Race Report: Redbull Timelaps 2021

Goodwood Motor Circuit 30th October – 31st October

Team Zoot Ohana!

Redbull Timelaps is an annual 25 hour endurance cycling event taking place at various indoor and outdoor venues across the UK. Due to covid restrictions, the ‘in real life’ event at Goodwood Motor Circuit was a much smaller affair than usual but nevertheless still enough cyclists to make it competitive and an exciting atmosphere.

Ahead of the event, Redbull’s team did a great job communicating with us all, supplying nutrition and training plans and most importantly ensuring we all understood the rules of the event. The main rule is only one rider from each team on track at one time and there could be no overlaps, so you had to have your rider stop their Strava tracking before the next rider started or it would be discounted. Simples!

I booked a mixed team relay at the circuit, thinking it would be an ideal opportunity to get some of the UK based Team Zooters together. That and having previously taken part in a Cyclothon at Brands Hatch remembered how much I enjoyed riding on a smooth motor circuit so it instantly appealed. I quickly had volunteers for a team pulled together and while there were others interested the event got sold out super-fast which meant sadly, we could only enter one team.

Since we have done a few endurance events before, Adrian and I did not do anything particularly specific to train, although we did add some longer turbo sessions into our weekly training schedule.

A couple of weeks before the event unfortunately, Antonio one of the original team had to bow out due to injury which opened the door for Greg to step in and we were back up to our team of four. But then in a cruel twist of fate, just days before we were due to start, our other female team member Becky injured herself far too badly to take part. However, the ohana that is Team Zoot Europe came to the rescue and as soon as I put a call out on our team’s facebook page for a volunteer we had an eager taker – hurrah for Katie!

The final full team pictured below (L-R) me, Katie, Greg and Adrian

Tactically, our plan was simple. Just to ride as many laps as we could for an hour and then rotate. This meant we had six shifts each except for one rider who would do seven. We also had the famous power hour at 02:00, where all laps ridden counted double - this hour coincides with the official end of BST and the clocks go back in the UK.

Greg was our starting rider, followed by Katie, me and then Adrian.

Weather forecast for the event looked a bit grim, but then again it is the end of October and it is the UK so none of us really expected it to be that nice, but then again none of us really anticipated it getting as bad as it did.

So anyway… we started the day in full sunshine. Event kicked off at 13:00 and Greg blasted out the first hour, followed by Katie, me and then Adrian. Goodwood circuit is 2.3 miles a lap. It is sheltered in some places and exposed in others, it’s very flat with a couple of rises and a chicane to keep you on your toes. The surface is smooth as can be which is a dream to ride on.

By the time the second rotation started for Greg around 17:00 the rain was starting to fall, and the wind was picking up, with the forecast showing there was considerably more on the way. Team spirits were high, probably due to the amount of sugar we had all eaten, but mostly we were all happy to be racing at an actual event! Everyone was pushing out the watts, getting the laps in and happily totting up the miles.

Before the event began, I wondered how I would while away the three hours in between my lap rotations. Well, that was easy. By the time you get off the bike, shower, change and eat something that is easily the first hour gone; add to this a bit of social media faffing, picture taking, chatting to everyone in earshot that is the second one; taking a nap and prepping to get back on and you quickly realise three hours off the bike goes way faster than the one when you are on it!

Riding in the dark on the track is a weird, but kind of cool experience. The track itself is in total darkness except the track corners are lit up. There was some music blasting from the marshals at various points around the track and Redbull had a massive, illuminated, inflatable arch over the lap marker with searchlights that you could see from the far side of the track.

Hanging onto a group of cyclists or better still inserting yourself in the fast pelaton (fyi that did not happen for me, there were some seriously, fast cyclists at this event) helps avoid your hour on the track becoming a lonely affair. I played a game of "can I catch the red back light of the cyclist in front of me" which had its appeal until at one point the light I was following was the motorbike safety marshal and that was just never going to happen!

Anyway, as the night went on so did the rain and the wind was certainly noticeably keeping us on our toes. Picking up to 50kph there were a few gusts and hairy ‘hanging on’ moments, even the inflatable Red Bull Arch collapsed and was taken down eventually due to the strength of the wind.

Around 05:00 it felt like it might be just teetering on the edge of safety as the rain absolutely battered us and the wind blew even harder. But we all kept going out regardless, coming in absolutely soaked, getting dry kit on and then going out to repeat it all again. The harder the weather came in, the more everyone just gritted their teeth, laughed a little hysterically and kept smiling so that tells you a story.

As daylight broke the weather did not really lighten off and while the sun came out for our final laps, the wind decided to play with us right up to the finish.

Overall we were really strong and consistent as a team throughout the event, but I can’t write this report without mentioning a few team rider highlights: Katie - an absolute legend on a bike, pushing crazy, ridiculous watts and putting in a truly savage 90 minute shift when the weather was at its worst, even coming in to the pit quickly and going back out to do an extra lap, while she waited for the next rider to get ready; Greg – who got on the bike like some crazed puppy let loose and belted out the power hour; Adrian - for turning up on his 25 year old Lightspeed road bike which he has not ridden in six years, and rather impressively, if not almost somewhat literally, managing to ride the backside off it. And me - well apart from forgetting to start my watch for one of my turns, I am chuffed with my performance too.

In total our combined cycling effort for the 25 hours came in at a massive 472.65 miles and in doing so we earned second place in the overall mixed team outdoor event and first place at the track. Not bad at all for a bunch of triathletes, who are generally more comfortable sitting on our time trial bikes than the road ones.

