Hamish
Haynes - Letters from Belgium
2008 Season
by Hamish Haynes
When we were over at Het
Volk in March, we tracked down former British Elite champion,
Hamish Haynes, and he's keeping us abreast of what's going on in "the
heartland" throughout the season. Here's his second installment...
29/04/08 : 10/05/08
Saturday
10th May, 2008
Hi folks,
I'm very happy with the progress I have been making
here, I'm confident of now delivering the required results.
I've been having a lot of fun racing and training
getting some really good sessions done, with a very positive feeling
on the bike. It's not all gone my way though...
I have problems this year with being very sensitive
to the cold - it's crazy: a little bit of rain on a chilly day and
I lose all power, which spoilt my race in Hoboken recently. I had
to really fight, shivering like mad to stay in the race. Luckily it
dried up and I warmed up in the last hour of the race.
Afterwards I got some more K's in, to make 235k
for the day.
Funny thing was the next day was sunny and I felt
like "10 men" again, and even better the day after: I was
4th and 2nd respectively and took a sprint competition to win a nice
Festina watch for my dad. It goes without saying there were a whole
heap of kilometers besides.
I've also been doing some hill training this week
on the German/Belgian border, making a reconissance of the Tryptique
Ardennaise parcours (16-18 May).
Before that however I have the Liedekerke
interclub (12.5) and Puivelde Pro Kermis
(14.5), so hope to have good news from all these races - I'll let
you know!
Cheers, Hamish.
Back
to top
Tuesday 29th
April, 2008
Hi folks,
Let's bring you up to speed with my season so far:
iIn mid-February, just before returning from winter training in Spain
I picked up a hamstring strain; at that moment it wasn’t clear
what had exactly happened.
I assumed it was a minor niggle that would quickly
recede, within a few days I realized a scan was necessary, fortunately
it revealed only a minor muscle elongation.
However even with regular physiotherapy treatment
and a rehabilitation training regime it took six weeks before I was
really able to train fully, racing has been out of the question until
late March. As you can imagine this was a very disappointing state
of affairs. Having been in mid-January suddenly without a team I was
determined to make a fight back.
My Spanish training had gone very well, I had worked
hard and rested carefully, with the advice of my coach Marc Hemeryck
a great deal of progress had been made, not least of which was to
become very lean; 5kg lighter than in 2007.
I knew I was going to be in my best ever condition
and wanted to start the season with a bang.
One has to play the cards as they are dealt, I
knew so much good work was already done; my motivation is always very
strong, so it was simply a question of remaining relaxed and focused.
With all European pro-team options closed I joined
Team Yawadoo – ABM, which would enable me to compete in the
best Belgian ‘amateur’ programme available.
It would remain difficult to build up a set of
results sufficient to secure the interest of a professional team but
I had resolved to do just that.
It means that when I ride the most prestigious races nothing short
of my best will do.
The last few weeks have been sometimes frustrating
but also a lot of fun, luckily for me I love racing and training with
a passion.
To begin with the first goal was to finish races
without causing more problems with my hamstrings.
By early April the risk of further injury had diminished,
an acid test would be the Twee Daagse (two days) van de Gaverstreek,
the first time I would do two hard days one after the other.
I had already begun doing substantial training
before and after each race, making totals of 200 kilometers or more.
The TDvdG was no exception, I was stronger than
I expected, finishing 26th overall.
I like to think that had I not punctured in Saint
Sauveur and chased without cars from group to group for 20k the result
could have been better.
After the Sunday afternoon stage I rode with
my team mate Stevie Christiaens to Ninove, total 430k, another good
weekends’ work.
The fact is that I am out of the loop; the riders
who I must compete against are racing for 170-220k at a relatively
high level, so it is essential to develop my condition fully, its
not just a question of distance, my races are only 120-180k, when
I race I have to go full gas too, the other guys will know I am there!
Above all it’s about results and I’m
pleased to say I scored my first win on Sunday 20th April in Beauvechain.
It was ‘only’ a Kermis but there were
still 150 guys to beat, and I wanted to give them a good beating!
Apart from anything else the race rhythm
and ‘finale’ practice are vital to attain. Of course there
were 80 training kilometers to do as well, I enjoyed every one.
It was also the first time I had used my new Shimano
Dura-ace pedals in anger, which has certainly inspired my confidence
in them, very stiff and stable feeling with no wasted power. I had
received them the week before thanks to the support of Madison - Shimano
UK.
Next up two interclubs, Ster van Zuidwest Vlaanderen
in Anzegem and 89th Grote Prijs Affligem, 26th and 27th April, then
its 1st Meiprijs Hoboken 1st of May. There’s plenty more after
that, not least Puivelde Pro Kermis and the Tryptique Ardennaise,
so I’m going to enjoy it without too much pressure but really
there’s only one result that will do.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Cheers, Hamish.
