The countdown to Revolve24 is well and truly on, with just 9 days left until over 200 competitors assemble at Brands Hatch to race around the clock.
The Sportive.com elite race team will be there, along with crews from Road.cc and the Bike Channel, racing against marquee names like Olympic track star Jason Kenny. But one of the most hotly contested categories looks set to be the women's race, where last year's winner Alimpiada Cassidy returns to defend her title against some strong competition.
We caught up with Alimpiada to find out how she's feeling ahead of the race, and also grilled two of her rivals, Gina Cleere and Jasmijn Muller, to see if we could pick up some tips...
Sportive.com: Alimpiada, you're returning to Revolve24 as defending champion - congrats! How are you feeling about the race?
Alimpiada: Excited, calm and happy! I enjoyed it so much last year; this year is going to be different. There are so many new life challenges taht have happened to me. Will it play on my mind or will I be able to stay focused on riding... We will find out on the day.
Sportive.com: Can you give us an idea of your training programme, what's a typical week?
Alimpiada: Hmm... Training is the hardest part. I don't have a personal trainer or a coach, so all my training plans I create by myself (picking up random information from cycling buddies and friends) which sometimes are proven to be wrong but often works. Currently I try to cycle 300km per week, plus 30km running and 5km swimming... Between 10-15 hours a week.
The most important is to learn to listen to your body and enjoy it!!!
Sportive.com: What was the toughest part of last year's challenge for you?
Alimpiada: To go for 35 minutes' sleep at 4:30am. Last year I didn't train for the challenge as I only found out about Revolve24 a week prior the event. I really was curious if it's possible to cycle for 24h without sleep... The answer is - anything is possible (one day), but you need to work for it!
Sportive.com: Will you be keeping an eye on any rivals in particular, or are you focusing on your own race?
Alimpiada: Of course I will, that makes more fun...
"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing" - this phrase makes me laugh!
I am not very fast but I am good at endurance, pacing myself... Revolve24 was my first cycling event I won! Only because it was 24 hours. I think, there are going to be a few more girls this year, one of them Gina Cleere. I met her last year, we were sharing the same garage and she was a part of a relay team but this year she is signed up for the Solo.
We become friends on Strava after Revolve24, her mileage is impressive. But I just need to stay focused and keep smiling and enjoying it whatever happens.
Sportive.com: Have you a target distance in mind for this year?
Yes, maybe too optimistic, but I will try 500km.
Sportive.com: We're entering a Sportive.com relay team this year, although three of us are injured just thinking about it. Have you any top tips?
Alimpiada: Organise your things in the garage as one team. (I use plastic big clear boxes as you can see clearly what is inside and find necessary things quickly.)
Think about the most efficient way how to keep your lights, Garmins etc alive for 2 4hours.
And finally, keep positive: listen to music you like before riding or during the break, and keep warm during the night. I highly recommend to bring a sleeping bag and a chair.
Sportive.com: Apart from cycling you've done some amazing things like swimming the English Channel and an ice marathon in Siberia. What's on the horizon after Revolve24?
Alimpiada: I have few little things planned: a marathon on 9 October, and cycling the Mallorca 312 next April.
But my dream is the Arch to Arch triathlon: from London to Paris. I am thinking more and more about it and hoping to sign up in the near future...
Thanks Alimpiada, and best of luck next weekend.
But who's she up against? Two notable contenders in the women's field are National 12h Time Trial champion Jasmijn Muller, and Gina Cleere, who is currently sittting in second place on the starting grid (places are assigned based on mileage ridden since March).
Jasmijn has now joined a team so won't be directly competing against Alimpiada, but Gina - who met Alimpiada when they shared a garage at last year's Revolve24 - very much has her new friend's title in her sights.
We caught up with the speedy pair to get their thoughts ahead of the race.
Sportive.com: So what brings you both to Revolve24 - for a second time in your case Gina?
Gina: I did this event last year as a six man team (it was my first year of cycling) and really enjoyed it. So this year I decided to challenge myself to the solo event.
I would really like to break into ultra cycling, I love the challenge of long distance cycling and one day would like to do RAAM (the Race Across America, for which Revolve24 is a qualifying event).
Jasmijn: The first time I rode a similar event was LeMans24 in 2013. I absolutely loved riding on the silky smooth circuit, soaking up the atmosphere and was lucky to win the solo female category. I have since participated in a few other endurance events, but always on the road.
I am currently training for a solo Land's End John O'Groats record attempt in 2017 and am keen to participate in a few longer challenges as part of the build up. Happy memories from LeMans24 and my Facebook feed luring me with great photos from last year's edition of Revolve24 is what made me enter this year.
Sportive.com: How's your training going?
Gina: Training is going well, have set myself a goal of 15,000 miles for the year and am just over 1,200 miles up on where I need to be to complete it.
I train between 25 and 30 hours a week, I'm not the fastest of cyclists but I am very pig headed. I work 31 hours a week and my dad is ill (suffering advanced stages of dementia) so I have to fit in around these commitments, but I'm very lucky to have a very supportive husband - without him it couldn't happen.
