Introduction
12 of our our athletes awoke early morning to catch a flight heading to the cycling paradise, Mallorca, for the first training camp of 360 cycling
Day 1
After a short flight and a quick transition via the coach meant we had enough time for our first ride already. Some of our riders had brought their own bikes but some had to hire so we got organised and ready to head out.
Excitement was high and Coach Joe led the way. However, it was the wrong way. We were on the correct route but in the reverse direction. At the time we thought this would be fine but later down the ride we found it wasn't. The start of the side was stunning, 360 views everywhere you went. Our first col came fast which obviously meant a perfect Switchback descent. However, all good must come to an end though and for us, that was when we found ourselves on a Spanish motorway and then a grassy hill, with our bikes. It was pretty fair to say we were lost.
The sun had set when we finally arrived back so it was straight to tea and then bed ready for the big rides to come.
Day 2
Day 2 saw a hilly 4-5 hour ride adventuring the coastal road down (and up) to Valldemossa. We set off in groups Simon, Toby, Laura and Declan first, followed by Joe, George, Davey, Max, Tom and Aiden. This was probably the warmest day of them all so it was short sleeves for everyone. The efforts set by the coach were threshold/max efforts up all of the climbs which made the climbs even harder.
The main climb of the day came after the cafe, it was Port de Valldemossa. Our Juniors yet again went the wrong way, so our athletes were split up in groups. Davey and coach Joe went up together, and up this climb it was a race to the top. The climb was steep and long so favoured the lighter rider. Three quarters of the way up Joe was dropped.
A cruisy ride home and a look on Strava showed that Max destroyed everyone's time by over 3 minutes. Once again a quick refuelling and getting the rest in for the upcoming days.
Day 3
Day 3 was when the training plans changed for some of our athletes. Our Junior riders planned a 100 mile ride out and back, flat as fast as they could. Whereas the rest of our riders planned an endurance day with sub-threshold efforts on the climbs. Once again it was a spectacular day for it, blue skies meant perfect views.
The Juniors completed their 100 mile ride in under 5 hours, meaning over 20 MPH average speed with powers averaging over 230 watts. After the rides and tea we played some basketball on the court the resort had to offer. Adults vs kids was the lineup, but after a while the score was lost so we just played. This helped build the relationship off the bike for our team.
Day 4
This was a tough day. 90 mile was planned, with peaks of Col de Soller and Puig Major along
the way, both known for their long gradual gradients with exceptional views as always. Like many other days, we set off in groups. Simon and Toby along with Joe and Dylan taxied/rode their way to the summit of Col de Soller. This was our first major climb of the day which we used for our warm-up for the Puig Major effort. We stopped, briefly, at the top meeting the rest of the group. Getting instructions from the coach, off we went ready for our efforts up to the highest point on the island. It was a tough long climb but the views and achievement at the top made it all worth it. After a cruizy ride home, and a cafe stop of course. A Strava time check showed Max to be the fastest up Puig Major on the day and with Devey a few minutes behind setting a new power PB proved it was a great day for all of us.
Day 5
Today was a free hit for our riders, Davey unfortunately ill so took a rest day, while the rest of our athletes did their own active recovery ride. Essentially recovering ready to hit the last two days of the camp hard.
Day 6
As it was coming to the start of the season it is important to add the top end of the zones into training. So this was that day for most of our riders. Simon, Toby and Davey set off from base first taking it easy again after a bit of illness from Davey and fatigue from Toby. The rest of the athletes followed behind ready to smash the hilly 80 mile route in as close to 4 hours as possible. We met together in a cafe halfway through with a few others from the hotel. It was a quick stop for our Juniors, eager to get out on the rest of their intense ride. Again meeting back at the hotel completed the 80 mile ride in very close to 4 hours for our juniors and a strong ride from George too.
Day 7
The last day of our camp was upon us which meant the longest ride of the trip. It had to be the century. The start of the ride was cloudy as the weather started to worsen towards the end of the camp. However, it started to clear as we climbed to the top of Puig Major. This meant the views were incredible and different as it was from the other side of the mountain this time. Halfway through we stopped for a perfect cafe stop with all the group, the last one of the trip. We stayed not for long as almost instantly was Col de Soller, again from the other side. Just like that the last final effort of the trip was completed and so was the 100 miles for most of our athletes. So we returned our bikes, packed our bags and had a very short sleep before the early flight back to Manchester.
Finally
So 7 days of riding saw our athletes completing 450-500 miles of quality cycling. Needless to say it was an outstanding success for our first training camp of 360 cycling.
Mallorca training camp 2023
by
Davey Allanson
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