This Blog isn't dead.

I haven't written in a long while, due to having little time in season and not having any news out of season.

The news now is that things are looking a bit grim in Portuguese professional cycling. There seems to be very little support from sponsors and I understand why:

You've got 500 000€ to invest in marketing. You think a short tv add a few times a day for a period of time, you think banners on some web page; it may not work well, but at worse you squandered the money. So you're at zero. Sponsoring a cycling team will give you a guaranteed return in terms of publicity, but carries with it and image risk. So although your return is certain, your name could be associated with chemical cheating. The more cynical business man might not turn his nose at a good scandal. "Festina" got unprecedented exposure through such.

Ironically Liberty Seguros were to invest again in a cycling team (with clean credentials). But at the same time my current team Tavira, who won everything of importance in Portugal and some things abroad is in a huge struggle to find a sponsor! Where does sport come in to this? It's not the first time it occurred to me that there (often) is very little "sport" in sport...

It's recession and shit ok. But the world keeps on turning. Why are we at the mercy of the banks and governments. Why is there a chronic lack of liquidity? People still work and most want to work. Why not press and economic "reset" button where a Kj of your effort is worth 1gm of flour. Instead of this bullshit of people making money out of thin air. And financing these massive, essentially pointless bureaucracies with our sweat also costs dear...

Does cycling have real value? Yes, but the whole structure needs a review. It's ridiculous than a team should buy it's way into the top division. It becomes a game of "who is the best salesman" to attract sponsors and buy in the riders with the points. If my little sponsor gambles on a good project that can do battle with the big boys, why shouldn't that squad be allowed to compete with the big boys? For lack of money apparently.

I am confident things will work out however. And I think IG Markets, if they are to invest in Portuguese cycling, should come to Tavira. And sponsor a team that could host some British prospects from day one. We already have an incredible core of cyclists who have been years in development.

Tour of Portugal Non Selection

I found out recently I am not going to the "Volta". Before this wouldn't have annoyed me, but his year I has ridden very well and have been key in many success. So it was a slap in the face. I needed it to learn also.I definitely deserve to go, but I don't make the decisions. And I do feel a little burnt.

I am over worrying about it and will continue to train as if I was going; I am first reserve.

British National Road Racing Championships 2010

I stressed for a week about this race.

The British Championships are a race in which I have to organize everything. I am mechanic, masseuse, driver, team manager, team and finally, Cyclist.

Logistics: I booked the flight two weeks before. I overlooked the fact that registration might be the day before. I booked the flight for the night before. The Driver was a great Triathlete and recent Euro champion Conor Murphy. The journey from East Midlands to Burnley took an extra hour than planned. An A road in England, is a town apparently... damn you AA route finder!

Accommodation: I booked online. They didn't book us in. We got a beer for the stress while they prepared a room. I wasn't too bad.

Masseuse: I got to the grand depart and had noticeably retained liquid; a mixture of pizza and beer; all we could find on the way up the night before! I don't take massage, but they're the guys in charge of food.

Mechanic: There is a big stress flying in the night before: If anything goes wrong with the bike, it's too late to correct the problem myself. The bike was okay, despite needing a wheel change from a broken spoke: Thanks to Pendragon team for helping me out there. Although your mechanic needs to practice his wheel changes!

Team Manager: Who's up the road? How much time? The team manager has an awful lot of stress... It's not just shouting orders at riders.

Team: This is the main one, one guy can't bring back all the moves alone, can't be in two places at once, can't respond to all the attacks... It's not impossible, but only the savvyest tactician can get through a race versus team relatively well. I made many mistakes: Not checking the course, not positioning myself well initially, not going with the second when I should have, listen to the other talk loser tactics and giving it too much heed.

Anyway. I hope people saw I did a good race. And next year I will do a better one! 18th in my first finish in the Elite national. And 2nd out of the guys without a team.

Sky were brilliant, it seems like a dominant performance. But had the rest organized them themselves and not handed the race over on a plate to Sky, it would have been a close run affair. Instead, they employed looser tactics; racing for a placement and doing nothing about winning. Pedragon, Rapha and a few others could have really brought the race to Sky, rather than spectating.. Oh well. I am jealous of those in the Sky/BC camp. They have one of the best set up anywhere.