Ulster 100 TT

I sorta knew it wasn't going to be fast conditions but I still dipped my toe in the water to see if going for the record might be on, after a couple of laps I knew it wasn't as my average speed was around 28mph rather than the 29 needed to go for the record. I was still on schedule though to set the second fastest 100 time and a new PB.

I was feeling pretty good going into the last 25 miles and started to increase the pace again. on the final run down to the roundabout I was going really quick with the tailwind sitting at 36-37mph at times. going into the roundabout on the Antrim side was a brutal experience every lap as the strips batter the life out of you. 

On that final run in I was totally psyched up to empty myself for the last 10 miles and went into the roundabout a little more aggressive with more speed, when I came off the tri bars to reach for the brakes the bike took a massive jolt and my right hand came off the bars and the bike lurched sideways, I tried to grab the bars and save it but what I didn't realize at the time I had rolled the tub off the rear wheel which ultimately put me on the deck hard at 36mph! That yellow gritty aggregate stuff against my skin brought me to a stop pretty quick so I didn't slide too far. The next sort of thing I remember was being at the side of the road not really being able to see out of my right eye it was all sort of fuzzy. I was feeling my collar bone to see if I had broken it as my shoulder was in a fair bit of pain. I felt the end of the bone and there was a large bump so I knew I had separated the AC joint. I separated my left AC joint before I got into cycling when I used to do a bit of MotoX so I knew what that meant and I was kind of annoyed I had done the right, at that point I think I would have rather have broken the collar bone as it would have been better in the long term.

While all this was going on Paul had got the bike sorted with changed wheels and I had started to be able to see again out of the right eye and I was like right lets see can we do the last 8 miles. I got back on and I remember going down into the tribars and my shoulder joint popping, I wasn't in that much pain at the time to be honest I just had no real use or strength in the right arm.

Going back up the carriageway as things got faster I was absolutely praying no lorries were going to overtake me and was a god send I had Paul behind as that kept the traffic away from me and made them give me room when they overtook, I would have been in the hedge if a larger vehicle came past me close and fast with the side draft as I had little control of the bike.

I got to the finish line and went on to the next hill so I could let gravity slow me down as I couldn't get off the tri bars and onto the bakes at speed. I felt fine at the finish as I never really got to empty myself for that last 10 miles so in terms of how 100 TT's go it was pretty easy for me, the last 10 miles of a 100 when all things go well is much much more painful than coming off the bike and that was clear to see when I made my way back to the start finish there was a number of people lying on the grass in bits!

Getting back all I wanted to know was did I still get the win, which I did. I don't have a Gold Ulster 100 medal and its actually one of my favorite events so I really wanted one, so I was secretly that happy inside I wasn't too bothered I was missing half the skin of my back and my shoulder was wrecked.

I didn't think about this at the time or until the dust had settled but I took a look at my helmet when I got home and it looks like it saved me from a very bad head injury as it was split on the right hand side the same side I had temporary vision issues. I always wondered if those TT helmets would actually save you if push came to shove...

Final mentions:
Big thanks to Paul Caldwell of Caldwell cycles for looking after me on the day and providing support it was definitely a team effort and I wouldn't have finished without him.

Ballymoney CC for again taking the event on and doing a great job! its one of those events that everyone that finishes has such a great sense of achievement and anyone that has done it and finished it feels like a winner.

Sonia my sister who randomly cycled up to see how I got on, Took my mind off the injuries on the drive home as she piloted my pickup very very badly hardly being able to see over the steering wheel!

I really liked that Castelli Skin suit :'( 

Championship Results

100 Mile TT Championships

Senior Podium

1 Sean McIntyre (Caldwell Cycles) 3:41:34
2 Andrew Bye (Newry Wheelers) 3:44:11
3 Mervyn Linton (Ballymoney CC) 3:46:01

Women’s Champion

1 Jennifer Ashby (Madigan CC) 4:40:50

Masters’ 40

1 Barry Hayes (Island Wheelers) 3:45:15
2 John Rafferty (North Down CC) 4:01:36
3 Brian McBride (Errigal CC) 4:05:53

Masters’ 50

1 Patrick Morning (Four Masters) 4:21:58
2 Peter Dallat (Ballycastle CC) 4:43:10

Masters’ 60

1 Sean Hargan (Phoenix CC) 3:52:33
2 Dominic Drum (Bann Wheelers) 4:10:45
3 Carl Fullerton )North Pole CC) 4:57:13

Masters’ 70

Willie John McLaughlin – North Pole CC 4:48:29

Team Prize

Velo Cafe Magasin (Joe Henry, Mark Millar, Mark Hanna)

The Dromara Hilly

The Hilly 125

A sportive that has passed me by a few times but has always been on the radar. The weather finally gave us a bit of respite just in time for the event and it made the day much more enjoyable.

