MUCKERS TUESDAY RACE DAY. 30/01/24
ROUVY Route Used: Tour Down Under | 2024 | Stage 5 – Willunga | 19.7 miles | 1646 ft climbing
2EARLY4ME RACE RESULT:
I only got to see 15 minutes of this race while on my lunch break, but i saw “CerveloKevin” smashing it up the climb so i thought he was finally going to get a win!! looks like 3rd place, with Mucker “Southafro” getting 2nd with regular morning winner “RocketRoy” grabbing the win. all in that 56 minute bracket as well…. must be a story here somewhere??
| # | Cat. | User | Age | Team | time | GAP | mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men |  RocketRoy | 50-59 | Moon Riders | 0:56:24.3 | 20.95 | |
| 2 | Men |  Southafro | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:56:26.7 | 0:00:02.3 | 20.94 |
| 3 | Men | CerveloKevin | 50-59 | Moon Riders | 0:56:28.4 | 0:00:04.2 | 20.93 |
| 4 | Men |  Mick_Michel | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:16:40.4 | 0:20:16.8 | 15.41 |
2LATE4ME RACE RESULT:
“Jettro” gets the win tonight with a superb time in the 56 minutes category, which is where the 2EARLY4ME leaders came in as well! Then we have 2 American Muckers “bjm151” in 2nd and “cdtchris” in 3rd spreading the word and hopefully having a great time!
| # | Category | User | Age | Team | Race time | GAP | mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men |  Jettro | 50-59 | Red Pill Racing | 0:56:54.9 | 20.77 | |
| 2 | Men |  bjm151 | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:03:52.6 | 0:06:57.7 | 18.5 |
| NED | Men | We2slow | 40-49 | 1:05:30.3 | 0:08:35.5 | 18.04 | |
| 3 | Men | cdtchris | 60+ | Muckers Worldwide | 1:11:06.3 | 0:14:11.4 | 16.62 |
| 4 | Men |  Manumendozago_go_go | 30-39 | Kickr v5 | 1:22:06.5 | 0:25:11.2 | 14.4 |
MAIN RACE RESULT:
144 registered | 112 Starters | 90 Finishers | 1 DSQ | 21 DNF | 32 DNS
112 on the line for this, but what’s more surprising is 21 DNFs! 21!! The route didn’t seem especially hard so It’d be really interesting to see why we had so many quit this race?? Anyway, to you all for being on this start line, THANK YOU! its amazing you all turn up week after week and just make this whole thing more enjoyable, more numbers just means more motivation, and more motivation means a better work out!
We really want you guys to listen to your bodies and know that Tuesdays are really a do what you like day. Yes you can race if you want and the guys who finish in the mention spots today will hopefully be the ones who deserve a mention because they raced for that goal, but please let us know in the comments if you got a mention and was actually doing some training rather than racing! That would be very interesting to see. Thursday’s are now the regular flat out Championship day for the Muckers, But I also understand that some can’t make it on Thursdays so This day is for you as well, to get your race on! But for4 those who want to go for the championship, why not use Tuesdays as a training session? Remember, We still get the challenge route done no matter what position we finish in.
Right! lets see who smashed this course up front!
“luca_ma” won quite convincingly in the end over “karel_sousek” in 2nd (but nice to see him in the mix!) and “Gil.Mad.io” in 3rd, then a nice strong result for “Simon_Hahnenbruch” to get 4th on his return to a Muckers race for some time! Nice to see you back today. “Alieno79” gets 5th place and “hinsbergen” finishes in 6th place and quite a few places up from his team mate which isn’t normally the case with these 2 normally very close together. I can now mention “Wyverns” finally as he’s now supplying HR data, with the strong Spaniard getting 7th.
Next we have a sprint off between 2 riders from the 60+ category which “anatso” just gets the nod after a balls out effort over the line, just in front of “keitholdgits” (New name!) with “lrollin” getting into the Muckers top 10 with a fine effort.
11th to 17th are some real regulars to our races and its great to see them all here and you just know they will have been racing hard all the way! They are: “m-forby” in 11th, “adampel” in 12th, “nielsbrynnum” 13th, “tranberg” 14th, “yayarecki” 15th, “boogybill70” in 16th and “Chorus” in 17th.
18th we have “Manuel1303” whos just been outside of the top 20 on his previous races with us so congrats on a mention, “robbiedoo” pops up in a 19th place mention and finally American “Stephen_Bellio” gets the last mention tonight with a 20th place.
