some stretching and a recovery shake. Every ride is different, so some days different stretching is required and some days a slightly different type or strength recovery or protein shake is needed. This is all normally dictated by the Killer.
After this, again we’re all feeling pretty hungry so we head once again to the restaurant for some more food and nourishment. This time after lunch is normally the “golden hour”. If we’re lucky enough to have no appointments we get the chance to chill out and have a little powernap or check a few emails etc.
The early days here in Majorca I had a few media appointments, bike / helmet fits etc. to do but now the first block is over, things should free up a little and I hope I’ll have some more time to lay in my bed and do some hard recovering.
Next comes massage, core training, more food and then bed.. As I said, pretty boring mundane stuff.
“What training have you been doing?” That’s the biggest question I’m being asked. We’re here in Majorca for 12 days, so training has been split into three blocks of three days with a rest day separating each block. The first day is typically 4-5hrs including some type of race for some fun and some strength efforts in the hills. Day two is a little longer, typically 5-5.5hrs with some more strength efforts and the last day is always 6hrs-plus with a focus on climbing.
So after a nice easy day on the bike today I hope im ready for tomorrows “race”. We have been split into three teams of six, and have a 5km race on the flat and then a 5km climb. The clock will stop when the 3rd rider of any one team crosses the line. My team for the day is Micheal Albasini, Craig Lewis, Martin Velits, Marco Pinotti and Leigh Howard. So looking at that group I think we have a good chance of glory!
Must go pin the numbers on and get the skinsuit out….
Matt