Start/Finish Location
Dromara Village Football Club (location) Sat. Nav. Co-ordinates – N 54.37118788,  W 06.01813563
Rathfriland Road, Dromara, BT25 2EB

Route information
Hilly 125 – The original and some say the best.  This event is for strong cyclists and visits all major climbs. The first half of the route takes in the Cornmill, Dree Hill & Windy Gap. After the food stop the route follows a scenic loop up to the dizzy heights of Spelga Dam, returning via Leitrim and the Legananny Dolmen. This event remains a real challenge in every sense of the word, and really lives up to the name of the event.

Link to the route on Strava

http://www.strava.com/routes/2944121

The event itself

What can I say about the event. For a mere £15 we were greeted at sign on with a goody bag, coffee and biscuits, mechanical support for any last minute bike problems that needed fix. Half way through after numerous lung busting climbs there was a chance to sit down and discuss the battles on the road that were won and lost. The amount of food and refreshments laid on was impressive and I particularly liked the kinder treats.

The second half of the route took in a number of back roads that I had never been on. Some nice traffic free rambling through the country side was awesome before pealing off to take on the climb at Spelga followed by a fast and furious downhill race with Simon to Bryansford at 45mph.

Sonia and Bunter were going along impressively and were still full of energy towards the end, climbing strongly up the last few inclines before the fast and furious drop back into Dromara.

We were greeted with yet more food and coffee at the finish and a nice cold pint of Guinness was enjoyable.

As value for money goes this event probably tops the list when you think they still managed to push 1/3 of the entry fee to a charity.

Thanks to all who took some photos of us on the day nice memories!

Setting off

Nice backdrop

On the way to Spela

Trying Hard

Full Gas up Dree Hill

Davy tip toes through the field mess

Sonia chasing Bunter

Cresting the windy gap with Sonia

Gavin hoping that he would catch me falling off!

Ulster 50 TT Championships

First Ulster Champs of 2015 was the 50. With Nationals being the main goal for the year and this coming soon after that my form was quite good. A very busy day treehouse building and then some late night bike changes to try and mount a water bottle cage over a Di2 bracket etc meant not much sleep to be at Woodgreen for sign on at 8am.

Conditions were better than what the weather man suggested they would be. Course got a bit tougher for the second 25 with the headwind becoming much stronger. I maintained a similar average speed to the first 25 but with increased power.

Didn't expect too much from myself today but was really happy I finished it. After around 15 miles I had mild pins and needles in left leg from sciatica which I get from time to time (probably flared up from the work I did on Saturday). Its kind of a funny thing you can't feel so much the effort the leg is doing and it really helped to have the power meter to see what I was doing, as the motion didn't feel nice and fluid like it should. Kind of hard to describe unless you have it, like when you wake up after having slept on your arm, not quite as extreme as that but a little like that.

On another note, Great running of the event By Maryland wheelers, Gordon on the timing and all those that helped out. Great to see Colm come up for the event again. Unfortunately missing John Heverin as he was busy pushing out big watts in the Yellow jersey at the Newry 3 day. A good turn out of Ladies also which is great to see and hopefully things can grow that way a bit more.




Results:

