Clinton Avery Cyclist

Hey everyone, just another race report that you may all want to hear about. The only thing about this email is its probably going to take me a long time to write and excuse me for any spelling mistakes cause im really not on the ball today. Its the day after a 5 day tour so you would come to expect that anyway.

The Race I just finished was the Tour of Liege, which was a 5 day tour around the provence of Leige. I know I may have said before or you may have heard through the grape vine that Belgium is flat, well its half true. The Area of Flanders is flat, but when you get to the south of Belgium (Leige) its anything but flat! Infact there is not one peice of flat road anywhere, till you start to head north. When you come from an area where you have no chance to train in the hills, you are at a set back before you even start. So yeah I was at a disadvantage, with first of all my size, and then second I hadn’t done any hill training. Anyway the tour………

Stage 1: 162km Starting with rolling type hills nothing too major moving into a more flat type area, then back around to the rolling hills again. I knew the last 2 stages were the hardest of the tour, so the plan was to ride the race, but to stay out of the red (95-100% effort) as much as possible and get through the first couple of stages without loosing any time. Well there was a few attacks at the start and I tried to go with a few of them but nothing was going to stick. Everyone had the same idea, try get in the early break and being the first stage of a long tour no one would chase once it had been established. Well that didnt happen. So I gave up on the attacks and just hung around the front of the peloton so when we hit the cross wind section if the peloton split I wasnt caught up behind it. Anyway a few riders dropped but the peloton didnt exactly break up even in the hills towards the end of the stage everyone was just hanging in there. Coming into the finishing laps (2) I was far back in the peloton and with everyone trying to be at the front for the finish, it was becoming a very hard job to get to front. On the climb up to the last km I decided to go into the red and get to the front which just so happens I didnt really have to go that hard. Halfway up the peloton I bumped into Kim (team mate) who rode me to the front. It was a long sprint, maybe 600meters and I was running out of legs fast, but then so were alot of people. I rolled across the line 13th.

Then it was to the Youth hostal/ boarding school where we were staying for the duration of the tour, for a very average chicken and pasta dinner, a massage and bed. The very disappointing thing about where we were staying was the shitty night sleeps. Here in Belgium its not dark till 11pm and it gets light at 4.30am and the rooms we had didnt have any curtains! But then it was the same for everyone.

Stage 2: 160km and was probably the easiest stage of the tour. we had a few climbs at the beginning of the stage but then it was flat for the remainder of the stage. We had a few showers of rain during the race, wasnt much but just enough to make us wet and cold. Yes I know its surpose to be summer here but there has only been a few days that have actually been warm. Anyway today I was again on the playing safe side so didnt really do much in the race except ride to the finish again thying no to loose any time. We got back to the 4 finish circuits we had to do and I tryed everything I could to stay near the front for the sprint finish but again 150 guys all wanting to be at the front causes problems! I chickened out and decided to go to the back and just finish the stage in one piece. Still made up alot of place in the sprint itself, and crossed the line in 18th.

Stage 3: 7.5km time trial. Over here they do the order for the TT as the order of General Classification backwards, As in last on GC goes first and the yellow jersey goes last. Because i was so high up on GC i had a long time to wait but didnt have enough time to warm up. 3 riders from our team were to close together on GC and we only had 2 wind trainers. So me being the last rider to go in the team I had to wait till one of the trainers were free before I could get on it. That gave me 10mins to warm up. Normally I like 20-30mins. Anyway there wasnt really much I could do about it. I must say this time trail wasnt really one for me, it went down a big hill, then back up another big hill, and it was probably 15km too short for me. However it was the same for everyone so i just gave it what I had. 9mins 38 seconds. At the time it was the fastest time but i still had 16 guys start after me, and they were all the fast riders. I done enough to only loose 8 seconds on the winner and only loose 6 spots to finish in 7th. That moved me from 17th on GC to 13th.

