One year has passed since I completed one of the hardest fitness challenges in my life. I don’t use that statement lightly either. I’m used to pain, but this challenge is different.
The TumbleU4Life makes you want to quit! The tumble makes you want to throw in the towel and give up. And it does this within about 4-7 hours (for the fitter cyclists). 8 hours to go and your body is already quitting on you.
Why is it quitting on you? The tumble up for life goes up one of the hardest hills in the area. How hard? Well my team mates at Pontypool RCC diverted their normal club ride to show their support, by cycling down the Tumble.
With the middle 4km over 10% it’s a brute of a climb.
STATS
15 climbs
Distance: 210km
Elevations: 7275m
It’s the equivalent of Alp D’huez 6 times in a day (at a steeper gradient)
It’s not just for the fit mountain goat cyclist. Many have never ridden a hill, let alone a mountain. Some use mountain bikes and Peter & Diana (the organisers) bring their tandem along. The challenge symbolises the uphill struggle faced by cancer patients all day every day, the race supports Cancer Research UK in their work.
The ride started at 5am for the serious climbers (riders can start any time during the day). In the dark before the sun had risen and with rain for company. On average each ascent and descent takes about 50-60 mins starting a km before the official climb and finishing a km after at the highest point on the mountain.
The first 4 hours were wet and as you creep over the end of the steep section a nightmare wind hits you hard in the face making the 5% gradient feel a lot harder than it should
The sun finally came out and with a supporting cheer at the top and bottom of every climb the day was getting better as the bodies were getting worse.
One of the most motivating factors for us climbers is seeing many beginners struggling on their 1st or 2nd climb. Even though we are suffering, and going slow we are still over taking others who are in as much if not more pain than us. The sense of respect and pride in them taking on the challenge is immeasurable.
By the time the sun was setting, bodies were becoming very weak and tired, with only one rider looking like they would make 15 climbs.
Traditionally everyone ascend the last climb together and finishes as one. The sun was setting and the lights were back on the bike. At the top a big welcoming committee and a lot of congratulations on making it till the end of the day.
Cycling Development North West (“CDNW”) are hosting a round of the National Women’s Road Series on 15 & 16 June 2013. The presence of the event, which starts at Blackpool’s Palatine Circuit on 15 June, is a continuation of the event that ran as a two day for the first time last year, as a development of the Blackpool Grand Prix des Dames which had held a place in the Women’s National Road Series for a number of years.
In addition to the main event, there is a round of the local CDNW Youth Series, held on the Saturday (15 June 2013), with a Regional B supporting men’s event over the two days, making the Saturday a day out for all of the family!
For the women’s event, there will be a one lap time trial at Saturday lunchtime (covering approximately 1 km) followed by a circuit race of 45 minutes later in the afternoon. The supporting men’s event will be held after the women’s circuit race and will start at 5:30pm for one hour.
Sunday sees the event move to the Pilling/Nateby course for the first time, with a departure from the Bashall Eaves circuit used last year. The course has proved popular already this season, with the second round of the CDNW’s inaugural women’s road race league for second, third and fourth category riders being held on the circuit, as well as the men’s North West Regional Road Race Championships due to be held on the circuit on 19 May 2013.
Entry for both the men’s Regional B event and the Women’s National Series event is £34.40 plus 60p for online entry – visit British Cycling’s website at:
We hope to be tweeting live during the event, using the race’s official Twitter feed @SurfandTurf2Day with the official hash tag #sat2day2013 and we will be tweeting in the lead up to the event too, so make sure all you Twitter folk follow the event to keep up to date with all the announcements!
To coincide with the early mountain stages, Multipower Sportsfood, the sports nutrition partner of the Giro d’Italia, have provided Cycling Shorts with a series of four technical, nutritional and physiological infographics depicting the challenges undertaken when competing in the mountains. This is the forth and final in the series of four.
Rest days have been a part of the Giro since its inaugural edition in 1909. Back then, riders would ride one stage and then have two, sometimes three, days between the next stage. It’s not hard to see why: in 1909, the average length of the eight stages was 306 kilometres, as opposed to 162 kilometres across 21 stages in 2013.
This year’s Giro will have two rest days – the first after stage nine, the second follows stage 15. Two rest days have been customary in the race since 2002, although as recently as 1998, the Giro was held without a single day off across the three weeks.
Although riders will not be racing on the rest days, they will still ride their bikes for one or two hours. This prevents muscle stiffness and will help flesh out metabolic waste from the previous day’s stage. In recent years, some teams have opted to ride on their turbo trainers as opposed to heading out onto the road.
