(whooshing)
(upbeat music)
- [Male] Welcome to the next step in my quest
to take on the hour record, an Eddy Merckx
record distance of 49.431 kilometers.
- Now the hour record is typically performed on a velodrome
with a fixed gear track bike.
And in this video, I'm going to try and learn
the skills that are required to take on the hour record
in this specific kind of discipline of riding.
Now, although the pros we see in the Olympics on T.V.
they make it look really easy.
But, be under no illusion, there's a reason
why they're at the Olympics.
It's deceptively hard.
And when it comes to riding on the track,
I'm a rookie, I'm a noob, a beginner, a greenhorn.
So I'm going to have to learn these skills, and learn 'em fast.
I'm going to need some help.
Fortunately, I know just the person.
Manon Lloyd may be relatively new to GCN,
however she's as experienced as they get
when it comes to the track.
Having competed for both Wales and Great Britain,
she's ridden the European Championships,
World Championships, and Commonwealth Games.
- So, Ollie, how much track riding have you done?
- Yeah, pretty much none.
- Right, great, probably going to need to go
back to basics then.
So, we're here at the Geraint Thomas Velodrome in Newport.
The track is obviously 250 meters long, that is
if you follow the black line here.
That's what you're going to need to follow
for your hour record.
We also have the red line, which is the sprinter's line
which they use for racing, and then the blue line
which is mostly training purposes.
And then you have the cote d'azur down here,
which you do not want to hit at speed,
cause you will fall off.
- Why's that?
- You're just going to fall off if you hit it at speed.
- Oh, great.
- Yup, don't do that.
And, remember you are on a fixed gear bike,
so if you do stop pedaling, you will fall off.
- So, I'm going to fall off, great, right.
- No, you're not, you're fine, this is why I'm here.
- Alright.
- So we're hear today to work on some of the
key skills you're going to need for the hour record.
The main one is going to be pacing.
Do you know how Eddie Merckx paced his hour record?
- Yeah, actually, I did some research, not very well.
So, his opening kilo that he did,
would have qualified him for the 1972 Munich Olympics
kilo time trial on the track.
So his first kilo he just went, like the clappers
blew up, I mean if he'd paced it more evenly,
he probably would have gone quite a bit further.
I'm glad he didn't.
- You've got an advantage if you pace it right now.
So, yeah definitely one of the most important thing
is to pace it right.
Another challenging thing about the track is
you're not allowed a computer on your bike,
so you can't look at your power or
your speed when you ride it, so it all comes down to feel.
You have a coach on the side, or you can have
a lap split board, but yeah it all comes down to feel.
So I'm guessing you're used to looking at power
when you've been training.
- Yeah, I am like a slave to the numbers,
I'm always looking at my computer, bit like Chris Froome
just not riding anywhere near as fast.
- Well, we're going to take that away
and you're going to go off feel.
So, I want you to go up now and do a few laps
doesn't matter what speed you go,
you just have to keep the same speed for all the laps.
- And you're going to give me splits?
- Yes.
- Let's do it, let's do it.
(upbeat music)
- So Ollie's just going to do a few laps
to warm up and then I'm going to time him.
Never been a coach before.
(action music)
21 two.
Stay on the black line, Ollie!
22 four.
21 four.
Fixing it well.
21 two.
He's within a tenth or two every lap, so yeah doing good.
21 one.
21
135 mile laps, sounds about right.
We'll go two more laps.
One more lap.
21 four.
So, Ollie, how do you think you paced that?
- Well, all right, like you get used to it
you start to feel it and actually getting the splits
is kind of good feedback, and something else is
you feel like you notice when you mess up slightly
and you don't get the line quite right
you notice it's an extra couple of tenths of a second,
on, well that's what I felt, anyway.
- Yeah, definitely, you, well between three and four tenths
for the whole eight laps.
- Is that good?
- Yeah, I think, yeah two or three tenths, literally,
and there was no big jumps in
any of the laps, so yeah, pretty good pacing.
- Right, okay, what's the next skill I need to master?
- Ooh, what is the next skill?
- Well, you say that like I've definitely mastered this one.
(upbeat music)
- So, Ollie we're sat here on the track
concentrating on this black line.
This is what is measured as 250 meters of the track.
So, for our record every lap you do will be
250 meters if you follow this line.
You do not want to be above it, cause
you'll be riding the extra distance
but you want to be somewhere between the
cote d'azur and the black line
cause that will be the shortest distance around the track.
- So, it only counts as 250 meters even if I ride above it.
So, what, how bad would it be if
I rode like just here, for example?
- So, if you do, did the whole lap then you could be
doing 252 meters, around the track but it wouldn't count
because the lap is only 250 meters.
- I guess that doesn't sound like much, but over the course
of an hour record that adds up to be loads.
I mean, that would be like an extra half a kilometer.
Maybe even more, even a kilometer even if I did worse.
But, I mean that kind of puts in perspective
cause that's the difference between me
succeeding or failing at this.