This year I've qualified for the UCI Amateur World Championships in Perth and I broke the ladies record for the Tilnar Challenge, which was previously 150 miles. I smashed it with 225 miles in just over 13 hours.
Jasmijn: My build-up to Revolve24 has been interesting. I did quite a lot of miles earlier in the year, including audaxes over 200, 400 and 600km. But during a reconnaissance ride this June of my 843-mile LEJOG route I got food poisoning. I still completed the ride, but severe dehydration combined with long periods of travel and catching up with work afterwards caused me to abandon all the other big events I had targeted for this year (including defending my National 12-hour time trial title).
It was deep vein thrombosis that put an end to all fun this summer. There is no reversal agent yet for the anticoagulants I had to take for the last 12 weeks and I therefore decided to only train indoors to limit the risk of unstoppable bleeding in case I would crash.
Prior to my DVT a typical week would be between 12 and 20 hours of cycling: my daily commutes into London, a couple of turbo sessions on weekday evenings and one or two longer rides during the weekend. It was quite difficult to be constrained to public transport and indoor turbo training for the last 3 months. Consequently my training for Revolve24 has been far from ideal, but it certainly has given me some more mental strength and motivation to enjoy and do well in my cycling events for the remainder of the 2016 season.
Sportive.com: We've heard Revolve24 is highly competitive. Are you aware of any rivals in particular, like last year's winner Alimpiada Cassidy?
Gina: I met Ali last year when we shared a garage at Brands, she is a total inspiration to me. We are friends on Strava and I'm looking forward to seeing her again. Although I am very competitive it's the first time I've done anything like this so I will be concentrating on my own race - this time round ;)
Jasmijn: Initially I had planned to enter Revolve24 as a solo competitor, but since my DVT I have opted to use the event as an opportunity to raise awareness among fellow cyclists of this illness that can happen to anyone, no matter how young or fit you are. I will now be competing as a team of four, together with three other cyclists who all have had DVT too, yet have continued to do well in cycling races and events, including the World 24 Hour Time Trial Championships and the Transcontinental race.
Our team is fortunate to enjoy support from Isobar Compression, who manufacture the world's most precise custom-fit compression garments. We will be wearing the Isobar Compression socks and calf sleeves to speed up our recovery between turns, reduce muscle fatigue and prevent the risk of DVT. Isobar Compression will also be attending Revolve24 with a stand where other competitors can get a 3D scan and order compression socks at a special event price.
Because I am no longer competing solo, I haven't really paid much attention to the solo women's entries this year. I did check out the winning distance, lap times and changing frequency of last year's four-person team winners. I know there are no prizes for mixed teams, but I hope that our team can nonetheless be competitive in the men's team competition.
If my season had gone to plan I probably would have been more focused on trying to win, but since my DVT setback, raising awareness of DVT really is the first priority for Revolve24, followed by having fun as a team. That said, I am sure my competitive instinct will take over as soon as I get on the circuit.
Sportive.com: What sort of distance are you targeting?
Gina: I would like to do 330 miles plus (531km); if I can average 15mph around the track for that period of time I will be very happy. Climbing is not my forte!! Ultimately as long as I do my sponsors (Cycles UK) proud I will be happy.
Jasmijn: At LeMans24 I covered 420 miles (676km) and that even included sitting down for more than 2 hours as the organisers told me I had already won the event. I know Revolve24 is quite a lot more hilly, but if I had competed solo I would still have targeted a similar distance to what I covered at LeMans24.
I know that is a lot more than last year's Alimpiada Cassidy did (268 miles) and only a little less than last year's solo male winner Julian Rider (426 miles). So perhaps a target of 420+ miles would have been foolish, but when it comes to long distance events I feel strongly that the gap between men and women gets ever smaller.
I believe the winning distance in the four-person (all male) team category last year was around 518 miles (834km), with an average lap time of 6 mins and 44 seconds. I am not sure we would come anywhere near that, but I hope that between the four of us we can achieve more than the 420 miles I did solo at LeMans24.
Sportive.com: Nutrition is going to be vital over the 24 hours - what's your favourite cycling food?
Gina: Nutritionally wise I'm a cheap date! For the Tilnar Challenge (225 miles) I ate four bananas, half a packet of nuts and a burger.
I will be bringing flapjacks, bananas, salted cashews and some jam sandwiches. Also I am partial to a can of coke when riding for long periods of time. I try to avoid gels as I don't like them.
Jasmijn: I adjust my nutrition depending on the type of riding I do. If I go for a long training ride or a long audax where you can stop and sit down for something to eat, I try to stick to 'normal' food rather than energy products. I love cake and pastries, but also really enjoy chicken or soup.
During races I tend to stick to food that is easier to hand up and digest such as bananas, energy bars and chews, and rice porridge. My all-time favourite cycling food is Ambrosia rice pudding. Coming from the Netherlands I have no childhood memories of it. The first time I ate it was a during a 12-hour time trial and it has powered me well during all longer races. Since my DVT it is also more important for me to monitor and stay on top of my hydration. I have increased my electrolyte intake significantly, by using stronger electrolyte tablets and adding additional electrolytes to energy mixes.
