Talkingshop: TT Rider Matt Bottrill

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Championship winner and one of the best time trial riders in the country, VeloUK talks time trialling to Matt Bottrill (Drag2Zero)

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VeloUK talks to Drag2Zero rider Matt Bottrill who has already recorded a personal best this year and is as motivated for the season ahead …

Note: If you would like to take part in this time trial series of question and answers, email VeloUK and we’ll email back the categories which you can see below:

Biography in Brief: Matt has won the Men’s National 100 Mile Time Trial Championship along with medals in all the championship distances of 10, 25 and 50 miles.

The Warmup: “Today I tried warming up on a turbo and that’s a first. I wanted to see if it made any difference and in the cold like this, it was probably the best option. Normally I would warm-up on the road and make a few efforts of a minute at race pace and shock the body, get the heart rate up. For a ten mile time trial, I’d normally do a 40 minute warm-up.

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Riding a Time Trial: “I ride on power so you try and control the effort because it is so easy for the first few minutes to go so fast. Over the last few miles, you will try and wind it up. The key to riding a good time trial is to hold back on the hills just below the red and then hit it on the descent. Far too many riders will get into the red and they will lose two or three miles an hour on the downhill.”

Tribars or Skis … “Having a road background, you learn bike handling skills and how to read the road like the shortest line, when to brake into the corner and so on. It’s something you have to do in training. That’s what is good about the circuit race series (old Rudy Projects) and them kind of courses. On a dual carriage like today, it’s about brute strength and aerodynamics where the circuit series is a classic time trial where it’s about bike control as well.”

Gauging the Effort: “You ride on power but sometimes you do have to go on feel as well. I know from the first few pedal strokes in the warm up what sort of day it’s going to be.”

High or Low Cadence: “When I was road racing, I could pedal fast, 90 to 100 plus revs but as I have got older and done more time trialling, the cadence has dropped. I’m probably pedalling between 85 and 90 now. It’s finding out what works best for each individual really.”

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Blue Ribbon Distance – 25 or 10: It is the 25. I would gladly give up all my race results to win the National 25. It’s the one event everybody wants to win that.

Time Trialling – Has it changed in recent years? “I think it is stuck in a time warp and does need to change. Cycling is getting more popular and time trialling does need to move on and be taken to the people.

Best thing about Time Trialling: It fits in with my lifestyle as there is no way I could commit to riding the road. The coverage I can get riding time trials is also better. Whilst I can mix it with the big boys on the road, I like winning and while I could win the odd road race, I like winning a lot! It’s also about time. With three children and a full time job, even now, trying to fit racing and training in is hard enough. If I was road racing, I’d never see my family but I do miss it.

Highlight in the career so far: Winning my first national was pretty good! When I got on the podium with Dowsett and Steve Cummings at the BC champs was pretty special too.

BBAR (50, 100 & 12): Yes or no … That’s something I won’t ride! I could never do 12 hours. I’m not sure I’ll even ride 100 again. I am not made for that kind of distance. Even though I won the 100 champs, I didn’t win it convincingly and had to put a lot of training in for that distance. Even when I was road racing, I’d struggle over 100 miles!

2013 Season: It’s just starting for me and I’m not near peak form but then no-one is at the minute. I’m happy with how I have progressed and how I am going. There is more to come for sure …

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Matt’s Top Ten tips Training

1 – Right fit
Have your position checked out by a professional retailer – if you are getting really advanced look at getting a computer analysed bike fit. This will make sure you are most comfortable on your bike and also allowing you to get the most out of your power transfer.

2 – Plan
To fit your training in the best way of sticking to your routine is to write it down

3 – Be realistic
Be realistic about the amount of time you have to train – there’s no point in setting an unrealistic amount of time if you can’t stick to it – if you over cook things it’s only a matter of time before you become ill and run down which will set you back even further!

4 – Read Up
If you really want to get the best out of your training and racing or sportive – get some time with a coach or if you don’t have the money to do this, get some training books or do some research on the internet and get a heart rate monitor. This will allow you to see when you are tired or fresh and you can then look at training to heart rate zones.

5 – Get the power
If you really want to optimise your training use a power meter and training software like Training Peaks. A powermeter lets you monitor everything so you know about changes in fitness, pace, cadence and it allows you not to burn energy too fast when you start a race too fast or attack in the wrong place.

6 – Goal!

To get the best out of yourself in the event you’re aiming for the best advice I can give is to work back from your goal. So set your goal – work out what training is needed either with a coach or using some training books to optimise your training. If your time is limited – cut the junk miles and increase the intensity.

7 – Nutrition
Preparation for your target event is not just about riding your bike – you need to look at nutrition such as fuelling for training and recovery so when you train hard you can still train the next day!

8 – Recovery
Plan for periods of recovery – not just days off the bike but on your lunch break if you can have a power nap for ten minutes go for it – it will help!

9 – Reward yourself
If you reach your target, reward yourself – you’re more likely to stick to your target that way.

10 – Enjoy it
Most people get so bogged down with the training, they forget to enjoy it – you are out there doing what you love so take the time to remember this!

My day in training

4:00am – awake
4:50am – whey protein drink and multi-vitamin, omega 3
4:30-5:00am – arrive at work
6:00am – breakfast time, muesli and a coffee
8:00am-12.00pm – go out on postal delivery round – I will eat a bagel with tuna, banana 2 pieces of fruit and 750ml of water
12:30pm – arrive home from work, I will have a protein bar, porridge and black coffee
1:00pm – I train no more than 2hrs – 2x 500ml of energy drink and 1x carbo gel, I dont do recovery rides, I will normally take 1-2 days off per week and do around 8-10hrs training
2:30-3:00pm – arrive home from training – recovery drink
3:15pm – pick my daughter up from School
4:00pm – Afternoon snack – either bagel, fruit cake or banana
5:30pm – evening meal – 1x portion of carbs (pasta, spuds or rice) 1x portion of protein (fish, chicken etc) and lots of veg, finished off with yogurt and fruit, plus more water
6:30pm – get kids ready for bath and bed
7:00pm – put kids to bed
7:00-9:00pm – chill time and then I will hit the sack around 9:00-9:30pm

 

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