GB Get to Grips With Gent Track at Worlds
August 3rd, 2006; Gent
Junior UCI World Championships
The Great Britain Endurance riders in one of three drills for the Team Pursuit in Gent today.
Today, Thursday, was the first day for the Great Britain riders at the Gent track as they prepare for competition in the World Junior Track Championships. On the Wednesday, many of us spent the day travelling from Manchester and other centres in the UK to Belgium by road and air. Not arriving until late afternoon, it wasn't until the next day that the team had a scheduled training session on the track with the Spanish and Japanese teams.
Prior to this, everyone had gathered for breakfast and it was a one of the best spreads of food I've seen at team hotel and a marked difference to the hotel in Athens thank goodness. Whilst the riders prepared, I travelled to the track, a 15 minute walk, with Sarah Heal, one of two team carers. The other, Natalie Lejeune arrives on Friday.
At the track, there was the time consuming task for Sarah of getting the riders helmets, matts, food and drink ready and packed into containers to take into the track centre. Take four or five 5 litre bottles of water in one ice cooler and you get and idea of how physical the work can be carrying these up and down stairs. Once in the track centre, everything is set up for all the riders to arrive.
Normally during competition, only riders racing are allowed in the pits so it does get a bit crowded during training but as the other pits are empty around ours, we spread out and get comfortable. Prior to the riders arriving, the mechanics were busy with the bikes. The one big difference between normal competition for the Olympic Development riders and the Worlds is that for this event, they get the very best equipment and that means the Sports Institute bikes.
No nerves in the GB pit prior to training today.
Anna Blyth confirms four laps to go for their training effort.
By way of example, later when I was talking to David Daniell, the new European Kilometre Champion, he was proud as punch to be riding Chris Hoy's normal bike saying "its never been slower than a 1.02!" David of course improved his PB in Athens by a huge amount to do a 1.04 and to do a 1.02, would need to improve it a whole lot more but it shows how the teams philosophy of giving the riders goals to aim for and riding the Olympic kit is one such goal.
Because the riders were riding SI bikes, it has meant a lot of work for the mechanics here in Gent and also back in Manchester where Alec Jaffrey and Peter Taylor were busy getting them ready to fit all the riders and box them up for the flight here. Then, once the bikes were in Belgium, travelling with the riders in hard plastic bike cases, Ernie Feargrieve and John Keegan set to work unpacking them this end and then reassembling them ready for training today. That has meant late nights and early mornings for them!
The Gent track.
Whilst waiting for the riders I went for a look around the track and although the scaffolding under one bank of seating shows how limited the seating is normally, the track may be old but the venue has a distinctly new and fresh feel to it with lots of new concrete and shiny steel plating being the main materials used.
With time on my hands, I went and took care of my accreditation and got back in time to see the riders arrive and prepare to get on the track. Unlike Athens, there are bike paths between the hotel and the track and its also only a short distance which puts a lot less stress on the support staff ferrying riders about.
As mainly English music from the 70' and 80's played over the speakers (which made me feel right at home - Fox on the Run by the Sweet, bless 'em), both sets of Great Britain riders, Endurance in one group and Sprinters in another, took to the track for a 20 minute 'get to know the track' rolling effort and it wasn't long before cries of how slippery the track felt were heard. The track is old even if the building is not and the Velodrome has very dark oily looking boards. It's so dark the line at the bottom of the track is white not black!
Once the warm-up was done, the endurance riders prepared for the first of three team pursuit efforts whilst the sprinters then spent much of the session doing stretching exercises under the guidance of Iain Dyer. They had already had an intense two days at Manchester prior to leaving for Gent and so were just at the track to get a feeling for the velodrome they had already raced on and also spent on time on during a training camp this year.
Darren Tudor meanwhile was doing a lot of talking to the boys in the team pursuit and looking at where the changes need to be. This varies from track to track where the transitions are different. This track for example seems to have quite tight bends and long straights for a 250 metre track.
