Sydney, October 12, 2006

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Training at the Dunc

Returning to the track on my new 2007 Pinarello 'X Track FP' frame was a motivating way to start my preparation for the Sydney World Cup, and the 2007 track season! The 'X Track FP' is new for 2007 - new conception, new design and an entirely new perception of speed!

The frame has been designed and developed specifically for the madison and sprint disciplines and will be used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by all of the national teams sponsored by Pinarello. The frame is made with one of the highest-modulus composites around, the HM46J 12K, which has 12,000 filaments of carbon fibre per strand for the woven carbon. The complete weight of the frame and fork is only 1200 grams.

This season I've returned to the track, riding 200m just as fast as I could when I concluded the last track season after the Commonwealth Games. Is it the new bike? Are the advancements in technology contributing to that extra little bit of speed we can wind these bikes up and out to? I've managed to complete some heavy training blocks this past six months and, of course, we could say that the training adaptation alone has put me back on the track in reasonable form.

My training progression has been exciting during my first four weeks of preparation for the upcoming track season. Structured together by my personal coach, Warren McDonald, AIS head coach, Martin Barras, and the AIS guru gym coach, Craig Colduck, we have commenced a nine-week gym program leading into the November Track World Cup in Sydney at the Dunc Gray velodrome. The program involves a significant amount of plyo-metric training. Who would imagine that jumping around with only the resistance of your own body weight could be so exhausting! Some of these sessions have left me more fatigued than a 160km road ride!

So, I've been walking around the house like a zombie most days after training, but I'm still enjoying life back in Oz; what an amazing place!

It's only five weeks until the Sydney World Cup - that's five weeks of being extremely cautious of germs and viruses, five weeks to hit top form for an important race in front of a home crowd. I'll be racing the points race on Friday evening the 17th, and the scratch race on Sunday afternoon the 19th, together with Australia's Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist, Kate Bates. The World Cup event only permits two riders from each country to enter each race.

Enjoy the racing and I'll look forward to seeing you all in the stands after the race!

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Rochelle Gilmore/www.cyclingnews.com

• Rochelle and her mighty handsome steed.
• Rochelle's new bike looks fast even on rollers.
• Have legs, will travel.