Congratulations to James MacDonald for his new WUCA record
Rider Report for James MacDonald
Equipment: BMC Trackmachine 01, 3T Brezza II Nano bars, Mavic Comete track disc wheels with Ceramic Speed bearings and EAI 17 tooth gold rear sprocket, Rotor 2InPower track chainset with 62 carbon chainring. Bisaddle EXT sprint adjustable saddle.
Nutrition: Secret Training Big Energy
We were back at Newport Velodrome 2 ½ years after I last rode on the track and that was when I stepped off the bike at the end of 15 hours trying to break the outright 24 hour distance record in 2019. Covid got in the way most of the time in between so today was primarily a 4 hour training session to prepare for the next 24 hour attempt. It was to be ridden at 24 race pace (40kph) these were the instructions from my coach. It was to gather the data and get reacclimated with the demands of riding in a TT position on the track with a fixed wheel.
The session went perfect, my power was a little over what I was instructed to ride but I seemed comfortable at that level so just stayed there. The atmospheric pressure was a bit on the high side so speed was compromised but that wasn’t the goal.
I had all the crew there for our first time back at Newport, there were some welcome new faces and everyone performed amazingly. I had Toby Ellis in my ears again as Race Engineer, we watched the pace, I fed to schedule and we used the newly planned “stretching” laps every 15 mins to good effect. Toby made sure the banging tunes never stopped and I squeezed the pedals that bit harder for the last 10 mins of the 100km and also at the end of the 4 hours. A thoroughly enjoyable 100k. Chapeau team – Mike Griffiths, Toby Ellis, Chris Edwards, John Vigar and Tim Wade.
WUCA Record Certificate -James MacDonald 2021-09-17