Announcement time: We are going to start removing the NEDs from the top 20 mentions from this blog forward. We think it looks better/neater than writing NED next to riders names. So the top 20 you see, are the top 20 that have stuck to the friendship and Heart rate rules we apply. On Tuesdays I only check till we have the top 20 mentions, then I check no more. We are also going to start removing those that look too good to be true. Please remember we are now looking at over 100 different rider stats pages a week and when we see one that looks odd, it usually is so consider yourself warned 🕵️♂️🕵️♀️👮♀️👮♂️🚓🚓🚓🚓
Cheers again everyone and see you Thursday.
| # | Cat. | User | Age | Team | time | GAP | mph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men |  luca_ma | 30-39 | 0:47:00.1 | 25.14 | ||
| 2 | Men |  karel_sousek | 40-49 | CK Vinohradské Šlapky | 0:47:39.1 | 0:00:38.2 | 24.8 |
| 3 | Men |  Gil.Mad.io | 40-49 | 0:47:41.1 | 0:00:40.1 | 24.78 | |
| 4 | Men | Simon_Hahnenbruch | 40-49 | Cycling Team Rhein-Main | 0:47:53.1 | 0:00:52.1 | 24.68 |
| 5 | Men | Alieno79 | 40-49 | Forno Pioppi | 0:48:05.2 | 0:01:04.3 | 24.58 |
| 6 | Men |  hinsbergen | 40-49 | Team Adam-Chris | 0:49:14.5 | 0:02:13.5 | 24 |
| 7 | Men |  Wyverns | 30-39 | Lles de Cerdanya | 0:49:15.7 | 0:02:14.7 | 23.99 |
| 8 | Men | anatso | 60+ | 0:50:36.1 | 0:03:35.1 | 23.36 | |
| 9 | Men | keitholdgits | 60+ | Old gits | 0:50:36.2 | 0:03:35.3 | 23.35 |
| 10 | Men |  lrollin | 50-59 | 0:50:50.5 | 0:03:49.8 | 23.25 | |
| 11 | Men |  m-forby | 40-49 | 0:51:05.6 | 0:04:04.7 | 23.13 | |
| 12 | Men | adampel | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide/Team Adam-Chris | 0:51:44.0 | 0:04:43.3 | 22.84 |
| 13 | Men | nielsbrynnum | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:52:16.8 | 0:05:15.1 | 22.61 |
| 14 | Men | tranberg | 30-39 | CK GOG | 0:52:43.5 | 0:05:42.5 | 22.42 |
| 15 | Men |  yayarecki | 50-59 | 0:52:53.7 | 0:05:52.7 | 22.34 | |
| 16 | Men | boogybill70 | 50-59 | 0:52:56.5 | 0:05:55.5 | 22.32 | |
| 17 | Men | chorus | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:53:09.6 | 0:06:08.6 | 22.23 |
| 18 | Men | Manuel1303 | 30-39 | VfW Odenwald | 0:53:50.9 | 0:06:49.9 | 21.95 |
| 19 | Men | robbiedoo | 50-59 | Eastbourne Rovers CC | 0:54:17.6 | 0:07:16.7 | 21.77 |
| 20 | Men | Stephen_Bellio | 60+ | OTR | 0:54:18.2 | 0:07:17.2 | 21.76 |
| 25 | Men | Muddypm27 | 50-59 | Aged Velo | 0:54:29.2 | 0:07:28.3 | 21.69 |
| 26 | Men |  owni.d | 30-39 | 0:55:04.2 | 0:08:03.2 | 21.46 | |
| 27 | Men | alfiocrist75 | 40-49 | sicilia in bici | 0:55:05.9 | 0:08:04.9 | 21.45 |
| 28 | Men | Svard | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:55:24.2 | 0:08:23.2 | 21.33 |
| 29 | Men | Grochang | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide & Barecykling | 0:55:24.6 | 0:08:23.6 | 21.33 |
| 30 | Men | Grep. | 40-49 | 0:55:24.1 | 0:08:24.0 | 21.33 | |
| 31 | Men |  Igor_B | 30-39 | 0:55:47.9 | 0:08:46.9 | 21.18 | |
| 32 | Men | kin_kwan | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:56:36.6 | 0:09:35.6 | 20.88 |