Sportive.com: Finally, any top tips for staying fit, fast and focused for an endurance race like Revolve24?
Gina: Be organised and look after each other. Last year my team 'The Essex Boys and Girls' came second out of the six man teams. I put this down to fab organisation from Lee Christie. We hadn't even all met before the event and we had a last minute change of team about a week beforehand as one lady had to drop out due to injury.
We organised a rota of riding time and made sure everyone was supported and ready to go for their stint. It was an amazing event and I'm looking forward to the new challenge!!
Jasmijn: It's important to get fit before the event. Like all things, your body easily adjusts to whatever you ask of it. So the more long rides you will have done, the easier it is to do well at a 24-hour race. The more night riding you will have done, the easier it will be to push yourself to go fast at night. My number one tip is to make sure you get a good night's sleep the night(s) before the race. Bring ear plugs, an eye mask and a comfy mattress if you are camping, limit your alcohol intake and eat some healthy food before the race.
Comfort is key
The number one thing for being fast is comfort. You cannot be fast on your bike if you are not comfortable, particularly for a longer event like Revolve24. If you haven't done so already, get a bike fit. At Le Mans24 I found as a solo competitor that my aggressive bike set-up, which had been fine for shorter crit races, was a bit too aggressive. It took me quite a while after the event to regain full sensation in my hands! As a team your turns will be shorter, but with all the climbing involved you may still want to consider lifting the front end of your bike a little by including an extra spacer.
My next tip also relates to comfort: bring an extra pair of (bib)shorts. Whether you are riding solo or as a team, hygiene is important (as I found out the hard way by hospitalising myself with an infection after LeMans24). Being able to swap into fresh shorts during the event can help both with hygiene and comfort.
Another tip relating to comfort is to get a saddle that works well for you. Unfortunately the only way to be sure about this is by testing. Just make sure to test on longer rides before the event.
Light up the race
I fully agree with event sponsor Exposure when they say "If you can't see where you are going, you won't be riding confidently, which will result with you not being able to successfully go your fastest or have as much fun as you can."
Invest in a good light. It will serve you well, not just for Revolve24. Test it in advance, particularly the angle and settings you want to run the light at.
Use a cycling computer that can give you lap times. As time goes on you may still feel strong, but the clock doesn't lie.
Pace yourself: use a HR monitor (and ideally a power meter too), to make sure you don't overdo it early on in the race on the climbs and keep pushing yourself through the dark hours when it is so easy to get tricked into a false sense of speed.
Focus
My tips for staying focused include:
1) Set yourself goals (no matter how big or small), be it an overall distance, average speed, target lap times, riders to stay close to. Without a goal it is easy just to roll around rather than really push yourself.
2) Spend some time rehearsing transitions (if you are competing as a team) or practising bottle hand ups in the pit lane (if you are competing solo). The key to fast times is minimum stopping time and minimum time in the pit lanes.
3) Break the event down into manageable chunks (i.e. laps rather than hours)
4) Get into a rhythm (and perhaps even fixed locations on the circuit) where you make sure you eat or drink something regularly. You will be surprised how steep the drop off in performance is from not hydrating or fuelling enough. This is something which is especially easy to forget early on in the event when you don't think you need it yet, or are caught up in the race adrenaline.
5) Whatever happens, only focus on the positives. Don't let yourself get tempted into any negative thoughts. If all goes well, congratulate yourself and your team mates on it. If things don't go well, focus on the aspects (however small these may be) that are going well. If you have pit support or people coming to watch the event, get them to wear something that is easy to recognise and shout nothing but encouragement at you.
6) If you get pain anywhere, try to get rid of it by relaxing your breathing and thinking about another body part instead. The mind-body connection is strong. Comforting yourself by singing your favourite song or even childhood nursery rhymes or whatever in your head can help too.
7) Don't shy away from caffeine to stay focused. If ever there was a time to use it a race like Revolve24 is the one. Just don't overdo it...
8) Be prepared for temperature changes and bring layers. It is harder for your brain to function properly and to stay focused both when you are too cold and too hot.
9) Strange as this may sound, for those who are competing for a charity, particularly a charity that is related to an illness close friends or relatives may have lost their lives to, I strongly recommend to avoid all emotional thoughts during Revolve24.
Of course, riding for this cause will give you more motivation to do well in the event, but when you are tired it is very easy to become overwhelmed by emotion to the point where it stops you from performing at your best. Keep it at the back of your mind to drive you on instead. Then allow all emotions to come to the fore on the last lap and dedicate your race to that cause or loved one.
Thanks to Gina and Jasmijn for the excellent advice. We're not sure the Sportive.com squad will be matching any of these impressive competitors' distances, but we're certainly looking forward to meeting them at Brands Hatch. It looks like the women's race will be one to watch.
0 Comments