Irish National Time Trial Championships

The last few days have been a bit of a roller coaster for me. I've come 2nd in the Irish National Time Trial Championships and won the Irish National Road Race Championships. It still feels so unreal and I have to remind myself that it actually really did happen. oh, and yes, I can't swipe that smile off my face :)

But I will start from the beginning.

Irish National Time Trial Champs Race:
After having had a good performance at the Celtic Chrono a few weeks ago, the National Time Trial Championships was next on my list. I spent a lot of my training on the TT bike, getting more and more comfortable with the position on the bike and being able to put out the power in that position.

Full concentration before the start (photo by Brendan Slattery)

A week before the National TT Champs, Ryan and I did the Leinster TT Champs, which we both won. It was a super windy and wet day and because Ryan and I were on about the same time, I got a lend of a HED trispoke and disk (courtesy of Paul Hicks from Kinetix Cycling Products, who's selling them at great prices if interested!). Having never ridden a trispoke before, I was barely able to control the bike in the gusty crosswinds and rode 99% of the TT in the side bars for fear of being blown off the road. But with a time of 23:03 for the 16km in those conditions after 2 hard days of training I was happy. I followed the weather forecast the whole week, hoping for slightly better weather for the National TT Champs, and we were very lucky, the rain had stopped and the winds had turned from strong and gusty to an even, head/tail wind. Because the TT Champs course was a 35km out and back fairly flat loop on big open roads, it was a headwind the way out and a tail wind on the way back. I was also looking forward to trying out my new SmartAeroTech skinsuit that Ryan bought me for my birthday, supported by SmartAeroTech. Together with my Specialized Shiv (also originally from Kinetix), I knew that equipment wise I was set up perfectly.

Catching flies at full speed :) (photo by John Michael Troy)

My warm up and preparation had gone well and I was feeling good. The only difficult thing was to balance out the fact that you're meant to go a little easier on the way out, but because there was more uphill/headwind, there was more to be gained by going a little harder - this was going to hurt! Without a power meter on my bike and going by feel I just hoped I got that balance right. I felt good from the start, and was able to control the bike, staying in the extensions for almost the complete ride. I overtook all of the six women who had started ahead of me, using them as mental rungs on a ladder that I was climbing. Then I started overtaking some of the Paralympic cyclists too. Shortly after the turnaround point I could see Olivia Dillon, who had started 2min behind chasing. On the faster way back, I had run out of rabbits and I could only go by my km counter on my Garmin. I just hoped that Olivia Dillon would not catch me. I ramped up the speed for the last 3km and crossed the line with a time of 51min 47secs. Olivia Dillon came in with a flying time of 51min 25 secs, putting me into 2nd place. Third placed Siobhan Horgan finished with a time of 52min 56secs.

Siobhan Horgan, Olivia Dillon, Melanie Spath (photo by Ciaran Fallon)

Obviously I would have loved to win the TT champs, but I was happy with the result considering I first rode a TT bike only six weeks ago and a more technical course may have suited me more (as an 'ex' mountain biker). I knew Olivia Dillon was in great form and beating the seasoned professional would be a tall order at this stage, but coming within 22 seconds of her is a really good sign for me that I have improved since the Celtic Chrono.

My Strava file from the TT can be found here.

Links to reports & pictures:
http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6405.shtml
http://www.stickybottle.com/races-results/full-official-results-from-national-tt-championships-in-tipperary/
http://www.stickybottle.com/races-results/hutchinson-upsets-protour-riders-in-tt-champs-dunne-dillon-also-take-gold/
http://www.irishcycling.com/publish/news/art_6408.shtml

I'll be posting about the Irish National Road Race Champs in the next post!

Ras Donegal take two!

I did the Donegal Ras, organized by Four Masters Cycling last year, and even though the weather was atrocious, I wanted to do it again this year. It's really hard racing on the lumpy Donegal roads, based around the beautiful little Irish town Ardara (I tell you, you cannot find one bit of flat roads there!) and good preparation for the upcoming nationals. And even if you're not into cycling, the race coincides with the Melting Pot festival in Ardara, so there's always plenty of buzz happening in that wee Donegal town on that weekend :)

The course was the same as last year, 4 stages, run over 3 days of the June bank holiday weekend. What was different though, was the weather, beautiful warm and sunny weather, the complete opposite from last year, so this was great! Also, last year there were a lot more women and we got a couple of minutes head start every day, but this year there was only 4 women in the race, so we started with the men every day. My main competition was in the form of Sara Ortiz, a Spanish ex-professional bike racer who I've raced in several of the women's league races now and while I belief I'm the stronger one, she's the more experienced one, so I knew it would make for some hard and exciting racing!