| 33 | Men | Samonator | 40-49 | 0:56:51.1 | 0:09:50.1 | 20.79 | |
| 34 | Men | basak.oztan | 40-49 | Team Clydesdales | GRC | 0:56:54.8 | 0:09:53.9 | 20.77 |
| 35 | Men | RaTim | 40-49 | 0:56:55.5 | 0:09:54.5 | 20.76 | |
| 36 | Men | Hoppytherocket | 60+ | Farnham Road Club | 0:56:55.6 | 0:09:54.7 | 20.76 |
| 37 | Men |  tyrone2526 | 40-49 | 0:56:55.8 | 0:09:54.8 | 20.76 | |
| 38 | Men | Alch65 | 50-59 | 0:57:11.5 | 0:10:10.9 | 20.67 | |
| 39 | Men | Slyfly | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 0:57:37.1 | 0:10:37.1 | 20.51 |
| 40 | Men | rouvy1bryon | 60+ | Muckers Worldwide | 0:57:54.3 | 0:10:53.3 | 20.41 |
| 41 | Men | HaD75 | 40-49 | 0:57:59.6 | 0:10:58.6 | 20.38 | |
| 42 | Men | PavelM78 | 40-49 | DalRunDal | 0:58:24.8 | 0:11:23.8 | 20.23 |
| 43 | Men |  MrMcfly | 40-49 | 0:58:29.4 | 0:11:28.4 | 20.21 | |
| 44 | Women | kaz1bar | 40-49 | 0:58:32.3 | 0:11:31.3 | 20.19 | |
| 45 | Men | teigne | 60+ | 0:58:32.6 | 0:11:31.6 | 20.19 | |
| 46 | Men | andy_emmo | 40-49 | 0:58:38.2 | 0:11:37.2 | 20.16 | |
| 47 | Men | Shrew | 50-59 | Farnham Road Club | 0:58:41.9 | 0:11:40.1 | 20.13 |
| 48 | Men | skripnit | 50-59 | 0:58:54.5 | 0:11:53.5 | 20.06 | |
| 49 | Women |  Regina_L | 30-39 | 0:58:59.3 | 0:11:58.3 | 20.04 | |
| 50 | Men | turnvater7 | 50-59 | Burn_Fat_Not_Oil | 0:59:06.8 | 0:12:05.9 | 19.99 |
| 51 | Men | nobbystyles72 | 50-59 | GRC | 0:59:22.8 | 0:12:21.8 | 19.9 |
| 52 | Men | Schm | 40-49 | 0:59:42.4 | 0:12:41.8 | 19.8 | |
| 53 | Men | Schwenk | 40-49 | 1:00:02.2 | 0:13:01.3 | 19.69 | |
| 54 | Men |  remko_hijman | 50-59 | 1:00:07.7 | 0:13:06.7 | 19.66 | |
| 55 | Men | SR-71 | 40-49 | Gem City ICC / GRC | 1:00:09.2 | 0:13:08.3 | 19.65 |
| 56 | Men | gunnera | 60+ | Farnham Road Club | 1:00:32.3 | 0:13:31.4 | 19.52 |
| 57 | Men | Fast2max | 50-59 | 1:00:46.3 | 0:13:45.4 | 19.45 | |
| 58 | Men | nocccon | 50-59 | 1:01:23.7 | 0:14:22.7 | 19.25 | |
| 59 | Men | Squalo_delle_Alpi | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide & Shark Attack | 1:01:52.3 | 0:14:51.3 | 19.1 |
| 60 | Men | tomlerieger | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:01:55.3 | 0:14:54.4 | 19.09 |
| 61 | Men | kylofski | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:02:03.9 | 0:15:02.9 | 19.04 |
| 62 | Men | blinkybob | 60+ | Farnham Road Club | 1:02:25.7 | 0:15:24.8 | 18.93 |
| 63 | Men |  Andy_UP | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:02:39.7 | 0:15:38.7 | 18.86 |
| 64 | Women | SillySilNL | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide & de Gastjes | 1:02:57.3 | 0:15:56.3 | 18.77 |
| 65 | Men | JimmyA | 50-59 | 1:02:59.5 | 0:15:58.5 | 18.76 | |
| 66 | Men | MikeHagen | 60+ | Muckers Worldwide | 1:03:08.9 | 0:16:07.1 | 18.72 |
| 67 | Men | andresano | 50-59 | 1:04:02.1 | 0:17:01.2 | 18.46 | |
| 68 | Men | grupedo | 60+ | UCC, WEDU, Muckers Worldwide | 1:04:23.1 | 0:17:22.2 | 18.36 |
| 69 | Men | AlexAstana | 50-59 | 1:05:09.1 | 0:18:09.0 | 18.14 | |
| 70 | Men | Henryczek | 40-49 | 1:06:06.4 | 0:19:05.7 | 17.88 | |
