battenkill Archives - Page 2 of 3

Planning Your Tour of the Battenkill Training (Podcast #2)

If you're thinking about racing Tour of the Battenkill this coming season, you'll need to think about training soon (and registering soon: November 15th!) If you want to do more than just finish (or just suffer, as people overwhelmingly chose in a Facebook poll) then you'll need to train a few specific things.

It won't be enough to go out and do 65-mile rides, you'll need to focus on things like core stability, muscular endurance, cadence range, cadence control and VO2 max repeatability. In this podcast, I discuss why you need those facets of fitness in order to survive this monster.

As always, comments are welcome.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.9MB)

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Tags: battenkill, classics, Coaching, podcast, training|

Tour of the Battenkill 2013 Training Plan Now Available

Just a quick announcement that my 2013 Tour of the Battenkill training plan is now live and available. Head on over to my Training Plans page and check it out.

In short, you're getting 18 weeks of structured workouts. 6 weeks of base, 2 rest weeks, 8 build weeks and 2 peak weeks. Take it from someone who's raced there before, on nearly the same route: this race is HARD. You'll need to be in tip top shape very early in the season, and you'll need to be able to stay on your toes for 65 miles.

Go out, hit it hard, and I'll see you on the starting line.

Tags: battenkill, classics, Coaching, racing, training|

2013 Tour of the Battenkill Route Released

While I've long talked about riding dirt roads and getting out into the back roads of east rural nowhere (all in an attempt to find your inner child and just plain enjoy riding your bike) there's something special about racing on dirt. There's a modicum of uncertainty as the tires slip, the increased resistance ratchets up the pain meter and your face cakes with dust (or mud, depending) and sweat. It's a thrill like nothing else, unless you're heading over for the Tour of Flanders or Paris Roubaix. Since most of us aren't pros, and we don't generally have the time to fly to Europe just for a sportive….

Enter Tour of the Battenkill. The toughest one day race in America. America's Queen of the Classics. America's answer to the Hell of the North.

It's 63 miles of pain, 5,000 feet of grinding elevation, and about 25% dirt, gravel or broken up, nasty roads. Combine that with an early April race day, and you could have anything from a beautiful sunny day to a greasy, nasty, gritty fight for survival.

Oh what a race it is!

It's no secret that this week was the release of the 2013 route, which you can see below:

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Tags: battenkill, classics, Coaching, racing, road bike, training|

Tour of the Battenkill Race Report – Part 2

Climbing for the second feed

Continuing where I left off in Part 1 of my Tour of the Battenkill race report, Joe Bean road kicked my ass and started my left leg cramping up. My chase companions and I motored our way through the revised center section of the race, including two new (and freshly graded, thus sandy and loose) dirt climbs. Our wheels spun when we stood to climb and we rolled through traction eating sand but we persevered. Those few miles really took their toll as Helios's chariot climbed high into the sky and bright sunlight beat down upon us. We were all feeling the heat, which was leaving our bottles empty, our skin singed and parched and our legs aching and cramping.

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Tags: battenkill, racing|

Tour of the Battenkill Race Report – Part 1

On the road to Cambridge

This past Sunday (April 10th) was the 8th annual Tour of the Battenkill. As I detailed in my last post, America's Queen of the classics had me running a little scared, but I had prepared as best I could, seeing as how I was a late entry via the wait list. Luckly, the bike racing gods smiled upon us and we had a beautiful day for a 64 mile race of dirt and tarmac. Half a world away, Johan Van Summeren was winning the true King of the Classics, so let's see how it went for an amateur in his second race of the season:

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Tags: battenkill, racing|