2020

It's been a while... Where to start? I won't pick up from where I left off immediately as I feel there may be some new readers amongst you and I'm envisaging the blog taking a slightly different format this year. While this will remain a cycling blog, I'm going to incorporate more aspects of life and how they link to performance on the bike, rather than just listing and detailing my results each month.

I suppose starting university in Cardiff has been the biggest change in my life and because of this choice, I  was unable to stay on with Zappi's out in Italy for another year. This was a difficult decision, but I very much feel that having more things going on outside of cycling has helped me on and off the bike (I am missing you though, lads!!). The city buzz is addictive and only now do I feel I have a true sense of freedom, which makes it even sweeter.

While getting used to uni life, I took a good amount of time away from serious racing, but it wasn't completely sedentary - my Dad and I ran the Bath hilly half in November and I also spent some time at the Newport velodrome, which led to competing at the BUCS track championships in Manchester. Although I was very unfit, it was a new experience in which I could remind myself of my passion for pedalling. I believe the biggest positive difference since moving here has been my social life, not that I'm overly dependant on on others - I quite enjoyed 5 days in my own company on a solo mission back from Italy at the end of the season (see last blog). The difference is being able to go out and have fun (get intoxicated) and not feel guilty, being able to play gigs and bring a friend back to a room that I'm not sharing with two other cyclists.

Training has now resumed, but I'm keeping it fun with the idea that keeping the passion burning is more beneficial than getting overly obsessive about numbers and losing sight of what matters. This seems to be working and ironically, I couldn't resist trying for a power PB last week. The university club run two sessions at the outdoor track at Maindy each week which are a top end workout, but they're so much fun I often forget that. Contrary to previous years, I've managed to enjoy a couple of weekends away recently without the bike, safe in the knowledge that I can make up for the lost training time another day, which is important for me in making bike racing compatible with everyday life. However, I know that there are some things that I will never sacrifice or change about myself to become more 'normal' because cycling has become part of my identity and I'm very proud to belong to the racing community.

I'm still aiming to take my racing to new heights this year with Spirit Tifosi Racing Team. I'm very much looking forward to being a part of this set up, racing in a mix of national races in the UK as well as some UCI's abroad, which is a perfect balance for me while studying. The team ethos is based around having a laugh, which in turn eases nerves and helps the racing side of things, but of course we're still deadly serious about performing and ultimately winning races. My thanks go out to Russ, Mark and all the team sponsors for making it happen this year.

I think that's about it.

G

September Update!

An action packed blur comes to mind when trying to recall recent happenings. When nearing the end of the season, a rider must work out when they want to attain a final 'peak' in form before declining to the off season. However, sometimes form can sneak up on you, as I found out during my final races in Italy. I felt no different going in, but all of a sudden something clicked. When previously I fell slightly short of the mark, I could now cut the mustard, consequently netting three top twenties in as many races.

Sprinting to 18th at Giro del Valdarno. Emotions were a mix of joy and relief.

Crossing the Swiss Border after climbing from
Aosta up the Grand St Bernad - 32km at 6%.

Perhaps my morale was fuelled by planning my end of season trip home - a touring trip back to the UK, taking in 700 miles over 5 days. Compared to racing, this would be a stress free experience, purely focusing on enjoying the bike. To escape from the regimented life of being a full time cyclist and have no agenda apart from turning the pedals felt liberating, but of course there was some sadness leaving my team mates and 'Casa Zappi'.

On the first day I passed through the Valle d'Aosta - the playground of my toughest race of the year. Some unpleasant memories were unearthed, but I mostly felt pride from my own, and my team mates performances. I stopped atop the Grand St Bernard pass, just before the Swiss border for my last decent coffee, before enjoying the fast, twisting descent.

Home for the night in Burgundy

My competitive spirit still remained, so one of my goals for the trip was to ride the furthest I ever had in a day. To add to the fun, I made this the last day and pre booked my ferry. A small problem I came across is the fact that rural France is an agricultural desert on Sundays, which meant I had to plan carefully to avoid the dreaded 'bonk'. I managed to find a kebab shop open until 1am, so I had my final refuel, charged my Garmin and they even put on English TV for me. After around 350km It was 2am and the fatigue was catching up with me, so I pulled over for a forty minute nap in a ditch before continuing on my way. The last hours were a mental battle more than anything. Thick fog had descended, so much so that my super bright light couldn't penetrate more than ten metres. Going fast was out of the question (not that I could've injected much speed at this point), I just had to focus on rolling along. Signs of life started to emerge as I neared the port, but I couldn't start to enjoy myself until the final two kilometres. Eventually, after 16 hours and 415km of riding, I made it to Caen.

