Posts Tagged ‘Conrad Stoltz’
SA TT Champs
Warming up for SA TT Champs while coach Ian Rodger deftly wields the microphone and spray bottle. I will have to wait for the TV show to hear what he said- Jack Parow was pamping in the iPod.
More pix from CycleNation.co.za
I was quite disappointed in my ride. Like I said in the previous post, we needed a few more weeks to sort out pacing, position and most importantly more sustained efforts. (as opposed to relatively short intervals) A warm up race or 2 would have helped. I started conservatively, but when I tried to build from 10km, the hammies started catching fire- I turned on 415W avs, but on the way back my hammies were raging and I had to back off the pace till about 25km- losing a lot of time, confidence and combativity. (ie I psyched myself out and gave up. Not the usual Caveman routine)
At 30km Daryl Impey (winner) caught me by 1 minute. By then my hamstrings had recovered a bit, and I rode with him relatively comfortably till the finish. 390W avs at end. Pretty pathetic considering what we’d done in training. We learned a few things and will come back stronger and better prepared. (probably US TT Champs)
2nd to 5th was only 20sec apart and I was only 2.5sec out of 2nd. I’m sure I could have puckered up and found a few seconds. Like I once heard a French coach yell at a youngster: “You do not think DURING the race, you think AFTER the race.” Old guys still learn lessons.
Results from Cycling SA website.
5,4,3,2,1, partez*
SA Time Trail Champs is later today
I know ALL about time trailing- as long as its sandwiched between swimming and running. Here is a pic from ITU World Cup 1996? in Bermuda, wearing my favourite outfit and sporting my first free bike. A Sunn, I had to give back to Montpellier Triathlon club in France at the end of the season. Check out the matching purple Carnacs and luscious hair…
Its the big TT day. I’ve been staring at the ceiling since 5am- the competitive juices are pumping on the double. If it was Xterra I’d still be snoring. This is a new game and I’m really excited. If only we had 2 more weeks at sea level for prep… (thats what athletes always say, but this time its true- fiddled with handlebar position last night, not sure about drinking system and guessing about wattage and pacing)
I am really lucky to have a whole support team- squatting in and around my homestay (Bernhard
Conrad Stoltz doing test runs on Specialized SHIV 3.
Just got this puppy in the mail, thanks to the folks at Specialized USA. The new UCI legal SHIV 3. The raw carbon looks great, (there was no time for a paint job) its got 55/44 Rotor rings, Quarq powermeter and the special Fabian Cancellara conversion.
Getting ready for South African TT Championships in 2 weeks. I’m under a tree on the farm, and my coach/bike fit guru Ian Rodger is in Cape Town. So we’re doing the bike fit remotely via Youtube. May as well make a blog of it. Thanks to the Jouberts down the valley for their electricity (lights, fans, AC, and power for the ELITE RealAxiom) and FJ’s deft camerawork!
Feels like I can drop the bars another 1 or 2cm. And definitely take a hacksaw to those battering ram-like aero bars. Will see what Ian sez.
Still thinking of names. “Greased Lightning” “Flat Beauty” and “Flat Mamba” comes to mind. Suggestions?
I hope I can do this rocket ship justice.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I’m a little behind with the blogging, so I’m trying to quickly squeeze a few topics into one blog.
The Good:
Long, easy mountain bike rides on the Highveld. Drinking water straight from the spring. (Fountain)
You may have to fight a frog, a tadpole and a cow pat for the freshest water,
but as long as you lock the gate, no one gets hurt…
a Story from the Caveman workshop
I had a dream:
But oh no- a broken rim! Caveman-ized into total oblivion. My mountain bike mantra of :
Low air, big gear, no fear!
does not work so well with my KTM 950 Adventure’s stock “Butter Rims”:
