Day 1

Prologue

Fabian Cancellara – Team Saxo Bank - SPECIALIZED SHIV

Well, we probably would have one in stock were it not for some bizarre political/legal holdup in the delivery. Check out that ‘giant’ headstock and stem. Look familiar??  Zipp 404 front and Disc – now those we have. 

Day 2

Alessandro Petacchi – Lampre  Farnese - WILIER CENTO UNO SUPER LEGGARA

Just sold a Cento Uno SL – if you had popped into the shop this week you would have seen it in pride of place – amazing piece of kit with the Wilier logo woven in 3d into the carbon top weave. Light, classy and understated.

Day 3

Sylvain Chavanel – Quck Step – Eddy Merckx

Ok, so we are struggling a bit here with this one, we don’t sell Merckx bikes.  BUT Chavanel was using BBB glasses

 (tenuous I know). These great value multi lens glasses have been stocked by us for several years now, plenty of styles and realistic prices from £25 – £50.

Lampre also use Fast Forward wheels, which we also have, and that gives us a good enough excuse to post these filthy pics of the Carbon Trispoke ‘3′  and Disc that are currently adorning our MASSIVE wheel selection in store.

1195 grams and under £1000 for the tub version – we have Campag and Shimano available.

Oooooh - that’s the money shot and just 750 grams – very keenly priced and you don’t get sworn at by the Tourettes afflicted distributor you buy them.  

Day 4

Thor Hushovd – Cervelo Test Team – R3SL

This ones easy – on what is probably one of the hardest, bike mashing, ass ragging stages Cervelo Test Team sprint supremo Thor Hushovd blasts his R3SL to stage victory and tightens his grip on the Green Jersey competition. 

Three models to choose from in this range, we have in stock the amazingly comfortable 2011 model RS at just £1799 for the frame, fork, headset and seat pin.

A built up R3 with Sram weighing in at 15 1/2lbs,

plus several customers sporting the amazing R3SL.

 Day 5

Alessandro Petacchi – Lampre  Farnese - WILIER CENTO UNO SUPER LEGGARA

 This is Wilier’s second sprint win this tour, highlighting the the sheer class and quality of the CentoUno, especially significant when you factor in the light weight of the frame-set. Check out these pics of the Cento SL that we sold last week.

3D carbon weave, full Record 11 group, one piece integrated swing arm design rear end.

Day 6

Mark Cavendish – HTC Columbia – Scott Addict

This ones pretty barren for us – they use Shimano but apart from that the best we can do is Powerbar and SIS, Fisik saddles, usually have those, but that’s pretty much it.

Day 7

Mark Cavendish – HTC Columbia – Scott Addict

The blog’s going to make  pretty dull reading if this carries on. Still In yellow though and things are going to heat up this weekend.

Day 8

Sylvain Chavanel – Quick Step – Eddy Merckx

It’s down to the shades again, we have got them and the last guy to buy a pair asked whey they were so cheap.

Day 9

Andy Schleck – Saxo Bank – Specialized S Works Tarmac SL3

Man these frames are light – we have got both the Saxo Bank  frame and the Astana frame in stock at the moment as well as an incredibly bright red S Works SL3. Amazing value at £1999 for a frame thats just won a tour stage.

Day 10

Sandy Casar – FDJ – Lapierre

Not much going on for us with this one – suprisingly little info on the kit used on the FDJ team site as well – the sponsors must be chuffed!!

Day 11

Sergio Paulinho - Radio Shrek - Track

Sweet that the peloton offer up a charity win to Trek today and even allow Pina Rello a chance although it did take two to carry the Dogma to the line.

Day 12

Mark Cavendish – HTC Columbia – Scott Addict

Heads you win.

Day 13

Oliver Rodriguez – Katusha – Ridley

Another one that’s a bit thin for us although they do use Campagnolo, Vredstein and Cateye.

