World Champs (30 Sept)

Posted by Darren Lill | 09 Oct 2007| comments (0)

This is a rather belated blog on Worlds.To say that I had a disappointing and frustrating World Champs, would be a gross understatement. I feel that my build up training was spot on, but unfortunately things didn’t come together for me on the day. I started the race feeling confident and with good legs. I rode well, conserving energy, eating regularly and staying near all the main contenders. To my frustration, I felt my legs start to fade around 190km, just when the racing started in earn ...

Tour of Missouri Stage 6 (16 Sept)

Posted by Darren Lill | 17 Sep 2007| comments (0)

The last stage played out as expected, in a bunch sprint. There were a few early attacks, but Kodak Gallery kept it together for the fist sprint prime, as they were able to move a rider from 4th to 3rd on GC with the time bonus. After that, a four-man break escaped, and was allowed out to four minutes. Discovery Channel kept a steady tempo on the front, before being relieved by Saunier Duval and Helthnet, who brought it back for a sprint.I felt pretty good, and had another fairly easy day on the ...

Tour of Missouri Stage 5 (15 Sept)

Posted by Darren Lill | 16 Sep 2007| comments (0)

Today was another decent length stage, 205km. It wasn’t as undulating as yesterday, and the first 50km were flat and fast, with lots of attacks. I was trying to get in a break without the KOM jersey being there with me, but in the end, he managed to make the break. I wasn’t about to drag the field across to the break, as I already had a team mate in it. It was frustrating, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. One can’t mark every move.Discovery Channel settled down ...

Tour of Missouri Stage 4 (14Sept)

Posted by Darren Lill | 15 Sep 2007| comments (0)

Today was the longest stage of the tour, 215km, and also very undulating. It was a point to point course, with a head to cross headwind the whole way, which made attacking/getting a break away difficult. Normally a break forms around the hour mark, as that’s when riders start to tire of covering moves. Today it took around two hours, with the break finally forming around 90km. During that time, I covered numerous moves, and sprinted out a rather flat KOM at 50km. I again got second by a ti ...

Tour of Missouri Stage 3 TT (13Sept)

Posted by Darren Lill | 14 Sep 2007| comments (6)

Today was the 29km TT. It was very hilly for a TT, with some really steep climbs. On a few occasions I ended up in the 44/23. I set out to try and ride according to power, aiming to average around 350 watts. In the end I only managed 340 watts average, but this was due to my not being able to keep my wattage up on the descents. I had a 54/11, but could have easily done with a 56 chain ring, as I was spinning out at around 80km/h on a few of the descents.  Due to the extremely undulating ter ...