Stage 4, the afternoon of the Time Trial. 130km. the plan was for this stage was the same as every stage, dont loose any time. but this stage we had now moved into all the big hills. The biggest being 8 km I knew I would have to save as much as I could when I didnt need to do anything so I had legs to spare climbing. It worked out quite good I got to the finish without loosing any time, and having a shot in the sprint. With 3 km to go I decided to get to the front, take a concrete pill and fight for my position. However it was one of the most technical finishes I have ever done……. 3 km to go, the road was wide enough to be one way, they had gardens sticking out in the road to form car parks. 2 km to go, there was tram tracks running down the center of the road. 150m to go they had a roundabout with no option for going over because it was full with water and a fountan in the middle. 50m after that a 90 degree corner right, followed straightaway by 90 degrees left. Then 100m to the line. It was scary, I dont care what anyone says, and I crossed the line 12th. staying 13th on GC.

Stage 5: 157km. Now I was beginning to feel it. My legs were hurting all the time now. I was getting to the point where I wanted to go home. But we still had 2 stages. Today and Tomorrow. except today there was a few to many big climbs for me, and like I said earlier coming from a place with no hills for training, it makes it real had to race well in the hills. I got dropped on the last climb of the day and lost 2 minutes, which wasnt that much considering how tired I was feeling.

Final stage:184km,. Leige - Bastone - Leige! a famous Pro tour race and we had it as our last stage of a 5 day tour. Just to make life that much more painful. If you want to see the coarse profile for this stage google Leige Bastone Leige and you should find it. Its insane! thats all I can say. Today wasnt a matter of getting to the finish without loosing time, it was a matter of getting to the finish! I stay with the bunch or atleast what was left of the bunch till about the 140km mark but then it was just to much for me and I dropped. Now all I wanted was to get to the finish. I managed that but lost maybe 15mins on the winner which was kind of depressing…..

But i’ll have you know thats not a race I went to too try win, I went there for training for the Tour of Narmen (another 5 day tour in 2 weeks). Was at no point in the tour expecting to be that high up on GC. Anyway now am in alot of pain and am going to need a couple of days to recover. But look foward to hearing back from you all.
Over and out
Clinton

here the latest pictorial adventure from clinton, it was 20min heats, semi then final, Clinton got 3rd in heat, won the semi and 4th in final….if i remember right

Hey guys, I know its been a while since I last emailed you, but to be honest there hasnt been much to tell you. Well thats a lie if I ever heard one! There has actually been alot happen since I last emailed you. For starters Canada MTB world cup was a shambles! I had also taken my mid season break while my girlfriend was here so the racing wasnt going to well. Well i’ll start with canada.

Well for me canada didnt really happen for me, my girlfriend arrived in belgium 2 days before we were going to Canada which was only going to be hard on her with the jet lag but it didnt worry me too much. Anyway everything was looking good so that I could have (well I was hoping anyway) the best world cup, cause if I remember rightly the others didnt going go to well. We arrived in Canada and I was missing my bag with all my clothes and shoes and tools etc in it. I got my bike but nothing else. So we went to the British Airways dest and they already knew my bag didnt make the plane but it was going come on the next flight. So that was ok.

We got to Montreal the next day so we called the airport to find out if my bag had arrived yet, but it still hadnt. Well it got to the friday and the race was on the saturday and I still didnt have my gear. I managed to have the help from the ex Canadian National coach, Michel LeBlanc, so he lent me some clothes to race in, but cause of my mamoth foot I couldnt borrow any shoes so I had to buy some. Set the cleats up etc but they had Citerzen races on the course all Friday so I didnt get to pre ride the course, and by now I had had 4 days more off the bike. Anyway Race day, i was over the fact I had to borrow gear cause my bag was definately not going to make it in time for the race. So I started the race and was off to a good start but half way around the lap I felt my knee getting sore and I was thinking, oh this isnt good! by the end of the lap I was nearly last on the track riding one leged because my knee was not in good shape. I got to the feed zone and pulled the pin. I could have toughed it out and continued but I put it down to the fact that you dont mess around with your knees, and I have way more at stake then that one race. I think the cleats were not quite right and I couldnt get my hands on a set of specialized shoes let alone a pair of size 48 so I had to settle with what I could get, which was size 47 shimano shoes. I think the different shoe, and being to small with the cleats not quite right, was playing with the tendons in my knee which was what was hurting me.

