Tim Gudsell

Summer has finally arrived! After months of sketchy weather here in Europe as the seasons changed and couldn’t decide what they wanted to do, we have finally got the first real heat or as they call it in French ‘chaleur’ of the year. I definitely welcomed it with open arms as I was over training in my rain jacket, though as the sun really wound up just the day before the 4day Tour Route du Sud it made for some testing conditions to a race with an already testing parcour.

The motivation was high and I was confident in my form that I could really do something during the four days, though I wouldn’t really have too many opportunities due to a mountain time trial, and an epic day in the pyrenees which would really decide the race.

So day 1, first substantial break goes and I made sure I was there, and for a good 30km I thought we would be the days main break. Though it soon became clear to me one of the Italian teams in the race had missed it and they weren’t happy about it so our gap soon diminished, and once again a bombardment of attacks began. Until finally a group of 17 went clear with all team represented and that was that, boof race over thanks for coming. The peloton rolled in 35mins down and thought about the days to come.

Day 2, a 20km mountain time trial, oh yes what a treat! Having had a bit of practice at these at the Giro last I wasn’t too fazed about the day, get from A to B at a good pace but always keep the rev counter out of the red zone and I will be fine, and I did just that finishing 5mins down on the winner.

The Tours most decisive day would be an immensely difficult 185km jaunt from Pierrefitte Nestalas to Luchon Superbagneres via four cols arriving at the Superbagneres ski station at 1800m. With the summit of the most difficult of them all the Col du Tourmalet coming after only 29km of racing it was going to make for a very long day as it wasn’t just the altitude that was rising, the mercury was already above 30degress at 11am on the start line.

Just to give you an idea of this day here’s some stats from my Polar Heartrate monitor. 6hrs 40mins, 185km, 28kph, 4850m of ascension, and 7390 calories (thats the equivalent of 3days calories for a normal male) So you can see this was a big day! I did surprise myself a little and my director too, as the head of the peloton reached the summit of the Tourmalet after the leaders team had set a very hi tempo there was only around 20-25guys left in the group and here I was turning my legs on the back of the bunch as many others suffered long in the distance behind me. It was another little confidence boost for me, and a real sign the Giro had done what I wanted it to do. However not to get too excited, I did end the day in grupetto we around 75% of the field but I did it with a lot more ease than in the past, and with the final day in mind that suited me a lot more.

With another scorcher forecast where it would reach 37degrees in the finish town Castres, it would play into the hands of the smart riders who would always be thinking about hydration. At the end of the day the smartest and strongest rider was my team and room mate Jussi Veikkanen who took the victory in a two up sprint ahead of Nicholas Jalabert. It was a great end to the tour for us and a mid season campaign that had included Tour de Romandie and the Giro with virtually all the same riders.

I ended the tour feeling disappointed not to get a result but happy with the progression I made in the mountains and feeling ready for a good end of season, though not before a well needed week off which I spent half of at the beach to recharge the batteries and let the body recover after what has been a very busy first half of the year.

Next up is a two week stint at altitude in the Pyrenees where I will be staying with triathlete Kris Gemmel, where I hope to build a really good base for the end of season. Then racing begins again with the Tour de Region Wallonie and Classic San Sebastian at the end of the month.

Until next time.

Tim

(Pictures coming soon!)

Roundabouts, traffic islands and barriers, roads more like over sized footpaths, a few cross winds, and you have yourself a day of start stop racing in Holland, as the peloton tried to navigate it’s way around all the obstacles without to many incidents.  Though it was inevitable there would be a few casualties.

With the fairly flat 210km parcour the race was flat out for the first hour until just one dutch rider was let go to catch some TV time for him and his team, though it was short lived as the straight after the feed station the peloton started to fire up and the race was on and didn’t let up until the finish.  It ended in a bunch kick with Gerolerstiner’s Robert Forster taking line honors ahead of his team mate who had lead him out.

Though the race had a lot more interesting feelings and sensations for me as it was my first race since completing my first Grand Tour.  I was concerned how I would fair being only 9days after the Giro and not really knowing how well I had recovered.  It didn’t take long for me to find out though, as after about 20km I launched across a small gap to a breakaway and found myself close the gap quicker than I imagined, the heart rate got into the 190′s and recovered almost as quickly.  To be honest I was just glad to see my heart rate that high as I hadn’t seen that since the first week of the Giro.  It wasn’t all that easy though, as at many stages through the race my legs still felt heavy as did my head and the thought of my bed seemed like a good place to be.

So after a dragged out journey home due to accidents on the motorway, overbooked hotels at Brussels airport and canceled trains back to Albi, I made it home to get in some more good recovery and prepare for my next race “Route du Sud” which starts on Thursday.  This will be a real treat for me as it is the only race of the year in this region, so nice little 2hr drive to the first hotel instead of flying across Europe will be a nice change.

Will be in touch with action from on the road soon.