Riders will continue to eat foods high in carbohydrates and proteins on rest days, although some teams in the past have been known to give their riders a treat if the final rest day falls after the last decisive stage on the general classification. Burger and chips is a favourite within the Garmin-Sharp team.
Throughout the three weeks of competition (3-26 May) Multipower Sportsfood, is also offering cycle fans the chance to get their hands on a variety of prizes in an easy to enter daily prediction competition. Prizes include signed race jerseys, Giro d’Italia drinks bottles and the ultimate prize of a Cannondale Pro Cycling Super Six EVO Team Edition professional race bike worth £6,499.
To take part in the competition entrants simply need to visit the Multipower website, www.multipower.com/uk/giro , and vote for their stage favourite before the 10km to go marker.
To coincide with the early mountain stages, Multipower Sportsfood, the sports nutrition partner of the Giro d’Italia, have provided Cycling Shorts with a series of four technical, nutritional and physiological infographics depicting the challenges undertaken when competing in the mountains. This is the third in the series of four.
The last five editions of the Giro have ended with a final day time trial, although only in 2012 did the race leadership change hands, as Ryder Hesjedal took the maglia rosa away from Joaquim Rodriguez to become the first Canadian Grand Tour winner. The 2013 Giro breaks away from the recent tradition and will end with a road stage from Riese Pio X to the old Roman city of Brescia.
The 2013 Giro features 75.4 kilometres of individual time trialling, which is more than the 2011 and 2012 races combined. 2008 was the last time the race included more kilometres against the clock (80.7km).
Five-time Giro champion Alfredo Binda was the winner of the first time trial in the Giro in 1933. The Italian won the 62-kilometre stage from Bologna to Ferrara en route to the last of his overall wins in the race.
Ever wondered why some riders have energy gels hanging out of their shorts during time trials? Because of the intensity of time trials, the top riders will not have time to take any food from their team cars during the stage. Also, the skinsuits they wear for improved aerodynamic performance will not have any pockets, so putting them under their lyrca is the most convenient place.
Throughout the three weeks of competition (3-26 May) Multipower Sportsfood, is also offering cycle fans the chance to get their hands on a variety of prizes in an easy to enter daily prediction competition. Prizes include signed race jerseys, Giro d’Italia drinks bottles and the ultimate prize of a Cannondale Pro Cycling Super Six EVO Team Edition professional race bike worth £6,499.
To take part in the competition entrants simply need to visit the Multipower website, www.multipower.com/uk/giro , and vote for their stage favourite before the 10km to go marker.
To coincide with the early mountain stages, Multipower Sportsfood, the sports nutrition partner of the Giro d’Italia, have provided Cycling Shorts with a series of four technical, nutritional and physiological infographics depicting the challenges undertaken when competing in the mountains. This is the second in the series of four.
Only 43 riders completed the gruelling stage 18 in the 1956 Giro that finished on the Dolomite climb of Monte Bondone. Temperatures were well below freezing (with some estimates saying it was as cold as -10°C), and after heavy snow began to fall, race leader Pasquale Fornara abandoned the race and found refuge in a farmhouse. Luxembourger Charly Gaul won the stage, but it is claimed that he stopped during the stage for a coffee and had to have his clothes cut from his body afterwards.
The 1987 Giro famously came down to a battle between two team-mates: Ireland’s Stephen Roche and Italian Roberto Visentini. The latter lead on stage 15, but Roche disobeyed team orders and attacked on the descent of the Forcella di Monte Rest climb. Visentini got the remainder of his team to try and chase him down and team manager Davide Boifava even pleaded to Roche to end his attack. Nonetheless, to the dismay of the Visentini, Boifava and thetifosi, the Irishman went on to win the race.
Hydration plays an important role in cycling, and if it is ignored, it could lead to a number of problems such as severe fatigue and even heat exhaustion.Domestiques will have the job of fetching water bottles for their team leaders throughout the Giro, and normally they will do this by picking the drinks up from their team cars. However, the roads on a handful of mountain stages in this year’s race (most notably stages 14, 15, 19 and 20) are so narrow that a neutral motorbike will be on hand to supply them with bottles.
Throughout the three weeks of competition (3-26 May) Multipower Sportsfood, is also offering cycle fans the chance to get their hands on a variety of prizes in an easy to enter daily prediction competition. Prizes include signed race jerseys, Giro d’Italia drinks bottles and the ultimate prize of a Cannondale Pro Cycling Super Six EVO Team Edition professional race bike worth £6,499.
To take part in the competition entrants simply need to visit the Multipower website, www.multipower.com/uk/giro , and vote for their stage favourite before the 10km to go marker.
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One year has passed since I completed one of the hardest fitness challenges in my life. I don’t use that statement lightly either. I’m used to pain, but this challenge is different.
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