Few more from Perfs

More Pics from Newport Track Camp

More Pics from Perfs 2011

Para Team Look Forward to the Worlds

As the countdown continues to the UCI Para-Cycling Track world Championships in Italy next month, the GB squad decamped to the Newport Velodrome for eight days of intensive track work. With the emphasis on speed, all the squad was hoping to capitalize on the long, hard road miles put in the legs in Majorca back in January. The 16 rider team was announced on Monday 14th Feb and looks a formidable line up, world and Paralympic champions looking to bring home medals and perhaps more importantly score qualification points for London 2012. Alongside the experienced competitors are a few "first timers" to the Worlds. Tel Byrne & Jon - Allan Butterworth, both ex-servicemen, part of the Battle Back programme, Tandem pilots Fiona Duncan & Helen Scott, are all making their first appearance at a major championship. As you would expect, Byrne and Butterworth are very calm under pressure, but both will feel a "few nerves when the time comes" The "big race atmosphere" will provide invaluable experience as inevitably thoughts turn towards London next year.
Helen Scott, tandem pilot for world and Paralympic champion Aileen McGlynn, is pleased with the way her training has been going, “I just don’t want to let Aileen down, after all, she has been there and done it before, so I am a little nervous”. For an experienced competitor, McGlynn, perhaps, surprisingly suffers from a little “stage fright” “I wake up and go Oh my gosh, it’s the morning of my race and the heart rate starts going, I try to take my mind off it. Once I start my warm up I am ok.” Two gold medals is the target for this tandem duo in the Kilo and the 3km pursuit. Meanwhile, Fiona Duncan is a relative newcomer to tandems. The commitment and work ethic of the full time police officer is without question and her technique will surely improve “ I am not even thinking about the championships, I still feel I have so much to learn, but I am starting to feel really good” said Duncan. Stoker Lora Turnham was playing down her chances but perhaps Lora was a little over cautious, if the form I witnessed on the track was anything to go by.
As far as the men’s tandems go, it could come down to a battle of the Brits, between, Craig McLean &Neil Fachie and Barney Storey & Anthony Kappes. Both pairings go in the Kilo and the sprint, with Storey and Kappes also riding the 3km pursuit for the first time. “We both know each other’s racing tactics very well, they know what we will do and we know what they will do, so I wouldn’t like to call it” said Storey. McLean is a little more bullish “If they go for a long one it had better be fast one” he warned. McLean and Storey both face challenges of their own, former Olympic Silver medalist, McLean, suffers with Coeliac disease, a gluten intolerance that makes it difficult to “get the carbs in” whilst Storey has to deal with diabetes.
Darren Kenny and Rik Waddon went head to head in a trial for the third place in the team sprint. Everyone trackside stopped to watch the exciting ride off, with Kenny getting the nod, but only just, strength in depth for sure. Waddon and Kenny will also face each other in the 3km pursuit along with fellow Brit Shaun Mckeown.
Channel 4 had a film crew at the Velodrome taking footage for their programme “That Paralympic Show” and stills photographer Richard Booth was also getting shots for a series of coffee table books on the Olympics and Paralympics, out later this year. All this attention did not distract the athletes, as they went about their work, which also included a couple of road rides to keep up endurance.
Lead coach, Chris Furber along with Tom Stanton and Jayne Ellis concentrated on event specialization. Standing starts, holding lines, technique and motor paced work were all on the menu. "Key elements of every event are worked on" said Furber. Performance analyst, Kevin Gill from the English Institute of sport filmed every session and was able to provide immediate feedback to the coaches via their laptops. The figures are looking pretty good and the whole squad seems to be coming into form at the right time.
The next two weeks will see more high end track work coupled with some road miles before the squad enter a nine day taper. Then its out to Italy, the talking stops and the racing starts.
World and Paralympic Champion Jody Cundy, sums up the calm professionalism within the squad when he says “It’s my job, I just love to get on with it”