Stage 1: Fri evening: 52km, 2 Cat 3 KOMs
The first stage is a very fast stage and I finished with the bunch, same as last year. Sara had a mechanical a few km before the finish and arrived about 40sec later. The speed we went into Ardara with to the finish line was something else, and the average speed of the race was over 42km/h. Loved it!

Stage 2: Sat morning: 2.9km ITT (uphill)
My time up was 8min 18 sec, 5sec slow than last year (when we had a tail wind). However, last year I only had to put out 308W to do that time and this year I averaged 330W! I also had learned how to ride the rollers and have finally found a very good warm-up routine that works for me and my pacing was spot on, so I was very happy. Sara came in about 25 secs behind me.

ITT up Glengesh in my new Cycleways skinsuit - Photo by Marian Lamb

Stage 3: Sat afternoon: 82km, 2 Cat 3 KOMs, 1 Cat 2 KOM
Another very fast stage. Last year I got dropped around the Cat 2 KOM lumps - the road keeps undulating on the way up it and after too, so the bunch can still easily split up just after the KOM. There was line out after line out and it was really really hard in the exposed country side with cross winds, but I guess the recession has had an effect on riders' legs and people were very good in holding the wheels until the speed eventually eased off and we all bunched up again. I (and Sara) made it safe and sound into the finish with the bunch, just after the breakaway that had been away for most of the stage.

Sunday: 98km, 3 Cat 2 KOMs, 1 Cat 1 KOM at finish!
There was a steep hill just a few km into the race, so it was important to be warmed up for it. To keep the women's leader jersey, I only had to arrive to the bottom of Glengesh with the bunch and I knew I'd be fine then. Easier said then done, with 3 KOMs on the way and tiring legs.... I managed to stay with the bunch over all the 3 KOMs, and thought"Happy Days!", but what I had not realized was that the road after the last KOM (at 20km to go) was exposed and had strong crosswinds. I think unconsciously I had eased off and was too far back in the bunch when those guys chasing an early breakaway kept the pressure on in the strong cross winds and the dreaded line outs happened again. Wheel after wheel after wheel, men gritting their teeth, riding at their max on the wrong side of the road completely in the gutter hoping for a little bit of shelter in a non-existing draft...... And you know what happens then. Riders started dropping wheels and after chasing down a few of the gaps that opened I could not keep up and had to let go myself. I was positioned too far back and too many gaps had opened. I had burned all my matches and my legs were toast. I really really tried, but I couldn't get back on. And so I saw Sara, who had wisely kept around the front of the bunch happily riding away with my jersey.... A few other of the dropped men tried to give me a hand back and I tried to hang onto the calvacade, but the winds were too strong and my legs too tired, so I ended up riding the rest of the stage by myself. Going up the killer climb of Glengesh (it is a killer when you've just done over 90km of hard racing) it felt like the walk of shame, coming in several minutes behind Sara, who had now won the overall. But hey, such is bike racing and I've learned another valuable lesson. We're pretty much equal now in our win/lose tallies (I just about won in the last race before the Ras Donegal), so the Spath/Ortiz rivalry lives on!

Reports on StickyBottle.com for Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4.
Reports also on CyclingUlster.com for Stage 1 with gallery, Stage 2 with gallery, Stage 3 and Stage 4.
My rides are all up on Strava for Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4 (sometimes including warm-up/cool down).

Celtic Chrono

I did not believe Ryan when he said I could do a good TT (he says a lot of things when the day is long ;)). But he was right - again. He so much trusted in my potential that he went far and beyond his husbandly duties and built me up one of the best TT bikes there can be once I knew I had an entry into the Celtic Chrono. For my first TT bike I thought it was a bit overkill and that the disparity between the level of equipment and level of possible performance bordered on Fred territory (the bike was only ready a week before the race), but he said as long as I give it my best I will have done it justice.

Celtic Chrono arrived and I started 7th out of 34 riders. Win/win situation: the fastest riders start last, so if I did badly than it's what my starting position would have indicated, if I did well, even better!

In Ryan's go-faster skinsuit! photo credit: Stephen Prentice

The race:
I arrived at the start ramp in time and even got my cleat hooked into my pedal before I was off (and yes, Fran, I started in the big ring this time!). I didn't fall off the start ramp either (for some reason that was my biggest pre-racing fear, next to making an idiot of myself). We had a good side/tail wind for the 8km, then a steep enough climb (small ring), but with a tail wind, so not so bad with a flatter road again. Then, when the road turned again at about 18km, there was a horribly strong and gusty side wind. So bad that I had to resolve to riding in the horns rather than the extensions for much of the way because I had a huge sail for a front wheel that threw me about like crazy. I just noticed I mentioned the wind a lot, but I think it was the defining factor for this race really. The good thing was that the concentration needed for keeping the bike upright took the focus away from the pain in the legs. I knew I was loosing time this way, but I thought if I fell off the bike and had to get back on I would loose even more time and what would Ryan say if I wrecked his wheels??? I was able to ride on the extensions again for the last 5km or so and arrived after 52min 16sec. In the end that was enough for 9th overall and first Irish rider, and just outside the UCI points by 3 secs. I think I caught a good day. How can I not be happy with that! The winner, Wendy Houvenaghel did it in a time of 48:35.