So canada was basicly a complete waste of time! But guess what else? 3 and a half weeks later (today) I still dont have my bag, and they dont know where it is! its in london somewhere because apparently they now have 9000 lost bags sitting there in the Airport! I suggest you avoid flying through london if you can. 3 times I have been through, and I have lost my bags 3 times! fortunatly I have got them back 2 times.
 
After Canada was basicaly for me just some chilling time with my girlfriend, so we visited Paris so she could go shooping etc, As girls do. but I did some races in the time she was here, but in the 5 I did, I think I only finished 1. Due to the fact I hadnt riden my bike much. So there isn’t really much to brag about in that time. Well she left 6 days ago so its back into it full steam ahead.
 
I raced yesterday and I have my legs back but not quite having the luck yet, either that or I’m saving the luck for something big! the Race was a big one, not quet as big as some of the races I have done but its getting up there. It was 170 km with the biggest hill being and over bridge, so yeah it was dead flat!

The day was windy and overcast so it was going to make the race tough but with the legs I had I wasnt too worried. The peloton split in the cross winds with 30 guys going up the road, I managed to be in that 30…. and the only one from my team, which was going to make my job of trying to win the race just that little bit harder. But I’m always up for a challenge! at the 70 km mark we had 1 min 15 sec on the peloton with the lead continuously increasing. Well the Chocolade Jacques team had it lined out in the gutter and everyone is yelling move right so everyone can get draft……. they moved right 50m before a traffic island in the middle of the road. A beveran 2000 rider had his head down gritting his teeth to hold the wheel in front and BOOFF! into the island! The guy behind him also smashed into the island just to have both their bike land on the road right in front of me. It dosn’t matter who you are, if you were in my position you were going to hit the deck! So yeah I slid on my arse along the road, up the curb, and into someones hedge. My Bum Hurt, my wrist hurt and my hip. I picked up my bike but it was ok. I had to sit down again cause my hip hurt maybe from sliding up the curb. I wasnt sure if anything was broken. I heard the team diredctor say “hes out I think”. I thought like hell I’m out, give me my bike! I started riding again and everything was feeling sweet, well sweet enough to keep racing. I chased and caught the peloton again, just rode with them while I kind of assessed the damage I had done to myself. I figured it wasnt much. With 25km to go I attacked with 2 others and we caught 4 others just of the back of the leading 28. If there was 1 more of the 12km laps I think we would have caught them but we finished 30 seconds behind them. I was still feeling good at the finish so I know with a ride like that I have my legs back.
Know im a bit sore though, I have skin missing off most of the right side of my body. My leg, my bum, my hip, hand even though I was wearing gloves, elbow and a small bit on my shoulder. Other then missing skin I’m fine though. Still went training today no worries at all.
 
well thats all from me will email you again after the next race.
Over and out
Clinton

10/07/07: well today i didnt want to do a to longer ride because im racing tomorrow but i wanted to ride and go and see the tour so i ended up doing 2 and a half hours easy to where the tour went past. was actually quite a nice ride. haha tryed to crack 1500watts with an all out sprint just to open everything up for the race and i achieved it. 1580watts.

11/07/07: race day. Was going like the wind today until my luck changed. made the split of 30 guys in the cross winds. but some guy crashed into a centre island and took 7 guys down with him me being one of the seven. I got my shit together and chased the peloton again and caught them. with 60km to go I went with 6 other guys to try bridge the 2 minute gap to the leading 28. didnt quite get there though finished 20 seconds down on the winner. But I know after that I have my legs back! 170km race and I did it on 1 Bar and 2 bottles of drink and I still had legs at the finish. haha nearly cracked 1800 watts in the race today.  
clinton

 Well Clinton has been a bit busy so I will give a report for him 

The Paris-Roubaix report got lost in transit, like all his bags going to the Mont Saint Anne World cup, he is still waiting for them to arrive!!!

we have given Clinton a bit of down time to recharge as he has been going since Southland last year!! the Build to the World champs on the MTB and the Road starts now.

on the Horizon is the tour Namen, the World MTB Marathon Champs(belgium) and the worlds.

john

omloop het volk