Placing Name Club Time
-------------------------------------------------
1 Sean McIntyre Caldwell  1:43:38
2 Colm Cassidy UCD 1:44:33
3 John Madden Dig Deep 1:45:53
4 Reade/Inglis Black Rose CC 1:49:13
5 M Linton Ballymoney CC 1:51:14
6 S Workman Ballymena RC 1:51:42
7 B Hayes Island Wh 1:51:42
8 David Heagney Carn Wh 1:51:59
9 J Burns Ballymena RC 1:52:15
10 Emmet Vallely 1:53:29
11 Mark Brown Phoenix CC 1:54:20
12 S McAllister Ballymoney CC 1:54:31
13 Eileen Burns Ballymena RC 1:54:34
14 S Hargan Phoenix CC 1:54:58
15 John Rafferty NDCC 1:55:12
16 Joe McCrory Carn Wh 1:55:20
17 J Kane Four Masters 1:55:45
18 S Harkins Team Madigan 1:55:51
19 Daniel Daly Phoenix CC 1:56:07
20 Stuart Laverty B/money CC 1:56:23
21 B Stewart Phoenix CC 1:56:37
22 U Cunningham Ballymoney CC 1:56:40
23 D Burnside Island Wh 1:57:04
24 John Smyth Phoenix CC 1:57:33
25 B McCourt Northern-D Kane 1:58:02
26 Dominic Drumm Bann Wh 1:58:26
27 John Fitzpatrick CKR CC 1:58:31
28 Martin Jones 2:00:03
29 Andrew Fay CKR CC 2:01:47
30 Patrick Withers West Tyrone Velo/FCC 2:01:50
31 Andrew McAuley 2:04:44
32 Judith Russell Phoenix CC 2:08:44
33 H Martin Clann Eireann 2:11:02
34 W Orr Ards CC 2:12:35
35 Lisa Cameron Team Madigan 2:15:42
36 R Burnside Island Wh 2:16:11
37 Joanne Regan Termoneeny CC 2:17:17
38 Bernie Monaghan Dromara CC 2:23:45
Gillian Orr NDCC DNF

-------------------------------------------------
Tommy Given Memorial 50TT
-------------------------------------------------
1 S McIntyre Caldwell  1:43:38
2 Colm Cassidy UCD 1:44:33
3 J Madden Dig Deep 1:45:53

-------------------------------------------------
Ulster Championships - Men
-------------------------------------------------
1 S McIntyre Caldwell  1:43:38
2 J Madden Dig Deep 1:45:53
3 M Linton Ballymoney CC 1:51:14
-------------------------------------------------
Ulster Championships - Women
-------------------------------------------------
Eileen Burns Ballymena RC 1:54:34
Judith Russell Phoenix CC 2:08:44
Lisa Cameron Team Madigan 2:15:42

-------------------------------------------------
Ulster Championships - Team
-------------------------------------------------
S Workman Ballymena RC 1:51:42
J Burns Ballymena RC 1:52:12
Eileen Burns Ballymena RC 1:54:34

Photos:

Thanks Alicja Černák and Mark Greer.

National Time Trial Championships 2015

Time Trial Championships 2015 Omagh

The main goal this year was always to try and go well at the Irish Time Trial championships. I had some good wins at some Ulster time trials running up to it even when I was doing them in the middle of my training blocks which was a good sign.

Preparation:

A few things I did a little better this year than last was a bit more stretching which kept away injuries. I also worked quite a bit on core strength and although it doesn't add much to bike speed as such it really helps you stay solid in the TT position over undulating roads and in the video there is great evidence of how stable I am.

Last year I looked back at when I went particularly well on the bike and worked from that. I replicated similar training sessions and load in the run up to the event. Below shows a snap shot of my training for the four weeks prior to the national champs. It involved two very heavy weeks, with a two week taper down. I could be happy I did as much as I could do given fitting the training in around work and other bits and pieces back home on the farm.

I made a bit of an effort to be quite lean and lost about 2kg for the event but without realising it I put on 1kg of that again in the taper period. The extra kilo probably cost me in the region of around 20-30 seconds given how much climbing there was.

Things I maybe didn't do well: schedule in a few full weeks off. This year my immune system was so good I think it worked against me. Last year if I got a cold or something I would use that as a rest week, this year I never got sick so I missed that forced recovery, and that can work against you.

The week of the event I had two complete days off the bike to let my legs come round and then a nice light spin the day before.

Without doubt the biggest thing in cycling is the training. The best investment someone could make to get better would be investing in a coach. For me I don't have a coach as I enjoy experimenting with different training mechanisms and creating my own plans. That side of it really interests me as well so I sort of enjoy coaching myself even though I do put myself through some pretty brutal sessions. I would go as far as saying I definitely enjoy the training more than the racing or competing. 

Bike Set-up

A big challenge with my bike set-up was an attempt to fit a Di2 system to a non Di2 compatible frame set. I put in a few photos if anyone wants to attempt something similar this might help them go about it.

 With a short battery cable the only real mounting point for the battery would be the bottle holder. This mean't I would be unable to carry a bottle for the event, not too big a deal as you can generally get through a 25 without a bottle.

 I had to bore out the standard cable hole slightly to run the di2 wiring down though the frame. The bike has an aluminium insert where the cable holes are so your not actually drilling out carbon which is good so I didn't have to worry about compromising the frame.