Stockdale Wins Perfs

BOURNEMOUTH ECHO 18/02/11
CYCLESPORT 14/02/11
• The 46th edition of the Perfs Pedal Race signaled the start of the Road Racing season and as is often the case; the weather played a part in this early season classic. Heavy rain and standing water on the course made it a day for the hard men and they don’t come much harder than former Paris-Roubaix winner, Magnus Backstedt. The Tour de France stage winner forced the pace in the early part of the race and soon had the bunch strung out. Despite his aggressive riding the big Swede could not manage to break away and the bunch was altogether going into the last two laps. It was on the penultimate climb of Hundred Acres Hill; above Portsmouth harbour that eventual race winner Ben Stockdale (Team Qoroz) escaped with a small group. The driving rain and cold conditions deterred any chasers and Stockdale took the sprint from, Isle of Wight based Nick Hutchings (GS Grupetto) with last years winner Will Bjergfelt (Motorpoint) settling for third. Backstedt finished in 10th, now domiciled in Wales this season he will lead Team UK Youth, the team is backed by Nigel Mansell OBE, The former Formula 1 champion will take a keen interest as his son Greg will be in the team. The Perfs race is one of only a handful of road races in the South Division this year following the demise of the Wessex League events.
• This Sunday sees the first time trial of the new season as the Bournemouth Arrow hold a club 10 mile event on the Ringwood-Sopley course. A new safety ruling this season will require all riders racing on local roads to have a working rear light. South District secretary, Alan Sharpen says “We are keen to be pro- active in our approach to rider safety, ensuring visibility for other road users is paramount”. The Arrow event starts a 09.00 and the new lighting ruling will apply.

Mick Waite talks about Perfs!

British Cycling Website 17/02/11
As the 46th edition of the Perfs Pedal race got the 2011 domestic road season underway, I spoke with organiser Mick Waite and it is obvious he is as enthusiastic as ever about the race. Problems with the road surface on the original Portsdown Hill course had forced Mick to move the race to the Staple Cross circuit.
“It wouldn’t be Perfs without a change!!!!” he said, indeed, down the years the now traditional season opener has had its fair share of incidents. This year proved to be no different with heavy rain throughout the race leaving standing water all around the course. Mick takes it all in his stride, calmly getting involved with everything at the HQ before the start, then working out on the course doing whatever is needed before handing out the prizes. There is no doubt about it this guy loves bike racing.

“Perfs was my idea and started life in July 1964 as an independent (semi- professional) 1st & 2nd cat race. The first race was on the Harting Hill circuit in West Sussex, 3 climbs, 2 laps, and 50 miles, and I have promoted every edition since” he proudly says. That first race was one by Tony Mills (Ryall/Raxar) who picked up £3 for his efforts with bottles of St Raphael wine going to the prime winners. The following year the race moved to Hambledon and its now regular early season slot where it remained till the early 80s “The race had outgrown the village and the parish council finally got there way after several years of trying and banned the event” recalls Mick.
Racing in February is always difficult, as is promoting events, “The biggest problem with organising at this time of the year is of course the weather and lately the poor road surfaces, snow was a problem for the 1983 race, the planned circuit up Lodge Hill was unusable so we found a replacement on the day with no police permission, we could not get away with that now”. In 1989 for the first time we had a field of 80 riders, the police, unhappy with some of the riding, abandoned the race, “I am 100% certain the club would have had its first winner that day, one of our fastest ever Roadman/sprinters, Nick Noble was riding, still he kept his form to win the Wheely Down race two weeks later” Paul Rogers (VC St Raphael/Waite Contracts) would provide that elusive “home win” for Mick in 1991.
After these problems Perfs moved to the Forestside circuit in West Sussex to get away from the Hampshire police area. The race was by now, firmly established as an early season event that all the riders wanted to win and the list of former winners includes some illustrious names, Ian Hallam, Dave LeGrys, Chris Newton and Sean Yates among others. Graham Moore (Bristol RC) 66, 70, 71 and Tim Harris, 83, 84, 86, both have three wins to their names, whilst Tim Stevens, Mark Markowski, Brian Flemming and Julian Winn have all won this classic twice. Flying the flag for testers everywhere, Glenn Longland has also won the race twice, in 78 and again in 85.
The mild, wet winters during the 90s made flooding more of a problem than snow, Mick remembers the 2003 event on the Owlsebury circuit,” the police cancelled the race due to a “puddle” they were not happy with, they would not let us delay the start so we all went home, the puddle was gone by 11.30!” Road works, ice, snow, rain they have all affected Perfs over the years but the race still survives, “some years we have delayed the race to break up iced over puddles and put salt down on the corners. I continue to promote as it is now the established season opener and I hope to make it to race number 50.” I ask Mick what he thinks the future holds for domestic racing, “In my opinion it’s not looking good for a variety of reasons, risk assessment and safety is now a big issue, people are nervous about promoting and even more nervous about marshalling. The poor road surfaces are losing us courses. I will be using four NEG motor bikes on Perfs, this is the way forward, however as with everything now cost is a fine balance, riders will have to get used to paying higher entry fees to cover costs.” (Perfs is one of only a handful of races in the South DC this year)
What about the highlights of Perfs? “Well apart from Paul’s win in 1991, it has to be the years at Hambledon, with those bunch sprints of 40 riders, field limits were 40 back then, racing through Hambledon village, missing all the parked cars and skip bins, to provide the spectators on both sides of the road back to the 200m mark with an exciting finish”

