Monday, July 4, 2011

Time for recovery and the Tour de France



Definitely time for recovery, I feel, and I hope it is an earned one.

Firstly, that's how I pencil my training programs, two on and one off. Secondly, week 20 took a bit out of me, when my TSS reached 840+ (my highest so far). I decided to back off on the intensity for week twenty-one and after the ride on Wednesday it was low intensity, hoping for a good race on Saturday. After that, I became tired and even a little irritable (Sandra hinting that I needed a rest).

The criterium race at Lakeside was good. I made myself as active as possible, tried to get away a few times and finished 10th or 11th (could not go with the strong guys in the last 200m). It was way better than a couple of months ago, happy with my performance. Or was it that tyre and tube combination I am trying?




The figures weren't great but I am hoping for good ones after this Recovery week.


The Tour de France, stages one and two

Well, I promised myself that I will get more rest this July in preparation for my A event in early August. I mean no late nights watching THE race. So far (OK, only the second stage), I am happy checking the results in the morning and watching videos on-line and the SBS highlights in the evening. Let's see if I can keep my word when they get closer to the Alps.

But this far, I liked the results. In stage one, Philippe Gilbert demonstrated why I think he is the best one-day racer in the world. With the help of a great team and on an up-hill finish, he was hard to beat. Only Cadel Evans got close, taking 2nd.




Stage two was a great TTT event. A bit of a shame Phil Liggett and Team Sky are both British, it sounds like he will be talking about them for the 22 days of racing. Anyhow, Garmin-Cervelo (that's everybody involved in the running of the team) took the win and the Yellow Jersey (Hushovd), showing their passion and strength. Simple!




Lots of racing ahead.

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