It has been a couple of months since my last blog and that has largely been down to the fact everything has been full on with training and the preparation for the Track World Championships being held in Los Angeles from 8-12^th February. Sarah and I are also having some work done on our house and since my previous working life was in the building industry, I have been leading the project which has been brilliant to get my brain active in the area I used to work in everyday prior to becoming a full time cyclist.

After a short break from tandem riding to do some training on my solo bike in October and November, I started back on the track in December with Neil Fachie who I will be riding with in Los Angeles. It’s a fine balance riding the tandem, between doing enough to get the synchronicity to make the bike go super quick, but also not doing too much which can cause injury given the power and torque going through the bike.

After a superb block on the tandem during December I headed off to Lanzarote for an easier week of training over Christmas and New Year. Sarah was on her big road miles, so I played the “good husband” role making sure her lunch was ordered when she got back and her CNP recovery shake had been ready mixed! People often ask how much training we do together on training camps like this one and I have to be honest and say it is very, very little. The island of Lanzarote is lumpy to say the least and with the added resistance from the wind it makes it very difficult for a 93kg athlete to keep up with a 65kg one! On one of the afternoons, Sarah had some standing starts and lead out sprints, so I was the perfect training partner for these. One thing I have really enjoyed seeing is how much her speed work has progressed over the past few years. When she wins a 500m Time Trial or sprint finish on the road I really enjoy those moments, because sprinting is definitely my favourite part of the sport!

After heading back to the UK it was time for the next block on the tandem and also some pre Worlds racing at the third round of the Revolution series. Tandems have appeared once before in the Revolution and are always a popular choice with the crowd, so it was great to have a chance to ride in front of a full house again. After the traditional sprint matches, we also did a Tandem Team Sprint against the visiting Dutch pairings. This event proved to be a real winner, both for us riding, and the spectators. So much so, that people were talking about us making a serious bid for it to be included in International Championships.

The building work has been taking shape nicely and there have been some interesting challenges for me to think about with the construction. As with any project there are things that have to be adjusted as the work gets done, and when we found two very important supporting beams hidden away in the existing roof, a quick redesign of the internal shape to the house was required to ensure we didn’t cause the roof to fall in. We have been working with a fantastic company that are based in our Village, and nothing pleases me more than to see a busy site with up to 10 men working on the various aspects. With just a small section of roof to complete and then the conservatory, the place will be ready for some internal work after the World Championships. Good timing!

With less than two weeks to go to our departure date for Worlds, the final phase of my preparation is beginning. I know there isn’t long to race day when the lactate intervals are in full swing, making Saturday mornings as much about lying on the floor of the new garage as about getting the pedals round in anger for short high power bursts! They are without doubt the most painful thing we do in training and most people would probably think it unnatural to pedal to the point of being physically sick, but they do work wonders for the final lap of the kilometre and end of a tandem sprint series.

I’ll check in again from Worlds; looking forward to getting the Championships under way!