Thames Turbo Race 3: This sprint series is a great way to get into triathlon. It’s friendly and well run. It’s also over early so you can get on with the rest of your bank holiday. Of course this means an early start – for John Kellett this was 4:45am breakfast and then over to Hampton Pool for 5:30: ‘At my start time I slotted into place in line for the pool swim and found that I was between the same 2 people I was between in Race 2. Appropriate hellos were said and then it was “3,2,1 go.” The 426m pool swim felt like it went well and I was able to pass a couple of people without any real delay and without pressure to let people past. 27th in AG but down to 28th after T1.’

Viceroy Carl Fisher entered the Thames Turbo (Race 3) late on Wednesday as a direct result a poor show at Dorney last weekend : ‘I got a real kick in the butt there, surely I wasn’t as bad as my times suggested, after all I had been fairly consistent over the winter and I was expecting to at least be in similar shape to this time last year.I was quite tactical with my entry submission, entering a reasonably quick swim time so I didn’t get held up in the pool, but a long overall time so they put in an early wave and I didn’t have to hang around at the start.  It paid off and I will try that again next time.

Swim went pretty well overtaking two guys in front me and only getting held up for a few seconds. I do need to remember where the slides are on the last lap as I always smack my hand on them and one day it will really hurt.

T1 was pretty smooth and uneventful which is always a good thing. Bike mount wasn’t very slick but at least I didn’t hurt myself….or anyone else!’ Out onto the bike for John too: ‘It was a bit windy with headwinds in both directions. Got held at the traffic lights for the full phase (in theory 20 seconds but felt much more). Apart from that and a particularly obstructive dustbin wagon (on a bank holiday!!) the ride went ok. Was passed by only one rider on a “full-aero with disk” setup so didn’t feel too bothered about that on my trusty roadie. Up to 15th in AG but down to 17th after T2. Out onto the run and felt really good. The figure-of-8 course round Bushy Park is a mix of tarmac and trail and is a really nice place to run. The breeze wasn’t too troublesome either so all-in-all a good run. End result : 13th in AG in 1:12:56 knocking a handful of seconds off my pb. (Swim 9:34 [-6 secs],Bike 38:47 [+15 secs], Run 22:15 [-13 secs])’

This was Carl’s first trip out on his rebuilt (by him!) TT bike and: ‘I immediately felt benefit of the winter upgrades.  I felt like I rode smoothly and was feeling calm and in control.  I promise the crash that happened between two cars on the turning point as I arrived into the roundabout was nothing to do with me, but they the divers may have been distracted by the sight of me in my Pink tri suit.

My run last week was so bad that I think I may have held a bit back on the bike as I really wanted to do a decent last leg.  As ever, finding the balance across the three disciplines is always a challenge.

The run for me has always been tough but today I clocked a 22.45 which topped a very satisfactory morning’s work.  No fireworks, champagne or cigars but an honest reflection of where I thought I was. Plenty still to work on but for the first time in a while, I actually enjoyed being out there racing and if felt that I’d found some kind of rhythm.  More importantly, my heads back in the right place.

Finished 21^st in AG with 1:13:22

Viceroy Marc Highton was 9th in AG and Charlotte Saunders smashed the field taking 1st female in 1:04.

After having seen a super physio in April and she re-arranged most of my upper body, Outlaw Half was going to be my first real test as to whether or not it made any different to my knee!  So, I was quietly hopeful but still keeping mostly realistic and preparing myself for the worst, especially as I knew I was under-trained and had had the cold from hell the week before and I was still struggling to shake the last of it off.   Race morning and partly thanks for a party in the hotel and parlty due to pre-race nerves, I got to the site with pretty much no sleep and wishing I’d taken more clothes (always forget how cold it is at 4.30am!).  But transition was setup up and I chatted to a few people, got the wetsuit on and it was time to get into the water.

I just took the swim easy, tried to avoid the masses and focus on keeping form and came out bang on the time I thought it would be.  It was fun in transition as everything was numb from standing around in the cold for 2 hours earlier and then the swim, but managed to get myself sorted and decided to throw on the jersey I’d packed last minute but left the gloves on the ground thinking I’d warm up quickly – a decision I’d later regret!   The bike course was pretty flat but kept myself in check (the motto “you’ve still got to run after!” kept going around in my head!), and while we had been warned about the awful road surface I found it no worse (if not slightly better!), than the usual Surrey roads I ride on so no problems there (except the last 2 miles but more on that in a second).  The downside of a mostly flat course though is that there were only 2 sections of about 5-10 seconds where I free-wheeled, the rest you are pushing the whole way, and there were several sections where it was miles of a long straight road on the slightest of gradients with the wind in your face which was energy & motivation sapping.

