Jo in Team Pursuit World Cup - by Paul Sloper

The focus of my training is on the World Championships which are at the end of March in Holland. Before this, however, we had the final round of the World Cup at home in Manchester on 18th February! Every winter there are a series of 4 World Cups around the World. These act as qualification events for the World Championships but are also prestigious events in themselves. This winter these events also carried Olympic qualification points, making them even more important!

This winter I hadn’t ridden any of the World Cups having been ill and injured (as detailed in my previous 2 blogs) so I was very excited about the prospect of racing in Manchester with the support of the home crowd! Preparation had been going well and we began talking about what time we could do. I was riding with Wendy Houvenaghel, who has been part of the Team Pursuit with me both times we won the World Title, and Sarah Storey, who is going to be my team mate on the road this year with Horizon Fitness RT – Prendas Ciclismo, but it was our first time riding a Team Pursuit together!

Our qualifying ride was early afternoon on Friday and we were off 17th out of 22 teams entered. We knew we had to post a fast time as we didn’t know what the remaining 5 teams would do. My job is to do the start from the gate (known as Man 1) and get the team up to speed in the first lap, and then do my best to maintain the pace throughout the race in my remaining turns on the front. The qualifying ride went well and the roar from the crowd got louder and louder every lap! I could even hear the commentator saying we were the fastest team so far as we went through the 2k mark! We finished the ride with a time of 3:20.962 which was a new National Record by 0.9s and a new sea level World Record!!! I was really pleased with the time and really pleased with my ride, also confident that I would have more to come in the final.

Now we just had to wait for the remaining 5 teams to ride to see if our time would be beaten!!!

Our time remained more than 2 seconds quicker than any other team until 1 team to go – the final heat of the New Zealand team, who had previously held the sea level World Record. We knew we would make the Gold medal ride off as the fastest team so far with just the one team to go, but still were keen to see how fast they would ride! As they rode their splits came up on the scoreboard and we waited as they went slightly up on our time, then slightly down, then slightly up again, before finally finishing with a time of 3:20.988, which was 0.026s slower than us!!

This meant we were through to the final as fastest qualifiers! The final was a few hours later so we had time to recover from our first ride and I was feeling excited for the final! The crowd really got behind us and as soon as we started the noise was phenomenal! During the ride we can’t see the other team on the opposite side of the track but the crowd were making so much noise I thought we must be doing well! The ride felt fast and we finished with an amazing time of 3:19.757, beating the New Zealand team by over a second, and only missing out on the World Record set by the American’s at altitude by 0.188s!!!

I was so pleased to break the 3:20 barrier! We had ridden a new sea level World Record and the 2nd fastest time ever. A few laps waving to the crowd and it was then straight into the media pen for an interview with the BBC, which is somewhat difficult when you have just ridden a team pursuit and are still out of breath! We were GB’s first Gold Medal at the World Cup and following the podium we had more interviews and then autograph signing. Manchester World Cup is such an amazing event and the crowd are so supportive, so it was a pleasure to do this.

The next day it was straight back down to Earth and out riding my bike in the rain! The World Championships are only a month away so there is no time to back off the training. I still went to the track in the evenings to support my other GB team mates for the remaining two days of racing which was great fun.

I am now in Majorca for one last block of road training before the final preparations for the Worlds. So far the weather has been gorgeous and over 20 degrees, which makes a nice change from home! Let’s hope it stays that way for the rest of the camp!

Joanna

Jo blogs for www.thetalkofsport.com and the site is a great place to read blog from fantastic young sports stars

Having been the World TT Champion in 2007, Hanka is looking for a return to the top of the discipline as she builds towards London 2012.  Over the course of the cyclo-cross season, Hanka has had several meetings with Horizon Fitness RT team to discuss the possibilities and how best to link over the summer of 2011.

Following a busy winter in which Hanka finished 4^th in the World Cyclo-Cross Championships, it is likely that the first events together would commence from May onwards with Hanka riding as a guest rider for the team.

“It’s a new and exciting challenge for me.” said Hanka about the link. “Thüringen Rundfahrt is a major objective this season.  This is a young and hungry team and I’m looking forward to riding in it with a full team dynamic.”