I ran the cables for the front mech and battery on the outside of the frame and put a bit of duct tape to keep them close to the frame. A slight aero compromise but very little in the grand scheme of things.

Main junction fitted under the bottom bracket

On the day

With bike check between 4pm and 6pm it meant I was going to be early for once as my start time wasn't until 7.30pm. Weather conditions looked like they might be fine and a gap in the rain due around 7pm. 

My bike made it through the checks fine. I didn't expect any issues as I made a jig last year and had all the settings from then so there was no panic as far as that was concerned. Some people however did have some trouble but they were well warned in the run up to the regulations. I was glad to see they were checking for non-UCI legal bikes as there have been a few running at time trials in Ulster and it was good to see those bikes wouldn't get a run out at the Nationals. Unfortunately Colm Cassidy one of the favorites got caught up in some confusion with that as his bike comes in two flavours, a UCI legal version and a non-uci legal version and I think there was confusion as to which his was. He got it passed eventually which was good, but I am sure it was a stressful half hour he had to endure. I guess if all they checked was handle bar position and saddle in relation to bottom bracket, my Honda 450r would pass, and I could do the course in about 10 minutes! 

The Caldwell guys pulled in shortly after that and got my spare bike and wheels loaded onto the car. It was good to have the follow car this year as it was something I didn't have last year at the National Champs. The advantage of the car is that you don't need to worry about cars behind you and you can just concentrate on your cycling without worry of someone overtaking you or clipping you. We get up to pretty fast speeds and use the full of the road at times so its a big help and again thanks to them for providing me with that. The team car also gave mum who had came down to follow the whole event which was cool.

James McCusker from my home club Orchard Wheelers had made the trip down to watch the event, he also had lent me his Tri Spoke which was cool it definitely felt much less twitchy than the planet X 80mm front that I usually run with. 

From my result last year I was a seeded rider which was great as it meant I got to start with some of the top riders. In front of me was emerging talent Eddie Dunbar of NFTO , No 1 UK UCI Continental Pro Cycling Team. Chasing me was Ulster and now full time bike rider Daniel Stewart.

The Competition

Of the 45 men entered for the event below are who I would be in the mix with:

• Conor McIlwaine - Irish U23 Rider who was around 30 seconds slower than me in 2014 Champs
• Mark Downey -  The 2014 Irish Junior TT champion and European silver medalist
• Denis Dunworth - I don't know much about him think he was on the An Post team at one point
• Bryan McCrystal - A super strong rider who had some big days in the RAS this year 
• Sean McKenna - Current number 1 ranked rider in Ireland an Irish U23 rider.
• David McCarthy - Rides full time for JLT Condor
• Damien Shaw - Probably the top amature rider in Ireland for the last two years currently ranked #2 on points
• Marcus Christie - Commonwealth games rider and multiple Irish time trial record holder
• Eddie Dunbar - Probably Ireland's best prospect for the future. professional road racer. 
• Sean McIntyre - Too many Strava KOMs to list..
• Daniel Stewart - Irish under 23 team rider and now full time bike rider in France.
• Connor McConvey - A full time rider for Team 3m. A very good road racer and strong against the clock.
• Seán Hahessy - Irish under 23 rider
• Ian Richardson - Winner of the county rider prize at the An Post Ras
• Martyn Irvine - Irelands first track world champion
• Colm Cassidy - 2nd In the Elite TT championships in 2014 and one of the favorites for 2015
• Ryan Mullen - 2nd in the U23 World championships in 2014 and the favorite to win the 2015 event.

The 2015 course

The course was a 23 mile loop which had some very technical corners which would need to be taken at speed along with some hard drags and sharp climbs. I knew riding round it the course wouldn't suit my strengths that much as I am not that good a bike handler in comparison to some of the more experienced folk and also I tend to like to ride at my threshold where this course would require more over threshold efforts followed by some periods under threshold. In saying that there were also plenty of other folks who that wouldn't suit that much either even the out and out TT specialists, so I was as interested as anyone to see who was going to place where.

The cardinal sin of time trials

Going out too hard... which is exactly what I did. I settled down a few miles in and managed to convince myself that I wasn't going to maintain 400 watts for the entire event!

I rode the course I feel as best I could my legs felt really crap going up the climb Carrickmore but I think that effort sparked them into life as I rode really strong up the following climb and drove the bike really well for the final 10 miles to the finish. I kind of felt I was a little too strong in the final stages and I should have put a bit more of that effort into some of the earlier stages.

