I have the upmost respect for Bradley Wiggins and this blog is in no way hitting out at his performances this year. As far as I am concerned, he can hang up his wheels tomorrow and he will have left a hugely positive and lasting impression on British cycling, and go down in history as true legend of the sport.
It’s quite clear Bradley wasn’t quite “on it” when lining up for the Giro d’Italia this year. He never really looked comfortable in the first few stages – not the way he did in the Le Tour last year. He had some bad luck in the time trail – he was probably due some bad luck. Then the rain came, the big hills came, the time began to slip away from him, his bike began to slip away from him then there was an injury and that was that. Cue 3 months of media silence while the fickle spotlight of sport journalists shined on the the Froomedog and his ability to simply pedal faster than the other guy.
It was well documented that Brad had a good time after he got that Olympic Time Trail out of the way last year. There were award ceremonies and celeb parties, there was drinking and there was even a bit of mountain biking! And why the hell not? He deserved it- a yellow jersey, a gold medal and multiple stage race wins weren’t bad for a year’s work. He needed to let loose, especially since he had been focussing on turning himself from track pursuit rider to Grand Tour winner over the last 5 years. But maybe it’s fair to say that the focus for this year’s Giro wasn’t quite up to scratch with the level of focus that he had given the 2012 edition of the Grand Boucle, and that showed.
Now my story is in no way as grand as Sir Bradley, but there are some similarities and I think I may have been inadvertently brought down with what I am calling “Wiggo Effect”.
It’s now been 90 days since I turned the last pedal stroke of my first 24 hour race and collapsed in an ecstatic heap as my support team came to give me hugs and beer! I came 3rd at 24 Hours of Exposure and in doing so was also the 1st Rookie rider across the finish line.
I raced for 24 hours and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt. And Medal. And loads of free goodies. And a massive sense of satisfaction for 6 months of dedication and hard work
Those 90 days have been tough. First there was the physical pain – the stiff legs, a battered upper body and the saddle pains, oh the saddle pains! It’s fine – more chocolate, cake, wine, beer and junk food will solve that. It’ll be better next week, plus I’ve been training for this for 6 months – I’ve got to let loose now and again.
The physical pain went but the mental pain took over. The bikes sat in the garage, untouched since unloading the car upon arriving home. I kept telling my AQR coach, just another week of rest. There was more chocolate, but it was fine – I’d been training for this for 6 months – it’s ok to take some time off.
Then the training started again, but there was always an excuse – too busy at work, bikes not working, rubbish weather. Then there was more chocolate, but this time it came with guilt – but it was fine, I’d start again next week. Good diet, structured training, focus – here we go.
We didn’t go. Apart from the odd social ride, pedalling was well down my priorities. Every day came with a massive helping of de-motivation, served with lack of focus and a topping of chocolate sprinkles with a beer on the side.
My legs were forced though – a 2 week holiday to the French Alps and AQR Base Camp at Luchon in the Pyrenees reignited something. Techy singletrack covered in roots and rocks and smooth tarmac ascending over a 1km into the sky made me remember something. Riding my bike is fun.
It’s not that I forgot that when training for the 24 hour race. Every tough training session I told myself, you are riding your bike and you like riding your bike. The problem was I forgot to tell myself I like riding my bike after the race. I felt pressured to get into training – to keep that form and take it to the next race. And the next race will bring pressure because now I am supposedly 3rd in Europe at riding my bike all day. People will expect things of me. Or at least I will expect things of me.
I’m now 3 weeks in to the new phase of training and have nailed every session so far – no excuses, no chocolate. Today I race Brighton Big Dog – a 6 hour solo event. In 2 weeks time I race for 12 hours. The motivation is back. The focus is there. I’m having fun.
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