Surrey League Road Race (VC Meudon) 3rds - Cutmill

[a quick/short one because I was watching the world champs]

A complicated week at work meant I couldn't ride until Friday. That, added to my crash in last week, meaning only 45 km ride on Sunday, meant my TSS sank from 108 to 96 in just a week.

I should not complain though. Had a hard ride on Friday and an easy one on Saturday and today I definitively felt really fresh.

Cutmill is supposed to be a challenging course so my objective for today was to hang on and try to finish on the bunch. As I said driving there "I would be happy finishing in the bunch".

I was expecting a hard first few laps. But it didn't happen. We were riding fast up the hill, but nothing mad.

Half way through the race I was trying to put the bottle back in the bottle cage and somehow it slippered off my fingers. "F**** stupid" shouted a rider. Half way through the race and I only had a quarter of a bottle of water. I couldn't agree more with him.

When we crossed the line and I saw 5 to go I got that weird feeling of this can't be possible, it seems we have been riding for ages!!!

With three to go I was drinking small sips to make the most out of the water I had. Got a get a gel and had it in my mouth when I had to get the handle bar with two hands, somehow I managed to drop it. I took a laugh of myself, but only because I had another gel!!!!

With two to go I was "comfortably" in the top five climbing the hill. I was happy because I figured I was going to be able to finish on the bunch.

At the bell I was again well positioned in the bunch, but looking at the numbers now I see I was hitting the max HR of the race so far.

At the final climb I positioned myself very well, I was even thinking about placing. Kept my position in the flat part of the climb and when the last bit of climb came I tried to keep up with the pace.

I managed for about 250m, a shame there were another 250m to the finish line!!!

The definition of being a crap rider

250m that I rode full of disappointment. What a crap rider was the nicest thought I was having.

But hey! as soon as I crossed the line and had a second to think I realized that finishing in the bunch was what I was happy with before the race. I know, I'm to easy on myself, but that thought made me forget my anger.

And here I am, thinking about next race. 

Take care

Javier Arias González

Surrey League Handicap Championship (Norwood Paragon)

This is a E/1/2/3/4 handicap race. My first handicap race.

I'm not sure about the criteria the organizers followed to create the groups and the order in which they were sent. But I was a bit surprised so see a few Kingston Wheelers definitively stronger than me way before my group was called.

Still I was happy with my group out of about 10 riders 5 were Kingston Wheelers and that meant we had good chances of ride in good order taking proper turns.

Well that lasted for about 1:30 minutes (and I'm actually looking my power profile). That was the time that took my turn to come and at that time I already was at my limit. 4:40 into the race, only 2.8 kilometers and I was thinking "there is no way I can keep with this pace, I'm not finishing this race".

And here is the thing, we were not riding that fast. It wasn't a mental pace. I think I still need to work a bit more in my warmup. Because after the first 5 or 6 minutes we entered in a phase of 50 minutes where the pace was totally fine for me. Yes, we had a few pushes but nothing that took me close to the limit. It is just the first push that I need to be better prepared for.

With about an hour into the race we were caught by a faster group and that was the signal to jump on their group and stop taking any turns. The game was now a matter of survival.

A bit messy at the beginning, a couple of Wheelers went away with a third rider and the peloton looked all spattered in small groups. I knew there were still one or two groups ahead because I was missing a few Wheelers, but at some point it was impossible to know how many people had ridden away from the group. A feeling I don't like because it leaves me not knowing what to do. Should I try to bridge to the next group? sit and wait?

About 10 minutes later the scratch group caught us. I knew because I saw a Wheeler that is 1st cat. That was a good signal because now I knew to which group I had to try to stick to.

And honestly it didn't felt that difficult. I could even move up a few positions to be better positioned for the "climb" that was coming. Funny enough when I look at the numbers those were my peak 10 minutes in terms of average power. But the point is I passed the climb without a problem and by that point I was already feeling that I was going to finish in the bunch.

Well that was until 5 minutes later the guy riding ahead of me lost the grip on his front wheel and went down. Without any hope I went down as well and the guy behind me. And that was it. My heart rate jumped 10bpm in one second, my speed went from 40km/h to 0 in the same second and the race was over.

Luckily I didn't hurt myself, just a few scratches, my helmet got an impact (I'm in the market for a new helmet, again) and my front wheel twisted a couple of spokes. Time to call it a day and head to the finish line. 1:18:55, 52.5km, not exactly the kind of workout I was expecting (Is it too geek if I mention that I was worried about not hitting my target TSS for the week?).

