Blog – Billy Oliver

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The learning process goes on as Billy Oliver puts racing aside to prepare for the important events that lie ahead in 2015

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Blog – Billy Oliver

Catch up on all the blogs here from Billy

It’s been a good few weeks now since the last blog and the season seems to be coming together slowly race wise. Training wise, its way beyond what I thought. I spend my time staring at the power meter looking at numbers. I would be out the saddle screaming to hit before, but now I’m thinking a few more watts, push a bit harder and the jump to the next level is just that little bit closer, and it feels bloody awesome.

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I also hit another huge marker for me. The turbo is my kryptonite, the mere thought of getting on it fills me with fear and if I see I turbo session on my training plan I try and work out a way I could turn it into a road session. I’ve even been known to get off really easy turbo sessions mid-way and throw all the toys out pram in rage as a simple session has turned me into a wreck.

All the power I have in my legs and the drive to performs just disappears into smoke. I’ve been working very hard on building my confidence and motivation the last few weeks. I thought it was really high and I was ready to go and #smashitup but set up problems and not having my bike just destroyed me. I need to be stronger than that if I’m going to hit my max potential. I always think that’s its all about taking knocks and coming back stronger.

I got to the point I didn’t even want to race. I had two races booked in over the bank holiday and the doubts started creeping in, telling myself “you know that you’re not set up right, you won’t race your best and underperform“ over and over again. I just wanted to put one thing straight as a few have asked why I haven’t managed to get the 9.4 set up right.

The bike is a shop bike very kindly lent to me by Andy at bike science. I could set the bike up very very close to the set up I run but just not with the bars and extensions etc it comes with it as standard. There is no way I’m asking anyone to strip down a bike for me and fit it with all new parts when it’s just being used for a few races.

I decided to ditch the racing until we were ready and focus solely on training when I know where I am and know I will be getting stronger and not spending my time beating myself up. I can honestly say that was the best decision I ever made. I went off with the Boardman 9.4 (it’s awesome I get to train on it) in the boot and felt totally relaxed and enjoyed probably the best weekend and weeks training ever.

I went out with one of my sponsors, Rich from jersey pocket and a few of the Bideford peloton boys on the Saturday for a steady 65 miles and hit a really hard session on the Sunday which pretty much replicated the 25 time trial I had in effort and felt great just enjoying being on the bike which after all is what it should be all about.

So a huge sorry to the people I’ve been hounding constantly, moaning at about not being ready like the season ends in a few days. I need to change this and sort that. I think bike science now turn the lights off and pretend they are shut all hiding behind the counter when they see me stomping up the road with a list of very minor things I’ve been panicking about.

I think I needed that step back from racing and look at what’s really going on. I’m hitting training, weight is down, my TTE is here now (she is a piece of art, need to give her a name) and we are going to the velodrome again to look at set up.

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I’ve got very good, very patient people guiding me down the right path. What the F have I got to be panicking about? It’s more a case of I’ve trained my bloody ass off and racing has consumed me now. I need the results to show on paper. I need to show the people who have backed me and saw the potential that its really there.

So the TTE has arrived and boy is she special. I went down the frame only route so where as if you buy a full bike, they send it pretty much ready to go with cables threaded etc. So now I’m tinkering away trying to get it built up as much as I can so I can get it in to bike science for the finishing touches.

I won’t go into the bike too much until its all built up but I’m very very pleased with everything and very confident it will be a great bike for racing. I’m off tomorrow to Newport velo on the shops TTE doing some position testing. It’s been fitted with a rear brake and a locked off mech just so I can use it for track testing (I’m very well looked after) so looking forward to trying to nail a position and spending the time getting stronger in it.
I’ve had all my results back now from www.indurance.co.uk and it highlighted some areas where I could definitely improve not just performance but my general health and well-being. After a chat with Will where he explained what the results meant and how they effected things, I’m now armed with ways and means of making sure I’m always performing well.

I don’t want to go into the details of what the advice was, as in me being very low in vit D and having to take certain supplements to manage it might be the totally wrong thing for someone else to do. The results are so detailed, its so very individual that there is no way one person’s results could match another’s and someone could say taking supplement A, B or C is the way to go or avoiding this and that is a good idea for all.

The guys behind it have medical back grounds and know their stuff when it comes to advising athletes so I will leave that side to them but I think it’s something that will keep me hitting good form when I would normally be dying off from the hard months before.

We’ve all seen the riders who are heroes in the early months and do nothing later in the year when the big races come around. I’m due a follow up test in a few months just to track how the changes have worked and making sure other areas are still in good performance. I’ve had a poor start to the racing year so June and onwards is going to be key and not a time to start fading away.

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So what’s the aim now then? Basically, just roll with it, get the bike ready, do a few club events, if a race comes along and I’m not ready, I will just train.

To stop being a brat and enjoy the confidence of knowing things will get sorted. I think I’ve piled a ton of pressure on myself to be hitting maximum from day one and keep that going and its all come from me, not people around me.

Not sponsors or those coaching me. If anything, these have been the people trying to tell me there is no pressure. It’s still all a huge learning curve it’s my fourth season racing, my first one I’m taking it very seriously. Mistakes now are what make you stronger later and be sure when its time to step up i will be ready ;)

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