Results and write up on Stickybottle here.

A few general TT observations:

• Preparation is everything. Allow way more time you think you need to get your bike and yourself ready.
• It helps to have a bit of a nerdy expert for a husband who knows a bit about TTs (and has all the top-end aero equipment). I would never have been able to do this well without his advice (and equipment...).
• MTB training seems to carry over well for TT performance.
• Big aero wheels are hard to control in windy conditions.

A few special thank yous:
There are many people who have helped me in one way or another to even be able to start, let alone put in a good performance, but a few stand out. For mechanical issues: Dave Daly, Cathal Miller, Aidan Reade and Billy Walsh. For follow-car: Dave Daly. Jack Watson and Oliver McKenna for making sure I was the first Irish rider over the line and not the 2nd German. Paul Hicks for finding us a good deal on the frame. The girls for making it a fun event. 

Finally, I thought the race was very well organized and run, with closed roads and the marshalling spot-on - you know, with nothing to compare to I will take this as the standard now ;)

Gorey 3-day

So, I did the Gorey 3-day this year. The last two Easters I've raced the Ras Mumhan in Kerry as the only girl, but this year I got talked into doing the Gorey.

Stage 1: Blessington to Gorey
My head wasn't in it, PhD was taking up too much real estate. I was scared in the bunch of 180 riders (only 4 women) leaving the start, and sure enough, the first crash happened just outside Blessington when a rider crashed smack bang into a car. Not really helping my confidence in the bunch there. It took me about half the day to get used to the nerve-wracking experience of excited riders invading my personal space at over 50k an hour. Unfortunately I was sitting in the bunch too far back when it split over the hill in Hackettstown, so that I was in the group that arrived 5min down. So was the Manx girl, the only girl who made it into that group too.

Stage 2: 6.4km TT, no wait, 5.8km TT
Well, the finish line did come early, much earlier than advertised in the race booklet. I thought I went out too hard as usual, but looking at the power file I actually didn't pace it too badly. Not too happy with my average wattage though. The Manx girl gained 12 seconds on me. The question is: would I have been able to match her time if I was on a TT bike too?

Stage 3: 4 laps of a "24km circuit", starting at "Monument top Gorey"....??
Might mention Google Maps and course profile to the organizers... I finally got head around bunch racing again. Enjoyed trying to fight my way to the front through 160+ riders and actually made it to the front. Another proud moment for me was that I didn't sit up during the mayhem of the bunch sprint. I wasn't anywhere near the front, but I was with that part of the bunch that did not sit up but sprinted for the line. What a rush! The Manx girl was the same time.

Stage 4: Gorey to Blessington
I wish I could zoom myself up to the front in an instance. I could see a group riding off the front, not attacking, but just riding away nice and easy. You could see them for ages! But it took me ages to get to the front and by the time I was there, they were far gone. I rode in what felt like the front 3rd of the bunch for a good while, so I'm really happy with that. We never caught the group of about 21 riders, but our bunch still sprinted for the line, and again I was happy enough to be involved in the fast action. Pity they didn't bother putting the results in order of finishing, but I think I was about 35th of our bunch sprint. Manx girl was also in this group, so she won the overall.

Huge thanks are in order to the South Dublin CC who took great care of us girls over the weekend, especially Colm, Mick and JP.

So, now I've done it, but I think I'll be back in the hills of Ras Mumhan next year. Or maybe the Ras Chonamara, it's got hills too. I like hills.

British National XC Series - Round 1 - Sherwood Pines

I am trying to finish my PhD this year, so I am trying to keep traveling and costs to a minimum, but one thing that I decided to indulge in for racing abroad is the British National XC Series. At least I need to try and defend my overall win from last year!


This is now my 4th year of racing the series in the UK and it's like coming home to an extended family gathering. Traditionally, the series starts off with a flat course and I wasn't "disappointed". Not only was it flat, it was also a fairly "safe" course, not crazy drops or anything too technical - I think the most exciting thing that could have happened on that course was hitting a hidden wet root, but even that was unlikely with the dry weather lately. But, in a way, this type of course suited me just as well. I've done a lot more work on the road bike recently and am doing a bit more road racing this year, and am lacking substantially in mtb training and racing, not having done the heavily contented Cyprus Sunshine Cup this year. So, for my 3rd mtb race this season, if you count the other two training races, I was hoping I could get away with it.


