Mallorca Training Clinic Report

A report on the Poco Loco Mallorca Training Clinic

12th - 19th June 2011

with Tour de France Stage winner Gert-Jan Theunisse.

Originally, Warren Giddins and I were looking for something that little bit different for our training week, a lot of fun, but with some serious ‘kick-ass’ training. After scouring the internet, Warren came across a site that mentioned training clinics run by former professional and Tour de France stage winner Gert-Jan Theunisse and his wife Nancy. Many emails and text were fired back and forth and finally dates were fixed and everything was put in place for a week's training including 4 full days riding and coaching from Gert.
We decided not to take are own bikes to save the hassle and stress of packing the bikes, flying, and then unpacking the bikes and getting them prepared, but rather hire two bikes from a local cycle shop in Cala Millor.

Leaving late on Saturday 11th we arrived at Palma to be picked-up and transferred tour hotel by Nancy in what I can say was pure luxury, a Mercedes…how professional did we feel! And to top that, we had another pleasant surprise when Nancy gave us each a pair of fantastic trainers…wow what a great start.
It was an hour's drive to the hotel so we all had time to get to know each other and what Gert has planned for the week. With no meal on the plane we were starving and with the first ride scheduled for Sunday morning we were getting worried, but, thankfully the hotel left out a small snack, which just took the edge off the hunger pangs.

In the morning we woke to a beautiful day, albeit a little overcast, the temperature was just spot-on at 24 degrees ideal for riding, and at 9.30 on-the-dot our bikes arrived as promised. Well, would you believe it, two top-end Pinarello full carbon bikes with Campag equipment…fantastic. On with the pedals, a few minor adjustments and we were ready for action!

Day 1: 150km – Cala Millor – San Juan – Cala Millor
Gert was very punctual as you would appreciate by arriving at 10am , and with him was another pro rider called Pedro, both were super tanned, and in excellent condition making us looking like a couple of milk bottles next to them! Quick introductions and away on our first real day of training, a 5hr tempo ride just to get the legs rolling. Well, the tempo turned out to 30kph, which considering the continual rolling roads, is not bad going!

Gert was in great shape, staying on the front for most of the day, but with only the four of us, we were all working hard. It was a great first day, 150km of beautiful roads, culminating with a nice café con leche at the local café…doesn't get much better than this…or does it?

Day 2: 50km Cala Millor - Cala Anguila - Cala Millor
On Gert's advice it was decided to have every other day as a recovery ride, with a cool swim to enhance muscle repair. So, with this in mind Warren and I set off from the hotel after a relaxing breakfast to find a nice beach where we can have an easy day and prepare ourselves for the next epic ride. After a short 25km ride spinning easy gears we found a picturesque beach called Cala Anguila, it was just stunning, albeit to reach it we had to go down a 20% incline, which obviously we had to climb afterwards…lovely thought! The sea was idyllic and it proved therapeutic on our aching muscles from the previous days ride.

We stayed a couple of hours having a nice lunch after the swim and taking in the perfect scenery on a perfect day. Back on with the kit it was now getting our heads around the very steep climb off the beach… it really hurt the legs! The ride back to the hotel was predominately a rolling road but nothing too difficult, and riding on the cycle paths which are as wide as our roads, made it so much easier. Once back it was down to the nearest café for a nice cooling beer and to pass time before the evening meal…oh how life could be!

Day 3: 202km Cala Millor-Soller-Cala Millor
Another big day ahead with the aim of climbing the 20km Soller Mountain, but starting from where we were it was over 100km away. Gert arrived bang on 10am ready to roll and with plenty of bidons and pockets filled with bananas and gels, we set of to meet Gert's good friend Gary Fry on route. The tempo was already at 32kph and we had barely gone 10km with Warren and myself showing signs of worry about completing the distance if this paced was sustained. Gert knew every side road which sometimes felt like we were going down someone's drive and the initial route to Gary's was not so easy with regular steep climbs coming one after the other. Gary was there waiting for us, again looking very fit and with the obligatory Majorca tan, we all got introduced and had a quick chat before we set of on the long ride to Soller. Gary is a former triathlete who now lives in Majorca and now races regularly on the road and supports Gert with various training camps.

The pace was at a regular tempo but still fast and with just four of us there was nowhere really to hide, so it was just the case of smiling and getting on with it. Luckily with Gert the roads we took by-passed most of the busy areas, truth be told we saw no more than a dozen cars all day.

Nearing Bunyola with 100km covered Gert looked back to see Warren grimacing and asked him if he was okay to climb Soller, with a reply of a forced smile saying everything, Gert shouted to Warren ‘POWER!. Gert and I pushed on with Gary and Warren content to let us go. I’d forgotten how long this climb was and with Gert making the pace sitting in the saddle pushing the big gear he was forcing me to accelerate out of each hairpin to get back alongside him. Nearing the top, the pressure went on, and Gert pushed on even harder to make me react, screaming "come on Nick, go, go, catch me" which I did, just as we reached the top. Pushing back the obvious hurt, we posed for a quick photo together overlooking the fantastic view courtesy of a tourist, then started the long decent back to Bunyola picking up Gary on the way and then Warren soon after.

Stopping at the bottom for a drinks top up and a snack, we began the long haul back to Cala Millor. With the super hot day and distance taking its toll, we had to stop regularly to get drinks, legs were withering, but the tempo was still averaging an amazing 32km, not bad for just 4 riders.