I have a few more that I shouldn't post pictures of

Not much more to add. Made it to the finish line and relaxed there in the sun watching the rest racing and taking a video of each time they crossed the line.

The ride in Strava

Take care
Javier Arias González

John and Dulcie Walker Trophy 3/4 Race (my second road race)

I was in the waiting list for this race but I was so eager to get back to try myself after my holidays that I took my chances and I decided to drive about an hour to get to the HQ early enough to make sure I was the first in the reserve list.

The race had 80 entries so I was quite sure I was going to get a place. So I decided to go for an early warmup; I wanted to ride the final straight, it wasn't clear in the profile if the finish line would be just at the top of the hill or if there were going to be a flat section leading to the line. The later was the case, in fact about 300m mostly flat from where the climb eased to the line. I rode the climb once and finalized my plan. Sit on near the front the whole race, try to get to the top climb in the top 10, hold a wheel until the last 150m and sprint.

With that plan in mind headed the HQ to get my number and there is where I met Paul, a fellow Kingston Wheeler. We chat a bit and he went for a warmup while I headed the car to get ready for the race.

After the usual words from the commissar off we went.. and first surprise of the day. I was expecting a super fast pace from the gun and it was not. True the road was mostly flat or downhill, there were not that many bends and only one turn in the first few kilometres (this circuit is an almost perfect square of 24 kilometres, only 4 left turns per lap!!!) but it was a clear contrast with my first road race experience where I was in the red zone from minute one.

In this one the pace was quite pedestrian, I averaged 189 watts in the first 15 minutes. Yes, part of it was that I was well hidden near the head of the peloton, Paul a few bikes ahead, but still not challenging at all.

It was about 15 minutes into the race when Paul gave it the first go. There was a rider ahead and he tried to bridge. Got a gap with the peloton but very soon a steep nipple appeared and the bunch caught Paul as we were riding over the top.

The pace was still quite manageable but that changed as soon as crossed the line for the first time. Up to 8 surges I can count in my power file in the following 10 minutes. I took mental note that was probably going to be a mined terrain in the last lap, too away from the line to attack, too easy to push it hard to drop whoever is caught in bad position.

The attacks stopped as soon as we started the main "climb" (2km uphill) but very soon Paul jumped again. There were two riders away with a gap between them. Paul managed to bridge the gap to the first one, from my position it seemed like they were starting to work together so I moved to the front of the peloton and eased a bit. As soon as someone passed me I jumped on his wheel and when he moved right I eased again. It was not long until I took some verbal abuse, but hey, seven years in the Spanish air force gave me a thick skin for verbal abuse and, honestly, I couldn't understand half of what they were saying (advantages of having a terrible English), so I didn't care.

Unfortunately the peloton ended up catching Paul and his companion and very soon the rider that was ahead. Back to square one and the pace eased again.

A few kilometres before the bell a rider jumped, put himself in TT position and got a decent gap. Part of it was that the pace in the peloton was not that fast but at some point Paul moved to the front had a look at the two riders that were leading and he came to the conclusion they were blocking and so he said out loud. A pace line formed and a chase began. I took a few turns in the pace line but at some point I changed my mind. The rider was not that far away, say 15 secs. he was alone and still had a few kilometres to go with three "climbs". I got to the conclusion he had no chance to make it so I moved out of the pace line and sat.

Eventually we caught the guy and we were all together again. I had a quick look back and saw a lot of riders. The pace was not that high but I was still surprised of how many riders were still in the game.

I was very concious of the importance of positioning at this point and be assured I managed to stay in the top 10 most of the time. Funny enough Paul was doing the same and we ended up riding two abreast quite often in the final kilometres.

The final climb came I moved towards the central part of the road. Half of the climb is gone and I feel I am well positioned with legs not feeling that bad. And suddenly, about 250 metres to the top of the climb, 500 metres from the line, the guy in front of me raises his hand and moves slowly to the right. My front wheel touched his rear wheel once, twice and thrice as I was easing up trying to keep myself on the bike and slow down. When I looked at the race again half of the peloton had passed me so eased up and soft-pedalled to the line. I think I was last in the main group, which very easily still had 40 riders (update 8/Sept/2014 it turns out I did 27th, not that good at guessing bunch numbers).