Day14

Alexandre Vinokourov – Astana – Specialized Tarmac SL3

Thats more like it – we have this frame in stock at the moment £1999

Zipp 404’s usually in stock although demand recently has been high £1500

Day15

Christophe Riblon – AG2R – Kuota

Another one that’s a bit light for us, some Time kit thrown in somewhere – SRAM groups

We were glad with a reasonable hour for the start of our race, with the 1^st wave of the weekend off at 6.00am. Again, as usual with the elite waves, it took a while to get everyone in line, maybe some athletes are always looking for that edge on the swim start. Soon the swim strung out with one leader out the water with over 20secs lead with the rest to follow. Dave and I followed shortly after both coming out of the water in the top 10 with Dave one position in front of me.

Quick transitions and off onto the bike, Dave put his feet in his shoes straight away which cost him a few seconds, I hung on a mile or so, but we were both in the chase pack along with some strong athletes including the eventual winner, Steve Worthington, and Rich Allen.

A fast first 15 miles travelling 28-30mph on the flat soon saw us catch the front pack. The next few miles saw a few attacks but with little success, Dave and I took our spell at the front. I tried to give Dave a heads up with a few miles back to transition and then there was a slight break off the roundabout, I got myself towards the front and got on the back end,  Dave just missed it taking a wide corner. The few seconds lead soon went as it was at the end of the bike leg, Dave and I were well positioned which is essential at Windsor due to having a small side pavement into transition.

I went out onto the run in about 5^th just ahead of Rich Stannard and Marc Jenkins with Dave just behind. The run saw some fast pace stuff, the eventual winner being a slight shock.  Dave and I finished well within the top half of 50 athletes. I finished in 1.56 in 15^th and Dave 22^nd in 2.00hrs.

A very strong field this year as on previous years I would of broke into the top 10 and top 15 for Dave. A great result for us both and valuable  experience, an amazing debut at elite level for Dave.

 Seemingly, as with most adventurous or sporting endeavours, my foray into Triathlon started with a drunken bet. If I was to finish a triathlon within a year my brother would eat his hat – if I wasn’t to finish one, I would have to drink a pint of warm fish milkshake. Simple rules and a year to train. Easy. Ten and a half months later and I had done virtually nothing except register for the Blenheim (Sprint Distance) Triathlon; I had no bike, no wetsuit, no clue, and I had gone into complete denial. Ok, six weeks to get all the equipment, learn the ropes and do all my training – should be just about enough. Just about.

The first thing I did was wonder aimlessly into Cycle Logic in Helston and was very thankful to be treated extremely well. I had visions of being slightly intimidated, looked down upon and completely out of place. After all I knew absolutely nothing about Triathlons, apart from the obvious fact that they are all carried out by super-fit, athletic, demi-gods (not exactly true as I was to find out). The staff at Cycle Logic were fantastic. Shane put me very much at ease and talked me through the basics without any hard sell and plenty of sound advice. He took time to fit me with a swim wetsuit (my surf one would definitely not be suitable for the 750m swim) and I went back in a week later and bought it. I must admit I went on the internet to check prices etc and found that their prices were very competitive indeed, throw in the fact you get one-to-one service, great advice and a returns policy and it’s an absolute no brainer. If you want new, buy it in-store!

The first thing I did was change my diet. I cut out the cakes and buns and processed foods. I switched from butter to low fat spread, white to wholemeal bread, chocolate bars to carrots etc. I also made sure I drank at least a 1.5 litre bottle of water a day on top of normal intake (beer and wine service remained unaffected). The next thing I did, and the thing I had really been putting off, was the exercise. I tried to do some training every day, with a rest day every 4 or 5 days. There are plenty of training plans out there (search online or buy the magazines and books) but I kind of formulated my own. A ramp-up over 4 weeks and then a week ‘doing the distance’, before a week of taper (where you do less exercise just before the race). It involved 750m swims before work, 5k runs after work, 45 minute sessions on the static bikes and runs on the treadmill at the gym over lunch. I occasionally managed a sea swim in my wetsuit and a 10k run over the weekends.

There was a distinct lack of ‘proper’ cycling as I didn’t have a bike and haven’t ridden one properly since I was 12. I borrowed an old racer off a friend and went on a few 30 minute rides which seemed to make my knees ache. A few weeks later and I was doubling the training distances (not the 10k run!) and also trying to bolt two together i.e. 45 minutes on a static gym-bike then going straight onto the treadmill for 5k. I tried to keep my heart rate in the 130-140 range, which I think is my fat burning range (everyone’s range varies), with occasional stints in the aerobic range (to improve the bodies ability to carry oxygen around the body). Within 3 weeks I had lost a stone and all my trousers needed belts. It was time to try on Lycra.

