Final Day, looking to the future

So this is a slightly belated report from yesterday's racing, and following the rain on Tuesday it was possibly a busy day! the Keirin heats were today as wel as the kilo (1km time trial). So i was hoping that the keirin would be the better event for me, I was feeling good and knew the tactically i was confident in this. I'd fitted the 51 chainring, warmed up well. On the start line, the horn blew and ARGH, hang on? why's this so hard? My strength has gone. I could barely accelerate. leaving me stuck 5th wheel of 6, despite some efforts to move up, nobody was budging. So, rethink, come up as the bike goes, hang on just off the front wait, and wind it up. Ok so far so good, nice place, turning ok, speeds increasing. then BAM of course the attack goes, and I can't follow. only half a lap later can I see I'm up to speed and gaining on the others, no where near fast enough.
So forget that, Overgeared and lost strength, move on. The Kilo, my last chance. I'd last minute found some aerobars for this, the extensions a little short but better than nothing. warm up was good, I'd gone back to the 50 chainring for faster acceleration. Music up till as late as possible. So I'm on the line, the commisaires explain the timing, telling me the malay numbers ;) . which i'd already been listening to so that was no issue.For this it will be 3 laps of the 333.3m track
lima, empat, tiga, dua, satu ... GO! UP UP UP, and yes, it was ok, accelerating nicely, giving the crowds a nice laugh as ai shout to find everything I have. dropping on to the aerobars. ok, keep it steady. No GO FOR IT. i give it everything, even getting cheers from the locals. digging deep spinning fast, using all available strength. I hear the bell, one to go, not too bad, half a lap and I'm digging for any last strength I have. shouting to the line. As I hit the line, a cheer from the crowds, how had i done? well I'd beaten my counterpart, who'd started on the opposite side of the track. coming round, my coach musiari looked happier. as i came off the track, i'm gasping for air. I ask what my time was, well, 1:19. Hmmm a little slower than I'd hoped but we were contented, I'd later realise that my target time of 1:15 was aiming very high as the winning time was 1:11. So I'm happier, it's a decent result and I gave it everything, this would again get me 15th, the same as 200m qualification. of about 30 riders this time.

So looking back, this perhaps wasn't as succesful as I'd hoped, but i'd turned up, with no idea what would happen regarding a team, no idea of the competition. And after a long time without any real training. So this has been a solid year for me, consistant performances, and technically the coaches are happy. So we discussed some targets, a year of hard training from now, and I'm aiming for the top. The plans for 2011 are lots of track time, and some road races. I'm looking forward to this alot! I'm very excited about racing with my team PBKL, I've now applied for my malaysian UCI race liscence, so that's coming along nicely. My one chance to go somewhere, and I think I've got the ball rolling now!

Race day 2

No, the above picture isn't a recent trip to the UK, this is my day's racing!!!
My event for today was the keirin, and was scheduled as one of the last events. The day started off nice and warm, never a good sign in KL. racing was good, i was able to watch the sprint finals. I'd had an easy spin on the rollers to warm me up in the morning. I was just about to prepare for my race warm up, when the rain started!  All racing postponed till tomorrow, So I shall let you know how that goes!  Today did give me a chance to reflect on yesterday with my coach, Musairi Musa, about yesterday's sprint, and despite not doing asd well as i hoped, he's happy with my approach and technically I'm all good, so now we start building the strength back up!Sairi has also arranged a 51 chainring for me, because my 90 inch gear is seeming very small on this track! So tomorrow, i hit it, and I hit it hard! i'm feeling good. So hopefully i can get a good result for the team!
I also today handed over the paperwork my my Malaysian UCi race liscence ;) So no more british cycling :D haha. this is surreal, talking with team managers we have alot planned for the next year or so! More to come on that in the near future i hope ;)

Race day 1

Well today did not go at all as hoped. to start off, RAIN! FRICKIN' RAIN! we were due to start at 8.30, 2 and a half hours later the first riders set off for their 200m. meanwhile my preparation as coming along nicely, nice and warm, legs spinning well, no aches, hydrated well. all seemed pretty good. I had the national coaches watching me warm up, and most seemed impressed. So all should have gone well? My target for qualification, well to qualify, my realistic target: 12.5 seconds for my flying 200. my ideal - sub 12 seconds. my result - 13.17. WAIT, hang on? what went so badly wrong, hitting the black line, my legs were reaching almost max cadence, in my 90 inch gear? i was still accellerating, and going strong. so what went wrong? I was, to put it lightly gutted.But looking back, I suppose this now explains where my 7kg weight loss in 1 month went? I cannot seem to put it back on. my muscles, althoguh feeling great, are feeling great at a lower power. So my pure sprint is slower. So forget today, althoguh my coach seemed happy enough for now, with some proper coaching, this could go a long way. He's confident he can give me what I need, and I have every faith in him.

So let's look to tomorrow, I get to watch the finals of the individual sprint, and also have a chance to do my psychology project. which is coming along nicely already. then in the afternoon; first heat of the keirin. This should suit me better, I seem to fair better when I have other riders to race alongside, something to push against, and tactically I'm confident. So atleast getting past the first round shouldn't be too hard? We'll see.
So tomorrow I go at this with a different approach. And we forget today.

Velodrome Cheras

So I've just returned from my first experience of velodrome cheras! And well what can I say, at first glance the surface seems bumpy, the track's 333m and the bankings are steeper than I'm used to ( not hard compared to preston park i suppose, but newport atleast ). And the surface... pretty nice tbh, it's hard and fast, but I've got to find my line for the sprint qualification!

 
Having spoken to my new coach, I'm extremely excited, I'm going to be training and racing alongside the KL academy! WhI hear has their own "budget" ;) we'll see what happens there! haha. But for now, My trusty giant is going to serve me well. with new lizard skin bar tape... which  have to say is LOVELY! So tomorrow I start with my 200m qualification. and I have to be there for 7.30 in the morning :/ hmmmm. interesting. so I have my translator ready, my bike ready... and oh there's my dinner now. time to carbo-load.
bye for now ;)

A New Blog?

A little introduction to those of you who may not know me, I'm a 17 year old track cyclist, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the last 3 months. I have been competing in the UK for about 2 years now with the 'One Life cycling development squad' (See link to the right) and am currently pursuing my dream of cycling here. I have been wanting and trying to find my route in to professionalism for a while now, however my late start, and British Cycling's structure limited my chances. So now, I'm here, after a month of hard work trying to negotiate with various cycling federations, teams, coaches and my school, and I am ready to win!

Well, I have finally succumbed to the life of blogging! Why leave it so late some may ask, well simply, I have never felt it neccessary until now. I have set this up on the eve of what is potentially the biggest oppurtunity I've had so far. Tomorrow I start competing in what can only be referred to as the "Malaysianm Junior National Track Championships", this may lead me to the oppurtunity to get involved with the Malaysian U23 cycling academy. I feel I am in very good form, I will be familiarising myself with the track later today, signing masses of paperwork and hearing a briefing all in Malay, for which I thankfully have a translator. So, I'm set, the bike is set, and did I mention, I have my supplies! 12 Litres of gatorade over 3 days, 6 packs of energy chews and a tub of protein powder, throw in some water and electrolite tablets, a bit of pasta and some cereal bars. Wish me luck, there's no looking back now! I will aim to keep regular updates on any progression I make with my racing, my training, my search for sponsors and ultimately, my career!