Transformation Underway
Can Campolier is a bit like an archeologist dig: we slowly uncover the past and discover new potential as we make our way through the house. We always had the idea to develop the downstairs area but it wasn’t until we took a high pressure hose to the floor and walls that we really saw all that it could be.
Originally, the downstairs was where some of the livestock were housed and cared for. When we moved in, there was even still old hay piled up in the corners. It was dusty, dark, and, frankly, we had other areas to focus on. But as the business expanded, we needed more space. Slowly, the downstairs became storage and then, over time, it was clear it had to be cleaned up and made into a proper usable space.
We started to clean, chip away at the disintegrating concrete, and then the vision was really clear. We called in the contractors. In a few weeks the team of 8 workers had transformed the area and revealed beautiful arched ceilings, exposed stone walls, and a crystal clear vision. It would be a space that was all about the bike. Of course, our bike workshop and rental bikes would be stored there but now it would also be a space for riders with shower facilities, seating areas to enjoy a coffee or two, and space to get ready to ride.
Plus, we all kinda liked that the foundation of the house is the foundation of our business: bikes.
Although it has moved on from cattle to bikes, as with the rest of Can Campolier, we will preserve the authentic feel of the space. Our top of the line carbon Cervelos and 3Ts will be perfectly at home next to the old brick but we hope bringing the space back into use will also tie a little of our cycling DNA into Can Campolier.
Work is still ongoing with but we look forward to sharing coffees and ride stories in our new cycling zone very soon.
On Fire at TT Champs
We’re up in the far north of South Africa. It’s beautiful but it’s seriously hot—38C hot—it’s humid, plus there’s even a risk of malaria. It’s definitely not Europe, it’s home and it’s national championships time.
I’ve been training up at altitude in Mpumlanga for the past few weeks and it’s actually been refreshing to get back to what we used to do. Back to the tried and tested winter training that has always put me in a great place for the European season. Great training, fantastic weather, a good healthy dose of the homeland and, of course, national individual time trial championships as the first race of the season.
The 20km time trial was an out and back course with the first half dragging uphill. I went out hard to take advantage of the uphill and had the rider who started 1 minute before me, Carla Oberholzer, within my sight fast. Carla was the perfect carrot to chase and I made the pass at the turnaround point.
Image: Cycle Nation
I maintained a good advantage, as per my race strategy, but with 4km to go all I was thinking was “where is this finish line?!”. I was boiling hot. At that point, I had no fluids on my bike and my core temperature felt like I had swallowed the sun. Carla came back and passed me. Chasing her and dreams of ice cold water at the finish line, I kept her in reach and crossed the finish line just behind her.
I had a good feeling I had the win but I also felt like a human desert. First priority was liquid and lots of it. Thank goodness for my support team and the 4 bottles of cold water I chugged immediately. The weather would be similar in Tokyo so, actually, it was a good experience to have now to better prepare for the Olympics—a realization that only came after bottle of water #2.
The results became official and I had done it! I am the 2020 South African Time Trial Champion and I am so proud to earn the title back, especially in an Olympic year, and take the stripes up to Europe for the rest of the season.
The 104km road race is in a few days and, hopefully, the only thing that will be on fire are my legs!
Image: Cycle Nation
You can follow the race here.
A Good Place To Start
Marianne Vos is back this 2019 road season and it all kicked-off at the CCC-Liv Team Camp at Rocacorba Cycling.
The dominant force of Marianne Vos as we all know her is back. When Ashleigh invited the CCC-Liv team to have their pre-season training camp at Rocacorba Cycling, we were all especially excited to have the legend that is Marianne Vos experience Rocacorba Cycling, Can Campolier, and the roads that we all call home. Since February, Marianne has collected 15 victories, including 4 Giro stage wins and the La Course title, and while we can’t take any claim on her palmares, she did tell us that getting off to a good start at the pre-season camp was an important part of her preparation. We’ll take that as a small victory.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
Welcome Change
Typically, Marianne heads down to Calpe for her pre-season training but after more than 6 years, she was ready for change. While it’s “easy and comfortable” to return to the same place again and again and “hard to change something that works,” Marianne says, “exploring is also a big part of cycling—a joy in cycling.” Add in good pre-season weather and quiet roads and we couldn’t agree more.
With Ashleigh as their guide, Marianne and the whole CCC-Liv team got to explore the best of the Girona area and, as Marianne discovered, from Rocacorba Cycling, we have it all. “There are great climbs for training, great endurance rides, but there are also flats so there are all the options to train. That’s the most special thing.” Marianne favoured the impressive 18km Mare de Deu d’El Mont climb but, she says, “if you stay at Rocacorba Cycling, you have to do the Rocacorba climb”.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
At Home
Back at Can Campolier, the team stayed all together, having the whole place to themselves. “Normally at training camps in a hotel, you feel stuck, and in between all the other teams that are training. So there is a racy feel. Here it was much more relaxed which was a positive. You can relax, enjoy the area, and it feels like home. It feels different from the rest of the season,” Marianne said.
“Every day we woke up and walked over to the big house for breakfast with the sunrise. The views were amazing,” Marianne says. “I saw some photos before but, in person it’s even better. This place is stunning.”
“Good food, nice people,” Marianne continues, “easy to travel to and relaxing…it was a good camp and a good place to prepare for the road season”. Based on her impressive results this year, we think it was a pretty good place to start too.