The decision to leave the gloves in transition was based on the thought “I’ll warm up soon enough” – that turned out to be about mile 45 before I could use my left hand for anything and the right was only just usable enough to grip my bottle and change gears! Hence it meant at the feed stations attempting to grab bottles on the go resulted in just knocking them away as my hands wouldn’t work enough, so I physically had to stop to collect new bottles and the volunteers had to peel the banana’s for me as well (thankfully I had bars cut-up and teeth can pull gel tops, although trying to squeeze gels out was quite difficult as well).

Fairly uneventful bike course otherwise, well until the last 2 miles when the road surface was awful, lots of speed bumps, some of it gravel track and the rest was play dodge the too many to count potholes!  I think it was good though as you had to ease up on speed for safety so the legs got a bit of a break, hence when I went out on the run I felt surprisingly fresh and strong.  The first few miles of the run were good, then I thought my knee was twitching around mile 5 so had a good walk break and that seemed to do the trick as I set off running again feeling strong and the knee was much happier.  That was until about mile 8 when my stomach started to turn a bit and by mile 9 it was in pieces, hence a lot of walking and several stops of hunching over trying not to bring the contents of my stomach up.

Somewhere near mile 10 was a feed station so I decided to try a cup of coke, and by around mile 11 that seemed to have done the trick and I was able to run again, so another cup of coke at the last feed station at about mile 11.5 and that got rid of the last of the upset stomach and it was a strong run up to the finish, where I was all smiles as my knee had held up for the first time ever at half distance – and then I promptly burst into tears at the emotion of it all!!  But they were definitely tears of joy 🙂

‘Half term and a long weekend in the new forest, and finding a race 15 minutes away- well, it would have been rude not to.  A really fun race, and a beautiful day. I had a pretty grotty swim as it was just one wave and those pesky boys were rough.  Also not swim training over the off season is not a clever move… but the massive 1k run to transition helped me pull back a couple of places. 

I managed to catch up a bit on a beautiful but hilly and very windy bike course.  The run was a beautiful route, but my legs just couldn’t catch the third lady so ended up 4th overall and 1st veteran, 1st in age group.   22nd out of 100 counting the boys- always good to chick a few!  Pleased with that as a pretty dodgy off season (complete motivation issues….) and injuries mean I’m not really race fit.  Must stop being such a wuss on bike descents- definitely would have been third as where she overtook me every time.   Well recommended for a friendly race if you happen to be local.’

As raced and reported by Lucy Owen.

Black Rat Cyclosportive 2016

 Mediofondo 22 May – 120km, 1552m of ascent

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7672071

‘A very challenging ride. I did this ride back in 2014 and came in 5^th overall so I was keen to go faster this year. Although this was a slightly different route to the previous and slightly longer I found it most enjoyable /challenging and it really tested my fitness/stamina to the max.

There were two main climbs both long and pretty tough going, the weather was also very unpredictable making it difficult to know what to wear in the beginning of the ride. As we left off in glorious sunshine it began to get gloomy as we crossed the bridge into Wales and the rain began to fall as we entered the Wye valley. Within 20mins it was absolutely pouring down making visibility limited and the roads very slippery.

Descending from the valleys the rain stopped and the roads were dry which meant I could pick the pace up a bit although very very cold by now and so the cramping set in. By the time I had returned across the bridge I was getting cramp in both legs which I think was due to hot/cold conditions and not enough electrolytes/fluids.

I managed the cramps as best I could to limp across the finish line with a print out time of 4:53:07 (14^th). The  results sheet is not quite right as there were a few riders that had signed up to do the Mediofondo and had decided on route to do the shorter Piccolofondo which messed up the timing chip data!

Overall I thought it was a really well organized and enjoyable event with a really friendly bunch of riders taking part. If I am not doing the Velothon next year I can strongly recommend doing this as an alternative.’

As raced and reported by Paul Hoad

Adam Buck, Andy Curran, Dan Ellis, Andy Tolson, Lyndsay Fitzgerald and Seb Potiriadis ventured out to Wales last weekend to tackle the mighty Velothon. The 6 Viceroys cycled in two mini teams – Dan recounts the experience of himself, Adam and Andy C:

‘It was a truly great experience and would thoroughly recommend it to all Viceroys.

The course is a great closed road event and the locals really embrace the day, cheering you on and seeing you over the line.