There was some great support out on the course I think spectator levels for the time trial was as good in places as the actual road race would get on the Sunday. James pitched himself at some of the real testing climbs and got some great shots and encouraged me up them. Plenty of Caldwell folk also gave me much encouragement out on the course which was great, and everyone else that lined the course. Mum in the car behind was worth an extra bit of motivation as well.

The results:

8th In the Elite category and 12th in the U23/Elite combined. Last year it was 7th and 10th, but I think this years result was better as there was much stronger competition. The course I felt was not as suited to what I like but I feel I made the best of it. It would have been nice to get Damien and the time was probably there for the taking had I not scrubbed off as much speed into some of the corners with the brakes etc, but that's all part of it as well so was good to show engine wise I can hold my own against the like of him.

For me the best ride of the night was Mark Downey. He has many big results to his name right through his junior years etc but has stayed in school and did his A-Levels this year. To scalp so many full time bike riders really shows his class on the bike. The full time bike men are expected to perform, so its impressive to see the strength and depth of some of the amature riders how close they can push those guys. Its also great for us to have them there so we can push ourselves against that level of competition.

Well done to everyone who that took part and made the event what it was.

Final mentions

It goes without saying the Omagh folks ran a great event. The number of marshals out on the course was about 10 times that of last years event it was as near to or as good as closed roads. Also the finishers medal and other small bits and pieces were cool also. Course selection was excellent a real tough test and although probably not to an all out testers strengths it had everything, and was something different to the normal time trial course. I loved the challenge.

James McCusker for providing the mean tri spoke which I am sure helped shave a few seconds off my finishing time.

Paul Mulligan for taking me round the course prior to the event.

And Special thanks to Caldwell cycles folk for their support this year and at the event.

A great side on shot by Bronagh Kirk 

Trying out the warm up thing for once!

Pushing up the climb through Carrickmore

Video of me in action

Full video of the event

Road Bike VS Time Trial Bike

The Test

At the final round of the Spires Trilogy series I decided to take along both my Time Trial bike and Road bike with a view to post a winning time in both categories. With 37 riders signed on it would be a challenge to finish the first run and get changed and onto the road bike for the second run.

Bike Set-ups

TT Bike Configuration

TT Bike: Planet X Exocet 2 with Fast Forward Disc and Tri spoke.

Rider attire: Skinsuit, time trial aero helmet and overshoes

The set-up shown above was used with the addition of a fast forward tri-spoke over the 80mm Planet-X rim shown above.

Road Bike Configuration

Road Bike: Dolan Ares with Von2 Raptor wheelset 38mm aluminium clinchers.

Rider attire: Bib shorts and top + road helmet and no overshoes.

A very similar set-up was used to what is shown here. Water bottles and overshoes were removed for the test.

Course and Conditions

The event was ran on the Toome out and back course. Weather conditions saw a strong headwind out with a strong tailwind on the return leg.

Results:

Outward Leg (Head Wind)

TT Bike -12.21 @ 362 watts

Road bike - 13.38 @ 319 watts

With the headwind one is going slower so it takes a bit longer to cover the 5 miles. We can see here that around 80 seconds was lost to the time trial bike.

Return Leg (Tail Wind)

TT Bike 8.27 @ 351w tt return leg

Road Bike 9.24 @ 327 road bike return leg

Faster speeds attributed to the tail wind shows the 5 miles was covered in much faster times on both bikes. Just under 60 seconds of difference in the road vs time trial bike with the road bike. My legs felt a bit better on the return leg on the road bike and was able to lift the power a bit.

Overall Results

TT Bike - 21.17 @ 360 watts

Road Bike - 23.20 @ 323 watts

In percentage terms the road bike was 9% slower with an 11% drop in power shown. One might question if the road bike power was the same as the TT bike i.e 11% more power would that not have yielded the 9% back in time? The answer to this is definitely not. Wind resistance is exponential in proportion to speed, i.e the faster you go the more power you need to put out to go a little bit faster again. In real terms that means a stronger rider actually benefits more from the aerodynamic equipment than a weaker rider.

Conclusions

I hadn't any rest between outings and this would account for most of the drop in performance in terms of power output., As soon as I finished on the time trial bike I got changed and put TT bike in car and pulled out road bike. By that time I had ridden over to the start line it was time to go again.

It would have been a little more scientific if the power outputs could have been the same. but I think one might take a rough guess that 40w could have yielded up to 60 seconds of time so ultimately the full road set-up perhaps being only around 60 seconds slower over a 10 mile time trial.

