After three tough training weeks following a custom training plan created for me by Matt Rowe from Rowe & King, it was agreed that during week four we would dial down the intensity so I would be fresher for a weekend of racing that was scheduled. (I was taking part in the Flamme Rouge Racing series which consisted of six events spread over a week, with two hard events on Saturday and one on Sunday.)
This meant that the intense effort would be undertaken at the start of week. Therefore, following a rest day on Monday, Tuesday’s session had me racing a TTT in Zwift Racing League.
TTT Tuesday
Before the TTT on Tuesday, I enjoyed dipping into a couple of group rides to warm up. With the event scheduled for 8:30pm, this enabled me to ride firstly with Castelli, in their customary Tuesday evening ride, before joining former pro cyclist now turned TV commentator, David Millar, for his first event on Zwift. Called “CHPTR3 Tuesday Chaingang”, it was fun and certainly an event that I am going to cover in more depth later. It was also a great warm-up for the TTT.
The TTT was around London and it was the usual all-out effort that left you hunched over the handlebars at the end of the race, gasping for air. Our team of six got whittled down to five and then four within the last few kilometres, making the dash to the finish on the Mall that much more painful! I concluded that this was one tough 42-minute interval session.
Wednesday Plan Change
The previous day’s all-out effort on the TTT meant that my Wednesday’s “Hour of Power & Squeezers” session was only partially managed. Like last week, the plan was to complete 3 x 20 minutes at 320 watts, but after the first set, I was struggling to hit the required power and when I commenced the second rep, it was clear the effort from the night before had taken too much out of me, so I slowed to a stop.
After resting and refueling, still wanting to achieve the desired training time, I opted for an evening group ride.
Thursday’s rest day and Friday’s one-hour easy ride were much welcomed, leaving me going into the weekend event feeling refreshed.
Flamme Rouge Weekend
The Flamme Rouge Racing series event consisted of two events on and Saturday and one on Sunday. Race creator Rich Vale had introduced a new policy called “Your race, your way.” This meant that despite being in a team, you were not limited to the time of one specific race. This meant due to my schedule, I was able to race event 2 in the morning in the APAC time zone, followed by the Team Time Trial, event 1, in the evening in the EMEA time zone.
The first race, event 2 consisted of three laps around the 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate course. To stop the frantic and unrealistic starts of Zwift, Richard had introduced a unique neutral rollout feature where you would roll for 1km before the race begins. This meant that everyone got settled before the racing started.
After a nice start to the event and feeling positive, when we approached the start of the KOM climb I went to the front of the group and hit it hard. As this was a points race, and knowing my strength isn’t a sprint, I wanted to get maximum gains for the team here.
But I got it wrong.
I went too early, but I couldn’t relent once I began, so I kept pushing, putting down some massive watts (500W+) on this short climb. This was epic by my own standards. Effectively, I led the group up the KOM and at the last moment, my competitors used my slipstream and zipped past me on the line.
I came across the line in 9th. Some riders would have been disappointed with what just happened, but not me, because I was convinced I had probably delivered my best 1-minute power effort ever! (ZwiftPower later showed it as a new PB at 7.8 w/kg.)
The second lap, I went a bit later on the KOM, but the same thing happened and the small group of riders that overtook me formed a pack and stayed away for the remainder of the race. In the second group on the road, I tried to encourage the group to try and bridge but the response I got to my encouragement was “too tired.”
I settled for finishing in the second group, content with my efforts on the KOM and proof that the training I had been undertaking was actually starting to pay off. I even had strength in the legs to bag 9th on the intermediate sprint segment, but whilst doing so, the chain slipped. This was a warning sign I missed that would haunt me the following day.
Further vindication about how this structured training approach was benefitting, can be witnessed by what happened next.
In the evening’s Team Time Trial, event 1, a 20km spin around the Greater London Loop, I had an unexpected Bluetooth dropped connection 20 minutes in. By the time I had reconnected, I was 20 seconds adrift of the team. It would appear I am not having much luck with Team Time Trials these days. Knowing the Team had to race up Box Hill, I figured I might be in with a chance of catching, if I just stayed in the race.
The next five minutes were a blur of pain as I put my head down and I went. I pushed on a time trial like I have never done before and was putting out wattage that was completely unexpected, in excess of 400 and it was sustained.
Slowly the time gap to my team dropped. And with each second that it decreased, my motivation increased! As the team was approaching Box Hill, I got sight of them and this motivated me further. Then as the team turned right to start the climb, I had bridged the gap and went to the front to pull the team up the climb. The adrenalin was flowing and I soon got told to “Slow down.” It was a massive effort and I led the team up the climb, before ironically getting dropped on the descent. I tried chasing, but without success – it’s not the first time I have got dropped on a descent, so I wasn’t worried. I’d helped the team up the climb, so I was content.
The data in ZwiftPower showed I had a new 5-minute record at 5.7 w/kg, my previous best being 5.5 w/kg.
Two events and two new personal records. This speaks volumes for the structured approach being adopted.
Event 3 was a bit of a bust. I was racing the early session but my race lasted only 5 kilometres. At the first sprint, feeling strong, I went for it and was pushing 700 watts, which was good for me as I’m not much of a sprinter, but there was a loud crunch and my body jerked forward! I’d thrown the chain and it was wrapped around my crank. By the time I had resolved it, I was 1 minute down. So I abandoned. A quick look at my chain revealed it required replacing. Testing on Tempus Fugit revealed every time I pushed over 500 watts, the chain would slip. I gave the race another attempt in the evening timeslot but it was impossible because I could not “push” to keep up with any moves and after 15km of struggling, I gave up.
4 weeks into my programme and training with Rowe & King is starting to deliver improvements. I’m looking forward to what comes next!