My advice would be, as with any challenging sportive – plan your ride i.e. Know your limits, when the fuel stations will be, climbs etc.

We had kept an eye on the weather forecast all week and the truth is, be prepared for quick changing conditions whatever the forecast – for this reason I went with my four season tyres and alloy rims wheels which paid dividends on the recents.

The first 50 miles is pretty flat and early starters sets off at a rapid pace. Then comes the real fun with the infamous Tumble climb (approx 2.8miles at 8.3%). After this climb you can enjoy great views and undulating roads until the final climb at 80 miles. This climb is short in comparison, but I think I had seen a sign with 16% ouch… From there on its pretty swift and plane sailing to the finish line. 

The three of us worked hard as a team throughout, which received some nice plaudits along the way and we crossed the lined together with a sub 5 hour finish (18.8 avg)

And finally, if your team is playing in the FA cup final the night before, be warned the beer is cheap and hard to resist.’

Lyndsay too echoes this great experience: ‘Just wanted to say what a fantastic day in (sort of) sunny Wales for the velothon today. Massive thanks to Seb and Andy for dragging me round the first 100k, can’t say I enjoyed the last 40 anywhere near as much!! Great closed roads event, can thoroughly recommend it for next year.

The Velothon was the longest ride I’ve done to date, my second sportive and first closed roads event. So a race plan of trying to keep up with Seb and Andy for as long as possible was probably a bit daft! Through the Newport flats and out towards the dreaded Tumble we had quite a train behind us, with Seb acting a little like the Pied Piper on the front! The rain started at the bottom of the climb but tree shelter helped on the way up. The descent was wet, cold and quite wiggly at times but we had the rest stop ahead to look forward to. This was where some guy laughed at the state of my face, which I took as a complement to my drafting skills learnt on our Viceroys group rides! By this point we were about 100k in and my legs started to hate me, I struggled to maintain pace and there was a consistently subtle but deadly incline and I could easily have had a hissy fit! But then the guys waited and we were soon in Caerphilly ready for the mountain ahead. Except my legs weren’t. I skidded to a bit of a halt with the worst hamstring cramp I’ve ever had, and the then my quad joined in. A lovely local offers to hold my bike whilst I was hopping around on the pavement (after assuring me he wouldn’t pinch it!), I must have looked a right sight! As soon as it came it went and thankfully not a peep on the climb, which was viscous. From the top it was a lovely ride back into town with fantastic local support… Quickly followed by cramp at the end! Did I go off too fast to keep up with the guys? Probably. Would I do the same again? Definitely! I didn’t have a clue what to expect time wise as it was only my second ride over 100k so was pleased with 5:04 and 71st female, sub 5 next year!’

This weekend saw Jen, Lara, Colette, Colin, Pete competing in the ITU World Champs Sprint Qualifier at Eton Dorney – the first draft legal race for our contingent. As Colette recalls:

‘I had no idea what to expect from my first draft legal race this morning. But I’m glad to say my 3am premonition of causing a mass pile up on a corner did not happen. Pleased with 5th in age group and 17th female overall. This should secure me a place at the Worlds (AG winner already has a PQ). But lots of areas to improve on, must get my swim faster so I don’t miss the lead bike pack again… Don’t get stuck in your wetsuit in T1…. Push harder at the start of the run….’ Well done Colette.

Colin too really made the most of ‘draft legal’ and he too came out with a great result:  ‘I really enjoyed the format, once I had caught up with the lead group – albeit the catching was up was hard work.  Riding in a group of 7 made for a quick time and after a swift transition, I was first onto the run.  Despite nursing an achilles / calf injury I was delighted with 4th in AG – securing qualification for Cozumel.’ Well done Colin.

Jen admits being: ‘pretty nervous given that the bike leg is generally a bit wobbly for me at the best of times.  But I dusted off the hefty old road bike and having removed the extra bottle carrier, speed sensor, basket from the front, etc, Chris Clay helpfully suggested I should remove the dust covers from my valves too…. I mean, in the grand scheme of things!?

Luckily for me, fellow Viceroy Lara Clay was in the same wave, so after a quick briefing before the swim start, we plunged into the rather bracing Dorney Lake with the idea of trying to keep each other in sight.  This was easy for me, as I just had to follow a heavily strapped ankle!  Fair to say I was a bit off the pace on the swim and the front pack seemed to be extending a pretty decent lead by the time it was time to exit the water.
Onto the bike and Lara and I tried to work together to chase down a few stragglers – this mainly consisted of me taking about a 3 second turn on the front before Lara came past to once again take most of the heat!  We picked up another rider on the second lap which really helped and started to switch out pretty well (I was still massively benefiting from sticking with two way stronger riders).