As we all know, nothing is certain in road racing, after all that is one of the attractions, but even if the future is in doubt you can be sure that the Perfs Pedal race will open the 2012 season.

Before I leave Mick to lock up the village hall, I ask him about the name Perfs, I have always wanted to know, “There have been various theories none of them have been correct, so it’s my secret!”
Nice one Mick!

Weekly Round Up

11/02/11

· Mark Chadbourne (ridebike.co.uk) had to settle for second place after a race long battle with Paul Hopkins (Merida) at the Gorrick spring Mountain Bike series. Held at Crowthorne Wood Berkshire, Poole based, Chadbourne and Hopkins swapped the lead several times on the fast, dry woodland course. Hopkins pulled away on the final lap to win by 20 secs. Roland Tilley (ridebike) took third in the veterans race with wife Carol also third in the ladies race.

· A bad crash caused the final round of the Calshot Winter Track League to be abandoned after just two races. Fourteen year old Max Steadman (Palmer Park Velo) was treated for concussion after a clash of wheels on the high banking. With no points being awarded, Gordon Skillen (Poole Wheelers) held onto second place in the “B” league

· The Road Racing season gets under way this Sunday with the 46th Perfs Pedal Race. As usual this traditional season opener has attracted a top class field, winner previous winner William Bjergfelt returns but Oli Beckingsale, Colin Parry and former Tour de France rider, Swede, Magnus Backstedt are all expected to challenge for the £130 first prize, local hopes will lie with Richard Horton (BJW) and Rowan Horner (VC St Raphael). The 46 mile race starts at 11am and includes eight climbs of Hundred acres Hill above Portsmouth.

· The charity UK YOUTH has secured funding to build an exciting new off road Cycle track at Avon Tyrrell, Bransgore, along with offering cycle coach training. A community consultation meeting is planned for 26th February and local people will be encouraged to help fine tune the build plans. Project director, Louis Bonney, said “We are particularly interested in getting local young people and clubs involved. For more information, contact Louis@ukyouth.org.
· Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers promote the last of their four winter reliability trials this Sunday. Starting from Merely Community centre, two routes are on offer, 100 miles or 100km, with the first riders off at 08.30.

News Round Up

Local News Round-up 04/02/11

· Daniel Lloyd (Garmin-Cervelo) has put the finishing touches to his winter training before he starts his 8th season as a professional bike rider. Queens Park based Lloyd has been using the hills of the New Forest and the Purbecks to fine tune his fitness ahead of his first race, Le Tour Mediterranean in France next week. He then moves onto Belgium and is aiming to be in good form for the eight day classic race, “Paris-Nice”. Starting in the French capital the race heads to the Cote d’ Azur and is known as “The race to the Sun”. Selection for the Tour of Italy and Tour De France, both of which Lloyd rode in 2010 may prove harder this year, the Garmin-Cervelo team is very strong and includes current world champion Thor Hushovd and former British champion David Millar. Lloyd will look towards the Tour of Spain and the world championships later in the year. He already has one eye on the London Olympic games “It’s a huge goal to represent Great Britain in London, but there are so many good professionals from Britain, that I will have to do something special to earn my place” he told the Echo.

