The British trials for the Olympic games were held in Madrid at the weekend and unfortunately were not successful for me. Having been the British ranked number one for the last 4 years and ranked in the top 10 in the World it came as a bit of a blow. As I have mentioned in a previous Wiggle blog GB women have only secured 2 of a possible 3 Olympic slots (achieved by mine and Michelle’s [Dillon] World ranking). However, I haven’t even been given the possible third or even the reserve slot. They have opted to pick 2 women who could act as domestiques if they get the chance to race! I am insulted to say the least. So much for thanks for all my work to secure GB a chance to even put a woman in the games.

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For a very long time it seemed like the race season might never come around - it felt like I was just training and training and training…But all of a sudden I’m seriously in the thick of race season with the Big One - the Worlds in Vancouver - looming large.
I fly off to Canada tomorrow and will be staying with friends in North Vancouver ahead of the race, which is on Saturday week (June 7).

Things have been pretty hectic over the last few days, so I haven’t had that much of a chance to think about it all, but it is definitely both exciting and a little nerve-racking to think the main race I’ve been working towards is approaching at lightning speed.

I know I shouldn’t be nervous: I’m on great form and continue to train well, but I guess I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t feel at least a few butterflies when I visualise the race and the various ways it might unfold. I’m not sure which I should be more nervous about, though - the race itself or flying from Heathrow Terminal 5 with the Chrono!

Will hopefully have a great result to tell you about next time I’m on the bloggle.

Cheers
EK

A couple of weeks back we ran a competition to give away two entry tickets for the UKs only closed-road cycling event this year; the Etape Caledonia.

Our winner was Ewan McDougall and he sent us his thoughts of the weekend below:

“I was happy to win two tickets for etape caledonian, a 81 mile closed road cycle race in highland Perthshire, but also apprehensive. Having started cycling 9 months previously, with my partner Hilary, both of us were nervous entering a race with more than 2000 people. Hilary and I set off early on Saturday heading South from Elgin to Pitlochry.

My race day was almost scuppered after eating an ice cream, feeling very nauseous, then being violently ill, late on Saturday evening. Luckily I felt a lot better on the Sunday.

Race day morning was lovely, bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. We were in the last group to start, “the best of the best” the
starter told us. The route was spectacular though the road a little
more rolling than expected around Loch Tummel, Loch Rannoch brought
welcomed smooth and flatter surface.

As well as the many spectators clapping and cheering the cyclists around as small group of people were not so happy about etape being the only closed road event in Britain. The protest signs “Yes cyclist, No road closure” at a couple of locations around the route can’t have convinced many riders the race was a bad idea.

Hilary and I plan to do a bit more cycling around the area. Thanks for a great day out wiggle.”

Since my last update I’ve settled down into a really good training regime, something that I worried would be hard when I left my job as a courier. For 2 years I didn’t do ANY training, I relied totally on the riding I was doing in work to improve my fitness. I would try and ride quickly some days and sometimes I had to sprint between jobs to deliver it on time, but it wasn’t training.

So when I decided to move back home and ‘train’ I wasn’t too sure if I was able to do it. Would I be motivated? Would I train too little, or maybe too often and too hard? Would I skip a session if it was raining?

All questions that I feel I answered now as the plans I put into place several weeks ago are starting to show dividends. That alone is giving me great motivation to carry on, but my main motivation now is Mountain Mayhem, just over 4 weeks away. It’s a massive race for me, the biggest 24hr race in Europe and without an official ‘UK 24hr championships’ Mountain Mayhem is defiantly the one all the soloists want to win. The next 2 weeks are important training weeks, with the following 2 weeks being used to rest and prepare as much as possible. If all goes to plan then I will be well rested, organised and both mentally and physically strong.

I have just come back from France where I raced the French Grand Prix, which is a sprint distance race. It was a great indication for me to see where my fitness is at going into the Olympic selection next weekend in Madrid.
I was really pleased to finish 3rd and run a fast 5km; everything went how I expected it to go which was a real bonus.
So going into Madrid this weekend, I am taking in with me my experience from previous years. The swim is always fast and tight especially to the first bouy. If you get caught up in the ‘washing machine’ as they call it your race could be over depending if the guys at the front are away. Usually the bike is tactical, as it had one significant hill in it which can split the field up. The run course is flat and it’s always good to get into transition first, so you can get away quick and have the advantage over the others. The run is shaded most of the way which helps as the race starts at 1pm, and it will keep us cool if it’s a really hot day.

All in all, I’m looking forward to the weekend !

Cheers
Stu

Raced the Eton Supersprints on Sunday and stormed home to take a win in my age-group as well as post the fastest women’s time of the weekend. I clocked 57mins 58 seconds for the 400m swim-20km bike-5km run course with splits of 5.13, 32.29 and 18.27 respectively. I was surprised to feel so strong after racing pretty hard at the Europeans last weekend and getting back on it with the high-intensity training from Wednesday onwards. I had a great support crew out in force, including Amy from Wiggle HQ and my seven-year-old cousin Josh - who wanted to ride the Chrono!

A Wiggle Report.

We have been playing with the new Garmin Edge 705, their top-of-the-range GPS cycle computer for a few days to see exactly how it works. The Edge series now features 4 basic models with varying capabilities. Most are also available in bundle deals with accessories such as the heart rate monitor or mapping included already.  Read on for the complete review…

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Last week we launched a quick and cheeky competition for a couple of entry tickets to this weekends Etape Caledonia sportif.

Our winner was Ewan McDougall from Fochabers in Scotland. Ewan is taking his friend Hilary Twiselton to the race and we wish them great luck and hope you both enjoy cycling in the Uk’s only closed-road cycle event this year.

Another staff cam effort using the ATC 2000.
This time Rob and James go back to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Rob strapped up with the cam and sadly no falls from James, which is possibly a new record for him.

Raced at the European Age Group Championships in Lisbon on Sunday and had a brilliant race, winning my age group (25-29) by almost 10 minutes and also posting the fastest female age group time overall. A very good day at the office! I thought I was on for a good one in the swim when I knew I was swimming strongly yet everything felt quite easy and as I looked at my watch at the swim exit my thoughts were confirmed: a 19.51 1500m swim split was just the way to kick off the race. Out on the bike (over cobbles in the rain - not pleasant!) I soon found my riding legs and just destroyed it, opening up a five-minute lead by the halfway 20k mark. The Focus Izalco Chrono was nothing short of superb. I just love riding this bike and racing it is even better. As I ran out of T2 the Team GB support crew were out in force and it really pushed me to turn it up to top speed and see what was in the legs. I knew I was running well but was v chuffed to clock a 37.53 and a total finish time of 2:14.55. All in all it was a great weekend, the legs are starting to recover and I’m really looking forward to racing at the Worlds in Vancouver in less than four weeks’ time - bring it on!
Catch up with you soon
EK