“We’d like to take part in 2 high profile events in Germany.  Thüringen is a 6 day stage race which is organised in a very professional manner.  Everything about this race is carried out to a high standard and it’s an event that we’d very much like to be a part of.  The same can be said for Sparkassen Giro, a UCI 1.1 ranked event.  It’s an event I’ve taken teams to many times and would be an ideal race for our team” commented team manager Stefan Wyman.

“This season, our team is all about fast tracking our rider’s development so that we are in the best position possible to become a professional team in 2012.  We have some outstanding riders and it’s clear to me that the riders would learn a huge amount given the opportunity to ride for a World Class team leader.” said Wyman “We’re looking at a very carefully selected race program including some high profile events, both stage races and one day races.  Riders likes Dani King and Jess Allen are going to learn firsthand how to lead a team in major races from someone I consider to be the best.”

“This also shows the ambition of the team.  We’re not here to float along at the level we’ve already achieved.  We’re looking to push forward and it’s great that riders like Hanka have noticed that and have chosen us to help her push toward another rainbow jersey.  We’ll do everything we can to ensure the environment is right for her, the riders are strong in support and everyone can develop over the course of the road season.”

The Horizon Fitness RT riders are very excited about the news.  Annie Simpson said “To get the chance to ride with one of the world’s best all-round women cyclist is pretty special.  To be able to learn from someone with such a wealth of experience is invaluable to a developing rider such as myself and it just adds to the list of exciting things happening in 2011.”

Mexican star Nancy Arreola reaction to the link was “Wow, it will be just amazing, she has so much experience.  She is a 5 times World Champion and former world ranked number 1 road rider.  We could learn a lot from her.  For me it would be such a great inspiration and having her as a teammate would just motivate me to keep training harder.”

Hanka Kupfernagel Results

2011 – 4^th World Cyclo-Cross Championships

2010 – 2^nd World Cyclo-Cross Championships

2009 – 2^nd World Cyclo-Cross Championships

2008 – World Cyclo-Cross Champion

2007 – World Time Trial Champion

2007 – World Number 1 Cyclo-Cross

2006 – German Champion Cyclo-Cross

2005 – World Cyclo-Cross Champion

2004 – European Champion Cyclo-Cross

2003 – European Champion Cyclo-Cross

2002 – 2^nd World Cyclo-Cross Championships

2001 – World Cyclo-Cross Champion

2000 – World Cyclo-Cross Champion

2000 – 2^nd – Olympic Road Race

One of the key reasons for the evening is to raise money for World Bicycle Relief. Some auction items are now available for bids (Including a Kona Jake the Snake frame and Challenge Tubulars) and other items will be up for winning in a raffle on the night.

Raffle prizes include items from Prendas, a seminar with CNP Professional for 6 people, Rouleur Photo books, and a signed jersey. Also a Ridley catalogue signed by all their riders including Zdenek Stybar and Bart Wellens.

BID NOW! BID NOW! BID NOW! BID NOW! BID NOW! BID NOW!

Kona Frame – http://tinyurl.com/6gzjbl9

Challenge Tubulars – http://tinyurl.com/6g4ohzf & http://tinyurl.com/6atxxnx

So what is life like for our intrepid cross riders? Lots of washing, beer, flowers and the BBC? Of course if you want to find out what it’s like to race on the Belgian and World Cup scene then simply attend on March 3 and ask. Oh, and do enquire about tyre pressures.

Entry is free and there will be a raffle of items from Helen sponsors as well as Cross-Crazy.com and Rouleur Magazine. Money raised will go to World Bicycle Relief.

Date March 3

- Time 6.30pm

- 18.45 Ian Cleverly will be reading from his Rouleur feature about Ian Field

- 19:00 Q and A (ends 8pm)

- 20:00 DJ until late (there is a late license)

- Free Entry

There is a bar and food available from the Cafe.

Contact

John – john@londoncyclesport.com

Stefan – stefan@initialiseme.com

Look Mum No Hands is at 49 Old Street, London EC1V 9HX

With free entrance to all, the evening will offer cross fans the chance to talk to the two Belgian based riders and ask questions about racing, living in Belgium, about their preparation and their cross insights.

