Ride with Brad Sportive - Bradley Wiggins Foundation

Bradley Wiggins Foundation Sportive - "Ride with Brad"

Wiggo! Wiggo! Wiggo!  The crowds lining the climb of the Nick o' Pendle were chanting the name of the Tour de France yellow jersey as he raced up it during the Ride with Brad sportive today.  I happened to be about 100m from the crest of the climb and with about 20m to go I could hear the noise then Wiggo drew up alongside me with full Team Sky kit on.

I put my hand out in that Jan Ulrich/Lance Armstrong way and he gave me a quick greeting and asked me how I felt the ride was going. "It had been hard going and wet" came my reply. He agreed and after a short bit of small talk he whizzed off down the descent like the true pro he is.

I rode the 100km (62 mile) route today which saw us depart from Barnoldswick and go up the climbs of Barley Fell, Waddington Fell, Longridge Fell and the Nick o’ Pendle - total 6.2k of ascent.  By  usual sportive standards, this was a hard route profile. 

The longer 160km (100 mile) route boasted 10.2k of climbing, which is in Fred Whitton territory.  Having been off the bike for around four weeks and with a slouchy holiday behind me it was the right decision to take the shorter route.

Setting Off

I think the organisers - Pennine Events - would concede that the registration system didn't run particularly smoothly today.  I queued for an hour to get my rider number and you had to write your details on the back of your race number in longhand.  Thing is we'd already submitted all this information via the on-line pre-registration system , so it meant the processing time per entrant wasn't particularly quick and therefore long delays ensued.

Resultantly, departing was pretty easy as lots of people were tied up in the queues and we were set off by the starter within a minute of turning up to the line.

Up We Go

It was an easy first 10km of undulating road, followed by a drag around the 10km mark. 

 

The first big climb came in around 30km into the ride, a really long drag.  This hill was all about steady cadence, being the first major climb of the day everyone's legs were fresh and it was all about grinding out the drag.  There was a terrific descent in reward, where I hit 43mph, and the next 10k was steady until we hit the 45km mark and went up another short and sharp drag.

The back half of the route was a lot harder than the front in my view, particularly the last 25km which was just relentless sharp climbs.  You can see from the profile that the last section is particlarly punishing, not helped by the driving rain which had arrived.  It all started to hot up around the 55km mark (3rd climb on the chart) which gave you a taster of what was to come.

Reviewing my heart rate below, you can see that the big climbs were pushing me right to my maximum at times, indicating the steepness and need to just keep going. 

Average Heart Rate of 148bpm - Max 180bpm

Lots of people walked the climbs today and I was pleased to stay in the saddle for the whole event, albeit at times the climbs were so steep that I was out the saddle just managing to turn the pedals, a few people simply fell over.  My aerobic engine was good and leg strength was good too following the work I'd been doing at the gym, so if I can shift a bit of weight I should ascend quicker.

The route scenery was stunning, taking you through beautiful countryside and the traffic levels were relatively low.  Hundreds lined the route giving encouragement to the riders whilst waiting for Wiggo to ride through, special mention to village of Whalley who had come out in force.

On arriving back at the event village, you were issued with a ticket for a meal and a bag of goodies including a "Ride with Brad" Adidas T-Shirt, which was nice.  There were exhibitors there and a number of different family things to get kids engaged with bikes, which was good to see.

Arriving back at the car I was wet to the core, the initial sunny start where I thought I might be over-dressed, turned one hundred and eighty degrees and gave us a good drubbing for our money.  A reminder that you need to take appropriate layered clothing when riding in this part of the world.

Overall Conclusion

If they sort the registration system out, then this will definitely be one of the must do sportives of the year.  The stunning, yet technically challenging route, will really test you're ability to climb. The big bonus is seeing Bradley out on the road, mixing with his fans and being appreciated by the people of the region.

Practical Things

Depart time 08.30- 0 9.30am
Entry fee - £40.00
Routes - 100km/160km
Feed Stops - Two on the 100km route, Gatorade energy drink plus CNP gels and bars widely available.
Event Parking - Free


Improvements I would suggest for Next Year

• Better event registration
• Better signage from the remote car parks to the event start

Disappointment for Team GB in Olympic Road Race

Mark Cavendish Olympic Gold Medal Hopes Dashed

If there is one Gold medal you would have put your house on Team GB winning at the Olympics, it would have been the Olympic Road race.   Fresh from the Tour de France which showed a shop window of quality in Brad Wiggins, Chris Froome, David Millar and Ian Stannard, the media had it as a foregone conclusion, along with millions of cyclists.

There are three key things that made today's race different from what we might normally witness on one of the grand tours: -

1. No race radios, so no real time strategy from the Directeur Sportive.
2. A team of only five riders, meaning there is less depth in terms of people to work the front.
3. Less people to work with on competing teams.

It was obvious from the start that GB would have to sit on the front for the bulk of the very long race today, everyone knew it and everyone sat back to let them do the work.  As it entered it's final quarter, a breakaway group was off the front and the GB riders ran out of energy having been on the front of the peloton for much of the day, meaning no leadout train for Cav and goodbye to Olympic glory for him.

You could see how disappointed everyone was.  Cav - as we know - wears his heart on his sleeve and I'm sure a few tears will be shed in private.  Bradley Wiggins had a big debt to re-pay for all Cav's work on the Tour de France to get him in Jersey, he'll be gutted too but also now has to recover for the Time Trial.

When you get used to winning, it can never be taken for granted.  Today's race was practically already won if you are to believe the media, however sport has a way of reminding us that it's what happens on the day that really counts.

Mark Cavendish is still World Race Champion and Bradley Wiggins our first ever winner of the Tour de France.  We've a lot to be proud of in these formidable riders, our team and the effort they put in to make it happen.  Sometimes even the best preparation and plans aren't enough and the race just plays out differently. 

Bradley Wiggins has still to compete in the Time Trial event, however it's game over for Cav and his dream of the gold medal in his year as World Champion, shame I would have loved to have see him get it.  Now over to the ladies who will race tomorrow and into the Velodrome for the track, which will be heaped with equal expectation.

Tweets from the riders said shortly after the finish said: -

Mark Cavendish - "Gutted.  After 250km, less than a minute to 20 guys.  My guys were INCREDIBLE & there was nothing more we could do.  Victims of our own success."


David Millar - "We did what we'd planned.  Cav had the legs to go with the attacks on the last climb but trusted our ability to bring it home.  Gutted.  On the bright side it was the most amazing feeling in the world carrying the weight of a nation.  Feel terrible we didn't deliver.

Bradley Wiggins - "Well we did everything we could as a team, gutted for Cav and sad to see Fabian out"