Not all equipment/Tri clothing needs to be bought new and I found a second hand (with tags), unworn Trisuit for £55 on the internet, although Shane helped me again with sizes, and trained when I could in that. The Trisuit is a one piece suit that goes under the wetsuit and that is worn for the entire race. It’s slightly padded on the bum for long bike rides and dries out quickly after the swim. As it stays on for the race it saves heaps of times in the transition from swimming to cycling to running. With my new athletic physique, nobody pointed and laughed at my lycra clad body and I almost felt like I knew what I was doing. With just one week to go I had completed the race distance a few times, albeit in a pool and gymnasium, 750m pool swim onto a fixed wheel gym bike for 20km (with random hills) and onto a treadmill for 5k (varying the incline). At least I knew I could get round (in 1hr 50 ish).

There’s still something missing here though. The bike. Quite crucial for a cycle race. Back to Cycle Logic. This time I was looked after by Steve. The first thing he did was look at the bike I had borrowed to see if they could ‘tri-pimp my ride’ and realised that my aching knees were due to my 6ft 5 body on the 56 cm frame (not a good fit!) He didn’t have to convince me it wasn’t right. I was going to have to buy a bike. I could have trawled the net/classifieds for a cheap road bike, but I wanted it to be of some use afterwards and I wanted the advice and experience of the experts. I umm’d and ahhh’d for a few days, going in and out the store looking at every different bike under the sun. Steve took control and wanted to know exactly what I wanted out of a bike. I wanted to get fit, I wanted to be able to race in the Triathlon, but wanted to be able to use the bike afterwards on roads and trails around Cornwall. I didn’t want to get on the bike after the swim and have everyone overtake me, but I didn’t want to spend thousands on a specialist road/TT bike when I may never do a triathlon again. Steve used the ‘logic’ part of Cycle Logic and steered me towards the Specialized Tricross bikes. A relatively light but strong road bike frame, with drop handlebars and carbon forks, but with mountain bike gearing and slightly wider knobblyish tyres allowing riding on rough, unprepared tracks and roads. I wasn’t aware of Cyclo Cross as a sport, but this bike was designed for it, and seemingly for my needs as well. It would race in the triathlon much faster than a mountain/trail bike, but would be of use to me as a general all purpose bike once I completed the triathlon for family bike trips in the country. Plus they have a pretty decent resale value if it all went to pot. Bonus.

With just 4 days to go I bought the 61 cm framed Tri Cross Sport from Cycle Logic (at a great price). Gorgeous. Shiny, new and clean. I excitedly rode it round the car park. Now I haven’t really been into bikes but it was amazing. The lovely smooth gears, solid feeling frame/forks and great set-up made me feel that all my leg power was making me go forwards instead of being absorbed into the rattly frame of the borrowed racer. The range of gears was stunning (compared with the road bike) meaning that the steepest inclines could be ridden from the seat. I took it home and kept it in the front room. Every 10 minutes I would go at look at it. Sad but true.

With just a few days to go I was tapering my training and thinking about last minute preps and equipment (travel details, race-belts/numbers, transition area layout, visualisation etc). One last visit to Cycle Logic where Shane gave me some (turns out very invaluable) tips, and I bought some more of the energy bars and anti-chaffing lube (a god send) I’d trained with. I was ready.

I felt surprisingly relaxed on race day. There were (literally) thousands of people at the Blenheim Triathlon, both spectators and competitors alike. There were a heap of the athletic demi-gods, with fancy carbon bikes and pointy helmets but also a healthy smattering of rotund sorts, squeezed into trisuits and wheeling mountain bikes around as well. There were men and women, all age groups and all types, but the common link was that they were all smiling. Maybe it was the great weather, or just the excitement and relaxed atmosphere, but everyone seemed to be having a good time and it was really infectious. I arrived what I thought was early, but early is never early enough. It was a frantic hour of getting the wife and toddler in, getting my timing chip, setting my transition area up, and getting wetsuited up and to the start line. I was super excited and raring to go. I felt prepared enough to finish, yet not worried too much about what time I was going to get. My brother and his family turned up (with hat and sauce) to support, as did my uncle and family who lived nearby. I looked around. Our wave had 120 ish people all with family support. All up for fun and a race. Awesome. After safety briefs etc we all jumped in and swam to the start. I was next to a superman I had seen earlier. He was carved out of granite and had mirrored goggles. I saw my reflection. I kind of looked like a triathlete –  albeit a very nervous one. My head was buzzing and I needed the toilet. The buoys and swim finish across the lake looked miles away. And then there was a 400m uphill run to the 1^st transition area. Then a hilly 20km bike ride. Then a 5k run in the searing midday sun. Oh crap.

