When I write a blog post, I usually like to focus on an area of sports science which may help explain to the rider/reader as to how a structured training program works and why it is important to focus on certain elements at certain times of the season. I take great pleasure in sharing what I have learnt with others, as well as continuing to learn from coaches with far more knowledge and experience than me. The month of January has seen two Kilowatt athletes achieve some incredible results, and I think it is important to reflect on that in this post.
Bay Crits:
The first week of January saw resident Kilowatt criterium superstar Rae Lesniowska line up in the women’s support race for the 2020 Bay Crit Series, a challenging three stage event. Stage 1 was a big result for Rae as she was able to sneak up the inside (a drill we’d been working on over the pre-season) and take out the win. This put a target on Rae’s back for the remaining two stages as she was a serious General Classification (GC) contender. Rae was able to back up her impressive win with a 2nd place in Stage 2.
Wearing the leaders jersey into Stage 3 in Williamstown, Rae was keen to control the race as much as possible and marked most attacks in a strong attempt to hold onto the GC lead. She fought well for the sprint, but was fatigued after chasing down many attacks while her rivals sat in and conserved their energy. Rae finished 5th and unfortunately lost the leader’s jersey. Rae finished 2nd on GC, two points behind the winner with daylight between 2nd and 3rd place. A great result in a field stacked with seriously strong competitors.
Cycling Australia Team Time-Trial:
The 9th of January was a key date for Kilowatt athlete Corinn Strating as she represented the Coburg Cycling Club in the Women’s 90+ Team Time Trial at the Cycling Australia Road Nationals. The team was made up of some incredibly strong riders including the current Australian Team Pursuit record holder (Masters Open) Fran Pigeon. Corinn backed up her 3rd place in the Tour of Bright GC in December with another strong performance (a little trick we call a double peak) as the ladies came away with the win and National Championship title. This win was made even more impressive by the fact that the teams time was the fastest time that day across all female categories. Our first Kilowatt National Champion!! And we’re very proud.
As an aside, coach Matt also competed in the Men's 90+ TTT category with a team of Coburg riders and snuck away with a bronze medal (and a sought after University owl!) posting a very respectable time over the tough parcours.
Australian Veteran’s National Championships:
Backing up her 2nd place at the Bay Crits, Rae Lesniowaska travelled to Adelaide last weekend for the Veteran’s National Championships; an event she’d been targeting for four months. Rae’s target race was the Criterium on day one, as well as hoping to hold on in the road race and the Individual Time-Trial to be crowned champion of champions. The event couldn’t have gone better. Rae ticked off her primary goal with a win in the criterium. A superb performance. Suffering the dreaded “heavy leg syndrome” on day two, Rae struggled to keep pace with the eventual top three, coming in a brave forth. It was all or nothing going into the individual time trial on day three if Rae was going to win the Champion of Champions award. Rae rode herself inside out to finish 2nd, but most importantly with that result, be crowned Champion of Champions!
Results like the above are the main reasons Matt and I founded Kilowatt Cycle Coaching. Our athletes represent themselves superbly whether they are winning an event or getting hypothermia in an unprecedented snow storm racing up Mount Buffalo in summer (that actually happened!). We are proud to share in their journey and are proud to contribute to their cycling story. Thank you to all Kilowatt riders and supporters for a great 2019 and we look forward to a big 2020.