Belgian Road Racing/Majorcan Training/And Swiss plans. A very multinational blog.

So since my last post; my life has got progressively quieter at just about the same rate that my college workload has got heavier. Probably just coincidence...

Well, now all that is left for me to do in terms of college is sign out for my first year. That's a relief, the amount of work we were thrown in the last few weeks was really having an effect on my ability to train properly, and I know that the general consensus is that education take priority over a sport... But I am 16 after all?

Cycling-wise the last few months has been up and down. But I'll write mostly about the ups, naturally. I returned to Majorca for another weeks training with my Teams sponsors Pollensa Cycling Amigos, which was a massive step up from my last visit there as I knew what to expect and how to set out my week (with help of my coach- Mark Walker!). I enjoyed it, and I loved the climbs out there, most notably the Puig Major. Those climbs suit me to the ground, I can get into a rhythm and keep the pedals turning, but the chances of finding a 14km climb in Britain quite like that are pretty slim. I can only hope I'm wearing my Quest Sportswear Pro Mesh jersey when they find that climb. 

I spent the week with Ciclos Uno star mechanic Ewan Hendon, and the man himself- Dan Kogan. Dan has raced for top British teams and spent time in France mixing it up with the big boys, so he wasn't a bad training partner for the week by any means. Although the weather was probably worse than that in Britain, we still had a good laugh, and as per usual: i really bloody miss Majorca. Uno Cafe con leche and a Normatec recovery system supplied by Neon Velo por favor. 

I travelled to Belgian recently too for my first Junior road race abroad. Well my first proper Junior road race at all really! The race was an 85km closed circuit race around a 7km circuit in and out of a seafront town called Bredene. Bredene is a pretty sentimental place for me, the finish of the road race was on the same stretch of road as the finish of the Versluys cyclocross where I finished 2nd in 2012 (http://seandunlearacing.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html). I didn't really know what to expect to be honest, apart from agonising pain and crashes. They were both consistent throughout the 2 hour race. 

We started off in a neutralised zone. The first crash was literally about 300 meters in, and it was a rider who was probably the Belgian version of a chopper. He was being bit of Jack the Lad looking back at a camera and he ended up face first on a motorway, but I'm sure he's glad to know the camera was still looking and got a great shot. He looks fantastic in the photo, see for yourself:

So anyway, the pace kept going up then down, then up again and down again, so I just kept a constant speed and found myself inbetween the peloton, and a two man breakaway. Yes, my first ever junior road race, in Belgium, and I made a solo breakaway. Some may say I am a 'nutter'. Surprisingly I bridged the gap to the leaders on my own and we were joined by two more shortly after. I spent about 30km in the lead group, and  got a preme. I dropped back to the bunch though as I was aware there was still 40km left, and there was a slim chance of me finishing if I'd tried to keep with them. I ended up rolling over in 27th, after a hard and rewarding day in the saddle. I got back home that night and got straight into my Normatec Recovery Pants supplied to me by Neon Velo in hope of being able to train, or even walk the next day. I trained the next day, hard, thanks to the Normtecs. For those interested in Strava, here's the race data: http://app.strava.com/activities/57740979

So now I have one thing on my mind which is of course the cyclocross season, and my Coach Mark Walker has got me his best torture training plan! I'm hoping to make up for disappointment in the form of illness and injury that I had last season, and do some good rides come this winter. I'm lucky to have the support of some great sponsors keeping me going on my quest for success and to be the best and beat the rest (Utilising GCSE poetry skills in hope that Mrs Crickmore may stumble upon this). Quest Sportswear, my team and personal kit sponsor should have something interesting regarding myself coming soon so be sure to keep an eye on them (see links to the right!) and Neon Velo should also have something cool coming to an internet near you... 

On the subject of sponsors, I'm also very pleased to announce my latest sponsorship from Forgoodness Shakes and Nectar Fuel who will be helping me recover and fuel myself during racing and training! I've been using these products for a long while so to have their support is great, and I look forward to working with them for the foreseeable future! 