The horn went off and I tried to start my watch and swim. It was chaos for 5 minutes. Arms and legs everywhere. Foaming water and misty goggles. I just kept powering on as best I could and made sure I didn’t zig zag too much. My previous sea swims helped no end – knowing what to expect in open water makes the reality a whole lot less daunting. I kept in stroke with one guy and settled into a rhythm. I had to tell myself to keep a steady pace. It’s my first triathlon – I have no idea what pace to go at and whether I’ll have anything left in reserve. The swim passed quite quickly and I didn’t feel too bad getting out the other side. I jogged up the hill. I passed the superman. I actually passed a proper triathlete! I passed my supporting family hidden in amongst rows of other supporters and the noise was great. The transition area was chaos, but prior visualisation helped. I did wear socks (many say don’t if you don’t want to look like a novice, but it took 6 seconds – not much extra time, unless you’re a pro, considering the comfort they provide for the rest of the race). I was on the bike pretty quickly, taking on fluid and passing a few more people. I had a real pace up and the bike felt great. A minute later and a blur shot past me. It was superman, tucked down and accelerating uphill on what looked like a bike-shaped UFO. I don’t think he stopped accelerating for the rest of the race. My bike was perfect. It made the hills easy for my spindly legs, but allowed me to power down the hills and overtake all the mountain bikes (and a few TT/road bikes as well). Thank you Steve. After the first 15k Shane came into his own as well. He had told me to watch my cadence (pedal rotation), and keep it faster rather than slower. A higher cadence in slightly lower gears is better for (beginner) endurance than vice versa. I had been trying to power high gears in training and had not lasted very well. Not in this race. I felt that I was pushing hard but not burning out. Thank you Shane. Ok, I was overtaken by the decent riders (loads of them) but I was also keeping up with, and overtaking some fit looking people on fancier bikes. When I had mooted the idea of buying a cheaper, second-hand bike, Shane had said that the difference between that and a decent bike would be that I would get off a good bike looking forward to the run – not 100% right, but 98% right; getting off my bike, I knew I had it in me to finish the run and I was looking forward to finishing! T2 went really well (I cycled in my running shoes so didn’t need to change) and I was off on wobbly legs before long. The first 500m was tough, but my stride soon returned to me and I just concentrated on maintaining a steady pace. Water stations were crucial as the heat became unbearable. People were dropping out – even in a Sprint distance. The family support around the circuit was such a motivating factor to keep pushing. I started to let myself think about the end and even began to enjoy myself. With 100m to go I broke into what felt like a sprint and the loudspeaker announced my arrival. I flopped on the deck and sucked up air. I was handed a medal and an energy drink. I was a triathlete and it felt good. Really good. I looked at my watch… 0:00.00.78. Either I had bent the space-time continuum or I had started and stopped my stopwatch in less than a second – no mean feat in itself. My wife and little ’un came up for hugs and photos and the rest joined to tell me how proud they were. I was pretty proud of myself too. The guys at Cycle Logic had told me it would happen, I said it wouldn’t, but it did; I started thinking about where I could save time and what I may have done differently. My wife told me the wave had gone off on time at 11:20… I checked the time, it was now 12:53…. minus the flopping on deck/energy drink/photo/self adulation session, that must mean I did it in around 1hr 30. Awesome. I had been aiming for around 1hr 45. The final results showed that I had swum in 00:14:46, biked in 00:40:33 and run in 00:26:37 – with transition times that equated to 01:28:15 and in the top third on a freakin hot day. Initial results showed I was 198^th out of about 900 in my age group but even if I was in the top half I’d be happy. Although I suppose it doesn’t really matter where you come in your first triathlon because the sense of achievement in just finishing one is enormous. I say ‘first’ triathlon because the next day (yesterday) I signed up for the Blenheim Triathlon 2011. And now I’ve got a time to aim for.

