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Club La Santa Lanzarote Training Camp
After seeing a few of the posts about training camps and cycling on the continent, I thought I'd add a little piece on Club La Santa, Lanzarote.
Over the period of 8-15 Jan 15 I went on the Andy Cook training camp as part of a trip organised through Army Cycling and Triathlon. I can't comment on overall costs as the trip was heavily subsidised by the military. The trip had the added bonus that the fast group would be led by Winner of Paris - Roubaix in 2004, Magnus Backstedt. In addition to Maggie, on our arrival we were told that Dame Sarah Storey and a Pearl Izumi team mate, Katie Curtis would be joining us for the week of training, in preparation for her hour record attempt.
The complex itself seems to be very triathlete focused, with excellent swimming and running facilities available, as well as almost every other sport you could think of. The accommodation varies, we were in basic apartments, but they did the trick. The half board food was excellent and for those that know me well, it was eat as much as you could each night, but with a healthy element to most areas, perfect to fuel the week of cycling.
On the day of landing I did a short one hour acclimatisation ride, just to check the bike was okay after the journey. The first morning brief gave a good idea of the week ahead as well as a load of freebies from Cannondale, Club La Santa and OTE sports.
The idea of the first ride was to naturally select the ability groups for the week with the initial climb. This worked really well so that people hadn't under or over estimated their ability. I found myself in the top group of 10-12 riders, including Maggie and Dame Sarah. The top group was a nice balance of 2nd and 3rd Cat racers as well as some strong triathletes and testers.
After seeing some of the island on the day of landing, Lanzarote didn't look like a place if visit out of choice when not cycling, and this view didn't change throughout week. Black rocks and white buildings, not a lot else. The weather was moderate and just right, hovering around the 20 degree level, with the odd bit of rain. The wind was strong all week as is normal for the island and was very useful perfecting efficient group riding in the wind.
The week consisted of about 600km over 6 days dependant on your level, taking in two excellent climbs up Tabiesco and Mirador on a number of these days. The first effort up Tabiesco was time trial competition between the group, which I won aside from Maggie, I just couldn't match the 420+ watts for 30mins!!!! The rides were great training and even more valuable gaining the experience talking to Dame Sarah and Maggie for hours at a time.
The last day was the big 160km ride taking in numerous climbs. I was honoured to accept a request by Maggie to branch off and ride a separate 180km ride,with just the two of us. This was to help with his Ironman training for the forthcoming season. This ride quickly turned into me clinging to Maggie's back wheel. We ended up averaging almost 31kph for the 180km in around 5 hours 50mins, with a lot of climbing. A brutal but fantastic day and way to end the trip.
Overall I think it has set me up well for the forthcoming race season and I couldn't recommend Andy Cooke Cycling enough, for all abilities! There were about 70 riders in total, ranging from almost first timers to racers. If anybody wants a chat about it on more detail feel free to ask either on here or when I'm out with the club. For now i leave you with a few of photos for the CCA album, including Maggie and Dame Sarah.
Over the period of 8-15 Jan 15 I went on the Andy Cook training camp as part of a trip organised through Army Cycling and Triathlon. I can't comment on overall costs as the trip was heavily subsidised by the military. The trip had the added bonus that the fast group would be led by Winner of Paris - Roubaix in 2004, Magnus Backstedt. In addition to Maggie, on our arrival we were told that Dame Sarah Storey and a Pearl Izumi team mate, Katie Curtis would be joining us for the week of training, in preparation for her hour record attempt.
The complex itself seems to be very triathlete focused, with excellent swimming and running facilities available, as well as almost every other sport you could think of. The accommodation varies, we were in basic apartments, but they did the trick. The half board food was excellent and for those that know me well, it was eat as much as you could each night, but with a healthy element to most areas, perfect to fuel the week of cycling.
On the day of landing I did a short one hour acclimatisation ride, just to check the bike was okay after the journey. The first morning brief gave a good idea of the week ahead as well as a load of freebies from Cannondale, Club La Santa and OTE sports.
The idea of the first ride was to naturally select the ability groups for the week with the initial climb. This worked really well so that people hadn't under or over estimated their ability. I found myself in the top group of 10-12 riders, including Maggie and Dame Sarah. The top group was a nice balance of 2nd and 3rd Cat racers as well as some strong triathletes and testers.
After seeing some of the island on the day of landing, Lanzarote didn't look like a place if visit out of choice when not cycling, and this view didn't change throughout week. Black rocks and white buildings, not a lot else. The weather was moderate and just right, hovering around the 20 degree level, with the odd bit of rain. The wind was strong all week as is normal for the island and was very useful perfecting efficient group riding in the wind.
The week consisted of about 600km over 6 days dependant on your level, taking in two excellent climbs up Tabiesco and Mirador on a number of these days. The first effort up Tabiesco was time trial competition between the group, which I won aside from Maggie, I just couldn't match the 420+ watts for 30mins!!!! The rides were great training and even more valuable gaining the experience talking to Dame Sarah and Maggie for hours at a time.
The last day was the big 160km ride taking in numerous climbs. I was honoured to accept a request by Maggie to branch off and ride a separate 180km ride,with just the two of us. This was to help with his Ironman training for the forthcoming season. This ride quickly turned into me clinging to Maggie's back wheel. We ended up averaging almost 31kph for the 180km in around 5 hours 50mins, with a lot of climbing. A brutal but fantastic day and way to end the trip.
Overall I think it has set me up well for the forthcoming race season and I couldn't recommend Andy Cooke Cycling enough, for all abilities! There were about 70 riders in total, ranging from almost first timers to racers. If anybody wants a chat about it on more detail feel free to ask either on here or when I'm out with the club. For now i leave you with a few of photos for the CCA album, including Maggie and Dame Sarah.
Comments
The palm tree that's sticking out of your head's a bit smaller than his. MAybe it'll grow