So now I must leave you all, in a rather literal sense seeing as I'm off to Zurich, Switzerland in 6 days to train and see my best euro bro Johan Jacobs!

Mention for my good mate Alex Dowsett who won the National Time Trial Championships on Thursday despite being battered and bruised. Nicely done Alejandro.

Thanks for reading, and please do be sure to follow me on Twitter and share this blog. Each follow and share helps a young cyclocross rider, and it's free (that's the best part).

Tot ziens. 

Follow @seanmdunlea

Another win!

I went crazy the other night and had a Nandos with my new college buddies. Toffee frozen yogurt and Coke isn't that great FYI.

I'm going to start this post a bit differently to normal, upon request of Mrs Wyman... 

Since my my last post about my first race and first win of the season, a lot has happened! I started at Writtle College, studying Sport, Fitness, and Development, I went on a bloomin' tough training weekend in Derbyshire, and I've won another race... As well as seeing my first real 'Cat Lady' on one of my rides into college every morning. 

Riding into college has opened my eyes to a lot of things really, as well as opening up my legs for a lot more abuse in the evenings. I've realised how peaceful it can be early in the morning, how much the cold air wakes you up... And how people *love* to stop and chat with each other in ludicrously stupid places like footbridges, gateways, and yep; bike paths. On a different note altogether, the 'cross season is here, which means I won't be able to go out to parties, or pretty much any other social event that occurs in the evenings leading up to races. I don't think they understand why I'm missing said events in order to ride (hopefully fast) around cold, muddy fields. But that's commitment I guess, and it sorts the real cyclists from the weekend warriors. 

I'm struggling with writing about my life, sorry Helen. So here's my take on my last couple of races:

On the 15th I did the opening round of the Wessex league. The course was hard and the heat was unrelenting. There were some pretty good riders there in my race, Matt Hargroves and a few of his team-mates, so I was hoping to do a good ride to get a look at where abouts I am in terms of national junior levels. I was gridded 2nd row, pretty good considering I'm a completely unranked rider in the Wessex league. 

Seeing as it was still early season I wasn't expecting fireworks, but to say I rode sh..Crap is an understatement. After the re-start (which occurred after the start loop was a bit hard to follow), I got into about 4th, and steadily worked my way back to 9th overall by the end of the race. I had a couple of lie downs on the course, and my legs felt unusable. I finished in 9th senior, and 4th junior, which wasn't really too bad I suppose!

The day after (16th), was my home race at Springfield park. Literally within 500 meters of my house. I know that because it's so close, that my strava record of my training lap won't show up correctly because it was within my 500 meter privacy zone. The course there suits me anyway, it's so euro in the way it's all watchable from one point, and it's FAST. The three sets of stairs a lap adds to list of good things to say about this course (Which my team, Ciclos Uno pioneered in 2007).

I got front row gridding, and from the gun I was in the top 3 with Tim Guy (Iceni Velo) and Canadian Hayden Wood. For the first 15 minutes of the race it was all so compact, the first 10 riders were all strung out in a line, so we put the power on and narrowed it down to us 3 leading, with Paul Sheers (ViCiOUS VELO) dangling on to the back of us. About midway through the race, Tim made a huge effort and put a gap between us and Paul which would grow to over a minute by the end of the race. 

In the final 200 meters or so of the last lap, I let Haydens and Tims attacks go, and rolled over the line as third placed Senior rider, and first Junior, 14 seconds down on the Hayden, who won. Felt pretty chuffed with myself. 

I've got a pretty busy couple of months coming up, Superprestiges, National Series, Rapha Supercrosses, and hopefully European Championships. As per usual, thanks to Trevor, Ewan and Jane at Ciclos Uno, and Windwave for the support, which I couldn't do without! 

A bien tot.

(See 'Media' page)