Annie Last, the runner up of the U23 World Champs 2011, having placed 9th in the World Cup in SA just a weekend ago, was the clear favourite for the win. Annie is being supported by Lee Craigie in her hunt for Olympic qualification points, who has just come back from 5 weeks of racing in SA, so I knew her legs would be more accustomed to the speed and pain of racing, so I my plan was to hang onto her wheel. The rest I couldn't judge at all, it would come down to how they had spent their winter training and would have good legs on the day. However, flat races always skew the results, so you would never know who would come out of the wood work on the day.

We started off really early, 9:30am (which is really like 8:30am taking into account the time change), not a time I like racing at. I also didn't have a warm-up, arriving a little on the late side at race venue and running around like a headless chicken finding someone to do my bottles (thanks again to Angela Oakley and Matt Adair for their help). But at least the weather was beautiful and the sun had just started to heat up the air. Much better than last year when we had freezing fog!


So, now to the race. We started off and I was third wheel behind Annie Last and Lee Craigie into the first single-track section. For a couple of minutes we were riding closely together, but then the elastic stretched between Annie and Lee and me and the rest. Annie disappeared into the distance and I tried to hang on to Lee as long as I could, but my legs were filled with lead a couple of minutes into the race and never got better. I could still see her after lap 1, but then she was gone too and I was in no man's land, with a group of chasers closely in pursuit. I was kept on my toes for the next three laps, but kept the distance mostly constant between them and me to finish 3rd behind Annie and Lee. My best result in a UCI C1 race ever!

Full results can be found here. The British Cycling report here.

The G-ride

With Sherwood Pines only one week away and only one mtb race under my belt this year I was glad for another race opportunity at the G-ride, close to home. The G-ride was constructed by trail building legend Robin Seymour on private land at the Glendalough House at Annamoe. The race acted as a peek preview of the trails before they were officially opened to the public.

A pre-lap of the course confirmed what was promised: tons of flowy singletrack through a beautiful estate - something I am more used to see in the UK actually. The longest climb was done on switchback singletrack - possibly the only way to take the sting out of it.

 Enjoying the flowy single-track along the top section (photo credit: Richie Byrne)

The race itself was good fun. I had raced a hard 100km road race the day before, and went into the G-ride with tired legs and mind. I went hard for the first 2 out of 4 laps and eased off for the last 2 laps, trying to improve my technical skill and ride all the singletrack smoothly.

I recommend having a look at the trails when they are officially open if you didn't get a chance to race!

Now recovery week before flying to Sherwood (= less cycling, more PhD :)).

Results available here.

Thanks as well to Sean for the lift and his superb racing support service and Stew for lend and delivery of helmet and gloves!!!

1st round National Women's League, Bohermeen

I didn't know what to think of this race before I went, as I was here two years ago but due to a wrong shoe/mtb cleats/seized pedal problem I never got to race it. Watching it then didn't really make me want to do it either, with several nasty crashes happening in the nervous, early season men's pelotons.

This year the course was different from 2 years ago, but it was still known to be a flat course and it generally would come down to a bunch sprint. So I wasn't too enthusiastic, since I prefer the hills, but I thought it would be a great race to test my bunch sprinting again.

(Photo Credit: Bohermeen CC. I look too happy with 2nd place!)

The race was four laps of a 16.5km course and there were around 30 ladies signed up to race. The less experienced riders got a minute head start over the larger, more experienced group. There were attacks from the start in our group and even I tested my legs once or twice (yesterdays racing with the A3 men wasn't hard enough to tire me out to be content with just sitting in!), but nothing got away. This stoppy-starty way of racing meant we hadn't made up any time on the front group after 1 lap. In the 2nd lap (I think, it always becomes a blur afterwards) our bunch worked a bit better together and we caught the front group, but it turned out that two people had gotten away from them! After the 2nd lap, we were still down by a minute or so on the leaders. Then, Sara Ortiz had the great idea of trying to bridge across to the 2 leaders and attacked. She opened a gap quickly and I decided it was best to go with her. I attacked as well and chased Sara until I caught her about 8min or so later - she's definitely strong! Looking back I could see we had gotten a decent gap. Then the two of us worked together until we caught the two lead girls. It turned out they were both strong triathletes who had not done any road racing before! We worked together until about a km to go, where Sara and I dropped the other two, and then with 200m to go Sara attacked and I was too late to react, so she won and I came 2nd.

I really enjoyed the race, plenty of action, even though I messed up in the final few hundred meters, but I'm already looking forward to the next one, hopefully with more hills!

Official reports on StickyBottle and Women's cycling.