Watch Marianne at the World Championships road race on Saturday, 28 September.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
The Sting Of Bad Luck
Flanders is one of those races where it still means something if you finish. The tiniest country roads, the unforgiving rough and stupidly steep cobbles, the blood sport fight to position yourself before the climbs, and don’t forget the weather if Mother Nature decides to show up. Actually, it’s one of those races where it still means something if you start and CCC-Liv started perfectly.
No doubt it was the best race we had done as a team. For the first 115 kilometres we had this amazing rhythm, operating like a well-oiled machine and then some. We were riding together, positioned well, Marianne felt amazing and so did I. To have everyone come together like that, it was just another level. We had the goods to pull off a win, we just needed the luck.
The final 30 kilometres is where the big bets are made. I knew we had the fire power to execute the final strategy but as we got together on the Kanarieberg (climb #6) someone switched my wheel. Somehow I didn’t crash and, after a quick foot down, I started to chase back. I wasn’t too far behind but there also wasn’t a lot of time before the next climb, the cobbled Taaienberg (climb #7), where the pressure would continue.
I didn’t have a choice: I had to go all in to catch the peloton or it was race over. I didn’t even have to think about making a decision, my legs were already powering across the gap and up the Kanarieberg.
Image: Jojo Harper
Now, I know Belgian roads. I’ve raced in Belgium for many years. I know the cobbles, the narrow roads, the road furniture, and the wide crack right down the centre of their concrete roads. I’m always aware of that crack. I know it’s there but as if two hands reached up and grabbed my wheels, out of nowhere my bike instantly came to a complete stop. My wheels were both perfectly stuck in that centre crack. Like walking into a glass door, it caught me so off guard I only realized what had happened after I hit the ground, slid across the road into the ditch, and came to a stop in stinging nettles.
Grazed and confused, I got up and back to my bike. The drivetrain was all messed up. I definitely needed a new bike but, after the big splits on the Kanarieberg, the team cars were too far behind. Everything had happened so fast that I could actually still see the bunch ahead. It didn’t matter what I had, I needed to go all in again if I was to get back.
Image: Oliver Grenaa
My body was stinging all over from nettles and road rash but my muscles were working. I got back up to speed and as I clicked into an easier gear as I hit the bottom of the Taaienberg, my derailleur went into my back wheel and fell off! “Ok, that’s it,” I thought with a sigh. With the odds so stacked against me, it was smarter to save my legs for the next race.
Up at the front Marriane wasn’t faring much better with a poorly timed puncture. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed; it really wasn’t our day. You can have the best legs and the best team on the day but to win a bike race you always need some luck or, at least, no bad luck. Still, we had finished one of the toughest Spring Classics and the magic of the first 115 kilometres made me believe at the next race our luck would change.
Discover more about Ashleigh’s home Rocacorba Cycling
Speaking About Binda
“Goooo!” Marianne shouted from across the bunch but I was already out of the saddle to cover the attack. It was the technical last 5km of Trofeo Alfredo Binda and our group of 8 off the front only had a 15 second gap. Marianne and I seemed to have an easy unspoken way of communicating what needed to be done but now the moment was too important for her to hold it in.
I could feel the heavy burn of fatigue in my legs from my last attack but I had to cover this move. I shut down the Be Pink rider with 1.6km to go but that was the easy part. I couldn’t allow another move to go or let the chase group catch us so, by any means necessary, I had to keep the pace high. With the chase group only seconds behind us, the last kilometre demanded every single watt I had.
I had my head down but as we turned the final corner I looked up to see the finish line and launched into a leadout. Marianne passed my shoulder first, followed by the rest of the breakaway riders contesting the sprint, and then I saw Marianne’s hands fly into the air. We had won! Convincingly. Perfectly. Together.
Marianne didn’t have to say anything. I had just done my job. I had followed the team strategy and done my best but she showered me in gratitude. Endless thank-yous, hugs, smiles, and it was not only uplifting and motivating but powerful for her to say what didn’t need to be said. I could feel the bond between Marianne and I grow stronger.
Image: Anton Vos
Our winning display of teamwork had also captured some outside attention. Since Trofeo Alfredo Binda was broadcast on television, the response from fans after seeing such a strong and successful show of teamwork meant the story of our win had been shared. A simple results sheet doesn’t tell how we were down a rider from illness, how Riejanne and Jeanne kept Marianne and I fresh for the final laps, or how I had to bury myself to get Marianne to the final sprint. People were saying how “exciting” the racing was, how “professional” and “skilled” we were as a team. Seeing the race meant that people had shared the experience, they knew the story of teamwork behind the win.
Hearing such great positive feedback from both the team and fans filled me with excitement and motivation. When our stories are told and shared it has the power to create a positive ripple effect that reaches all corners of women’s cycling—from showing other riders the value of teamwork to demonstrating the power and need of television coverage to race organizers and fans. CCC-Liv will go on winning, women’s cycling will continue to develop, but, as our win in Binda showed me, there is value in speaking what is usually left unspoken.
So, to everyone in the world of women’s cycling, speak up. Let people know you want to see the races on television; reach out to the teams and riders and let them know you’re supporting them; if you see good racing tell people about it; and, at the very least, encourage other women to ride bikes.