One of the key reasons for the evening is to raise money for World Bicycle Relief. Some auction items are now available for bids (Including a Kona Jake the Snake frame and Challenge Tubulars). Other items including a Nutrition seminar from CNP Professional and items from Prendas will be raffled on the night.

Links to the items are:

Kona Frame – http://tinyurl.com/6gzjbl9

Challenge Tubulars – http://tinyurl.com/6g4ohzf & http://tinyurl.com/6atxxnx

The evening will start with a session of Q and A, with the opportunity to check out their race bikes followed by a DJ and general merriment.

Entry is free and there will be a raffle of items from Helen sponsors as well as Cross-Crazy.com and Rouleur Magazine. Money raised will go to World Bicycle Relief.

Date March 3

- Time 6.30pm

- 18.45 Ian Cleverly will be reading from his Rouleur feature about Ian Field

- 19:00 Q and A (ends 8pm)

- 20:00 DJ until late (there is a late license)

- Free Entry

There is a bar and food available from the Cafe.

More information on World Bicycle Relief can be found at http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/

As with other events on the track in the GB team, the squad of women vying for places in the team pursuit is a large and very strong squad with a lot of depth, as our team mates riding in 100% ME demonstrated yesterday. Like the men’s team pursuit squad have done, our women’s team have been training in every combination possible over the past four months and there has never been very long to get comfortable or familiar with one person’s wheel, we have to ride all wheels and be flexible in any line up.

As we lined up for qualification, we knew we needed to post a strong ride, something of a marker to give the other teams, there were another five to qualify after us, a benchmark to aim for.

Riding on schedule and above schedule in the first half and then posting what would be the fastest final kilometre of all the teams, meant we were able to slice 0.9 seconds off the previous British Record and set the second fastest time of all time and also the fastest at sea level with a 3.20.962.

Personally the ride was manic and it felt like I was in a washing machine, going round and round so fast I didn’t have time to be the cool, calculated rider I had been in training. I missed a change on a team that was travelling at around 57-58kph, so the few metres I had to close and the “ooooh” of the crowd as they spotted my gap made me wonder if I didn’t have several hundred people sat on my shoulder. The noise was just incredible!

Nothing prepares you for a full house at Manchester and the only other time I’ve raced in front of such a crowd was at a Revolution post Beijing. Riding with an aero-hat on magnifies the noise and encouragement, which is truly awesome, however since I had no previous knowledge to assist with the expectation of what it might be like, I wasn’t prepared for how it sounded and that noise seemed to add to that sense of everything hitting you faster than you can respond. My mind was on overdrive as I was trying to take everything in and this just added to the clumsiness I felt and didn’t enjoy!

I finished knowing I had plenty more to give and knew the benefit of experiencing the qualification, working out what was happening and how to cope with travelling at that speed it was a case of learn fast, pull your socks up and do it better in the evening. We were fastest qualifiers by such a small margin and knew the final was going to be tight. We decided to up our schedule, adjust the turn formation and go out to race and try and win. Times and records are always a bonus and we were focusing on our strategy and the process we’d been working through in training. I was personally determined to put the first ride down to a steep learning curve and pull my best form out for my team mates in the final.

Heading into the final was exciting, the crowds were right behind the British team and watching the men’s sprint and the encouragement the crowds were giving Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny, as well as the excitement when Ben Swift came charging through to nick some points in the men’s omnium points race, made me feel settled that all this noise was going to spur me on for the final.

We lined up in our formation to start, Joanna in the gate, Wendy in two and me in three. Starting has been an area I’ve put a lot of work in over the last three years and it’s not unusual for me to do 28 standing starts in a session! I knew getting off the line smoothly and quickly was going to get me settled on the back and ready for the speed and power of the delivery from Wendy. Jo is an awesome starter, strong and controlled and takes us right up to pace after a lap and a quarter, Wendy did a huge lap and a half and I brought us through the first kilometre and we were faster than the qualification. By this point the crowd were in full voice and we executed our turns, changes and line on the front as planned and could just hear the crowd roaring us home. Each time we got on the front we were giving it everything to keep the speed high, we knew it must be close by the noise of the crowd and we just kept on driving.

