Gran Canaria Training Camp January 2011

Last week 9 riders including 3 of the 2011 TORQ riders gathered in Gran Canaria for a weeks training camp. With temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 degrees centigrade it was ideal conditions to complete the third week in our hard January training block. Having flown in early evening we had enough time to unpack, visit the supermarket and beach, and build our bikes for the following days training.

With base miles still the key focus we headed out for a steady 5 hour day to break the legs in. Riding from the beach to the highest point on the island at 1940 metres certainly woke the legs. However the route chosen into the mountains was an easy ride in comparison to what lay ahead in the following days.

Day 2 was a really tough day on the bike, after riding west around the coast of the island we headed inland on the GC200 road before heading upward on the GC210. After already riding for 3 hours through the fantastically stunning mountain roads we choose to shortcut up the dreaded GC606, otherwise known as the Valley of Tears. Standing at the base of the GC606 we had no idea that ahead of us was 11kms of tarmac climbing at a 20% average gradient with sections of 28% gradient! The climb snaked its way up the mountain and with temperatures reaching the high twenties it proved a huge test. An hour later we finally appeared at the top of the GC606, a road we’ll never forget!

Monday and Tuesday we once again completed 5 hour rides with over 3000 metres of ascent each day. A well earned rest day was taken Wednesday where we rode down the coast to a small resort called Puerto Rico where we enjoyed some fantastic strawberry milkshakes in a nice café by the marina.

Thursday was an epic day as we completed a huge 105 mile loop on the island taking 7 hours. The 3500 metres plus of climbing included some steep ascents and proved to be an excellent days training. The descents from the top of the island every day were fantastic fun but today the views on the descent through the valleys were stunning.


On Friday with already sore legs we completed a shorter 4 hour ride up to one of cafes near the top of the mountain before descending down the GC60 which acts as a savour road for any rider staying near Maspalomas. The road descends for 40 kilometres straight down to the southern point of the island and riders can average about 35 miles per hour from top to bottom!

With tired legs and thoughts turning for some riders to Sunday’s race we completed a 2 hour ride with a few intervals to keep the legs moving before packing our bags and heading to the airport.

Along with the TORQ team last week the island played host to riders from the BMC road team, Leopard Trek road team, Bulls mtb team, Ergon mtb team, Rabobank womens road team, Alriksson Go Green womens road team, Cervelo womens road team, and Great Britain team.

Our week long trip to Gran Canaria was a fantastic week of training, laughter, sunbathing and ice cream eating. In total the TORQ riders completed around 35 hours of riding over 8 days.


Many thanks to Tim Dunford, Mel Spath, and Ryan Sherlock for showing us some fantastic routes. Also thanks to Stuart Harvey, Steve Middleton, John Pybus, Paul Hopkins, Ant White and Phil Lenney for joining Josh Ibbett, Sion O'boyle and myself for the week in Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria training from Josh Ibbett on Vimeo.

Video of Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria

Just waiting for the sun to rise this Friday morning, still pitch black outside, once the suns shining I’ll be out on the road for a quick spin to keep the legs moving. This afternoon we fly to Gran Canaria for a week’s warm weather training. Not got much time to write a long blog but hopefully next weeks mountainous training will complete a good month of training and this will reflect in some good results at the end of the month when the team gather at TORQ for power and lactate testing.

Looking forward to lots of this


Will be taking lots of photos and i'll check in once im back home

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Thanks for joining me over the past year and following my journey which has included many highs and several lows.

2010’s biggest highlight was that Cross Country National Championship silver medal, I went into that race with only one aim which was to win the gold medal so to come away with second was a small disappoint, I was happy though in the knowledge that every bit of energy was left out on the Pippingford race track. The season’s low point came as I crashed out of the Marathon National Champs where my eye was set firmly on another shiny medal, torn shoulder ligaments were the only thing I took away from that race. The injury still plagued me 2 weeks later at the final British XC round in Plymouth and with just a small slip of the front wheel during practise by season ended with another scar added to my torn body.

I took away from the year many happy memories and learnt many lessons. Without the help of TORQ and the team’s hugely generous sponsors my journey could not have taken place, thank you! Once again in 2011 I’ll be riding in the black and orange colours of TORQ, news on the team’s sponsors and rider changes will be released over the next couple of weeks.

My schedule for 2011 is already pretty full and I’m excited about the year ahead especially the opportunity of racing more regional based events. World Cup’s and European marathon events will also feature in this years travels.

Next week I fly to Gran Canaria for training camp before returning to defend my lead at the final round of the Brass Monkey Winter Series. Following this the team will gather for a weekend of performance testing at TORQ HQ in Shropshire. My full schedule can be found here
http://benthomas88.blogspot.com/p/2011-schedule.html

Brass Monkey 4 Hour Round 2

As round 2 of the Brass Monkey Winter Series approached I was pretty excited and highly motivated about racing at Ash Ranges a year on from where I won my first race for TORQ. Multiple pre rides of the course revealed some fantastic new singletrack sections, and only a small amount of ice and snow remained after the freezing conditions we’d been exposed too over the last few weeks. Any possibility of riding a dry course disappeared though the night before the race as heavy showers hit the venue turning the trails into a muddy wet mess.