The no sprint

Camera in the line, at 00:57 you'll see me (Paul at 00:31)

Anyway I finished very, very happy.

I think I did a good race from the positioning and strategic point of view and I felt in great from. More importantly I had a great time not only riding but also thinking during the race. I want more.

Also this is a great event, very well organized and marshalled. The course is easy to navigate and most of the roads are wide enough. I'll try to be back next year.

The ride in Strava

10/9/2014 It seems there was a cause for the punctures during the race.

Take care
Javier Arias González

Sotonia Summer (chopper's first road race report)

How can I be so arrogant? Signed up for the race, my first road race and my first race as 3rd cat, without knowing anything about it, just thought 96km, yeah, that should be fine.

I arrived to the HQ with only time to ride half of the circuit lap, not a big deal, but the very first humps got me to the conclusion the race was going to be hard but manageable.

In the briefing the BC commissar defined the circuit as "testing" and I didn't even blink.

Well arrogance in cycling  is something you end up paying if you don't have the legs to back it up and I certainly did (I mean paid for it, not that I had the legs to back my arrogance).

The race started neutralized until we reached the circuit. It started with a hump and there I was surprised with at the pace we attacked it. You know this idea of being a box of matches and each time you hit certain power you burn a match? That hump was my first match.

There were more surprises for me. A road lane is not that wide and 60 riders trying to get to the front of the bunch fills every gap. Suddenly someone shouted "car" and I realized cars would be coming in the other lane as everyone got closer, the bunch got longer and I found myself at the back and braking, only to sprint all out five seconds later because the first hump was immediately followed by a second one; and there it went another match. Descending that nipple I hit 70km/h and at the same time I heard a crash behind me. Looked back briefly in time to see a guy hitting the tarmac really hard.

Didn't even had time to assimilate all that was happening when a third hump came only to be followed by a forth one and a left turn, all riding at sprint.

As we turned left the climb that would take us to the finish line started and the bunch slowed down! A lot!!

Great, that's what I needed a moment to catch my breath. 6 minutes into the race and I was already exhausted. I'm sure I have hit half a dozen power PB's by now.

The slow down in the climb was a mirage, it lasted only one minute, and finished with a sprint that didn't have any point in my opinion but took us to cross the finish line for the first time at 35km/h. I found a match in my back pocket to cover that sprint.

Second climb came and surprisingly this time we attacked it full speed and half way through it everyone slowed down. I took the opportunity to move up; as I was making myself room around the tenth position I realized there was already a four men break away.

It is great to know that you should be in the front of the group, if only so when they sprint without notice you can be passed by everyone and be back to the tail of the peloton. This is the moment I started to think this whole idea of road racing was a bit too crazy.

This was only the first lap. The second lap started and we hit the first hump again, in the descend my saddle moves and I'm grateful I have found an honourable excuse to finish this nonsense. Surprisingly when I sit again in the saddle, after the second hump, it seems stable so the excuse vanishes.

Second, third and fourth hump; left turn and here we are again in the climb to the finish line. I'm afraid that I don't have any matches left to cover this last sprint and I lose contact with the peloton. It moves away painfully slow, like asking me to not give up.

Nah, that would have been a fairy tale! I give up and now the peloton moves away much faster. The commissar car passes me and I'm out of "the bubble" as he defined it during the briefing.

I easy it a bit and to my surprise so does the peloton. Maybe I can catch them again. Should I try?

Of course I should try! I pushed it a bit (it can't even count as a match), passed the commissar car and joined at the back of the peloton. Five seconds later someone decided to sprint and there I was in trouble again.

Hopefully this time was fast. The peloton flew away, the car passed me again and I was left on my own in no time. Crossed the line for the second time, got the cheers for the people that was there, turn left, got a gel. I was 20km into the race, I had only crossed the finish line twice, I still had six laps to go. What am I doing here?

I consider myself a positive person, always trying to see the positive side of everything. Well, I have to admit that I failed for a couple of minutes during this race. I regretted not have started with something "easier" (if such thing exists in road racing), I regretted not have had a proper rest for the race, I regretted the lack of preparation and all the improvisation. I regretted not have done more anaerobic intervals. I regretted I had entered the race and the whole idea of racing. I wanted to stop, but stopping was nonsense because I was in the middle of nowhere so I would have to ride to the HQ anyway. It was only a couple of minutes but I felt bad.