| 71 | Men | stelviobound | 60+ | Muckers Worldwide | 1:06:15.3 | 0:19:14.3 | 17.84 |
| 72 | Men | Mikey3R | 50-59 | Farnham Road Club | 1:06:23.4 | 0:19:22.4 | 17.8 |
| 73 | Men | 12299Z | 60+ | Farnham Road Club | 1:06:45.1 | 0:19:44.2 | 17.71 |
| 74 | Men | Mucker1974 | 40-49 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:06:49.6 | 0:19:48.6 | 17.69 |
| 75 | Men | The-Chairman | 60+ | Farnham Road Club | 1:06:56.6 | 0:19:55.6 | 17.65 |
| 76 | Men | DolphWader | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:07:02.4 | 0:20:01.4 | 17.63 |
| 77 | Men | lamorla | 40-49 | 1:08:18.7 | 0:21:17.7 | 17.3 | |
| 78 | Men | Bluewolf | 60+ | 1:08:38.6 | 0:21:37.6 | 17.22 | |
| 79 | Men | TibiRibi | 60+ | Wasaga Wheelers | 1:08:43.3 | 0:21:42.3 | 17.2 |
| 80 | Men | Mikeee73 | 50-59 | Muckers Worldwide | 1:09:58.1 | 0:22:58.2 | 16.89 |
| 81 | Men | Carlo_BRENA | 50-59 | LDL COMeta | 1:10:01.2 | 0:23:00.6 | 16.88 |
| 82 | Men | Phil_SCRT | 50-59 | SC Race Team | 1:10:10.5 | 0:23:09.6 | 16.84 |
| 83 | Men | StefaanS | 50-59 | 1:10:56.4 | 0:23:55.4 | 16.66 | |
| 84 | Men | Hankel112 | 50-59 | 1:10:57.7 | 0:23:56.7 | 16.65 | |
| 85 | Men | Verzino | 40-49 | 1:11:39.2 | 0:24:38.5 | 16.49 | |
| 86 | Men | Tilma | 40-49 | 1:17:46.3 | 0:30:45.4 | 15.2 | |
| 87 | Men | gian2 | 40-49 | 1:22:12.6 | 0:35:11.6 | 14.38 | |
| 88 | Men | mdjason | 30-39 | 1:29:30.6 | 0:42:29.6 | 13.2 | |
| 89 | Men | Stirni | 50-59 | 1:30:30.3 | 0:43:29.4 | 13.06 | |
| 90 | Men | tririck | 60+ | 1:36:41.5 | 0:49:40.8 | 12.22 | |
| dsq | Men | hellcat2020 | 60+ | dsq | – | 21.69 |
Tuesday Training for me! looked at the map and where the splits were and it looked really good for a 2.ow/kg first section, a 3.0w/kg middle section and a 2.0w/kg last section home. Fellow Mucker Torben fancied this as well so off we went and how easy does 2.0 feel when you’ve not blasted away from the start!!! I got to the split in around 96th place and hit the 3.0 up the climb. this now felt more on it!! passing lots of riders who were doing the climb at around 2.0-2.1 and it was superb. Started to feel it near the top but i was determined to get to the split so i could recover back at 2.0 and i did it! got to about 74th place then even though i dropped back the power for the last section, and just emptying the tank for a sprint finish, I came home in the same place. Considering the 3.0 max train was only around 4 minutes up the road at the end of the race, I was really happy with the session and that I hadn’t pushed for the whole race at 3.0, just to finish a bit sooner and a few places higher. Hopefully i have a bit more in the tank now for Thursdays Race.
Nice seeing you holding your training zones😉
By the way, I’m sorry to say it, but it seems like there is missing a letter on the Danish 2024 mention T-shirt. “BLE” is spelled like this “BLEV”
Thank you! we will get that sorted right away!!
we have a Norwegian Version with BLE and a Dutch Version with BLEV. Is it correct? Neil and I only speak English so we rely on you guys to help us out with translations.