500 riders lined up Tuesday morning to take part in the 4, 2 or 1 hour events. After a warm up I squeezed my way onto the front row of the starting grid and focused upon the manic 4 hours that lay ahead. The siren signalled the start, I led the race up the long tarmac road to the right hand turn spreading the field out behind. After this I let Phil Gale take the lead and set the pace, after the first lap Phil and myself had already pulled out a minutes gap over the chasers.

Shortly into the second lap I was left riding alone out in the lead, not the most fun scenario with 3 hours remaining! Eventually the conditions began to take effect on the bike wearing away brake pads until after 2 hours I was left with no more than the back plate of the brake pads to stop me.

Approaching the final hour of the race the course emptied as the 2 hour and 1 hour races finished, this left the course open and easier to ride with no backmarkers left to overtake. I was struggling for motivation though by this point as the conditions seemed to worsen as fog covered the venue. Unsure on the gap back to my rivals I was forced to head out on a seventh lap which eventually proved unnecessary as I rolled in to take the victory 1 lap ahead.

Dropping down the final descent into the arena field safely I felt a massive sense of relief, and once I crossed the finish line to take the victory it made the last 4 hours of pain and suffering worthwhile.

Happy Christmas!

2010 is coming to a close and preparations for 2011 are well underway. I’ve made an effort to not let the weekly training hours go too mad just yet, it’s important to stay fresh and motivation for the big months of January, February, and March where training makes a real impact on the season.

The poor weather you’d think would put a huge downer on motivation but I’m loving the cold snowy conditions these last few weeks, getting home in the middle of the winter and not having to clean the bike is pretty darn fantastic! I’ve been logging in regular 4 to 5 hours base rides these last few weeks. Riding in the snow has been great power training and should help my technical ability in muddy races.

Hopefully all this training will give me the edge over my rivals this Tuesday at round 2 of the Brass Monkey Winter Series. Having pre ridden the course I’m pretty excited about the race. They’ve made a load of changes from last year’s power course which I won on. Numerous new singletrack sections and a few additional short sharp climbs will further increase the high intensity the track demands.

Thanks for reading the blog this year, following my travels, and providing me with some fantastic support. Happy Christmas!

Snowy Times

The snow has arrived to southern England again for the second time this month. Whilst it seems that many people just can’t cope in these “extreme” weather conditions with maybe 4 inches of snow on the ground us mountain bikers are rubbing our hands with glee and hoping for more snowfall (or at least I am!).

The local trails this morning were covered with a fresh coating of snow which glistened brightly, only animal footprints had previously disturbed the perfect blanket.

Our bicycle tyres made a crunching noise as the snow compacted and the wheels searched for traction. The covering of snow hid the trails features; we rode almost blind trying to remember where the rocks, roots, holes, and stumps lay. It was only a matter of time before someone was rolling around on the floor in the snow having hit an object or skidded out of control.

Passing car drivers or walkers gave a curious glance wondering why we would even consider riding our bikes. We would smile back and laugh a little more as the fun continued.

After numerous accidents and much laughter the ride was complete, 4 hours 30 added to the training tally. More tomorrow please.

Brass Monkey 4 Hour Round 1

Just back from a tough day on the mountain bike, 110 km’s in all including the 90km Brass Monkey 4 hour enduro event. As explained in my previous blog I’ve been excited about this series since the final round last winter. After a venue change to the fantastic trails at Porridge Pot Hill I was even more motivated to collect a decent result. The organisers had constructed a fun flowing circuit which proved extremely demanding and rewarding.

Teammate Tim Dunford and myself led the race from the very first corner emptying the tank perhaps a little too much over the first 2 laps with low 30 minute laps. On the 3rd lap we caught the back of the 2 hour race which had just started and were slowed by backmarkers who were difficult to pass in the tight twisty singletrack. This combined with legs that needed a little recovery time meant that our chasers started to claw back time.

Tim and me had some good banter out on the course and were sure that the gap was large enough for one of us to secure the win. On the penultimate lap I realised it would be touch and go whether we’d have to go out on an 8th lap. Our slower pace meant that on the last lap to our surprise we were caught by the 3rd place rider. Tim shrieked “we’ve been caught” and like chickens running from a fox we attacked. We pulled out a safe gap once again but we kept the pace high, Tim’s chicken legs proved too fast on one of the climbs and the elastic snapped.

Eventually Tim pulled out a minute’s gap to take the win arriving shortly after the 4 hour mark. This left me to take 2nd and Matt Page of Wiggle to take the final podium step. Having only started training again 4 weeks ago I’m satisfied with the result and happy to have lost to a teammate.