Bike Alberta #7

The past weekend I competed in a stage race to the North-East of Dijon called the Tour du Mirabellois. This race really accentuated a big difference between racing in Canada and here. The tactics and racing style in France are something completely different than that of Alberta. Usually one would think of racing here as a higher pace with constant aggression, but apart from that I have found that so much can happen during the race, with so many people who can win, and that it adds a whole new tactical dimension.

Spencer in the break during the Bois de Verne crit

So, the first of three stages at the Tour du Mirabellois starts and before we are even out of town, the road turns unexpectedly up a short steep climb. This came as a shock and by the top a group of about 15 was off the front. Most of the key players had missed this move, but that made the chase easier. As we chased, the aggression diminished, but only slightly. The catch came just after the half-way point and this spurred more aggression although as the race progressed, the temperature as well as the two stages looming on Sunday induced more passivity. In approach to the finish, the focus was on the steep 600 m climb leading to the line. Within 5 km of the finish, the pace mellowed for a moment and approximately 10 riders were ahead. The dominant team which had the most riders, SCO Dijon, would not help in the chase, having two riders off the front. This meant I couldn’t bridge alone without being covered, a format that would frustrate me the following day. So, keeping my composure, I held back until the climb. The climb pretty much shattered the peloton and I found myself working through riders to get closer to the break. At the finish, Creusot took 11th, 13th, 14th and me in 16th. This put me 27 seconds behind the winner from VC La Pomme Marseille, Remi Pompanon.
Sunday morning’s Individual Time Trial was rather short at 11.5 km, but it had some hilly and technical sections to make it quite exciting. After a decent warm-up, I was ready for a good effort. On the course I was surprised to find myself with relatively fresh legs, but also found it very difficult to bring my heart rate up. I settled into a rhythm and pushed increasingly harder. As I neared the finish, however, I was unaware of the distance left (I recently switched my SRM from my TT bike to the road bike) and conserved too much. I made a quick turn and descended down to the line to take the second best time for the moment. I waited at the finish to see my final result which was 5th at 21 seconds. The winner again was Remi Pompanon of VC La Pomme. I was now in 5th place overall at 48 seconds.

The final stage in the afternoon was one that was rather exhausting tactically. From the start a break of 6 went away including my teammate Lionel Joblot, who had crashed in the ITT while holding the fastest split time. I therefore did not chase. SCO Dijon was also watching me as I lay in a position to overtake two of their riders and move onto the podium or be overtaken by another of their riders. The racer in 6th position overall, Jonathan Cessot, held the same time as me and obviously wanted to overtake my position. Just a side note; Cessot is a Junior, but was 6th at this year’s Junior Cyclo-Cross World Championships. It was easy to pick him out as he was wearing the white jersey for best Junior. Throughout the race I would follow him or a few other SCO riders around the peloton, and he watched me like a hawk in return. As this developed, I found it impossible to get off the front, being covered by SCO who would counter-attack each of my efforts. The race continued like this, with none of the top 5 able to move until a 1-2 punch by SCO put Geoffrey Febvray, who was in 3rd overall, up the road. A procession of small groups began to make moves and many of them were successful because they contained riders who were not necessarily dangerous in addition to the lack of a cohesive chase in the peloton. In one of these small groups was my teammate Romain Taricco who was 10th on the GC entering the stage. He was an immediate threat to the green jersey as he had taken sprint points in the first day, so this inspired the team of the green jersey to chase, although this too lacked cohesion. So, the peloton sat back as these groups went off the front and put time on the top GC contenders. The front groups soon joined to form a large group of around 20 and that made it much easier for them to stay away. Towards the end of the race, when it was very obvious we would our GC spots to the break, a handful of us began to put in a hard chase. Essentially, the chase was SCO Dijon and I, and we ramped up the pace within the last 10 km of the race. The finish was on a small descent right after a big bend in the road. It felt rather sketchy towards in the approach to the line, but the sprint itself was fine. My teammates Romain and Lionel finished respectfully 2nd and 4th in the stage when the break group blew apart. I finished safely in the middle of the peloton. The overall situation did change quite drastically, with Geoffrey Febvray winning, Romain 2nd and Lionel 3rd. I was the next Creusotin at 13th.
I once again tried a different approach to this weekly log. I chose to focus more on the tactics of the racing, but as it relates to my situation.