The good thing about being alone is that after a couple of minutes you get your breath back, you find your own pace and the positive feelings come again. Going home with 30km in the legs is wasting a lovely Sunday morning, lets finish the race and get the kilometres in your legs.

And to that task I set myself. Luckily a rider passed me and I jumped on his wheel for a while. Then I passed him and took a turn in the front. He followed suit. Great, riding together we will push each other.

I had to wait for him in the humps but he was a great wheel to sit in the flats. We kept a reasonable pace overall, given the circumstances. It only lasted about two laps though. As we had in sight a Sotonia rider and we were turning left to start the climb to the finish line he said something and stopped. I think it was something related with a pain at his back but couldn't understanding him clearly.

There I was alone again. Well not really alone, I knew the Sotonia rider was about 30 seconds ahead of me so I set myself to catch him.

It took me a whole lap, but as we crossed the finish line with 3 to go I was on his wheel. Took the first part of the descend to get another gel and drink a bit and as the road started to climb passed him shouting words of encouragement hoping he would jump on my wheel and we could work together.

He jumped on my wheel but he didn't show intention of taking any turn. A whole lap went with him sitting on my wheel. It didn't bother me really, just kept my own pace aiming to finish the ride.

During the briefing the commissar had said that if with two to go we were more than seven minutes behind the bunch the bell would be rang for us and we would finish one lap earlier. That was exactly what happened.

So there I found myself riding the last lap with a rider on my wheel and I couldn't help but starting to question myself about what would happen at the time of crossing the finish line. Was he going to outsprint me? did I care?

Well I decided I didn't care and kept my own pace.

With 3/4 of lap to go the motorbikes and the car passed us. Very soon we were passed by four riders, not sure if they were the four riders I saw in the break, not that I did care to be honest. I remember myself thinking they were not riding that fast. Still very soon they were away.

With 1/2 lap to go the Sotonia rider passed my. I, obviously, jumped on his wheel.

Now it is the peloton passing us. Again the thought that they were not riding that fast crossed my mind but, again, very soon they were away.

Two humps before the left turn to the final climb the Sotonia rider slowed down quite a bit. That kind of movement that makes you think "this guy can ride a bit faster but wants to sit on my wheel". I didn't care, I passed him trying to keep the pace, which, believe me, by this time was a rather pathetic pace.

Left turn and we were in the final climb. You know when you are going uphill but the gradient is not that steep but you keep going slower and slower as you are moving to a bigger and bigger cog? That was me in the final climb.

At least until I heard the Sotonia rider playing with his gears. As soon as I heard him changing gears I started to care about him outsprinting me in the line. It was an instinctive reaction, I didn't even thought about it, I just changed gears as well and stood on the bike and sprinted.

We were too far away for me to be able to sustain this sprint so when I felt I was losing steam I looked back to see where he was. I felt relieved when I saw he was like three bikes back. I knew I was going to "win" the sprint for the fifty something position. I wouldn't be honest if I wouldn't confess that, internally, I celebrated this "victory". We shook hands, he thanked me for the work and I congratulated him. The sun was shining.

My sprint

After a few minutes sitting in the grass to rest I jumped on the bicycle again to ride back to the HQ. It was then when I realized the saddle was not in its position. I didn't notice it during the race but it was way too back.

Racing with a saddle bag like a proper chopper (I don't about "the rules")

Got to the HQ, ate a piece of cake, drank a bit of water and what I was thinking? "I should find a race for next weekend". I'm sick.

The race in Strava http://www.strava.com/activities/162441360/

It turns out that after looking at my power numbers during the race they were not all that great, even for my standards. That's good and bad. Bad because it means I did a terrible race good because it means I can do better.

By the way I forgot to mention the Sotonians did a great work organizing the event, all going well I'll be back next year.

Update 7/7/2014. It turns out the Sotonia rider is Paul Ransom. Somehow he found this blog and left a comment.

Update 9/7/2014. I found the results in the Sotonia website. It turns out I show up as last in the classification (38th out of 60 that were signed for the race). I don't know why but Paul Ransom, the Sotonia rider, was given 37th. I almost prefer it that way so I can say that I was officially last in one race (so far).

Take care
Javier Arias González

About hair and legs for cyclists

Should a cyclist get rid of the hair in his legs?
If you attend to the tests presented in this video you should. If only because hairless legs are worth an average of 70 seconds over 40km.

Shave or wax?

It seems most pros prefer to shave their legs according to this other video.

