The classics season is in full swing and will continue this weekend with the 94th edition of the Tour of Flanders. The winner of the last two editions Stijn Devolder will be in with a chance of winning for the third year in a row, something which has only once before been achieved, by Italian Fiorenzo Magni almost 60 years ago. However Devolder’s Quick Step team mate Tom Boonen will also be looking to win his third edition of the race having won before in 2005 and 2006. Boonen is undoubtedly the leader of the Quick Step team at the classics, but ironically, it is Boonen’s status as leader that has allowed Devolder to win the Tour of Flanders for the last two years. In virtually identical races, 2008 and 2009 saw Devolder attack from about 20km out and solo home while other pre-race favourites were busy marking Boonen. Had Devolder been riding for any other team, Boonen’s Quick Step team mates would have chased down any breaks in an attempt to set Boonen up for his own race winning attack, therefore denying Devolder a victory.

However a third consecutive victory for Devolder is looking highly unlikely having shown appalling form throughout the season so far. Even his directeur sportif has been bemoaning his poor results this year. To illustrate,  he has had no top 30 finishes at all this year and his best result in a cobbled race has been 40th in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen last weekend. To put this into perspective, in the run up to the Tour of Flanders in 2009 he had racked up three top 10 places in the E3 Prijs, Dwars Door Vlaanderen and the time trial stage of the Three Days of De Panne. Further back in 2008, he had placed in the top 10 in two cobbled races and had also won the overall at the Volta ao Algarve. Devolder has said that he is still focused on completing his hat-trick of titles but it’s safe to say his form is dreadfully short of where it has been for the past two years.

But that’s not to say that Boonen won’t again be denied this year by a team mate. Sylvain Chavanel is also in a position to take advantage of Boonen’s status as race favourite and would be more than capable of ‘doing a Devolder’ and soloing home for a win. Chavanel has been solid if unspectacular so far this season. He has taken 20th place (ish) at Het Niuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Milan San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem and most stages of Paris-Nice. If a Quick Step rider other than Boonen is going to win this hilly cobbled classic the most likely rider will be Chavanel and not Devolder. But having not won the Tour of Flanders since 2006, Boonen will be hungry to reclaim the prize which he has been denied the last few years. If he does win this coming Sunday, he will become only the second man after Johan Museeuw to have won three editions each of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Another man who recently joined the club of riders to have won three editions of a monument classic is Oscar Freire. Having had a barren year in 2009 with only 2 victories to his name, his career seemed to be fizzling out. But having kept himself protected and largely anonymous until the peloton got over the Poggio, he stormed to the front on the finishing straight to take Milan San Remo for the third time in his career. Although Freire would not be considered a favourite for the Tour of Flanders he has a string of top 30 finishes to his name. But he he has stated that this year he won’t be riding the Ronde and that he wants to concentrate all his efforts on winning the Amstel Gold Race where he has previously finished 5th and clearly would like to add to his palamarés. A race which the Spaniard has won previously is the World Road Race Championship, on three occasions. To look over the previous winners of the six major one day races (5 Monuments + Worlds), Freire has joined Girardengo, Binda, Coppi, De Vlaeminck, Merckx and Museeuw as being the only men to be triple winners of two of those races.

In a World Championship the road race takes place on a different course every year. The course has a huge role to play in who are the favourites and what may constitute a race winning move on the day. Conversely, the monument classics are run on (almost) identical courses every year. This leads to the same riders being marked at the same crucial points throughout the race year after year. Thus, every year that a rider proves he can win one of these races, trying to repeat that victory the following year becomes increasingly more difficult as riders are then uber-aware of what a previous winner is capable of. This is what makes Devolder’s Tour of Flanders victory last year so remarkable. He had proven in 2008 that he had what it took to attack before the finish and solo home, and yet last year he was allowed follow the exact same route to victory.

Milan San Remo invariably boils down to who is the strongest sprinter on the day who can make it over the Poggio with the front group. Paris-Roubaix is often won by the strongest rider who has a bit of luck on his side. Last year Tom Boonen won solo without even having to formulate a race winning attack. The Belgian champion just powered home while everyone around him fell over. But the Tour of Flanders is a different monster with much more subtle tactics at play. A race winning break can be formed at a plethora of locations. There are six climbs in the last 50km of the race, each one providing ample opportunity to make a race winning move.