Into a pretty hectic transition and out onto what seemed like a never ending out and back run….. but it did finally end and I managed to cross the line 5th in AG.’ Well done Jen.

‘All in all it was as great race and a massive thanks to Lara for providing a much appreciated back wheel – before then going on to complete the run, against doctors orders!! Legend.  Who said Triathlon wasn’t a team sport?’

Lara too reflects on an astounding race (considering…): ‘I was told Monday by the surgeon not to run at Dorney or Lisbon. I’ve ruptured my peroneal tendon and have tears in my Achilles. I haven’t been able to run since March but my ankle was feeling a bit better. I decided instead, seeing as it was draft legal, to see what racing this format would be like and also see if I could work hard on the bike with the aim of helping to save Jens legs a bit for the run.

Jen and I came out of the water together, not planned, just worked out, and we set about making the most of drafting. Another girl joined us so we could share the work some more. We were pretty evenly matched. I didn’t take my pre-run gel on the bike in the hope that would stop me from running, but we overtook so many on the bike I got into transition and thought I may as well try and run a slow 5k to see how my ankle held up before Lisbon. Needless to say it was slow, my legs were wondering what was happening after not running for over 2 months! But I’m glad I completed it and now know I can run in Lisbon, even if it is slow!’

For Pete Bell, this was his first race since September last year: ‘I was definitely rusty and had forgotten the pain involved in pushing myself to the max. I had an okay swim leg – got a bit battered and my goggles completely fogged up so I really struggled to see the buoys and the exit but I came out close enough to the leaders to keep me in contention. On the bike I was fortunate to come out of transition with one other racer in my AG and we worked together for the first 2 laps. But then my legs died and I drifted away from his back wheel…a very painful 3^rd lap on my own before I managed to jump on the back wheels of a couple of fast racers from the next wave that got me through to transition. Despite feeling exhausted on the bike, I actually felt like I had some running legs after T2. The first 2.5km was into the wind and my km splits were a little slow for my liking. On the turnaround I upped the pace and managed to pass a group of 3. Just ahead of me was another group of 4-5 racers in my AG and I gave all I could to try and catch them. Unfortunately the line came too soon and I ended up just at the back of that little pack. 11^th in AG but just 13 secs away from 7^th. If only I’d managed to push that little bit harder…’

Viceroys Simon Pratt, Tim Ferguson, David Hegarty, Richard Singleton and Mark Thompson all travelled to Hampshire for the Swashbuckler middle distance triathlon. Mark celebrated a top ten place overall and was 2^nd in his AG (04:31:47.40), and Richard was 8^th in his AG (04:55:23.95)– new dad Simon tells us about his race experience:

‘I have to admit I viewed the approaching Swashbucker with some apprehension; the arrival of William 16 weeks ago ensured my training hours roughly matched my sleeping hours – almost zero! This topped off with a two-week bout of the dreaded man flu (you girls just wouldn’t understand!) and my expectations were downgraded to “survive”

A chilly 6am start on the morning meant that the 16 degree Beaulieu River was actually welcoming! As for the swim – I survived – enough said!

Onto the bike from a very empty transition and the legs certainly weren’t going to help me enjoy the lovely new forest sights. I guess the writings on the wall when the local paper boy on his BMX passes you!! Still, after the usual dodging of a few horses, cows and donkeys I was back into transition with the sobering thought of the 14 mile run to follow. And we do this why?

The run was to be honest more of a hobble, with some sobering moments none more than begging for a gel from a fellow (very kind) competitor when the tank had gone passed empty (is that even legal?) Still there was a bright moment when on my first lap fellow Viceroy Richard blasted past me on the way to the finish with a cheerful hello and no sign of having broken a sweat! (He was so quick he couldn’t hear me cussing him for being so happy!!)

Anyway – into the finishing chute just past the 6-hour mark and I’d achieved what I’d set out to do – Survive! After all, the Viceroys motto of “never show weakness” does not allude to any time constraints!

Afterwards, as well as seeing my amazing support crew of Suze and William, it was great to catch up with fellow Viceroys Mark and Richard who’d posted amazing times and Tim who’d just completed his first half.’