One of many beautiful Swiss views.

I left myself five days at home before going to Cardiff University to study Engineering. The first couple of days were spent recovering, before attempting to try and get my head around moving in. I've now been in Cardiff for less than a week, but it's been incredible and although it rains a lot of the time, there is something I've missed about riding in the UK - the meandering country lanes, climbs that are stupidly steep and of course, being able to order beans on toast at the cafe.

In terms of upcoming racing, I'll be doing some hill climbs, mainly just for fun while I'm starting my course, before building towards making next season the best yet.

August Update

Are we already nearing the end of August? The month began with an easy week at home after Giro Valle d’Aosta, which was much needed after the physical and mental fatigue (see last blog). Shortly after I headed back overseas, but this time with my family in our VW campervan, stopping off along at various points along the way to Italy, exploring new areas in training.

Since I’ve been back the usual busy racing schedule has resumed. I’m at the point now where I’m used to this level of racing so I’m more relaxed, which has made it more enjoyable and I’ve become more consistent. A top result is still eluding me, but I have a few more more races left and regardless of results, I feel I’ve developed significantly as a rider over the past six months.

After my last race of the year, I’ve planned a cycle tour back to the UK from our team house near Milan. The plan is to ride the 800 miles over 6 days with plenty of stops along the way. While this may sound very physically demanding (which it is in some ways), I’m looking forward to riding at my own pace discovering new places. Whereas when racing, I have to be focused and riding to the extent of my abilities, so a lot of the landscape is lost from being in the racing bubble. A few days after I return home, I’m going to Cardiff University to study engineering, while continuing my racing as much as possible. This very much feels like the right step for me because being a full time cyclist this year I have discovered that I need something other than cycling to focus on, to avoid overthinking and to truly appreciate the bike.

Thanks as always to my parents, the team and the Lewis Balyckyi trust fund for keeping me on the road.

Pre boarding at Dover in the camper.

At sign on before Briga Novarese, pockets packed for the 160km to come.

July update

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was sitting on a cliff in Norfolk, writing last month’s blog, a couple of days before the National Championships road race. However a lot has happened since then and Nationals seems the best place to start. After around 70km of racing, I managed to get in a large breakaway group including Ian Stannard and Ben Swift from Team Ineos. I remember thinking that it was too good to be true, so to enjoy it as much as possible, despite the effort. This was my first race against WorldTour riders, so to be rolling through with childhood heroes felt pretty cool. We had a gap of around one minute when Stannard attacked solo, going for glory, so Swift stopped working and the group lost momentum. I found it slightly odd that Swift and Stannard were ‘team mates’ at this point in the race, yet fierce competitors in the final. When we were eventually caught,  I didn’t have many matches left, so I rode to the finish in the peloton, content with my bid for glory, but frustrated that I hadn’t cashed in.

After Nationals my focus turned purely to the Giro Valle d’Aosta - a six day stage race in the Alps, dubbed the hardest under 23 race of them all. This involved continuous training blocks, doing efforts day after day, but upon reflection , no amount of training at home could compare to the brutality of the race. This was my first experience of a stage race at this level and all I can say is it was the toughest race I’ve ever done. I think this is because in a one day race, if you feel terrible, you can cut your losses and accept you can’t get a result, whereas in a stage race, if you feel awful on one day, you have to live to fight another day, whether it’s to try and get a result yourself, or to help a team mate. There were several points along the way where I didn’t think I would finish, but after a small resurgence on the final day, I managed to get in a breakaway in the middle of the stage and hauled myself up the 30km final climb to finish 19th in the young riders classification
and my team mate Calum also cracked a top 20 overall on GC.

In August, I’ve got another busy month of racing with the team and hopefully the form to really push for results. Thanks again to everyone who supports me and I’ll try to post race updates on Facebook/Instagram/Strava. I guess that’s it until next time,

Ciao

June update

I’m currently sitting in scorching thirty degree heat on the north Norfolk coast, preparing for the National road race championships on Sunday. The time trial has already passed, which wasn’t the best day for me, but it was great to see my team mate Charlie Quarterman take the national under twenty three title, which was thoroughly deserved. In the road race, I will be facing the likes of Mark Cavendish and other WorldTour opposition, which will be a first for me, so as usual, it’s a mixture of excitement and nerves. Many athletes use the words ‘nervous’ and ‘excited’ interchangeably, particularly when under media presence, to make themselves appear more confident, but I don’t have to worry about that yet.