Norwegian version = “BLE” is correct 😀
On Tuesday’s ride/race, I challenged myself to stay in Zone 4 HR. So, off I went. I hit the top of my HR Zone 4 (142 BPM) very quickly on the first climb and ended up going into Zone 5 HR. This is where I jumped onto the back wheel of fellow Muckers TomLeriger and Squalo_delle_Alpi, who seemed to be having a chilled ride. We rode the whole ride together; they did a few sprints, and so did I, but I managed to stay within 150 BPM, especially during the long climb.
In the end, I let these powerhouses of riders disappear into the distance, as I was still trying to keep at 150 BPM max. After the race, I feel fresh for the Championship race tomorrow. Hopefully, I might get a top 50.
I was hoping there was a spot prize for fastest up the Old Willunga Hill segment 😃 8:08 mins.
Mate, you were flying up that!! but please, don’t start putting more pressure on to now start doing segment leaderboards as well 😂😂
great time Kevin, I was going for it so happy to not be too far behind you., young man!
I was giving it full gas so happy to be so close to you…..young man!
For me yesterday I tested the 3 w/kg train, a new experience in a group. Good sensations, maybe it could be a training session to increase with my teammates. Nice team with Kyle and tomlerieger, but we could also ride with Andy_Up, SillySilNL and MikeHagen we all had the good intention of 3w/kg, we just need to synchronize better but we will certainly make great improvements. Concentration training both to avoid going too far beyond the imposed limit and also when our opponents challenged us closely… 🤣
3w/kg is a nice train, and the more it gets practiced the better. Its just nice enough for us lower riders to get into the draft at around 2.7 2.8 and hold on. its when the train gets a bit “giddy” and starts climbing at 3.5 at a slow speed and the draft gets so low that we can’t hold on anymore, that’s when it all breaks down.
But it does seem the power of choice for most so i think it will get more and more popular.
i am more happier at 2.5w/kg though 😏
Tuesday race with the Muckers on my TT bike.
Had myself going in hr zone 4 until I saw Grape and Svard 150 meters in front the last 10 km. I bridge the gap shortly after the big descent, and we had a great sprint over the finish line. Well done Svard for taking the sprint, you came like a rocket from behind ( Standings Svard & Grochang 1-1🚴🏼♂️💨🚴🏼♂️💨in sprint finish) and a well deserved applause to you Grep for fighting you way through the field and still putting in a surprising sprint.
Ps the subject writing on Strava today is not to be found anymore. Is this because it’s been taken off for some reason and shall not be discussed anymore?
Thanks for another great ride boy and girls🤙
Alias: Grochang
Weight 76.1 kg
259 W
Weighted Avg Power
861 kJ
Total Work
78
TSS
0.917
IF
00:55:24
it was a really good discussion but i have to totally honest and own up to accidently deleting the whole post! 🤦♂️🤦♂️ I really should not be allowed around too much technology and definitely too much admin!! Really gutted and hopefully Kyle will get the subject up again and I will get my admin rights removed so I can’t make that mistake again!
@neil Too bad about the post deletion. I still have the page open in one of my browser tabs. I can privately copy your message on Discord if needed.
I started this race with a 1.30 minute delay gap at 103 posts with no ambitions to race.
At the beginning on low power with trying to add more I have saluted all known Muckers like Neil, Andy, … etc. during the individual time trial.
Around 30 posts, I have reached a reasonable and stable power and looked around who is my sparring partner.
I noticed that alfiocrist75 and Svard did not allow me to easily overtake them and played with me the game on the RACE 😀.
I also passed Grochang, who surprisingly rode very low power, but as well as the two sparing guys, he accepted my game and he joined the group.
Alfiocrist75 had more dynamite energy in the legs, so he dropped us and went alone in front of us.
In the last km, my head still calculated, because I knew I couldn’t win the sprint with Svard and Grochang.
So I bet on only one card, just to try too far from the finish to surprise them because no gas was to the finish in my legs. 😉
Even though I lost the sprint in final meters, I am satisfied with my personal race in the race and 30 posts is my personal victory today 😀.
It was my pleasure to go with Grochang and Svard.
Well done!