· Parkstone Cycle Clothing specialists, Prendas Ciclismo, will this season sponsor one of the top women’s teams in the country. The new team, Horizon Fitness –Prendas Ciclismo will compete in all the major UK races as well as on the continent and with three riders on the GB pursuit squad they will challenge on all fronts. Mick Tarrant of Prendas Ciclismo commented, “We have supported lots of riders over the years including a young Bradley Wiggins, its always tougher for a women’s team to find sponsors, so we are delighted to provide the team with all their clothing and accessories, we will be working with the team to develop female specific clothing.” It is a good time for women’s cycle racing with more events on the calendar and the number of professional teams increasing.

Weekly Round Up

Friday 28thJan 2011

· Stuart Bowers (Hargroves Cycles) was in imperious form as he cruised to victory in the final round of the Wessex Cyclo-Cross League. Bowers has had a successful winter season and topped it off with an easy win, beating teammate Andy Hargroves by over 4 minutes. Held in the grounds of Oxford Brookes University, Bowers enjoyed the technical course,” What a great course, that’s what Cyclo Cross used to be like back in the day” Said the Sturminster Marshall based Bowers. “A real mix and it played to my technical strengths, I was coping with riding, where others were floundering all over the place” Sponsor, Peter Hargroves worked hard the in pits, ensuring the bikes were kept clear of mud. Bowers, who works as a cycling journalist, finished 6th in this year National Trophy series and 5th in the National Championships.
· Newly crowned national under 23 Champion Luke Gray (Hargroves Cycles) will pull on Great Britain colours this weekend at the World Championships in St-Wendel, Germany. The 18 year old from Broadstone is under no pressure and the experience of top level racing will stand him in good stead for the future. Teammate and man of many talents, Stuart Bowers has not been selected but will be in Germany working as a mechanic for the GB team.
· Gordon Skillen (Poole Wh) had a string of 3rd places in the latest round of the Calshot Track league. Skillen had crashed heavily the previous week after a clash of wheels but rode consistently in the Scratch, points and the unknown distance to leave himself lying second in the overall standings. New Forest CC youngster Hugo Walters was also in the action with two 3rd places in the youth1km time trial and the point’s race and a 1st in the warm up race.
· This weekend’s 65 mile Purbeck reliability trial, promoted by the Bournemouth Arrow, has been cancelled.

article for british Cycling website


At the start of the cross season, Luke Gray (Hargroves Cycles) set himself the targets of National U23 champion and selection for the world championships. With both those boxes ticked the 18 year old travels to St-Wendel, Germany this weekend under no pressure. Gray has enjoyed a successful winter with several wins including the South of England title and 2nd place in the National Trophy series (U23), finishing 8th in the senior standings. Gray was forced to pull out of round 2 at Chantry Park, Ipswich, due to illness. Those lost points possibly cost him the U23 series crown. Speaking of his national title before he left for Germany, Gray said “I did what I set out to do, stay upright, avoid the crashes and win the National Title” It was his 4th Title, having already won the U14, U16 and Junior Crowns. “It’s just the senior title to win and I will have the full set” and you know he is not joking. As a first year senior these world championships are all about gaining experience so talk of medals is perhaps optimistic. Ask Luke about the future and there is talk of more GB representative honors, a professional contract and world titles. The drive, optimism and enthusiasm of the Hargroves Cycles rider are infectious.
Gray plans to take a short break after the world championships and spend the summer racing on the road in preparation for next winter. “I have applied for Dave Rayner funding as I plan on being based in Belgium for the Cyclo cross season”. The former GB XC Mountain biker has put his further education plans on hold, “So I am now a full time cyclist” Father Rob fully supports his ambitious son and is a regular fixture at all of Luke’s races working hard in the pits. With long time Sponsor, Peter Hargroves fully behind him, Gray could be equipped to go all the way