- Yeah, definitely, you'd see some of the best track riders
in the world, they will literally ride somewhere between
the black and the cote d'azure
doing 249 meters of the track.
Should we go do some laps?
- Yeah, let's go do it.
(techno music)
- So, Ollie's just gone out on the track now
to ride, just practicing riding on the black line
and getting that line perfect all the way
around the track, I was riding behind him and
he was going into the back ends, he was
drifting up towards the red a bit.
So, if he can just practice holding that line
all the way through the corner he should get it right.
So the more time Ollie spends on the track
and the more time he spends in position riding
that black line the better he's going to get,
you know, practice does make perfect.
(techno music)
- It's mad how easy she's making this look, like
you can tell that she's an ex-GB rider,
it sounds silly to say, but when she comes round
just look at how she's under the black the whole time.
And she's probably doing like,
249 meter laps because of it,
but she's just like,
(blows raspberry)
but she's just like, like classy on the track.
- Your line was really, really good,
when you're on the straight, so you're right between
the black like and the cote d'azur, so you're
taking the shortest route around the track,
but when you're going into the back ends
you were drifting up towards the red a tiny bit,
but it's still good, you just need to work on
that a bit and then I think you know,
as long as you get your line the same all the way around,
so try and get it beneath the black line,
and then you'll be perfect.
- Thanks for that feedback, it's really useful.
I think as a novice track rider, I don't always know
where I am at the moment, in relation to the black,
so it's really good for you to be able to tell me that.
On the straights, it's easier I find,
because the bike is directly beneath you.
See, that's a bit easier to know, but
when you're on the back end, and you're tilting
the bike over, I guess it's naturally going to be
a bit disorientating because of that, but yeah.
I'll take that into account next time I'm riding.
But is there anything else you think that
I should be thinking about?
- There is one more thing, have you thought about
what gear you're going to use for the hour record?
Because when you're out there, you can't just change
your gear like you can on a road bike.
(upbeat music)
- So, I've spoken to Neil and Mack, my coaches
from the CycleFest, and at the moment
I've got a 52-14 on here, which is actually
the same gear that Eddie Merckx used.
And so that equates to kind of like 104, 106 rpm average
for the hour to do that equivalent distance.
And that's the cadence that I've got used to now,
and I'm good but, we've got a trick, right?
Neil and Mack reckon we can make this more
efficient by still keeping the same equivalent ratio,
but by changing this 52 to like a 61,
and then putting a bigger gear
on the back like a 17 and that way the chains,
less tight an angle, less friction in the chains,
should give me a few watts gained.
- Yes, that's a very good idea,
I think a smooth pedal stroke.
- So that's the plan, but yeah,
I haven't gotten a chain ring sorted yet.
- Okay, so onto the next skill.
The standing start, how do you feel about that?
- Pretty nervous, I don't know why.
It just looks quite intimidating.
- Yeah, they do, it is a little bit more complicated
than it looks, you're going to have a count down,
so it'll count you down from 30 seconds,
and then it will beep from five seconds,
and you need to go on zero, obviously.
So, shall we go and practice?
- Can you show me how it's done first?
- Yeah.
So when you're doing a standing start,
you always need to start with your left foot
because naturally, the track always wants to
push you down, but by starting with your left foot
it will push you up a bit, and make you
go in a straight line.
And then when it comes down to the beeps,
so you'll have a count down from 30 seconds,
and then 10, and then from five seconds it will beep,
so you need to be in your position ready to go in five,
and then four, and then up on three, back on two, one,
and then go on zero.
Easy.
- Okay, and then when you actually start pedaling
you know, rocking the bike, like Marcel Kittel--
- No, you're not flat out sprinting you want to keep
it all pretty, your core engaged, and put your strong
and you want to look where you're going, you don't want
to look down, so I always look up towards the
timing board when doing a standing start.
- And then, how long before I get into the skis?
- So, we always used to do three quarters of a lap
before we sat down, so we'd sit down
in the back end over there, and then you'd sit down
and get into position and get nice and comfortable
ready for the next hour.
- Okay, right, well, can you show me how it's done?
(laughing)
- All right, ten seconds,
and five, four, three, two, one, go!
(upbeat music)
- Okay, Ollie, you ready for your first ever standing start?
- Yeah, I am nervous, I am nervous.
- You'll be fine, just go on zero.
- Okay, right.
- Take it away, Gary.
- We're going to go.
- Okay, 10 seconds,
- Okay.
- And five, four, three, two, one, go!
Good, walk, walk, walk.
- [Manon] No, that was really good.
What do you think?
- I think it was great, you got to get the first one
under your belt.
- [Manon] It's only going to get better.
(upbeat music)
- Hope you've enjoyed this track video and found it
informative, and if you have please give it a thumbs up
and share it with your friends.
And if you would like to see more track content from
GCN then let us know in the comment section because
we've not done much today.
- And if you want to follow Ollie's hour record,
click on screen now.