My second time on the course. One target in mind…do better than the 58:24 PB, but don’t kill yourself either. Paced until the start of the hill, didn’t launch forward with the usual gang at the start. Crowded race anyways, I knew I was going to settle in with a nice group anyways. Rode the hill at threshold, near the top I grouped with Samonator and HoppytheRocket. Tyrone2526 came back from behind and joined us. Then we bridged the gap to RaTim along the way, became a group of five. No urgency to do anything more, just stayed with the group. Samonator launched a solo breakaway near the finish, I stayed with the others. Went into a four way sprint with them, finished the race 34th overall, 56:55. Minute and a half better than PB, legs didn’t suffer terribly (although near the end of the climb hit some 180 bpms, didn’t want to get there but oh well), good workout. Catch you all on another Muckers night!
absolutely great to see you on a Muckers Race pal! and well done on smashing the PB! Really good route this and thank you for taking the time to comment.
Crowded race over fearful Willunga climb, which is not steep, but hard, especially when you hang on in front with race leaders. Pre-heated with running routine i could not wait sit on trainer in Rouvy world, good music and more pleasant temperature than outside. Strong start by all, glad i was ready. Several attacks until main group formed, big names here. Luca went into short breakaway, suggesting who is the strongest dog today.
We regrouped before Willunga, but here real deal just started. Luca again into breakaway, followed by me, Gilmad and Alieno. I sticked with Gilmad’s rear wheel and almost gave up few times. Tough climb indeed as i could see often watts starting 4xx, but finally we are on the top and we distanced rest. I moved in the front now, because guys behind us were only 200-300m far. Finish coming quickly and once Gilmad got his full power back, it was clear we can hold it. Long sprint 500m before end and to my surprise enough to take silver medal. Excellent racing, thank you all!
I went into this race with zero expectations except that I was going to race it hard. I was just happy to be able to race on a Tuesday again. Kids being sick, holidays and work issues haven’t allowed me to join for almost 2 months. My plan was to pace up to the hill, attack the hill and then hang on on the way down. My plan was destroyed when I got to the first of the three little hills. I hadn’t looked closely at the map and didn’t prepare for them, I knew I needed to push up them to stay with the group I was with to be able to catch a draft on the flat leading to the big hill. I got to the hill and I went into pace mode, trying to maintain 3.0w/kg all the way up. I was riding with Fast2Max, Gunnera and I believe Skripnit. Skripnit pulled away as we climbed followed by Fast2Max and Gunnera. I was able to reel in Fast2Max but Gunnera caught Remko and they went over the top 350 feet ahead of me. I had pulled .25 mile on Fast2Max so I was about to be in no mans land coming over the top. I knew I had to bridge the gap. I pushed to 7.5 w/kg and made the 350 foot gap. It was now me, Gunnera and Remko. We worked together and pushed each other the entire way down. When we got to 5 miles to go, I cranked the music and stepped it up a notch. Gunnera faded and Remko and I kept pushing. I played the wrong strategy with Remko, I tried to push up the last two hills to show that I had something left, unfortunately he hung with me and when my legs dropped he kept going and gapped me by 120 feet. I made a final push in the finish tunnel and ended up 36 feet behind him. I gave my all and was very happy with the result (other than my bluff at the end). I’ve learned and will race smarter next time.
Already mentioned in the disappeared Strava discussion, but I had planned to take this race more calmly. However, I struggle to stay completely restrained during races. Started in Zone 2/3, but ended up in Zone 5 on the hill. Caught up with several riders in the climb, eventually reaching m-forby on the upper part of the hill. My goal then was to finish in the top 10, attempting a comeback at my own pace. A good test to verify that a moderately paced start in Zone 2/3 with a significant portion in Zone 5 can yield a similar result to starting in Zone 5, breaking down during the race, and finishing exhausted. Managed effort races (around 90% of FTP) are inevitably less grueling than full-throttle races at 100% of FTP, trying to stick with the front pack.
Definitely pacing and not racing! Mucker chatter before the race had several folk saying they’d aim for a 3 W/kg train. Andy_UP was one of them, and he’s pretty reliable when he says he’s limiting to x W, so I looked for him. SillySilNL soon joined us and we maintained a very nice three-some to the Willunga climb. Holding 3 W/kg on the climb was hard! HR was zone 4, edging into zone 5. Up on the plateau, Sil said that, hey, Squalo_delle_Alpi, tomlereiger, and kyloski aren’t that far ahead, we can catch them, she said, we can pull at 3.2 – 3.5 and reel them in, she said. She is so competitive! So we sort of tried that, didn’t really work though. Sorry, Sil! Now, I’d had a little bit of a back ache at the start; seems one of my small muscles supporting my spine was overloading, but I was just riding through it. With 1 km to go, it spasmed; so painful, could hardly breathe. So just a cautionary note, folks: don’t race maximal two or three times a week. In the long run, it’s not doing you any good.