Cheers

Tim

Well it’s been a week since I crossed the finish line in Milan, and it’s been one very slow one. Up until today it’s felt like I have had a wicked hangover, but I didn’t even get to hang around to party in Milan.

When I finished in Milan, it was off to a hotel near by for shower and bite to eat, waited for another couple of team mates to finish, then we were in the car an off to the airport, before Alberto Contador had even rolled down the start ramp. This shows you it sure is business here, and really no matter what race your doing there is probably another one not far away.

Just to back track a little to the race, and the last two epic days in the Italian Alps. 7.15 and 7.30hrs (well for me anyway)  respectively stages 19 and 20 were two of the toughest of the whole race. Not just the parcour but the weather conditions and the length of the stages made them extremely tough. I was quite nervous heading into them but soon found that there were a lot of other tired guys in the race and as the race got down to business I found myself in a grupetto that was around half the peloton. That definitely didn’t mean we could muck around it just meant a few more pairs of legs to share the work load, and stay clear of the time delay.

I know myself I really had to find something else from inside to finish these stages and the tour, a mental and physical strength and progression that you can only get from this type of event, a Grand Tour. Now I am sure it is something I can keep with me from here on, in my progression as a professional rider.

This week has been a mix of easy recovery rides weather permitting, and a couple of days off too. Next week I am back into with the Dutch Food Valley Classic and then the following week Route du Sud, before taking a well needed mid season spell to freshen up for the end of the season.

Thanks again to all of those who left comments during the Giro, I will endeavor to keep you all interested and informed with the happenings in my world the of the professional peloton.

Back soon

Tim

It’s 5degress celcius, but with drizzling rain and nasty breeze the chill factor can’t be much above zero.  Perched at the 2618m above sea level somewhere deep in the Italian Alps you will find the Passo Gavia, also known as the Cima Coppi.  The penultimate mountain stage of this years Giro would pass over this mammoth Mountain during the 224km parcour also including the famous Mortirolo later in the stage.

So here I was in what would be the days grupetto of around 80 riders all battling to finish the Giro.  I’d just donned a vest, rain jackets, cap under the helmet, and picked up a musette from the team car with biddon of hot tea and some gels for the 50km descent ahead of us.

Then with 500m to go to the summit here are two hard kiwi blokes, frezzing their arses off waving a black flag with the silver fern on it.  I didn’t even have the energy to acknowledge them at the time but, damm fellas big ups.  All I could think was now thats ‘dedication’ if I’ve ever seen it.  Craig an Glen had been following the race with their partners all the way from Palermo to Milan, but this effort really took the cake.

So I would just like to say thanks to all of you including Kyle Rika and Teresa who joined team along the way, you guys really helped make some of those long days seem a lot brighter.

Below is a pick of Kyle, Glen, Craig, Grom (Slipsteam mechanic) and me at our hotel on the second to last night of the tour.

Cheers team.

Good Morning, Evening, wherever you maybe in the world,

Putting up a few images from right inside the Giro… L to R: The start of a down hill ski race, or a finish line for cycling time trial I’m not sure. Not often you need gears like this for a TT, thats right, a 34 chainring, 27 sprocket and they were well used. Up up and more up, the last kilometer of the tt had sections of 24% gradient ouch!! and finally, heres how you get back to the hotel when you finish at the ski station. Stage7 hot work in the mountains, and a well needed coke. Stage15 rolling out of the neutral in the front, though not for long as the climbers wanted to make it tough for everyone. They sure know how to find the small nasty roads. For some reason they seem a little tight on space in Italian hotels sometimes, I’ve never seen this before, a toilet shower combo!! impressive + a few images of the scenery from today’s stage 18, and the course profile for tomorrow stage…. more big mountains!!

Thanks for reading, keep the comments rolling in, i really enjoy reading them… they give me fantastic motivation

Caio for now, Tim

The legs feel heavy and so do my eyes, I have just risen from my bed and feel like I could crawl back under the sheets for a week to recover, but the tour goes on.

Today we are in the host town of the 2008 World Championships, Varese. The air is very heavy and humid and last nights sleep wasn’t quite as comfortable as I’d hoped, though that just seems like part of grand tour life some days are good and some not so.

One bonus is we are back at sea level, after spending three nights sleeping at over 1200m altitude in the Dolomites its nice not to loose your breathe as you just walk down the stairs for breakfast.

After Mondays craziness on the slopes of the Corones Ski field, Tuesdays rest day was welcomed with open arms. After a 400km bus transfer and a small ride I put my feet up to rest and let my muscles recover for the final five days of the tour. It is a strange feeling being so far into this monumental race seeing the finish in site, but knowing there are two epic stages still standing in the way. Friday and Saturday bring two of the hardest days of the whole tour, so for me today I will be hiding in the bunch as much as possible and saving every bit of vital energy I have to get through the final two mountain days. Then just the final time trial in Milan to finish proceedings and hopefully my first Grand Tour.

Time to pull the chammy on once again.

Cheers

Tim