By the time Wendy delivered me for the final time, there was just three quarters of a lap to the finish which I knew I had to drive through before drifting up to give my team mates the space to run underneath for our blanket finish. We all knew it was the final sprint by this point and we all put our heads down for the final push to the finish! Although the crowds were roaring us round on every lap, I still had no concept of how close the ride actually was and really couldn’t have told you whether or not we were faster!

Crossing the line in the home straight, the scoreboard is behind you, so I didn’t see that first, I saw Barney leaning so far over the fence I thought he was coming on to the track! By the look on his face I knew it must be good and when I craned my neck to look back and see a “19” I screamed with excitement!

What a ride! What a team, I felt so proud and realised I’d got my head together, I hadn’t felt like I was in a washing machine anymore, it wasn’t hitting me so fast I couldn’t react and I felt so proud to have broken the British Record again with two such accomplished and strong team mates.

The crowd stood up to applaud our ride and they were just so excited for our win it was a truly fantastic atmosphere. I found myself riding round without slowing down, wanting to get closer to them to say thank you! Thank you for shouting so loud, thank you for willing us to win and thank you for having such faith! I could pick out one or two familiar faces, I knew where Barney and our parents were and I was just truly amazed by the excitement we had created!

I eventually realised my team mates were on the apron of the track and I headed down to join them and do our interview with Jill Douglas. After a warm down a Pro Peptide [my second of the day] and a quick tidy of the hair, we were heading to the podium and a playing of the national anthem. I’ve never been up first in a cycling event before, so for me it was additionally exciting to have been able to be a part of the first gold of the weekend for the team.

After that there were more interviews and then the chance to meet the crowd in an autograph area. That was a part I really enjoyed, the chance to meet the youngsters who were telling us about their own bikes, the Mum’s and Dad’s who were saying how much they had loved watching us ride and the cycling fans who knew so much about what they were watching. Without that support it would have been such a different experience and I felt lucky to have felt that home crowd advantage. I understand what Sir Alex Ferguson means when he says the fans at Old Trafford are like the 12th man on the pitch!

So now it’s a recovery weekend and time to get back into the groove for another road camp in Mallorca. In the women’s team pursuit squad we are looking forward to putting just one squad into the World Championships in Apeldoorn, so there is everything to train for and the challenge that whoever rides is likely to need to go even faster than our ride to secure the World Title. I’m fortunate to have another opportunity to race before the next Team Pursuit and will be gunning for the defence of my World titles in the Para-Cycling Worlds in both the Individual Pursuit and 500m Time Trial.

More news to come soon, thanks for your support, Sarah x

Go check it out

Check it out.

Dani King wins first race in Belgium - By Bart Hazen

Team Pursuit Win - Larry Hickmott

Sarah and Jo are part of the Great Britain Team.  Dani is riding of for GB U23 team, 100% Me.  Ruby will riding for Threads.com/dft

We wish them all the best of luck and we’ll to keep you up to date with all the action as soon as get news.

Kona and Paligap UK, have donated a Kona Jake the Snake cyclo-cross frame. This will be sold on ebay in the run up to the event.

CNP Professional, have offered a Nutrition Seminar for 6 people with Kerry Kayes (Owner of CNP Professional). This will be held at the CNP Professional offices near Manchester.

This will be the top prize in the raffle to held at Look Mum No hands on the evening 3rd March.

There are fantastic prizes all all proceeds will go to to ‘World Bicycle Releif‘. Everyone involved with the evening want to thank both Paligap and CNP Professional for their generosity in supporting the event.

The night will start with Ian Cleverly reading from his Rouleur feature . The article with photos by Marthein Smit features in issue 22 of Rouleur.

Race bikes from Helen (Kona Major Jake) and Ian (Scott) will be on display and they will both be taking part in a Questions and Answer session at 7pm.

Date March 3
- Time 6.30pm (there is a late license)
- 18.45 Ian Cleverly will be reading from his Rouleur feature about Ian Field
- 19:00 Q and A (ends 8pm)
- 20:00 DJ from 8 to late
- Free Entry

There is a bar and food available from the Cafe.

Look Mum No Hands
49 Old Street, London EC1V 9HX. 020 7253 1025

Contact:
john@londoncyclesport.com