In other news, perhaps more important news, I’ve been selected to ride the Giro Valle d’Aosta. This is a six day stage race in the alps featuring more mountains than you can keep count of. This is one of the biggest under twenty three races in the world, so will be incredibly tough. The race takes place between the 16th and 21st July and you’ll be able to keep updated on our news with Flavio’s unique live videos on Facebook. This is a massive opportunity for me, so I’m doing everything I can to make sure I arrive with the best legs possible. 

I’ve managed to spend some time at home during June, competing in a few local races, where I could honestly say I was excited instead of nervous. The difference in the level of racing between the UK and Italy is huge, so it’s been refreshing to be racing to win races, rather than just to survive. It’s strange what you start to miss when you spend five months in Europe. Family and friends are a given, but I can’t tell you how good it was to have my first roast dinner since Christmas. 

In August I’ll be back out living in Italy, this time near Milan, following a similar racing structure, but I like to think I’m much more prepared now, so I can really start to get competitive in the Italian nationals and UCI’s. I haven’t had time to catch up with everyone since I’ve been home, so if any of my friends would like to visit in the summer, It would be great to see you. Living in the company of twelve other cyclists can take its toll. For instance, we’ve developed many colloquialisms, using cycling terms to describe everyday life, so it’s good to see normal people every once in a while to remember what the world is like outside of our bubble.

Thanks again to all who are supporting me to make it possible. 

Keep you updated,

Ciao.

May update

The season is in full swing, so we’ve been busy hopping around Italy from race to race every weekend, gradually gaining experience, knowledge and form (hopefully!). To put it simply, the racing here is bloody hard. A typical Italian race is hosted in a picturesque hilltop town, which the race passes through every lap at the summit of the climb. This repeats maybe a dozen times, which causes an attritional nature of racing, with only fifty or so riders finishing from one hundred and eighty starters. As my skills have developed, I’ve managed to finish these races, squeezing in to the top 40 in the second day of Due Giorni Marchigiana last weekend. The next step is to be fighting for the top positions, which is my goal for the second half of the season.

Yesterday, we were at a flat race, near Milan. This was my first time attempting a lead out against the Italian teams, for our sprinter, Karl. The race averaged forty seven kilometres per hour, so when we were fighting for position in the final fifteen kilometres, the pace was over fifty. Before this year, being super keen was enough to get to the front, but everyone here is one hundred percent committed, so aggression is needed, which I have developed more of. This means knocking handlebars, shouting and not letting anyone push you around. We laughed in the car on the way home when Karl recounted me shouting at a rider who gave me a large shove at three kilometres to go. I was so zoned in I can’t remember what I said, but the beauty is you can shout in English and they won’t understand a word. We only mustered a team of three due to injuries and the giro team being at altitude, so we didn’t have the cumulative horsepower of the other teams, but I managed to drop Karl off in to the top 10 wheels with one kilometre to go. Unfortunately he was swamped at a roundabout so only managed a top 30, but it was a good to get another race in the legs. We have another double race weekend coming up, then shortly after I’m back in the UK for a few weeks.

Thanks again to my Parents, the Lewis Balyckyi Trust Fund and Mr Zappi himself for all of their help.

Fatigue

As mentioned in a previous post, I usually write my blogs on rest days, where I can recover and mindfully reflect on past events. However for the last week or so, we’ve been partaking in a big training block to prepare for the Giro, so this blog comes from the perspective of a fatigued mind (and body) in the present.

Fatigue can take many forms, but my favourite is the feeling of slight delirium, which could be compared to a couple of glasses of wine. Legs become numb and the body is so entirely invested in recovering that you have little time to think of anything else. Sometimes watching T.V is too much effort, which is when music triumphs, nothing upbeat though, perhaps some relaxed Pink Floyd. For this feeling I need to be a seriously cooked unit, but it wears off as recovery progresses and by the next morning I’ve got The Strokes on, getting mentally ready for the next days training.

Going through the hard times together also makes us stronger as a team. I was ill for the first 4 days of the block (others have been too) so we can help each other through when someone is having a bad day. Meanwhile Flavio the enabler is always watching, pondering and planning our next session. I think we all have a love-hate relationship with him. He pushes you to the limit but only because he wants the best and there are days when it’s too much for some riders, myself included.

As for my condition, I’m not quite where I want to be but plans are being put in place to step up to be fighting at this extremely high level and I don’t feel like I’m that far away. A special mention has to go to my family for coming out to visit me a couple of weeks ago and topping up morale in the process. Thanks again to the Lewis Balyckyi trust fund for making this opportunity possible. Until next time, ciao.