Another rider who wants to win the Tour of Flanders is Fabian Cancellara. Continuing the theme of triple victories, the Swiss power demon will be aiming to win his third different monument classic having previously won Paris-Roubaix in 2006 and Milan San Remo in 2008. He has stated that Flanders is a major career goal for him. Looking back on his career so far, having won three World Time Trial titles, worn the yellow jersey in three separate Tours de France, won the Olympic Time Trial title, won 7 Grand Tour stages, won his home stage race the Tour de Suisse and having won the aforementioned monument classics, it seems that what Spartacus wants Spartacus gets. However one race missing from his palmarés thus far is the World Road Race title. At Mendrisio last year he was clearly the strongest rider in the race but he suffered from over confidence and was defeated on the day by the more astute racing of Cadel Evans. Cancellara will have to be more tactically in tune if he is to be successful at the Ronde next Sunday. But, like Boonen, Cancellara also has a team mate who can steel away while his leader is being marked in the bunch by other race favourites. Matti Breschel has already won a cobbled semi-classic this year at the Dwars Door Vlaanderen and came 6th at the Tour of Flanders last year after Cancellara’s chances on the day were scuppered by a broken chain. The Danish champion may benefit from Cancellara’s intentions to go for victory this year.

Other contenders who should also be vying for victory on Sunday are Phillipe Gilbert, Filippo Pozzato, Juan Antonio Flecha, Alessandro Ballan, Thor Hushovd and Nick Nuyens. But each of these favourites also has a team mate who is also capable of challenging for victory, respectively they are, Leif Hoste (and Greg van Avermaet), Sergei Ivanov, Edvald Boasson Hagen, George Hincapie (and Marcus Burghardt), Roger Hammond and Lars Boom. Of all of these race contenders, each of them, except the youngsters Boom and Boassan Hagen and surprisingly the pair from Cervélo, have finished in the top 10 at the Tour of Flanders. Unfortunately last year’s runner up Heinrich Haussler will not be taking part due to a knee injury. Boonen once more is the out and out favourite, he has the hunger and the experience required to win. But with the experience of winning comes the burden of scrutiny, which may well afford plenty of opportunities for lesser riders to make a break for victory in this fascinating cobbled classic.

Unfortunately there are no Irish riders taking part in the Tour of Flanders this year. The cobbles aren’t a speciality of Deignan, Martin or Roche and the An Post-Seán Kelly team won’t be on the start line. But riders like Ronan McLaughlin, Mark Cassidy and Connor McConvey have all been gaining experience with the An Post-Seán Kelly team in cobbled races such as the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen and the Dwars Door Vlaanderen. So perhaps it won’t be too long before Ireland has a contender for the cobbled races.

There is an enormous focus these days on the training values of a cyclist. A rider will base his season goals and training schedules around values like lactate threshold, maximum heart rate and VO2 max. Measured in mililitres per kilo per minute, Tour de France winners typically have a VO2 max upwards of 80. It’s a measure of the ability to transport oxygen around your body. Lance Armstrong’s magic number is reportedly 84, Greg LeMond’s was over 90. I on the other hand, have a VO2 max value of 54. I also have a maximum heart rate of 201, my lactate threshold is at a heart rate of 148 bpm and I am made up of 16% fat.

I know this because I was invited recently by Go Cycle Ireland down to the Sport Sciences department at the University of Limerick where my performance was tested. Previously this facility was only available to the likes of elite athletes and Olympians. Now, through Go Cycle Ireland anyone can book themselves in to be tested and have their results analysed by a trained expert.

To find out my limits I took part in a ramp test, the goal of which was to get me to cycle on a turbo trainer at incrementally increasing power levels until I physically couldn’t keep going. Whilst cycling I was hooked up to ventilation monitoring equipment and a tiny blood sample was taken from my ear lobe after each increase in effort. All I had to do was to stare at a digital screen which displayed my power output and make sure that I was producing the required watts. I started at a leisurely 90 watts, every three minutes thereafter I had to increase the power by 30 watts. Once I reached 210 watts my thighs were starting to burn and my breathing became much heavier. From then on it was increases of 15 watts every minute. I got to 285 and the pain in my legs was becoming unbearable. The physiologist was beside me, spurring me on, telling me I could get there, I could up it one more time to 300. She counted me down, three…two…one… I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth to try to produce an extra 15 watts. I could feel the lactate acid burning in my legs. With my eyes barely able to focus any longer on the digital readout in front of me I could still hear the voice next to me telling me I had it in me to get to 315… in three…two…one… I couldn’t get to 315. I was done, completely spent, I had reached my limit at 300 watts. To put this into perspective, the likes of Fabian Cancellara can produce over 500 watts for miles at a time.

After I had showered, changed and normal feeling had returned to my legs I sat down for a talk with cycling coach Vinny Gleeson to discuss my results. He went through all my values and suggested things I could do to improve my performance based on these values. He explained to me how over time, with the right training at the right intensities I could increase the power I produce without going over my lactate threshold. He gave me a training plan tailor made to my heart rate and power output which if I follow should see me sail through the Wicklow 200 in June.

The Wicklow 200 has been around for thirty years and has become a benchmark for many leisure cyclists. However there are plenty of other great sportives organised in Ireland. The An Post cycle series is becoming increasingly popular with organised rides in Sligo, Meath, Waterford, Cork and Clare. There will also be a brand new sportive this year called the Étape Hibernia which will take place on August 22nd this year. The route takes in most of the county of Clare and is most noteworthy because it will be taking place on closed roads, something which most leisure cyclists, myself included, have never before had the chance to experience.

