I’m not entirely sure where April went, so I guess the rest of the training camp blog posts are slightly late to the party. However, I gained so much from the week I felt the days on the bike still needed documenting. So here we are…

Day 3 of riding my bike along the roads of Girona took me to a climb known locally as Amer, but the full climb we covered was St Marti Sacalm, which I’ve pulled off Velo Viewer below.

We rode together on the way out, but for the training session we could do our own thing. Synrgy tasked us with 2 minutes under threshold, followed by 30s over threshold six times over. We then had to do the whole block again. I wasn’t exactly sure how far to push, as the ride home was in the back of my mind. As soon as I got going, I quickly found the gradient the perfect match for the training session planned.

After the first block, I wanted to carry on up the climb to do the next block, but I made the rookie error of not topping up my water bottles before heading up the climb. So I had to head back down, shocking myself on how far up I’d actually got. With a quick bottle top-up, I needed to try and ignore the lactic acid build up in my legs as I set off on the second block. Starting from the bottom, it was pretty much just me and my bike. There may have been a Red Bull athlete that got up and down at an eye-watering pace, but that’s Girona. Pro’s everywhere…

I’d not felt the feeling of riding abroad in the sun since 2020, so it was surreal just pushing the pedals getting followed by the yellow butterflies that were a regular sight in Girona. Not being unfamiliar with climbs when riding at home, once I get into a rhythm I just keep going. I’d finished the last block of efforts, and could not bring myself to just turn around without going to the top. With snowcapped mountains in the distance, I’m glad I did.

After topping up on snacks and water to get me through the ride home, we covered the miles home where my Garmin clocked 60 miles, which was going to be the norm for the rest of the week.

Sat completely broken on the bed back at the hotel making sure to aid recovery with the lunch prepared by Emma Cummings, we logged into a Zoom call with Lidl-Trek rider, Lauretta Hanson. We got to hear about not only what life was like in the Pro-Peloton, but also on the importance of the right kit to ensure comfort when on the bike. Lauretta had to go through multiple surgeries after riding incorrect saddles for many years, and she touched on the topic of comfort over aerodynamics. After spending hours reading cycling aerodynamics papers for my Dissertation last year, the discussions only further highlighted how little research there is for female cyclists. I think too often in cycling the focus is on the most aerodynamic position, and not necessarily getting the most out of the athlete. It’s something I want to research more, but that’s for another time…

I did try to switch off during the holiday, but I don’t think engineer brains ever do.