A Zwift Victory
The countdown timer for the race to start ticked over on the screen. I sat mounted on my bike, warmed up and ready to go, completely focused. I was genuinely in race mode and, after almost a month in lockdown, that was a welcome feeling. But the unfamiliarity of e-racing was making my heart beat a little faster.
I had been invited to race the Zwift Classic Trofeo Bologna but initially I was hesitant. I’ve made a big effort to embrace Zwift since lockdown but I had been watching some of the other pro races and the power stats were intimidating. I had never done an e-race before so I also wasn’t sure how to strategize or use the power-ups. Even though I had actually raced the course in real life, this really was racing in a different world, but the newly addicted Zwift athlete in me couldn’t say no.
In the comfort of my own home, I waited for the start absolutely tingling with nerves. I hadn’t been this nervous for a race in years! When the race officially began, I over-powered the start and shot right out in front. In the peloton I was like a yo-yo. As a first-time e-racer, I didn’t have a sense of the delay between pedal power and on-screen position. I would be leading the race and then almost out the back, off the front and then instantly back to 30th. Eventually, I got the balance right and as we approached the first ascent up the Madonna di San Luca, I moved to the front and set the pace. I crested with only one other rider but we were caught at the bottom of the descent by a chase group of eight riders. By then, however, I had the hang of things.
I sat in the wheels, taking my turn on the front but also saving my legs as much as I could. In the one-day Giro dell'Emilia, we race up the Madonna di San Luca so, even though I was an avatar in a computer-generated representation, I knew exactly what to do. When the gradient screamed up on a sharp hairpin around 1 kilometer to go, I attacked. In the 2016 Giro dell'Emilia, I had come up short and finished second to Elisa Longo Borghini but that wasn’t happening today. As my family stood right next to me in the grips of excitement, cheering me on, I put down the watts and claimed the victory.
My family swarmed around to congratulate me, as did the virtual community. I knew the London Dynamo Club I often rode with on Zwift were watching from England and their messages began to pour in. I had tons of messages from riders I knew in real life and riders I had only ever “met" in Watopia. A lot of people were reaching out and, maybe it’s because of lockdown and the current situation, but the response seemed bigger than some of my real-life race wins.
The race was only 41 minutes so, even though it was around 21:00, I rode on for a long time after. The house settled back to quiet but I could feel there was lift in the atmosphere, a buzz from the race. I never imagined that Zwift would be such a big part of my life and I definitely never imagined I would be the winner of an e-race! I also never imagined that physical distancing would bring the cycling community so close together or that our sport would continue on in such a new way. Change brings uncertainty, as my racing nerves reminded me, but it also brings the hope and excitement of new opportunities and that makes my heart beat a little faster too.
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.
Jeroboam Comes to Rocacorba Cycling - 27th October 2019.
The Jeroboam is a gravel series across Europe with events in Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, and now--new for this year--Spain, hosted right here at Rocacorba Cycling on the 27th of October 2019. “Jeroboam” is a 300cc wine bottle, the equivalent of 4 normal wine bottles. But what exactly is “gravel”? We think the Jeroboam team said it best:
“Originally it was a road surface. Then it became a type of bike capable of much more than just riding on gravel. Now above all, ‘gravel’ is a way of cycling: discovering new places and people and the fun on the journey rather than just getting to the finish line fast.”
Gravel is quintessentially about exploring so forget the boundaries of the road, the limitations of mountain biking, and redefine your idea of what a cycling event is all about. The Jeroboam isn’t a race, it’s not a gran fondo, it’s not a cycling tour…we know you’re curious, keep reading.
As the name suggests, the title course of every location is a 300km epic gravel route with a mix of dirt, single track, and road. There are also 150km, 75km, and 35km distance options so there is something for every level. However, the 2019 edition will be a test event for the official Jeroboam Spain in 2020. While the 2020 event will have an epic 300km course through the mountains and the coastline of the Costa Brava, the longest route option for 2019 will be a 150km route towards the Costa Brava. There will be shorter 75km as well. Naturally, we will be testing the Jeroboam Village too so there will be good food, rewarding drinks, great places to stay, good friends new and old, and a great vibe.
If you’re a seasoned gravel rider, get in at the beginning of Jeroboam Spain and experience the unforgettable terrain and our friendly hospitality. Let us know what you’d like to see in 2020 and get a sneak peak if you’re already thinking of the 300! If you’re new to gravel riding, get excited. There is a whole new world of riding out there on gravel. Either way, test here, get riding, and go gravel.
As a 3T Experience Centre, Rocacorba Cycling is equipped with the best and latest 3T gravel bike, namely the 3T Exploro. The Exploro is designed to be fast on and off the road; it’s versatility knows no bounds. Book your 3T Exploro for the Jeroboam now or come test out gravel with one of our experienced guides.
The Next Chapter
You can just imagine the family working where we’ve started to dig out the new pool. Originally the vegetable garden, you can still see the built-in benches in the remains of the stone walls where they would rest. We’re definitely keeping those benches.
The position of the pool moved several times during planning and was discussed at length over months, as are all the renovation plans; but, ultimately, the house always reveals what is best and we’ve learned to trust that. There is always an initial idea of what we want but when you live on a property like this one, you get to know it. All the quirks, how it functions and how people flow through the spaces, the scars of wear and tear, the layers of modernization—it isn’t a blank slate. Respecting what is here always presents challenges but working with what we have allows us to refurbish and reinvent instead of replace and erase.
For the recent updates to the Germa building, we especially wanted to reinstate the doors opening onto the courtyard. The action is always in the courtyard and it’s probably been that way since the house was built. We wanted to re-establish that connection, not just for the building, but so our guests can feel that connection too. It’s easy to think of Can Campolier as historical, and it is, but it’s also still a functioning property so it’s not just about highlighting what it used to be, it’s also about showcasing what it still is.
There is so much history on this land and, as we modernise and bring the Rocacorba Cycling vision to life, there is a hope that this will become another chapter in the long story of Can Campolier. The truth is the house has 300 years of history before us and hopefully, with our help, 300 years of history after us. It’s a significant part of our lives but we are merely custodians of Can Campolier, hoping to leave it better for the future.
Season Opener: Tour Down Under
It’s been 9 days since I’m officially a CCC-Liv rider!
The excitement of signing with a brand new team has only built over the last few weeks. For the first time in my career I had a pre-season training camp so, in December, I had an early taste of what was to come: new equipment, new teammates, new management, new race schedule. Contracts only officially roll over on January 1 so after camp I had to wait. I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas and when 2019 finally arrived, the build up did not let me down.
A week after the New Year we all jetted down to Australia for the Tour Down Under. After the million-hour long flight, we all crashed at the hotel while the time change crashed into us. Thank goodness there is a strong coffee culture in Australia because the next day it felt like I needed a constant supply of caffeine just to keep one eye open. The other eye, thankfully, was being kept open by spending time with teammates, exploring Adelaide by bike, and snuggling baby kangaroos. (Hey, when in Australia, right?!).
I couldn’t think of a better way to start with a new team then with a new race. It will be my first time competing at the Tour Down Under. Since it’s also our first race as a team, the goal is just to start learning how to race together over the four-stage event. We’re all professionals with a very professional set up so everyone knows what they are doing but there is sense of unspoken communication in racing, a rapport, that just needs to be built on the road in a race. It’s learning how your teammates react to race situations, what each riders facial expressions mean, and even who likes what in their bottles. In other words, it’s all about bonding this week but, if an opportunity arises, whether that’s snuggling a kangaroo or grabbing a podium, you can bet we’re going to take it!