Whilst the team pursuit were looking to get their changes right, Matt Rowe and Lizzy Armitstead were preparing for their bunch races by spending time behind the motorbike and getting some speed in their legs and the session finished with Jo Rowsell also spending some time behind the motorbike for a few laps.
Right: David Daniell riding Chris Hoy's bike for the Kilo.
The clock on the rather tiny scoreboard then showed 2pm and it was time to get ready to return to the hotel. Many of the riders all said afterwards how slippery it was whilst Jo Rowsell, she said that it felt like riding a bigger version of Calshot (indoor track at Southampton) which she had ridden during the Winter Track leagues run by Sue Knight.
Serious Business
One thing I have to stress is that although many people, and the media especially, do not take Juniors seriously, there national federations certainly do. Not only does the GB team have the riders on the best equipment and the same staff in attendance as we'd have at a senior World Championship event, it's the same for the other nations.
In the Aussie camp we could see Garry Sutton looking after his team, and for other countries, the coaches and mechanics are the same as those we see at a Senior Worlds and its one of the reasons that as these riders progress, those that make it to the senior Worlds, will see very little difference as they look around them.
So although it may be the Junior Worlds, and perhaps doesn't quite have the same atmosphere as a senior competition outside the track, on the track its taken every bit as seriously and our riders are no exception.
Before the riders set off to the hotel not to be seen again until dinner as they rest in their rooms, I caught up with a couple to get their reactions to the first session at the Worlds.
Sprinters going through a stretching routine before leaving for the hotel.
Anna Blyth said it was good to be back at the Worlds with a few more riders around her. "The track is just as we remember it from our competition here in June" Anna explained. "It's a bit different to Athens in the height of the transitions but it seems pretty nice. We just used today to get the flight out of our legs after two hard training days and the flight from Manchester. Every body is feeling better after a stretch too."
Sitting as quiet as ever in the pits, looking every bit the shy young lady we have got to know in the team recently, Jo Rowsell explained that after her illness in Athens she spent three days in bed getting over it before starting training the day before a Pre Worlds camp was held at Manchester.
"We had a four day camp where I was doing standing starts, six lap efforts, four lap efforts and flying efforts and all that kind of stuff" she told me. I then asked her if it felt any different to Athens. To the outsider like me, the team are the same, the competitors are largely the same and the format of the venue, pits and so on is the same. But how did Jo as a rider feel it was different?
"It doesn't feel any different at the moment but I am sure it will do when it starts proper". Jo then smiled and added when asked was she nervous "Yes, the day before I flew out, I suddenly realised, oh my god, its tomorrow and it started to sink in where I was heading." For Jo, it's a third chance to make her mark. She was fourth in the European Road champs and then fifth in the Pursuit despite being ill. "It went a bit wrong in Athens so I'll be putting everything into this one."
Talking to some of the boys in the team, Steven Burke told us that training went really well in what was just a steady session for them. "The sessions today weren't full on and it was more about technique. I'm used to it again so its all good".
Finally, I spoke to Jonny Bellis, another of the Team Pursuit riders. "Everything went well in the end" he told me. "At first it was all about getting used to the track, riding the right line and getting the changes right. We were trying to figure out if it was better to change early or later and for the final drill, we did what we felt would work in the effort and it all came out good."
"We're not going to get any fitter now so its all about the technical side of it. I found it a nice track to ride, nicer than Athens. The wood seems harder and it feels more zippier. The banking is similar to Athens but the transition is quite steep." Jonny then raced after his teammates as they started to roll out of the venue and into the light rain that was falling.
With the GB session over and the Kiwis and Aussies on the track ready to start their efforts whilst the GB coaches looked on, the mechanics set about preparing the bikes for the start of the next day's session. The configuration of a bike is all laid out on sheets provided by the coaches to the mechanics with what wheels and gear are required for the start of the session.
For me, it was back out in to typical Belgium weather - rain and the walk back along the cobbled streets to the hotel. We can only hope the rain does go away eventually but for two days its been heavy and stormy. So a message to any of the parents coming - bring an umbrella!