A fraction under 8 hours in the saddle and nearing Cala Millor, Gert and Gary diverted home leaving us to ride straight to the café for a well deserved milkshake and toasted sandwich and a cold towel round Warren's neck to help the shakes! This was well and truly epic… a ride to remember!

Day 4: 50km Cala Millor - Cala Anguila - Cala Millor
Basically this was a repeat of day 2, down to the beach, a recovery swim and a nice lunch and chat about the next day's big effort. I must say the swim on the easy day was something very special; it was just so nice to exercise those muscles that remain inactive on long rides. The only difference with this ride from day 2 is that when we were returning from the beach to the hotel we saw a figure in the distance riding towards us. To our amazement it was Gert with no jersey riding only what can be classed as a shopping bike, and get this, it had a fluffy seat and a bleeding shopping basket on the front. We couldn't believe it and we just had to ask him “is this for real?” which he responded saying “hey man, this is my favourite bike, I love to ride it!”

Chatting on for a while, Gert decided that tomorrow will be the "Team Time Trial Training", something we were looking forward too as it was going to be along the beautiful coast road out of Arenal. So it was a matter of getting plenty of rest and prepare for the long day ahead.

Day 5: 200km Cala Millor – Arenal – Cala Millor
Today's ride was one we were looking forward to as we were going to do a practice team time trial along the beautiful coast road from Felanitx to Arenal. Gert turned up at the hotel on his team bike instead of his carbon mountain bike which meant it was going to be a serious bit of training. The only problem with this plan was that it was going to be a good 2 hour ride to get to the start as we had to do a small detour to pick up Gary. Fortunately the parcour before the time trial was not too difficult albeit the heat off the road still made riding very hard.

Warren was getting nervous as his usual warm up before a time trial would be a 20 minute spin with one short blast, not a 2 hour tempo ride in 30 degrees heat! Arriving at Felanitx we stopped for a quick refuel and discussed what we were going to do. With the first 5km being downhill the four of us set off in formation with Gert starting at the front and Gary following through hard which put the speed at nearly 60kph with Warren and I pedalling for dear life on our compact gears. Once it flattened out it became a little more settled with everyone doing good regular turns keeping the speed at a constant 50kph, but it soon became apparent we were gradually turning into a headwind and once we got onto the exposed roads, turns were being missed.

The wind had taken it's toll and by the time we got to the coast road it was just Gert and I doing a 2 up, although that didn't last long as I had to sit-on whilst he turned over what only could be 54 x 11 with apparent ease! I stuck with him until we reached the approaches to Arenal near the end of the stunning coast road where we stopped to wait for Gary and Warren. Funny though, Gary was the only one to appear, telling us with a grin that Warren had decided to stop at a café and have lunch and we would pick him up on the way back(see the map and you can see where Warren’s Garmin stopped!).

Once back together and a quick photo shot at the café we set off through the cycle routes and headed back on the long route back to Cala Millor which we reached just in time for a quick shower and a well deserved meal, topped off with a couple of cool beers. A fantastic day but extremely tough with an average speed of 30kph!

Day 6: 50km Cala Millor - Cala Anguila - Cala Millor
Another welcome easy day and as before we decided to stick to the easy roads that we knew to our favourite beach. We were both very tired and this short ride was just ideal to spin out the lactic build up from the previous days efforts. Once again the sea was crystal blue and very inviting, and it was a matter of parking the bikes, off with the kit, and diving in…Pure heaven!
So all in all a laid back calorie building, Peroni supping day.

Day 7: 170km Cala Millor - Petra - Randa - San Salvador - Cala Millor
Today was another mountains day, but with a subtle difference. Gert punctual as usual, had something special in mind. We were riding out to three famous cycling climbs, Petra, Randa & the awesome San Salvador. Unfortunately the ride to these climbs was a fair distance and I remember Warren pointing to the distance with a worried look to the first climb, it was miles away and that was as the "crow flies"…it was going to be a very tough day in the saddle! Each climb was to be different, with the first one being Petra which was a average of 7 – 8% gradient, where we started 20 seconds on 20 seconds off sprints all the way to the top off the climb.

Then, gathering what strength we had left it was a short recovery ride to the second which was Randa (a very popular climb with Pro cyclists for training) again a tough climb, steep at the bottom with an easing gradient in the middle and finishing off steep at the top. This one was the power climb, where we had to put it in our biggest gear and grind our way up in the saddle, barely moving at times.

Again it was a gentle spin to the last but not least brutal climb of San Salvador. This was the longest of the three and was a constant but steep gradient. Already on our knees lol, Gert saved the hardest for last, which were a set of sprints every 15 seconds on a big gear & immediately 15 seconds on a small gear with only a very short rest between each effort. This certainly took the smile off our faces as it was unbelievably hard, the climb just went on and on and Gert's rest periods were getting shorter and shorter. With the training now finished, and the day drawing late, it wasn't the case of the a gentle spin recovery, as we had to leg it "so to speak" to get back to the hotel before dark… lovely!

Day 8: Summary. Flight Home
What can I say about this week… but superlative. Gert and Nancy were the perfect hosts. Gert's training was exceptional with his knowledge and route planning and not to forget his sense of humour lol, Gary a fantastic rider and who was extremely enjoyable company. The hotel was fantastic, very comfortable and great food.

Finally the bikes which Gert hired for us, Pinarellos… what a great ride :)

Thanks once again to Gert, Nancy & Gary… see you all next year. :) . N