On Sunday morning, thanks to Hunt Wheels and Cadence Cafes, mere mortals like myself had the chance to ride with and get coached by hill climbing legend Andrew Feather. Also on hand to dish out the suffering, err I mean help and advice were Team Hunt riders including local hill climbing maestro Richard Cartland and Paddy Brown, who will be known to many of you that race.
I’m not sure what the collective noun for a group of cyclists is, but we (30 or so) met a Cadence in Litlington for 9am. Weather was just perfect bar the regulatory hill climbing headwind. We were invited to join the fast, medium or slower group (with the option to swap at our leisure) with groups led by Rich, Paddy or Dave with Andrew floating (like a feather? – sorry) between. Techniques, tactics, riding positions etc were altered / tweaked under the expert tutorage as we were invited to complete as many reps on Chapel Hill as we saw fit.
Mr Feather expertly decided that my 8th reps (which was supposed to be a full-gas effort) was the time to breeze up alongside me and engage me in conversation. Perhaps it was his way of impressing on me his legendary skill of always being in control of his effort and never looking like he is struggling in the slightest.
Once we’d had our fill of climbing we were invited back to to Cadence for coffee courtesy of Hunt and a Q&A with Andrew, Rich and Paddy. Loads of incredible insights from the trio but the standouts were :-
Expect to see Andrew riding Pantani style at the nationals this year, out of the saddle as he always does but on the drops instead of on the hoods – it’s a long “flat” course where aero gains will be crucial (for those capable of moving fast enough to make it matter).
He’s a fan of bicarbonate on race days
Baked beans on toast for breakfast on race days (it’s lunchtime by the time the top riders set off at the nationals). And he rides in a state of relative dehydration (for the all important weight-saving gains plus the effort is short enough for hydration not to be crucial).
So thanks again to Hunt Wheels and Cadence Cafes for offering up this wonderful opportunity. Let’s do it all again soon.