How to shave your legs?
Well, there is another video for that...

Good luck


Take care
Javier Arias González

You should ride a bicycle... / Deberías montar en bicicleta

“You should ride a bicycle for twenty minutes every day, unless you’re too busy; then you should ride for an hour”

Seen at this twit https://twitter.com/Beetit_sport/status/484675818007068672

"Deberías montar en bicicleta veinte minutos al día, a no ser que estés demasiado ocupado; si estás demasiado ocupado deberías montar una hora al día"

Visto en este twit https://twitter.com/Beetit_sport/status/484675818007068672

Quebrantahuesos 2014, what went wrong (and what went well)

My objective for this year's Quebrantahuesos was to improve my last year's time, 6:44:56. Since I finished this year in 6:48:21, 3 minutes and 25 seconds more than last year, it is clear that I missed my target. In this post I'm going to try to determine what went wrong this year.

It is not my intention to use this post to justify myself for a disappointing result, I'll try also to determine what went well this year. At the end of the day, the point of this post is to help me to decide the changes I need to make to make sure I don't miss my objective again next year (oh yes, if I get a place in the ballot I'll be there again next year).

To avoid the [strong] temptation of pointing out first all the things I think I have done right and then all the injustices in the universe that conspired to make me fail, I'm going to cover the topics in chronological order. This post is going to be rather long, if you are not that interested in all the details, and believe me, I can understand it, feel free to jump to the button of the post where you'll find a paragraph with my conclusions or even feel free to stop reading just now and use your time to something more productive. 

The preparation

This is the period from the first day of the year to the 1st of June, the first five months of the year.

I would say this went quite well. I built my form month after month and, at the same time, I was losing weight consistently.

By 31st of May I had ridden more hours than last year, about 12% more kilometers. I weighted 2 kg less than last year and my CTL was way higher (93.2 vs 68.2).

In June 2nd I answered a fellow wheeler about my objective for the Quebrantahuesos with "Aiming to ride it in less than 6:30 but just improving last year's 6:44 we'll make me happy." I was feeling optimistic.

The new bicycle
The plan was to receive the new bicycle by May 15th. That would give me enough time to book a bike fit and start riding it from May 19th, a month before the Quebrantahuesos. Plenty of time to get use to it.

Unfortunately a mistake (50% Canyon's, 50% my mistake) meant I received a bicycle a size too big so I had to return it and wait for the new one. That meant I received the new one June 6th and, due to multiple reasons, I had no time to get a bike fit before the Quebrantahuesos.

The question was, should I ride the new bicycle, which is "better" and 2kg lighter, or should I ride the, not that good but really fit to me, Cannondale?

In June 8th I rode the Ditching Devil 200 and it was the first ride I did with the Canyon. The feeling with the new bicycle was so good that I had no doubt. I was going to ride the Canyon at the Quebrantahuesos.

The tapering
After the Ditching Devil, exactly two weeks before the Quebrantahuesos, I sort of declared myself in the form of my life.

Just to give an example. At the Ditching Devil, with 170km in the legs, I had set a PR climbing the strava segment  Combe Bottom Climb Hell. That climb was 24 seconds faster (from 4:54 to 4:30) and I put 10% more power (from 293w to 324w) than my previous PR and that was a few weeks after the LEL, my lasts year's top form.

The problem with the tapering was the traveling. The Monday after the Ditching Devil, two weeks before the Quebrantahuesos, I had to flight to San Francisco and I would fly back on Friday, and then, the next Monday, the Monday in the Quebrantahuesos' week, I had to fly to Barcelona were I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday.

I thought a lot how to approach those two weeks. I was at 98.6 CTL and -26.5 TSB after the Ditchig Devil. I still managed to ride three laps at Richmond Park before my flight on Monday so I decided not to ride in the US. I though I was better off just trying to manage jet lag properly and to try to rest on those days than trying to squeeze a ride at hours that would feel weird to my body.

I landed in London on Saturday and joined a club run on Sunday. It was a disaster. I was last in every single climb, legs felt empty and numbers were terrible. I blamed the jet lag.

To make things worst the two kilograms that I have lost in the first half of the year were back on my body. I was going to ride the Quebrantahuesos at the same weight as last year after all.

Luckily got time to go for another ride at Richmond Park on Monday before flying to Barcelona. Two laps at a decent pace but the third one had to take it easy because I felt really tired.