Bike Alberta #6

So I have had a recent suggestion to take my weekly posts in a new direction. Instead of focusing on solely on what I am doing, I will try to explore the more general features of the European peloton as it surrounds me. Feedback, however, would be greatly appreciated and would help me find a solid topic base.
In the past as I have been detailing my schedule and racing, I have neglected to mention much about my team. I talked about its situation as a Division Nationale 1 team and what this entails, but not much else. I will take the opportunity now, to go into much more detail about the team.
Creusot Cyclisme, located in Le Creusot, is the only high level team in the town. Situated in the Bourgogne (or Burgundy in English) region, it is one of two DN1 level teams in this area. The other team, Sprinter Club Olympique Dijon (commonly known as SCO Dijon) is one of the best in France with a few riders, such as Jeremie Derangere, competing for the top amateur spot. The history of Creusot Cyclisme dates back to 1922 with the formation of La Pédale Sportive Creusotin. The club rose to prominence over the next 83 years becoming the top club in Bourgogne. In 2005 La Pédale Sportive Creusotin became Creusot Cyclisme and restructured with a focus on competition, development and organisation. In the past 3 years the team has continued to progress, furthering its position in the Coupe de France Clubs team classification.
The team has varying levels as do many teams in France. At the top level is the Category 1 team which competes in primarily in Elite National races and high level regional races. The Category 2 team races mostly medium to high level regional races, with the occasional Elite National races. The junior team can compete along with the Cat. 1 or 2 riders in many regional races, but are barred from Elite National. There are also national junior races which they compete in. The team begins young where the “Ecole de Cyclisme” brings up young kids on the bike. They ride mostly for fun as a part of their schooling, but it helps in the development of athletes who may later ride for a higher level on the team.

The team at the higher levels consists of 12 Cat. 1 riders: Bartosz Banach (Poland), Stéphane Benetiere, Nicolas Bourdillat, Loïc Breugniot, Emilien Broe, Franck Brucci, Aymeric Brunet, David De Vecchi, Cyril Lecler, Yannick Martinez, Jean-Cristophe Peraud, and Anthony Tevenot. The 7 Cat. 2 riders are: Fabrice Bost, Cedric Charles, Jérémy Lourenco, Simon Raymond, Spencer Smitheman, Lionel Joblot, and Romain Taricco. Between these 19 riders, the selection for the bigger races is made.

On a personal note, I will mention a few things. Last weekend’s race, Le Boucle de Troncais, found me in an improved state, albeit, not my best form. I finished at the front of the peloton while three of my teammates broke away to fill the podium. The two days after the race, my coach Andy and I were training in the Alps. The riding, which included Lac Annecy and Mont Revard provided spectacular scenery despite the latter taking place in a cold rain. I raced again on Thursday, the 1st. It was a 90 km criterium and proved to be a good race for me as I broke away with a group of 9 other riders. I felt strong and finished 7th. This weekend I race the Tour du Mirebellois, a stage race near Dijon. I am excited for my first flat time-trial of the season.

Bike Alberta #5

After my last post, overtrained and fatigued, I had begun to focus on recovering both physically and mentally. This really did feel like a load had been lifted as I could relax and take a break from being as fanatical as I can get during the season. It was also good to forget about cycling for a bit, despite how hard that may seem at times.

Late in the week I found myself walking around town. I wanted to check out a few parts of town I hadn’t been to before. I walked up to the radio tower on the largest hill in town which offered a great view and some quiet roads. I had not been up there yet by bike as the climb is quite intimidating with a pitch of 20%. Another day saw me walk to the sports complex on an adjacent hill and down through the forest into town. Spring has really brightened up the town and with most trees in full bloom, I really enjoyed exploring it.

As the weekend arrived, I worked my way back onto the bike. Saturday was seemingly a test day to see where I was at. I did a recovery ride on my usual route by the canal, this time with my power meter on the bike. To put it short, I felt horrible for the duration of the ride. My heart rate was unmanageable, by body felt bad and my power was really low. Looking at this, I believed I was still fatigued from before. Nonetheless, I went out on the bike on Sunday as per the scheduled training.

With a bit more time on the bike, I decided to try a new direction. Initially I was trying to avoid hills, but this proved futile as I only found more climbing. This actually helped me though as I found it rather exciting to be on small, winding roads leading up and down steep slopes. This then gave way to attacking each “côte” with a great deal of enthusiasm. I was just riding for fun, not worried about my exact training, and this was what I needed. It re-sparked a deep-rooted passion that had seemed to fade earlier with my overtraining and the stress from my deteriorating condition. As I came home, it began to rain. I did not mind this much, as I was warm and I felt like my normal self.

Back on the bike Tuesday, after Monday’s rest day, I found some more new terrain to excite the senses. Not only did I have the enthusiasm, but a good deal of power to add to the ride. Despite being in France for three and a half months, I still get excited to ride a single lane road through the countryside. There is so much to see here and I keep finding myself surprised when I take a new road and see something totally unexpected.

Wednesday was a day I had been looking forward to for a while as my coach, former Alberta Bicycle Association Technical Director, Andy Holmwood, would be arriving to visit for a week. The day’s ride proved optimistic as well with a temperature of 23 degrees and some good riding. I rode a little harder than I maybe should have, but every time I came upon a rise in the road, I could not help but get out of the saddle and throw it into a harder gear. Adding to the optimism was the fact that I posted a personal best peak power in a sprint that was not a full effort. After the ride, I watched the Fleche Wallone live on TV and in the evening, Andy arrived.

This weekend I will race the Boucle de Pay de Troncais in the Auverne region with the remaining Category 1 riders who were not selected to the Circuit Saone et Loire. The Circuit is an exceptionally difficult stage race based out of Le Creusot and put on by our team. Each team can only enter 5 riders. Past riders include Alexandre Vinokourov, Mark Cavendish, Michael Barry, Cyril Dessel, Richard Virenque, and Clement Lhotellerie. For the Boucles de Troncais, I will be happy to race again, now with a renewed passion.