And yes, that evening my brother ate what he could of his hat, half a straw panama, washed down with bottles of cheap, celebratory fizz.

Many thanks to

Ben Hartley 

Lt RN

  for reminding us all how the first one feels and keeping it real.

Male Results

Position           Name                           Swim   Bike     Run                  Total

1                      David Bartlett                 4.41      42.08    19.46                1.06.35

2                      Neil Eddy                      4.51      42.03    20.30                1.07.24

3                      Michael Birchmore         5.28      43.23    20.18                1.09.09

Female Results

Position           Name                           Swim   Bike     Run                  Total

1                      Anne Maskell                7.35      49.32    22.34                1.19.11

2                      Natasha Diment             5.01      51.29    24.29                1.20.59

3                      Holly Hawkey                5.43      51.34    24.42                1.21.59

From the mass beach start and run into the water, David established an early lead and swam the race solo, completing the swim in 24 minutes, a minute ahead of his nearest competitor Kyle Kearey of Mounts Bay Harriers.  The windy and winding bike course left some debate weather a TT bike was right for the challenge.  But a 2 hours 35 bike split on his Giant Trinity Alliance TT proved the correct decision, 3^rd fastest of the day and 2^nd into T2.  David made a bid to catch current leader Nicholas Horston of Plymouth Triathlon Club and did so 2k into the 20 kilometre run.  But the 6 times Ironman specialist proved too strong and eventually pulled away to take the win by 4 minutes.  A very sore but extremely pleased David completed the run in 1 hour 35 and the overall race 50 minutes quicker than last years time, finishing in 4 hours 36 minutes.  If only we could improve every race by this much!!

Final results:

One other benefit that is less obvious is the prevention of muscle ‘bounce’ during training that can lead to soreness.

Targeting the calf muscle, calf guards are a great muscle containment devise that can be worn during training or competition. Using 2XU’s exclusive 50D/CK fabric that is also used in our leading compression tights, calf guards protect against leg fatigue and muscle soreness. An essential training tool for people who need extra support through their calf region when working out, the calf guards are also available with a foot stirrup for sports demanding shin protection or for when support for the Achilles region is required

We currently have compression tops, tights and the gem of the range calf guards.

 
1st       Michael Milstead MOTI  GIANT

2nd     David Bartlett       CYCLELOGIC

FULL RACE RESULTS HERE

http://www.triferris.com/results/supersprint10.htm

Could the owner / photographer of the above pics please contact us a s I can’t read the watermark address, regards Steve

‘I”ve come into a bit of money and I am going to treat myself to a new bike, I want something that’s carbon and Italian’.

Which made us think.

  In an industry where lot’s of smaller cycle brands have been squeezed out, or sucked up by the Global concerns some people want to ride something that is different, not ‘off the shelf’, something that runs Campag,  something quirky or traditional, an  individualbike that still offers the performance that everyone has come to expect  as standard from the big boys, and that’s a gap in our range that we feel that we can fill with Wilier.

Performance? -  Wilier have taken the world by storm at the cycling world championships in Varese with two golds and a silver medal haul in the 2008 World Championships.
Ace riders Ballan and Malori took gold in their respective races and in the queen of races the superb Cunego took a well-earned silver medal.

Style ? – how good do these look?

WILIER ESCAPE - MIRAGE £799

TRI CRONO - FRAMESET ONLY £1999

It’s fair to say that we are quite excited about getting our hands (and backsides) on some of this Italian product that comes with a one hundred year old Italian heritage, delivers 21st century performance and oooozes timeless style.

Some times it's the simplest things that bring the most pleasure.

Sure, it might not be the latest full carbon exotica with a fancy paint job but this Specialized Roll with it’s ‘UTILITY LOOK’ cuts a pretty fine dash and is more than lively enough to bring a smile to this satisfied customers face. 

IN TOUCH – IN STYLE – AND IN STOCK £549