In Barcelona I was fairly busy but the worry of not riding that much made me consider the option of squeezing a ride on Wednesday. I finally discarded the idea, it was going to be only a two hours ride. Mounting and dismounting the bicycle seemed like a lot of work and a bikeshop asked me 40€ for a 24hours bike rent. I gave it a pass.

The wheelers at the entry of the exposition

The days before the Quebrantahuesos
These were two perfect days. On Thursday I picked up TY and Richard at Barcelona's airport and we drove up to Sabiñánigo where we met Rafa.

Friday we went for a 42km easy ride. In the las kilometer of Hoz de Jaca's climb I pushed it a bit and legs responded brilliantly.

The views before Hoz de Jaca's climb

TY, myself and Richard near the top of Hoz de Jaca

A siesta in the afternoon, an early dinner and going to bed early meant I was rested for the D day despite a 5am wake up call.

Yes, I was taking all those gels and energy bars with me. Around 60g per hour of carbohydrates

The ride
I have divided the whole route in 14 segments. Yes, I know, it is a bit geek, but that is the best way to understand where the time went.

From the start to Canfranc village (2013, 2014)

These are very fast 34km. The main worry is to make sure your are not involved in a crash and you are sitting in a group that is riding fast and safely.

This year I rode this section in 53:15, 3:15 faster than last year.

There is not much you can do to improve your time in this segment, it all pretty much depends on the group you find.

Somport's climb (From Canfranc village to the French frontier) (2013,2014)

12km climb at 5% average.

This is the first climb of the route. And this is typically where I forget about following anyones wheel and concentrate in my own pace.

I felt great in this climb and, as always, tried to pace myself. The climb took me 38:25, 2:01 faster than last year, and I averaged 238watts well into my sustainable effort.

Somport descend (2013, 2014)

The first surprise of the day. In all my previous four participations this side of the mountain was always cold. Not this year. Temperature averaged 16.2ºC this year and last year it was 7ººC

The Canyon feels more secure than the Cannondale and while I was descending I knew I was going faster (despite being a terrible descender). In fact numbers come to confirm the feeling. I did this descend in 8:56, 46 seconds faster than last year.

Descend to Escot (2013, 2014)

In this part all I always do is to wait for a group to be formed and hide in the middle. I always take this opportunity to eat, drink and get some rest.

This year the group I was in was very bit, about two hundred riders at least. There is not much you can do to improve your time in this section. The descend is not technical and there is no point of trying to make such big group to go faster.

This is a very fast descend but it took me 42:17 to ride it this year, 6 seconds more than last year.

Le Marie-Blanque (2013, 2014)

Le Marie-Blanque is a 1st cat climb that is a bit tricky. It is 10km at an average of 7% but when you look the profile in detail you realize the first part of the climb is very very easy but the last 4km are quite hard as they average more than 11%.

You also have to factor the weather conditions at Le Marie-Blanque. Hidden in a deep valley, the atmosphere feels particularly hot and humid. Specially this year. Average temperature was 21.7ºC while last year it was 14.7ºC. 7ºC hotter this year!!! It was a sauna.

If in last year's report I wrote Le Marie-Blanque is not that hard, this year it felt hard. I was sweeting a lot and climbing with all in (that is a 34/28). My pace was not that bad compared with the riders around me, I was passing a lot of riders, but this year it felt hard, I was at my limit.

The numbers say it took me 41:12 to climb Le Marie-Blanque, that is 37 seconds less than last year. I had put an average of 245watts in the climb.

Le Marie-Blanque descend (2013, 2014)

I love this descend. At the beginning it is not really a descend but a flat that forces you to keep pedaling and putting power, but when you pass the feed station and the road looks to the valley at the other side the view is magnificent (although I don't spend that much time admiring it).

Again the feeling that the Canyon was allowing me to descend faster is confirmed by the numbers. It took me exactly 15 minutes to descend Le Marie-Blanque, 37 seconds less than last year.

Up to this point I was improving my time in pretty much each segment. At this point I was 6:33 ahead of last year's ride.

I don't ride with an eye on the clock to see if I'll meet my objective, I prefer to ride at my best and see were that is. This means that during the ride I was not aware that I was 6:33 ahead of my objective. Still I had the feeling that I was doing well and I could finish in less than 6 hours 30.


Flat before Portalet (2013, 2014)

It is not really all flat but you barely notice the climb. Again in this section my strategy is to join a group and take the opportunity to eat, drink and get some rest.