The rider accounts for up to 90% of the aerodynamic resistance so it would be fair to say that the time trial helmet, skinsuit and overshoes and also the more aerodynamic position would have yielded much of the time gain regardless of the bikes in test. We must also not overlook the fact that the geometry of the time trial bike and handlebars allow for the aerodynamic position. A good bike fit can sometimes be a better investment than the same money spent on equipment/clothing if your position is not aerodynamic you certainly won’t yield as much free time as you might otherwise do with a good position on the bike.

To anybody thinking of getting into time trials the should not feel they require the latest and greatest equipment. To compete at the front of the field where every second counts getting as much free time through equipment is important in order to level the playing field. Ultimately it can be an evolutionary process as it was for me and starting out on a road bike with some clip on tri bars would be the obvious first step followed by a TT helmet, deep section wheels then a skinsuit. A more expensive skinsuit vs a decent club one is a very very marginal gain.  

A few more bits and pieces

Just recently specialized has come out with its new venge claiming it to be up to 5 minutes faster than other "high end" road bikes. I can hear by tell you that is total nonsense and in the real world if its actually so much as 1/4 of that its as much as I would expect.

Case in point,I have a few...

Last year Colm Cassidy one of Ireland's top testers was at woodgreen on his Cervelo P5. This is a quote from Cervelo "Cervélo says the P5 is 6-11 watts quicker than the other so-called superbikes, saving roughly 24-44 seconds over 40km". Where does a planet X TT bike fall then? One wouldn't put it in the super bike bracket with the Shiv or the Trinity etc? 

I rode pretty well that night and posted a 19.09 with Colm posting a 19.08 he was kind of on the wind down after his brilliant national achievements etc but was still in very good shape. Talking Watts etc after its clear to see that the bike doesn't make that much difference and certainly there are not the free watts that we are led to believe. That night I put out 5.25w/kg for the 10 miles. Colm would have been close to that also.

Michael Hutchinson has a very good book called "Faster" which has a nice chapter on equipment. A great read for anyone interested in the topic. He sums it up pretty well with a passage that goes something like "I sat down and added up all the free speed I had gained over the last ten years. Bikes, skin-suits, wheels, wind tunnel testing etc. The problem was that when I added it all up, I should have gained about ten minutes over a 40km time trial. In reality it was more like two."

The Race of Truth

Wednesday past saw round 3 of the TVR time trial series. I wasn't expecting much physically as I've been training pretty hard this last few weeks for the National Champs in a few weeks time. I did a spin before work of around 40 miles. As is customary I was down pretty late to Warrenpoint, its a fair wee spin down and with traffic out of Belfast it is always a bit of a rat race.

No drama with getting the name signed on by the good people at TVR. I got a quick warm-up of around 10mins in. I don't often get any warm-up done, I should try and change that, I kind of like hooking in my dance music and getting in the zone thinking about what I plan to do.

What is going through my mind when I am about to set off for a time trial? To be honest there are absolutely no nerves at all, lots of people talk about nerves but I never get them I usually have a pretty tight schedule of what I need to do and there just isn't time for over thinking and I am just doing. There is a routine I go through. I have a small half filled bottle of water with orange and pineapple juice, I drink that as I am warming up. I have the helmet sitting in the back of the jeep with a gel in it and I have that gel just before I put my helmet on. I stretch out my IT band a bit more (it gives me a little trouble if I forget). That is pretty much it really.I have a playlist on my phone I like to listen to that just before setting off if I have time.

On the line I am quite relaxed and like to have a bit of banter with whoever is in-front of behind me. Getting on the bike I still for some reason don't balance it that well always takes a good launch man to hold me steady! When I get the 10 second count a switch in my mind gets flicked and I get really focused, its always the same start these days I set off hard and get the bike up to speed and then settle down and start tapping out a rhythm on the pedals, my breathing is deep pulling in as much air as possible.

I think about where I need to push a little harder and where I need to knock it back a little. Time trailing isn't just about going from A -> B as fast as possible there are so many little details that you learn, you need to know your course and where the smooth bits of the road are, where the little rises and dips are. All the time I am trying to keep as narrow and aero as possible. I am keeping a close eye on my heart rate to see if I am pushing hard enough or too hard. Your legs will always tell you that your pushing too hard if your doing it right its just about getting the fine line between too hard and much too hard right and getting to know your heart rate is a great indication of that.