Kudos to everyone who took part, but particularly to the Redbull event team and all the marshals for creating such a well organised event, generally looking after us, supplying endless cups of teas, coffees, biscuits, cans of red bull (obvs), hot showers, clean toilets and general love and support.

Thanks for the memories!

Lx

How I am finding faster by using Zwift

At the end of last year, I decided to take a break from long distance events. I have always been satisfied training to complete rather than compete at events but that changed for me, after experiencing a very, very long day out in Lanzarote. Although I felt pleased to finish, I was disappointed with my time and specifically my bike time. My run was hideously slow too but I was less bothered since I was unable to train properly due to injury. Just being able to jog-walk-jog the course was always going to be the way my race would end. Unfortunately, it just ended about 2 hours longer than I had anticipated!

For a long time after that event, I pushed my disappointment aside and focussed my energy on helping Adrian train for his big race of the year which was Kona. That gave me a few months of not following a training plan at all and just helping to support and motivate him while he got through those last big sessions in the lead up to race day. In Kona, I watched and cheered on so many amazing people take part but I did feel envy to be so far removed from those athletes in terms of my own fitness and ability.

But while I was envious, it was a strangely motivating experience. I talked to Adrian about my frustrations of being so slow and he suggested spending a year really concentrating my training efforts on going harder and faster but at shorter events.

I began back to proper training with a focus in January. Out with the long, steady endurance sets and in with short sharp sweetspots and snappy tempo sessions. When lockdown hit in March, I ramped up my sessions on Zwift and also joined in the #frodissimofriday workouts, which were all V02 max sets. I began training daily on Zwift, finding it easier to recover than before as I was not doing double sessions or any long stuff.

To help build my power further I joined group rides that really pushed me to the limit of my w/kg and I started to race on Zwift. I began with individual time trialling, which was less intimidating than a race but still a great way to push myself. I then progressed to short crit style racing, where I got completely dropped at the start of each event until I realised there are some tactics involved – basically go hard from the off and hang on! After racing a few events my FTP noticeably started to increase. Over the last few months, I have increased my ftp by almost 50 watts and I am still progressing. Perhaps, best of all I can see my fitness endurance has also come on and I can hold power at my old ftp number comfortably for a 2 to 3 hour period, which is significantly more than I could a year ago. My weight has come down too, I am not overly focussed on it but I have lost a little during lockdown and the bonus about being lighter is it means I can race slightly competitively on hilly courses as well as feel the benefit in real life once I am back out on the road again.

Now that I have started racing on Zwift, I have also joined a Ladies race team which is pushing me even further as they are super strong. I am pleased that six months into the year and without the motivation of an actual race, just by changing my training I have made good progress. The benefits of not having a race means I have the luxury of concentrating on my bike without worrying about the swim or the run too much.

That said the next half of the year is about keeping the momentum going and now starting some real efforts and focus on my run. I will let you know how that goes. Swimming can wait.

Chamois Cream - In Review

Chamois cream was mentioned in our “How to look after your bottom” blog. Here is a little more detail about the cream and some reviews on our favourites .

What is Chamois cream? Chamois cream provides slippage between your skin and your cycling shorts, preventing friction and chafing. You smear it directly onto your skin, around your bottom area, in your leg creases and basically anywhere you want to avoid a rub. You can also put it directly on the chamois pad in your shorts.

The key differences between chamois cream and an ordinary moisturising cream are it does not absorb into your skin and it usually contains ingredients that are sensitive to your genitals. I have known people to use Sudacream, but it is not really a slippage type cream, it is more a barrier to put on sores post ride. You could try vaseline, but it is very greasy and has no soothing elements to it so I would not recommend this as a replacement for chamois cream.

When I first started cycling, no one mentioned Chamois cream even existed to me until I started complaining about getting awfully sore grazing on the inside of the top of my inner thigh and pubic area where the seams of my shorts were digging in. Chamois cream was my answer and over the years I have tried a few different ones.

Here are some pros and cons of three chamois creams for you to consider.

Udderly Smooth

Pros

Good price point at around £9 for a 227g tub. The cream is pearlescent with a light, fresh scent to it. Does the job.

Cons

Recently, I have found the cream a little bit too sloppy and greasy. I am not sure if they have changed the formulae, but it is not as good as it once was and it needs reapplied more frequently than the others.

Assos Chamois Crème

Pros

This is probably our favourite brand. It is very thick and really does stay on all day. It has a menthol smell and a bit of tingle to your skin. There is a lady specific version which is equally good, but a little more expensive so I tend to just use the standard one. You can also buy this cream in a really small tub which is perfect for popping in your cycle jersey back pocket particularly if you are on long rides and suffering from sores already. Reapplying during a ride does sooth and help if you have a soreness.

Cons

More expensive than others on the market at approx. £25 for a 227g tub.

Sportique - Century Femme – a woman specific chamois cream.

Pros

This cream has a lovely botanical smell and a soothing quality to it which makes it really nice to put on your skin post ride if you are feeling a touch sore. The makers claim it specifically subdues and prevents female specific problems around bacterial infections associated with exposure to high heat and humidity. I have found it does provide a long-lasting barrier on your bottom. It is not too greasy and the tube means it is easy to carry with you if you feel you might need to reapply. There is a Sportique for men version as well.

Cons

Although, this is a chamois cream, it does not really feel like as long lasting as the Assos one or a during ride protection cream, however, it does provide a good barrier and maybe better for post ride care for your bottom.

Enjoy your ride!