Team Cycling-Inform Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic preparations
Well October is upon us again and the talk around Melbourne bike scene has by now turned to the Warny. The boys from the Cycling – Inform Race Team are putting the final touches on a solid block of race specific preparation phase.
As usual, Danny Kah is going very solidly, working hard to build on his previous superb efforts over the last two years (8th and 11th). In particular Dan is concentrating on two extensive endurance sessions per week with some short sharp intervals on the alternating days. All up Dan is logging some high quality training both behind the motor bike and with his team mates Brendan and Harry (on a Wednesday).
Harry on the other hand has taken a slightly different approach this year, doing a significant amount of solo training very specifically with power on both the Kurt trainer and on the road, trying to bank around 750 TSS score each week, whilst keeping a very close eye on his TSB and TSL. It is not uncommon to see Harry soloing around the Mornington loop on a Saturday morning and in the Dandenongs on a Monday. It’s been great to see Harry growing into a solid A grade bike rider since attending our very first race right camp in 2008 and to a level that will see him contributing at the pointy end of races this summer.
Brendan can generally be found within a metre of Dan’s wheel, as these two are essentially on an identical program. Brendan’s sole focus is to support Dan come Warny race day, so his preparation is very much focused around being able to protect Dan for the first 200ks of the race, and maybe more depending on how things unfold on the day. Brendan has also been testing the THB Power Software prototype on his Kurt and good consistent power numbers are coming through in those sessions. If you are based in Melbourne, you might see Brendan or Dan behind the motor bike on a Saturday and it is in these sessions that they bank in the order of 180k’s with 1400 metres of climbing and a TSS approaching 400 for the one session! (last year the Warny was in the mid 400’s for our team riders).
There is no doubt the team are working hard, in fact most of the hard work has been done in the cold and dark hours of a wet and cold Melbourne winter. The thing that still amazes me about these guys is their discipline in executing their programs week in and week out. You won’t see these guys getting a rush of blood and following the next best wheel down beach road, as each session is set and executed as prescribed, usually to power and duration. Come race day it will be time to dig in to all those quality miles banked. Having seen the power numbers these guys are producing I am excited to see how they go both in the Warny and in the coming summer of criteriums.
Our sponsors Lexus of Brighton have provided a Lexus SUV as a Team Car equipped with Race Radio for the Warny and I am sure the boys can’t wait to get out there like everyone else building for this very special one day race.