Time trial is a funny thing I love the analogy by Obree. Imagine a competition of who can hold their hand in the fire the longest, if person A and person B both put their hand in the fire at the same time they will hold their hand in the fire as long as they need to it will be the person with the most desire that will win. If the test was done blind i.e person A and person B cannot see how long the other person has held their hand in you can be sure the times will be much shorter for both.

We set off on our own we have no idea what the fastest time is to better on any given night. What anyone else does is not important your only competition is yourself and to try to get as much out of your body as possible.

The equipment factor does come into it. A top TT rig can cost you the same sort of money as car. I use a Planet X Exocet 2, it would fit in around mid range in terms of aero/cost. I run a FFWD disc wheel with a Planet X 80mm front deep section. On Wednesday night those close to my time wouldn't have been far off double maybe triple the value of equipment. For example non UCI legal Cervelo p5 Six which will sting you around £6k but in relative terms its not all that much faster and the guy on the bike is still certainly the most important bit of the puzzle given the rider accounts for 90% of the aerodynamic drag. The other consideration is the faster you can go the more apparent the aerodynamic advantages can become, so over a 50 TT or 100 TT where the absolute speeds are a little lower there is very little between mid range and top of the range.

My time clocked in at 19.53. A new Warrenpoint to Newry and back course record. Conditions were good and certainly made it possible to shave a few seconds off the fastest time. Some will point out that perhaps if Damien Shaw would have had a disc wheel he may have given my time a run for its money or if Martin Irvine had of been in attendance he could perhaps of set a faster time. Both those statements might well be true and its pretty cool people even muttered my name with those for a comparison.

As for the Nationals I am looking forward to it. Its really the only time of the year I get a chance to go up against the full time guys and the very top testers from all over Ireland. I go to it with no expectations of a result but you can be absolutely sure I will be giving it 110%.

Tour of Ulster 2014

Stage 1

Stage 1 for me stated with a bang literally! The phoenix guy who was beside me pushed down hard something went bang when the starter said "GO!!"
I ignored it and just set off at a steady pace not overcooking it and knocked it back a bit half way down the straight. I hit the climb and kept it in the big ring the whole way to the top and rode it out of the saddle with a nice tempo, it was hard but I always felt in control of the effort and got over the top strongly enough I felt. The guy who was racing against me came up behind said his chain slipped or something. Looks like my time was good enough for 33rd not much separating quite a large block of people.

All in all Happy enough as that sort of effort would not be to my strengths I set a PB Power for that time duration so in all I did my best.

Richard Timmins had made the long ride up to watch the hurt on faces going up the hill. The hardest thing was the cold air, when your breathing really deep the cold air really catches the lungs!

Stage 2

From the gun it was so fast and the cross winds had the thing lined out on the wrong side of the road the whole time with the bunch swinging back to the left avoiding cars and marshals crashes were coming all the time and down the back it was just like riding a constant time trial!after a crash between Downpatrick and Castlewellen I lost contact with the front but going up Castlewellen hill. I got into a chase group and up through Bryansford we were just behind the main bunch and went round a few cars and got back in just before spelga.

Block headwind up spelga and the cold was unreal. I got off the front and rode over to Mike and we forged up over the KOM together where at the top the road was blocked and marshals and coms shouting and there was boys going to cars and getting new clothes and a guy with a stop watch setting off the front group of around 5 I Didn't have a clue what was going on and I rode off with that front group and then realised I was in the front chase group and I dropped back looking for Mike who I thought would be coming on his own as we had a bit of a time gap to the point where we got stopped but it was the larger group of around 25 I fell in with them shivering and freezing. just as we turned to decent boys with deep sections got blown off the road into the verge and I swung out to the left out of the wheels to try and warm up with peddling. I was getting seriously cold we dropped down towards Kilkeal and cars were coming up beside us and me and speaking to me but i couldn't understand what was going on. then the team car came up and I seen our other riders in it and it stopped and I stopped I was in serious bother at this point. I was literally shivering so violently it was unreal.

A good half hour before I stopped shivering. I was definitely not a million miles from hypothermia. I've been cold before but that was a different level cold so deep in your body is a strange feeling.

Looking back they called it off too late should not have sent us downhill and stopping us made it worse as any body heat was gone before we started going downhill. A very difficult call all the same for the race directors to make as nobody wants to be the one to end the race.