article for British Cycling website


I caught up with Garmin-Cervelo Professional Daniel Lloyd just back from a ten day training camp in Spain. With the new season just around the corner he was putting the finishing touches to his winter preparation. A 5 Hour ride on Sunday was followed by 2 hours easy on Monday; it felt hard enough to me but in his new team kit and riding smoothly, it was obvious Lloyd was in good shape. As we rode through the New Forest on a dull January day, Dan reflected back on last season. A year that saw him ride the Giro d’Italia for the second time and the Tour de France. “I loved riding the Grand Tours and in particular the Tour de France, however I had done so much racing by July last year that I don’t think I was in top form. Other guys were saying they thought the Giro had blunted their form for the Tour but none of them had ridden the Dauphine in-between like I had” I felt good at Dwars Door Vlaanderen in the spring and rode away from some big names” but I never felt I had the legs of 2009. Lloyd is perhaps being hard on himself; he crashed heavily on stage two of the Tour de France as a host of riders came down on a descent made slippery with oil from a motorcycle outrider who had also crashed. “I left quite a lot of skin on the road and was hampered with a groin strain for the first ten days.”
Looking forward to the coming season, Daniel talks passionately of the Belgium Classics, particularly the Tour of Flanders, you get the impression he loves this race. Success would mean “Still being up there to help the team leaders after 220kms, over the Muur and the Bosberg”. He knows it will not be easy “With the Talent we have in the team competition for places is going to be tough, with Thor (Hushovd) in the rainbow jersey it will be a privilege to be on the start line” I am targeting good form for Paris-Nice, where we will have both GC riders and sprinters.” His early season programme will also include Le Tour Mediterraneen, Tour du Haut Var and Kuurne, Brussels, Kuurne. “After that, it will just depend how my form is” Ahead of that is another training camp Girona, Spain.

This season however, the Grand Tours may not feature for Lloyd, with his wife Lorraine expecting their second child in May his thoughts may be elsewhere come the Giro. “The team time trial at the tour is a real target for us and its not really my strength, I wouldn’t want to be the weak link” What about the Vuelta a Espana? “Yes possibly, and the worlds” The Olympics? “Of course, it is a huge goal to represent GB in London for the race but there are so many good Pros from Britain now that I will have to do something really special to earn my place”

I ask him what he thinks his strengths and weaknesses are. The reply is uncomfortably honest “Nothing and Nothing, I’m not really, really good at anything and I am not really, really bad at anything, its probably why it took me a while to land a contract with a top flight team but it is also the reason that they find me valuable now that I’m here ”

I find myself adding some answers of my own, determined, focused, hard working, professional, team player they read like strengths to me. Sporting graveyards are littered with talent that lacked application. His honest, relaxed, laid back manner and willingness to “do the sponsorship stuff” must be a joy to his Directeur Sportif

The 2011 season will be his 8th year as a Pro and his 10th as a full time bike rider since racing in France in 2001 as a twenty year old. In a career that has taken him around the world, Lloyd hopes to continue in the Pro Peloton for another “8 or 9 years” and “with not too many hard miles in his legs” believes he can, and why not? he clearly loves his job.


Those of us of a certain age might well look at the former part-time window cleaner and think “I could have done that” the reality is certainly somewhat different, the message for aspiring younger riders however is patently clear, Don’t dream the dream, Chase the dream! Live the dream!

“Don’t Look Back”

Well the end of season break has come and gone and I have already started some more structured training. I have always liked to plan the week/month ahead as I find it allows me to concentrate and just get on with it without having to think what I am going to do. Of course at this time of the year it’s all about base building, stamina work. For the bike, traditionally that has meant getting the miles in, while that is still the case, more and more I favour more specific endurance work. Using a heart rate monitor or watts to measure specific work is a much better way of working and it is less time consuming. It is, perhaps, not so much fun, going out on the bike for 4 hours and “see what happens” is a good crack, so I tend to do a bit of both, structured in the week, go with the flow on Sundays.

It’s traditional to look back at this time of the year and I do wallow in a little nostalgia now and again, especially after a beer, so here is a review of my year
January: Ice & Snow
February: Snow & Ice
March: “I am going well”
April: “I am not going as well as I thought!”
May: Crashed
June: “Oh England”
July: Italian Mountains = good form
August: A WIN!!
September: Tried Hard
October: Older but not Wiser
November: Surprisingly good training
December: Christmas shopping online is not right, so why do I do it?