At some point I remember thinking the group was not riding that fast. Still not even for a second I considered the option of moving to the front to do some work. The way I saw it was: I don't mind if they are riding a bit slower than last year, I'll take the time to rest.

Now the numbers confirm that feeling. It took me 18:41 to complete this segment, and that is 1:58 longer than last year. I lost almost 2 minutes in 10 kilometers!!!!! This time was even one second worst than my time in 2012 when I finished in 7:02:40.

As said while I ride I don't check times in the segments so at that time I was not aware of the amount of time I had lost. I knew we were being slower than in 2013 but I was not expecting to be that much slower.Not that I think there is anything I should have done do about it. In my opinion how fast you ride in the three "flat" segments (pre-Somport, pre-Marie-Blanque and re-portalet) depends on how fast the group your are in rides; gaining or losing time is all about the climbs, specially the Portalet.

Portalet's first half (2013, 2014)

At this point I felt tired. I think I always have this feeling in this section. This year I thought it was because I was following a wheel that was taking me to my limit. I remember feeling happy for this because I thought I was improving my time from last year.

If you had put a gun in my head I would have bet my life on definitively I'm riding faster this segment than last year.

But the number say otherwise. It took me 1:01:47 to ride this segment (188 average watts). 3:11 more than last year. This is a surprise for me, I wasn't expecting such terrible time in this segment.

It is true that I had to stop twice in this segment. The first time at feed station that is half way through the segment to fill my bottles and to make a quick pee. The second time was at the feed station at the end of the segment to, again, fill my bottle with water (I had drank a full bottle in just 8km). But I only was stopped 2:50 and last year I also stopped at the feed station at the end of the segment.

It is now clear that I was not riding as fast as I thought and if it was feeling hard it was not because the wheel I was following was fast but because I was already tired.

Portalet's second half (2013, 2014)

Last year I road this segment on my own, passing riders as I had found my pace and strength. This year though we had head wind so I hide behind a small group of riders that were climbing at what felt a challenging pace.

It was so challenging that I was playing games with my brain all the time. "One kilometer, hold them for one kilometer and then you can let them go". The kilometer would past and I would challenge myself again for another kilometer. I did that for 8 kilometers, when we were 2 kilometers from the top I knew I was going to be able to hold their wheel for the whole climb.

I was still feeling optimistic about my time. My first estimation was we would reach the top at 5 hours 30 within the ride and we ended up getting there at 5 hours 23. Somehow I thought it would be possible to ride the the 40km to the finish in less than an hour and seven minutes and finish below 6:30.

Looking at the numbers now I see I have invested 44:12 in climbing this segment (187 avg. wats) which is 3:52 more than last year.

In total it took me 6:29 more to climb the Portalet this year part of it was due to harder conditions this year. We not only had head wind in the second half of the climb but also this year was 7.8ºC hotter on average (28 vs 20.2).

Portalet's descend (2013, 2014)

I love this descend. Close roads, great visibility and not technical. There is no excuse to not descend as fast as the bicycle can go.

I couldn't tell any difference with last year's descend but when I looked at the times I found that it took me 18:58 to ride this descend, that is 2:04 more than last year.

The explanation has to be the head wind. At the time I didn't notice it but a report in a Spanish magazine confirms there was head wind in that descend.

Again, still at this point I was thinking I had a chance to finish in less than 6:30. What a fool!


The flat before Hoz de Jaca (2013, 2014)

This is just 5.5km before the last climb in the route. I rode it as part of the group that climbed together the second half of Portalet, I even sometimes lead the way for them.

This segment took me 10:22 which is 24 seconds faster than last year.Legs were feeling great and I was looking forward to attack Hoz de Jaca.

Hoz de Jaca (2013, 2014)

I suddenly felt a funny feeling in one of my right leg's muscles, the vastus medialis according to the picture below.

At that time I didn't relate it but trying to find the muscle that was feeling funny I recalled that exactly the same feeling, in the same muscle, I had the third time I rode a road bike in my live, a 164km sportive on a hired road bike, when I was climbing the last climb, La Covatilla, in its 12% ramps (report, in Spanish), the only time I said out loud "I quit cycling". It's been 776 times I have ridden a road bike since them until I had the same feeling.

It was not painful but it felt like the signal that it could be very painful. Funny enough I applied the same recipe I applied back then. Stand on the bicycle and pedal slowly for a few seconds.