Welcome to Viceroys Stuart Simms: ‘Having been always into sports, including rowing which I took quite seriously for about 15 years, I took a well earned break from competition when my lovely 3 daughters came along in quick succession. Now they are at an age where their running and swimming is getting close to being better than mine I thought I had better take up a new sport and show them what their old dad is capable of (?)… I have always run reasonably well and enjoyed mountain biking so triathlon seamed a natural step. I have been training on and off for a couple of years and fancied training with a club to get more structure as well as have more fun! So fso good, the Sunday rides have been brilliant and shown me what cycling in a group is really like – awesome:-) 2016 is about building a base fitness / strength that will enable me to compete more seriously next year, Viceroys feels a perfect club in which to do both.’

and Kirsty Kothakota: ‘Hello fellow Viceroys!

‘I am a newbie Viceroy and very much a novice triathlete.

I live close to Bushy Park in Teddington and love running there and I am now looking forward to trying cycling and lake swimming too.  (Thanks for the beautiful bike, Mel) I’ve done a couple of baby distance triathlons before but nothing recently.  I will be doing the free triathlon at Walton Excel in the morning – so should perhaps head to bed now before an early start!

I am a Mum of two fun but exhausting boys (1 and 3) and am actually really looking forward to having a bit of time back for myself – both for the training sessions and the great social side of the club that I have heard about ;-)’

John Mackey says:

‘Hi All

I have lived in Hersham/Weybridge area since 1983. Actually joined VTC cycling last year, but due to family and work commitments only managed a couple of Sunday morning rides. I use my bike to commute to work all year round, but only started entering sportive events over the last couple of years, participated in RideLondon-Surrey 100 for last 2 years. Before cycling I played football in the Middlesex County league until my mid-thirties, at which time knees and calf muscles decided to give up! One unusual football club tradition was entering the Tanners Hatch 30 mile Marathon each year, being a Cartographer by profession I enjoyed the semi-orienteering challenge but not the route which always seemed to include either Box or Leith Hill at around the 17 mile mark!

Looking forward to getting out on more weekend club rides this year.’

And welcome to Dawson Hardiman too:

Having spent 20 years as a not quite good enough hockey player, it turned out my knees weren’t quite good enough either, so I thought I thought I’d try and be not quite good enough at something else. 

I completed a couple of Olympic distance tri’s before moving onto Long course, and have now done The Outlaw, Challenge Weymouth, and IM Austria, with IM Lanzarote, Challenge Roth and IM Weymouth 70.3 coming this year.  

Working away half the time (oil and gas) means a lot of training on my own, so if there are any non Monday-Friday types looking for a training partner when I’m off,  I’m your man. 

Made my first club ride last week, which was good to be part of and to meet some members. The club looks to have a good mix of training committed social types, and made me feel welcome from the off. Looking forward to plenty more training sessions through the course of the summer. ‘

Welcome to VTC Jasmin: ‘After many years in the pool playing and competing in water polo and surf life-saving, I’ve decided to try my hand at something a little different. Since moving to the UK I’ve rekindled a love for running but the challenge of three successive disciplines seemed appealing (!), and a challenge finding the time to train with two young children and a husband who is a keen sportsman himself. We moved to Weybridge a year and a half ago and Viceroys has proved to be the perfect fit – both local and great company.’

Welcome to VTC Paul Hoad:’

Back in 2012 I suffered a slipped disc in my lower lumber of which left me with a bulging disc. This

WBMTH06

took best part of a year to heal and during this time my Doctor had told me that I should stop doing so much running as the impact on my lower discs was making matters a lot worse.

He advised me that cycling would be much more beneficial as its very low impact and it concentrates on the those muscles in the lower back region. I’m not sure how much of this I believed at the time but I had to do something to keep in shape. I have always enjoyed cycling and had done my fair share of Mountain bike racing back in the day so I was keen to get back in the saddle. I was introduced to Viceroys by a fellow member Ian Hope who suggested I come along for a ride and see what I thought.

Having met quite a few of the other club members I now feel really welcome and have really enjoyed getting out for the Sunday rides as much as I can.

Living in Weybridge means meeting at Walton is ideal and so far all the routes we have been out on have been interesting and fun but most of all I have felt safe with the other riders. I hope to continue riding at the weekends and now the longer evenings are here perhaps get out on the odd mid week ride too. I am riding the Black Rat sportive on Sunday 22 May 2016 & the Prudential 100 31^st July I have also signed up to ride the New Forest 100 Sportive on Saturday 24th September 2016 hopefully I will get the opportunity to ride a couple more too this year.

Viceroys has been a really enjoyable club to be a part of and I look forward to many more enjoyable fun rides to come.’