It seems to me that power threshold groups in races are a partial solution to preventing over-fatigue and injuries. I’ll repeat myself again, but why organize virtual races with limited effort? Grouprides are more suitable for paced group outings. If we look at other groups like RMC, Gure, Rec, usually only one big race is offered during the week, and the rest of the grouped intensity variable outings are done as grouprides.
No race for me this Tuesday (or Thursday Feb. 1st.) , gutted to have missed such a big turnout for this Tuesday race 😅 Next race oppertunity for me will be next week (Tues+Thurs)
Intend to join in on the Sunday Mt Ventoux Circle II, so I’ll primarely do low zone for most of this week whenever I get the chance, aiming to complete the Babble Challenge by Saturday.
Don’t forget, Laurent, that you don’t get credit for a Rouvy challenge if you do the route as a group ride, because of the rubber band effect. So if you want to ride as a group AND get credit, it has to be in a “race”. Limiting W/kg is one way to do it, maybe there are others. Still working the kinks out!
This was super hard win, but a lot of fun (and suffering too). In the last races I find out that it is more about the tactics and no one wants to attack. If I did, I was easily brought back, so it started to be a bit boring, just waiting for the finish, where I was not the best usualy, sometimes the smartest thougth.
This time I want to make the race, so I tried the small attack right from the start, noone joined, but the hills where too short to make a difference. So I needed to wait for a famous Willunga. Then just made my max there, totally dead at the top. I gain about 80meter advantege, but to my surprise no one seemed to put some serios effort to catch me, although I still think I am not the strongest from the usual start list. So it was all in to the finish line and a solo win.
Guys, when you find yourself in a group with a 58 Kg female how about you take your turns on the front rather than let her drag you along the flat and downhill then try to attack her on climbs and fail miserably. Just saying. If you worked with her you would be in with a chance of catching the group in front and holding off the chasers behind. Don’t say you couldn’t as you all tried to beat her in the sprint for the line and only 1 finished in front of her. What happened to chivalry?
This is very easy to answer. From the beginning, Neil has created race events that picked routes from current ‘Rouvy’ challenges – if they were ‘grouprides’ they would not count for challenges. How each individual approaches the events is down to ‘common sense’ and it is not compulsory to ride at an effort that encourages fatigue or injury, that is a personal responsibility, not a responsibility of a race organiser. Important to remember, Neil’s main objective is for people to have an opportunity to have fun and race or train as they wish. Better to have this opportunity 3 times a week than only 1 time. Rouvy gives people opportunity to Race 20 times a day 7 days a week, choice and availability is good, but as individuals, only we are responsible for how we apply our efforts.
I concur – Muckers will have a wider appeal with a “fixed” 3 race per week schedule, based on current Challenge routes. This allow for consistency in terms of riders who compete/engange and share the fun, thus creating a community.
And yes, responsibility is personal and it is okay to push hard/become tired/fatigued, it is a skill to listen/learn and adapt from the experience. I´m still learning!! 😇
Absolutely. The Mucker community is the best part of it. Last couple of “races” for me have been lower intensity, easier rides with folk like Andy_UP, SillySilNL, SwissChris, and others. We’re chatting on WhatsApp, not going super hard, waiting to regroup where necessary, bantering away; so much fun. I will hammer in some future races, but not always all of them!
You are right, also I think is better always make a race that we can complete the challenge and fun with others. Everyone must take it what he fell his physicist in real time. When in a race there are many riders is always a great solution.
Neil, you offer some really sound advice, which I will try to follow on future Tuesdays. The plan was to take it easy, get into a nice group, and enjoy the ride. At the start, I was around 60th. I thought it would be good to catch up with some familiar names. All was going well until Grochang flew past me and disappeared into the distance. After that, I couldn’t help but push harder. On the climb, I set my sights on Stephen Bellio, who was maintaining a strong pace. By the time I caught up, my HR was at max, and I was so out of breath, it was a struggle to drink from the water bottle. The downhill sections were great for recovery and there was some fantastic riding with yayarecki and Chorus. We could see Tranberg up ahead, but there was no way of catching him. An enjoyable race but pushed harder than I should – the legs are still heavy 1/2 hour before the next race! See you there. 🙂