Go Cycle Ireland, as well as providing performance testing in the University of Limerick, also provide organised cycling trips around the country. So as part of the experience, the morning after I was tested, I was taken out on the open roads of Clare to cycle a 145km route very similar to that of the Tour de Burren. I’m ashamed to say that until that morning I hadn’t been out for a spin longer than 70km within the last six months. With the route we were undertaking weighing in at just over twice that, I was in for a tough day in the saddle.

The route was quite undulating and very exposed. Had there been any wind it would have made the spin markedly more difficult. As it happened we were treated to one of the finest days of the year so far with not a cloud in the sky nor a breeze in the air. The karst landscape of the Burren provided a spectacular ally to the beautiful weather as we made are way up to Ballyvaughn, down through Doolin past the Cliffs of Moher and into Lahinch. The coast road which heads south from Black Head, with views of Galway and the Aran islands is particularly impressive. We moved on then to Spanish Point before turning in east and heading back to Ennis from where we had embarked that morning.

We were seven hours in the saddle, with a few short breaks thrown in. The lads made sure I kept eating and drinking enough and having seen my test results the day before, they probably knew how hard and how far they could push me before I burned out and collapsed. But thankfully they had mercy on me and kept me teetering on the right side of exhaustion while they kindly paced me up the climbs.

The packages that Go Cycle Ireland provide are ideal for elite athletes and cycling clubs, cyclo-tourists or anybody who’s curious to know what their athletic potential might be. I found the whole experience enlightening and fulfilling and I’d recommend a trip to be tested in UL followed by a spin around Clare to anyone. I know a lot more about my body now and how to go about getting the most out of it. But with a VO2 max of a mere 54 I’ve finally had to accept the fact that I’ll never win the Tour de France. I guess I’ll have to stick to the sportifs. Now, only 78 more days until the Wicklow 200!

I received news over the weekend that the Irish Peloton blog is a finalist in the 2010 Irish Blog Awards. This came as a surprise no doubt, but a thoroughly welcome one at that. Irish Peloton will be up against the Back Page Football, Arseblog, Green and Red, and Sport is a TV Show.

I started writing this blog last September mostly as something to take my mind of the thesis I’m supposed to be writing. To write about the sport that I love is great, I enjoy it immensely. My Dad (who writes his own blog about being a professional Irish Traditional musician) was the one who first got me into cycling. Back in the days before the Internet and Sky Digital the only cycling that was on TV was the half hour highlights shows provided by Channel 4 in the evening after each stage of the Tour de France. Myself and my Dad would sit down to watch them together and he would diligently record each half hour show on to VHS always remembering to press pause when the ads came on, but even more importantly, remembering to unpause again when the ads were over. After the Tour was over, we’d be left with two full VHS tapes of the Tour highlights which I watched over and over until the following July. The first Tour I watched was in 1992 when Miguel Indurain’s domination was becoming increasingly apparent. I loved the manic sprinting of Djamolodin Abdoujaparov and the swashbuckling Claudio Chiapucci. I remember being hugely impressed by his solo effort up to Sestriére. I also remember in the 1993 Tour de France watching with disbelief as Mario Cipollini won a bunch sprint on one of the early stages without even lifting his arse off the saddle!

Unfortunately for me, my interest in cycling began just as the careers of Stephen Roche and Seán Kelly were coming to an end. I never appreciated first hand the domination of Kelly in the classics or Roche’s amazing year in 1987. Obviously I’ve watched and read everything I can get my hands on since, but it won’t beat having been there watching their success as it was unfolding.

As the Lance Armstrong era dawned, as did my introduction to alcohol and the root of all evil: girls! The fact that Roche and Kelly were retired and there was no longer an Irish rider in the pro peloton had an affect on my Dad’s interest in the sport which also rubbed off on me. Add this to my increasing obsession with all things Man United and it’s safe to say that my interest in cycling waned.

But in recent years my love for professional cycling has been reborn. The catalyst for my reawakening funnily enough came while I was on holiday in Thailand. One of the few things that was being broadcast in English in the place I was staying on Ko Pha Ngan was the live coverage of each day’s Tour stage. This coupled with the fact that one of the few English language magazines that was on sale in the local bookshop was an issue of Pro Cycling magazine, I was hooked again. This rekindled interest, in a nicely symmetrical way, has coincided with the rise and rise of the three young Irish riders Martin, Roche and Deignan.

I found myself purchasing back issues of Pro Cycling and Cycle Sport magazines, sourcing people on the internet who would burn me copies of old races from their own personal collections, buying every cycling book I could get my hands on. I had read and watched so much cycling I felt like I could try my hand at writing about it myself. So I did.

Thanks to everybody who reads what I write, if anyone enjoys reading it half as much as I enjoy writing it then I think I’m doing OK. The Irish Blog Awards takes place this Saturday in Galway, the other blogs all seem far more professional than mine, but, you never know!