I am back and in one piece! 3 weeks of the hardest training I have ever done up at Stelvio Pass are in the books and I must say it’s nice to be back at base and have regular Internet and get the old blog going again. I’m sure everyone is sick of seeing the last post for three weeks straight.
So a little background on the ole’ Stelvio pass, she’s a pretty mean peak at 2700m and a climb that featured in the Giro a few years back. With a few different ways to ascend up, the main one is a nice 48 hairpin, 26km 2hr slog in the 27cog bad boy. At 50rpm. Definitely some hardcore training when you combine this at the end of a big day smacking out the kms with some of the homelands best roadies and a dash of ProTour riders for good measure. Most days I finished cross-eyed as you’d expect.
Highlights from the three weeks had to have been going hunger flat my first time up the hill…in the snow…and then seeing Elvis. Three weeks of not shaving in the ‘beard off’ competition that has now left me with some very whisky tango chops and mo’ combination. I must say it was pretty friggin’ unreal to head out on our biggest day and hit up 3 climbs featured in Giro’s including the Motorola, Gavia and back up the Stelvio. Quite a tidy 4525m of climbing.
"Mapei Day" was a riot, 2500 riders pinning up the Stelvio along with a few crazies who decided to run the 21km. Hats off to AIS staffer Laura who did it one foot in front of the other...damn i thought pedalling the thing was tough.
So in our final week us mtb boys were getting more than itchy with most of us having almost a month exclusively on the tarmac. A quick little off road session at 120psi cured the blues, although hike-a-bike with road shoes over rocks is not so recommended. Oh and just for the record only one puncture and plenty of heart in mouth moments. Spewing I didn’t have the camera.
On a sour note we did unfortunately get some stuff pinched while we were there, including one bike and my helmet. Pricks.
Big thanks to all the AIS coaches and staff who kept us all motivated and well looked after.
So in our final week us mtb boys were getting more than itchy with most of us having almost a month exclusively on the tarmac. A quick little off road session at 120psi cured the blues, although hike-a-bike with road shoes over rocks is not so recommended. Oh and just for the record only one puncture and plenty of heart in mouth moments. Spewing I didn’t have the camera.
On a sour note we did unfortunately get some stuff pinched while we were there, including one bike and my helmet. Pricks.
Big thanks to all the AIS coaches and staff who kept us all motivated and well looked after.
So D-Mac Daddy arrived yesterday fresh as a daisy off the plane and raring to go. Awesome to have the big fella back in town. So we start racing this week at the Bundgelsia Cup in Germany and this boy is hanging to pin the number on like nothing else. Enjoy the rest of the random pics, over and out, cw.
A perfect match...thanks for the package kat ;)
Norris had a little ear plug incident..must have been my altitude snoring.
The beard brothers!
Jose' Hernandez returns!
I think Cypress Hill wrote a song about this...
When razors attack.
The old drive the van onto a train that goes through a mountain trick..
The snow must go on..
What do you mean we went stir crazy alone on a mountain top for three weeks..?
1 comment:
good as, i wish i was good at riding bikes so i could be there!!! Billy jean, u guys back in australia for Movember?
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