Stage 3

Weather looked a bit more promising this morning, but I very nearly set off with too many layers on after yesterday. Pulled my leg warmers off just before we rode out, very glad I did. it was straight into climbing at the start of the stage but we were all well warmed up for it on the turbos. A few guys started to shell right at the start of the race! I was down into Newtown last wheel following big hev, made up a few places just through the town before keady climb and made steady progress up through the field on the climb and managed to go over the top well enough positioned. The decent was fast enough and I drifted back a bit. With the standing water and also some diesel on the road the riders took the bends a little easier than I thought they would so made it down into keady with what had made the selection at that point.

Heading for markethill the thing was lined out, absolutely chewing bar tape on the limit! i was praying for the climb up so the pace would drop and it did as riders climbed steady so i got recovery there. was absolutely cooking and then started to try and get my wind vest off which for me was a major achievement with my bike skills! going through Markethill things lit up but had Ronan and Duncan a few riders in front so never too panicked about loosing touch and concentrated on keeping on their wheels. up past Gosford was a big sprint and the guy in front of me blew and had to make the gap to Duncan which was not easy! things seamed to ease halfway to the Bawn.

Through Armagh and to Caledon it was pretty piano! I called up our team car and got myself and the other lads new bottles then distributed them to the guys. Everything was pretty handy from there with those that had made the selection. Rehagey was a non event and much easier than chasing Lorenzos Strava KOM a few weeks back! things lit up again after Balleygalley and I kept up towards the front and make sure i made any selections and went over the KOM with 2 other lads and we drilled it down the decent. was fast and furious, but I did really well keeping my speed through the bends and came off the white bridge road with a few guys with a gap and we tried to drive on but then some lads stopped riding and our group swelled.

From there a the group grew it got very cat and mouse there was still a break up the road at this point but the racing was full on in my group and it was attack after attack.

I gave it a few digs but wasn't able to get a gap. a few clipped off and things stalled Murphy managed to get into that move so then I set about just marking moves. Was fairly handy then just jumping from wheel to wheel.

On the run in to cookstown 10km to go was still plenty of attacking and I jumped onto Colm Cassidys wheel and he drove it over to a small group. we were about 7 guys and were tapping through full gas heading to cookstown.

The main bunch not far behind snapping at our heals. people stopped riding and I did also as I had a man up the road anyway well clear out of sight by this point.

A guy in an Irish top put in a dig and I got on his wheel and looked back and we had a small gap over the main group and the two of us drove it down the hill and through the roundabout but the main field surged through on the run to the line and then it was a case of making sure not to loose any time and keep with the main bunch.

Stage 4

Didn't know much about the course but Paul M had taken a drive around it and said it was going to be tough and pointed out a few of the key places where we needed to make sure we were in touch with the action. Big cross winds again from the word go and lineouts were the dish on offer once again. I kept myself out of bother down the back but making sure on all the wee climbs etc I moved up through the bunch so was never at risk of being dropped. Some sketch moments all the same at times with pace being so high and the winds. Darnell and Conor were pretty active early on and Darnell got in a break but it swelled to be pretty big and the bunch then brought it back. Was pretty quiet after 3 laps or so lots of riders dropped each lap as they couldn't stick the crosswinds or the punchy climbs which took a fair bit out of the legs. I decided i would have a dig on the 2nd last lap out the back on the big open road. Made a bit of a mistake as i should have been at the front going onto the road where I wanted to attack and subsequently when I got up to the front a break had already gone, I launched off the front and tried to ride over to the break. I just missed them going onto the climb they were about 3/4 of the way up it when I hit the foot of it and I knew then it would be difficult.

I looked back to see where the bunch was and I could see a few riders trying to get over to me but decided i would ride on and if they made it to me then all well and good.

Coming through cookstown past the start finish a few riders joined me McCrystal, McLaughlin some boy from CT tomac and maybe one more, McCrystal and Ronan looked wrecked but they rode through then the CT Tomac guy wouldn't contribute which started the breakdown of the whole thing. Irvine jumped off and kept going but on your own into the cross wind was a suicide mission.

After that I just had to make sure I didn't loose time and kept with the front chase group to secure our team place.

Over the last couple of climbs boys were exploding I managed to get round a few guys just at the right time over the last hill and got on Irvine's wheel and was then in the first group home after the break.

A bit annoyed I missed that break as I could have worked and rode in it well but I did well never the less to almost make the ride over on my own was just missing a few % perhaps a set of deep sections might have been all I needed down the fast big main road, there wasn't much in it at one point perhaps 10-15 seconds.

Have to say the Caldwell guys were really good all weekend we were all well looked after and it made riding the bike much easier. So a big thanks to them.