Race Calendar April/May
18/04/2012 La Fleche Wallone (Bizkaia)
21/04/2012 Oomloop Van Borsele (AIS/National Team)
22/04/2012 GP Stad Roselare (AIS/National Team)
25/04/2012 to 29/04/2012 Gracia – Orlova (AIS/National Team
18/05/2012 Tour Du Languedoc- Rousillion (AIS/National Team)
I was excited on Sunday morning when I woke up, knowing that it was the day I was going to be taking part in one of the biggest races in both the men's and women's calender, Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Flanders.
I am now in the Nederlands, racing with the Australian Team for the Energiewacht Tour that starts tomorrow with an Individiual Time Trial.
Information about the race and the startlist can be found here.....
http://www.energiewachttour.nl/
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~Matsuo Basho
Last weekend myself and the Bizkaia – Durango team and support staff travelled to Italy for the second World Cup, Trofeo Alredo Binda, Cittiglio. I accompanied my team director Denis, from France to Italy and we drove along the French/Italian coastline. I took a couple of pictures from the car, but I am looking forward to travelling back there to do a proper ‘tourtist’ visit.
I was looking forward to this race, as I had been in this area of Italy last year, training with the Australian Institute of Sport Team (AIS). The course included one large lap and four smaller laps of 17 kms. We knew the race was probably going to be decided early on the first hard climb of the day, unfortunately however, there were a number of crashes at the beginning of the race, which splintered the field before this. I was lucky to stay out of trouble and positioned myself as best I could coming into the first climb. I felt much better than the previous World Cup race in Holland, having a little more punch and was able to stay with the front group over the initial climbs.
Towards the end of the race, I was definitely starting to feel the pinch, but I have got a lot of confidence that I am on track and I am looking forward to a good race in Flanders this weekend.
Following this I will be racing in the GP Dottigines on Monday and then lining up with the Australian National Selection Team for the Energiewacht Tour in Netherlands.
Photo's, video and races schedule to come.....
"Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be." Joseph Campbell
Last weekend myself and the Bizkaia – Durango team and support staff travelled to Italy for the second World Cup, Trofeo Alredo Binda, Cittiglio. I accompanied my team director Denis, from France to Italy and we drove along the French/Italian coastline. I took a couple of pictures from the car, but I am looking forward to travelling back there to do a proper ‘tourtist’ visit.
I was looking forward to this race, as I had been in this area of Italy last year, training with the Australian Institute of Sport Team (AIS). The course included a large lap of (?) and four smaller laps of 17 kms. We knew the race was probably going to be decided early on the first hard climb of the day, unfortunately however, there were a number of crashes at the beginning of the race, which splintered the field before this. I was lucky to stay out of trouble and positioned myself as best I could coming into the first climb. I felt much better than the previous World Cup race in Holland, having a little more punch and was able to stay with the front group over the initial climbs.
Towards the end of the race, I was definitely starting to feel the pinch, but I have got a lot of confidence that I am on track and I am looking forward to a good race in Flanders this weekend.
Following this I will be racing in the GP Dottigines on Monday and then lining up with the Australian National Selection Team for the Energiewacht Tour in Netherlands.
After meeting the team in Durango, Spain in my first week in Europe, we flew to Holland to compete in a series of three races which included;
· Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo 2012 (1.1)
Netherlands / 8 March
· Ronde van Drenthe 2012 (CDM)
Netherlands / 10 March
· Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe 2012 (1.1)
Netherlands / 11 March
(The results and full women's racing calender for 2012 can be see here: http://women.cyclingfever.com/calendar.html?_p=women)
The second race, the Ronde Van Drenthe, was the team's first World Cup race. Renowned for it's hard cobble sections and narrow roads. I did not have a great start to the first race, Drentse 8. Unfortunately I was involved in a crash five minutes into the race (minor scrapes and bruising), this resulted in a chase to re-join the race. It was definitely a hard way to get myself familiar with the speed, narrow roads and cobbled surface that Holland is famous for!
I had been told about the difficultly surrounding the Ronde Van Drenthe World Cup, but it was certainly a new experience and I would liken it to mountain biking on a road bike. The position, speed and power at which you set yourself at the beginning of each section were crucial. I tried to get myself in the best position I could, but with 200 women all wanting to do the same thing this proved difficult. Unfortunately I was time cut from the race at 100kms, with the race being 132.8 km. The group I was in fell too far behind the lead riders. I was disappointed not to finish.
I was looking forward to finishing the week on a more positive note in the Novilon Eurocup, however this wasn’t to be the case. At the 60 km mark I was again involved in a crash which ended my race and my first visit to a European hospital. I had quite a deep cut to my left knee, which was the same side I had already fallen on. Unfortunately it was unable to be stitched and has to heal over time with frequent dressings. Most of you will know I am a nurse, but I will be honest and say I actually am not great at treating myself! I was given some handy advice to bring a few dressing and medical supplies with me, which have come in very handy!
After finishing the week I have reflected on ways I can improve on my performance next time and learn from the experiences I had. To be a successful bike rider means being able to bounce back from setbacks, disappointment and also able to race all kinds of races, whether it be a time trial, a hilly race, a cobbled race or finish a race in a bunch sprint. One person that was amazing to watch and I believe has all of these qualities was Marianne Vos, she won two out of the three races in Holland and proved that she will be a dominate force again this season.
I am now in France for a race tomorrow, Cholet Pays de Loire. Following this I will be in Italy on the 25th of March for the next World Cup Race, Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio.
Last Sunday I competed in my first race for the 2012 European season. It was a local combined club race, with junior Spanish boys, 130 of them! It would be fair to say that I was unable to hide in the crowd of cyclists. There were whispers of Australia, Australia but with the Spanish twang. I don't understand much Spanish at the moment, but you quickly know when you are being talked about. :) I am slowly learning more and more every day, with my teammates being a great help. The race conditions proved to be very wet and cold, with a lot of crashes. I managed to stay out of trouble and got a feel for the new bike. It was really good to stretch the legs and get the first race under the belt.
Five members of the team and I are now in Holland, to start the classic races today. The first race is Drentse 8 Van Dwingeloo. Below is a link for the race http://women.cyclingfever.com/stage.html?etappe_idd=MjcxMjg= . I am looking forward to racing with the team here in Holland and giving these cobbled races a red hot go! More on that, pictures and my classic experiences soon.
Start list for today's race can he found here:
Anna Meares has generously donated a WORLD CHAMPION signed skin suit that will be auctioned on the evening of Jo's support event. Please see details below.......
Saw this photo on Twitter the other day, so damn cute!
You can follow me on Twitter at @jojohoganTR.....