I first got involved in triathlon right back in the early days in the eighties. My first race was the European Short Course Champs in 87 at Milton Keynes. 1,200 m swim, 30mile bike, 7 mile run, I think, no standard distances in those days. The water was 54 degrees, it was freezing, the continentals were allowed wetsuits but in those days the Brits were not allowed to wear them. The British Triathlon Association, as is was then probably thought they were not “sporting” In any case I did not own one, so just did it in my Tri-Suit, and it was bloody cold, I seem to remember not many people behind me when I eventually came out of the water. Amazingly the police had closed the A5 dual carriageway for the bike leg, so it was easy to warm up on the fast flat ride. A few minutes before the start, I would happily have been any where else than beside that frigid lake. A few minutes after the end of the run I did not want to be anywhere else in the world. No? I don’t understand it either, but I was hooked!
I always like to get out on the bike for an hour or two on Christmas morning, I like to earn my lunch and it always tastes better. It makes me feel a little smug as well, knowing I have done some training when others may have not. Come the season it does not make the slightest bit of difference but I keep on doing it anyway. Boxing Day usually involves the tandem and some beer, probably undoing all the good work of the previous days ride. Ho Ho Ho
That’s enough nostalgia for one year; I am looking forward to the spring and some warm sunshine! Be careful on that ice, “If in Doubt, get the Turbo out”

See you up the Road

The end of the season is always a good time for a bit of reflection on events. Analysis, self assessment, navel gazing, what went right, what went wrong, that sort of thing and very worthwhile it is too. As athletes we can be very self critical about our performance, cold heartedly pouring over data that tells us we are good or tells us we are bad. Our physical condition and fitness are paramount, it defines us, its what we do. There is very little room for emotion in sport and yet it is full of emotion. Perhaps that should read, there is very little room for emotion in training, but that’s not really true either. We have all felt the high after a good workout, that bombproof feeling that makes us think we can take on the world, filling us up with positivity. Likewise the times when things are not going so well, and we want to jack it all in, wallowing in self pity “why me” Embrace it all, it’s the physical work that sows the seed but it’s the emotions that reap the harvest. Picture the boxer, entirely focused in training, ruthless in the ring yet declaring his love for his wife to the camera post race, the long jumper who seeks out his coach in the stands for an answer, when he cannot hit the board, the sobbing footballers, sobbing when they win and when they lose, ahh! When endurance athletes cry it’s usually because they are tired but that does not make it wrong or a weakness. This season has been full of emotion, from the inspiration of 45 year old Julia Shaw winning bronze at the commonwealths to the despair of Chrissie Wellington pulling out at Kona. From the frustration of Wiggins at the tour to the elation of Emma Pooley at the worlds. The betrayal by Contador (allegedly) to the hope of Andy Shleck. That suicidal feeling as England let us down again in South Africa to the life affirming performances of so many unsung heroes of countless marathons, Ironman Triathlons and crazy endurance events that take place every weekend. Sport is not really important but sometimes it is the only thing that matters, so savour the moment, good or bad, after all it’s what you have been training for.

That’s enough navel gazing for one year, I have got a full winters training ahead and it’s all about, heart rate, numbers, zones, miles and intensity, so no room for looking inside, just focus and hard work, Ha, Ha.

I was at the Gold Hill 10km last week in Shaftsbury my daughter was running in it and as my season is over I thought I better go and support her for a change, it was good fun, took a few photos but all I could really think about were those TV adds for Hovis and the brass band music, “Twas like takin bread to the top of the world” I have cycled up Gold Hill but never down it. It’s the cobbles that make it hard, that and the 1 in 3 gradient; some of the runners walked the whole way up and why not!! Continuing the end of season theme, I went to the London Bike Show, the former world champion, the Lion king Mario Cippolini was there, yes I got a photo but again all I could really think was, if I wore a waistcoat, tucked in shirt, jeans, stacked heel boots and three days of stubble I would look a right pratt but because he is Italian he kind of gets away with it! Good on ya Super Mario.

A couple of friends are running the Cardiff Half Marathon; one is aiming for a P B the other is just jogging round. There will be some physical pain, a few questions will be asked and hopefully answered, the hard work and training has been done but it’s the emotion on crossing the line that will live in the memory. Go on “Dig em in”

See you up the Road