Aside from getting as many 10s and 25s under my belt as I can between now and June, my top priority is to mix
didn’t have a specific target in mind, I thought 25 minutes would be a nice time to break through.
Iup my training. So far I’ve been doing longer weekend rides alongside Wattbike threshold sessions, but the second part of that equation is wrong, according to Bottrill. “The key to being a good allrounder is being strong across the board, from 30 seconds to one hour. You’re better off doing repeat intervals of 1-5 minutes at L5 [VO2 max] and L6 [anaerobic capacity] – four to eight sets, with three to five minutes recovery in between.”
There are also some easy wins I can make without even breaking a sweat. In Goostrey I didn’t exactly have my aero equipment dialled in, and Mark Walker, Alex Dowsett’s coach for his hour record, says I should focus on the drag from my body and wheels. “A skinsuit and aero wheels will save you a lot of time and put you on a level playing field with everyone else. Obsessive time-triallists can never get enough tiny tech improvements so you need to explore this area.”
Walker also encouraged me to get used to the bike and the riding position, even if it’s not doing specific TT training. It’s a position that is alien to me as a roadie, one that demands strong core strength. Though I didn’t feel much shoulder pain during my 10, I certainly felt it afterwards and so this is an area I want to improve. Focusing on this area specifically has certainly given Paul Jones a huge boost to his performance. “I can now push the boundaries of aero over comfort,” he says. “One of my favourite exercises is a plank with elbows on a Swiss ball, which works the small muscles used in a good aero position. I do 3x two-minutes blocks, plus 1 block to failure. My current record is 4:48, but it’s not fun at all.” say my farewells to Harry, who for the third time urges me to give a shout-out to his race partners, cycling-specialist solicitors Cycleaid (that’s cycleaid.co.uk – you have to reward a guy for persistence) and says I’m welcome back any time. It had been more enjoyable than a 10-mile ride on nondescript A-roads has any right to be, and I can only repeat Bottrill’s words in describing my first toe-dip into TT waters: “I love the feeling of speed. You can switch off from everything, forget about day-to-day stress and just focus on riding your bike.”
Add to that tea, cake and entertaining company, all for eight quid, and I’m happy to assure Harry that I’ll take him up on his invitation sooner rather than later.