It worked. The group I was riding with was now out of my sight and I climbing trying not to force the right leg, but I was doing well. Passing a lot of riders still had time to get a plastic glass of coke that a spectator offered me and drink it while I was climbing.

It took me 11:50 to get to the top (220 avg watts) which is 8 seconds more than last year. Not bad considering I had to easy a bit.

Hoz de Jaca's descend (2013, 2014)

At the top of Hoz de Jaca there is a feed station. A volunteer was offering bottles of water. I grabbed one on the go and drank it before the descend really started.

This is a tricky descend, it has two complicated bends at the very beginning, a tunnel when it gets flat and a short but noticeable climb at the end, you better be in the small chainring for it.

The Canyon proved again to be a safer bike to ride in descends as I did it in 4:55, 21 seconds faster than last year.

The flat to Sabiñanigo (2013, 2014)

This segment was different this year. Instead the 24 all descend or flat kilometers we had in 2013

The flat to Sabiñánigo 2013

In 2014 we had a small climb towards the end of the segment

The flat to Sabiñánigo 2014

At the beginning of this segment I realized I was not going to be able to finish in less than 6:30. 

It didn't matter. I took turns with two other riders leading a group of about 40 all the way to Sabiñánigo. To be completely honest I have to confess the other two were taking more turns than me but I was working as hard as I was able to.

Half way through the segment I realized that I could miss my objective.

When we turn right and I saw the "climb" we had in front of us I knew it was over. 

It was not a hard climb, in any other ride I wouldn't even mention it. It didn't hurt me that bad either. I managed to keep up with all the riders that were sitting in our wheel as they passed us in the climb. At the top of the hill I got again to the front of the group and lead it to the descend. I knew it was over and I was furious.

This segment took me 38:40 and that is 1:49 more than last year.

When I crossed the line I saw 6:50 something in the watch so I thought I had done 6 or 7 minutes worst than last year. Then, when I saw my oficial time I saw it was "only" 3:25, I had to consider the time it took me to cross the start line.

Not that made me any happier in ay case.

Rafa, Edu, TY, Javier and Richard with our medal and certificates

Conclusion, why I missed my objective for this year's Quebrantahuesos

A bad tapering after my best form ever meant I put on the weight I had lost in the first half of the year and I didn't have the endurace to do well at the Portalet which, the traditions says, is the judge of the Quebrantahuesos. 

Weather conditions were tougher this year, on average temperature was 7.8ºC hotter. That means Le Marie-Blanque was a sauna and Portalet was really challenging, more considering we had head wind in the second half. 

Head wind in the descend of the Portalet, a slow group in the flat before the Portalet and a "climb" introduced in the last segment of the route were other factors out of my control that made me slower this year.

What makes the result a bit more disappointed is how well the bike performed. It not only is 2kg lighter but descending with it felt way more secure than with the Cannondale (I gained time pretty much in each descend).

The only thing that mitigates the disaster is my position in the final ranking. Last year, finishing in 6:44:56 I was in position 1100. This year, finishing in 6:48:21 I was in position 884. Despite of taking 3:25 more to finish I have moved 216 positions up, which, I guess, confirms general conditions were harder for everyone and is aligned with a Spanish magazine that reported:

"Many of the participants suffered from the overwhelming and uncomfortable feeling reigning at Le Marie-Blanque where heat and humidity added an extra point of suffering to the already hard course of QH. To this circumstance it was added the head wind that appeared at the ascend and specially in the descend of the Portalet what has caused that many of the participants qualified the twenty-fourth edition as one of the toughest in the last decade"

A bit of an overstatement in my opinion (2010 conditions were toughest) but still slightly comforting.

What about next year?

Here is the thing. I'm still convinced that in "normal" circumstances I would have finished in less than 6:30 this year. So my target for next year can't be that one. Instead I'm going to target Ed's time 6:18:29, to my knowledge the best Kingston Wheeler time.

A stretch goal would be targeting the 6:13:03 that took Miguel Indurain to finish this year's Quebrantahuesos. Being able to say "I rode faster than Indurain" is quite a thing but he is 49 so I'll have to wait four years to make that a fair assertion.

In any case I want, sometime, to be able to finish the Quebrantahuesos in less than 6 hours. Lots of pedals to turn until then.

I leave you a few videos that reflect the atmosphere at the Quebrantahuesos this year.

Take care

Javier Arias González