A friend of Qwik Kiwi, Brett Grieve is riding in the Tour of Southland for the second time. Brett is an officer in the NZ Army based in Burnham and normally rides for PKF Cycling in the Calder Stewart Elite Cycling Series. We will be publishing a daily interview with Brett after each stage to give you an insight into ‘Life in the Peloton‘.
QK: What was the plan for the TT (time trial) in the morning? How did the plan go for you?
BG: For the ITT I decided to ride it at my FTP which is about 360w and if I was feeling good after halfway to lift it to the end. For a 13km TT, if I was fresh I would aim for 375-380w, however it’s been a big week and I figured it was best to start a bit easier. I felt good on the road, went a little over in the first 5 min but adjusted it down and was right on target at half way. There was a headwind section just after halfway and I struggled a bit through that at only 315-320w. Once I got on the tail wind section I got my head back in the game and held good power to the end. Average of 363w so I was happy with that. It hurt but wasn’t torture.
QK: With a second stage after the TT what did you do to maximise your recovery between the two?
BG: To recover I spun out for 10-15min immediately after the TT and then ate lunch (mashed vege leftovers with mince), had lots of water and rested. St John’s Winton generously let Team ITM use their office as a base so I got a quick nap in with my legs raised. We warmed up as a team for 15-20min before the final road race and that seemed to work well. It was a nice sunny day, and when the race took off (from the gun) I was able to keep up fine.
QK: What was the plan for the final stage? How did it unfold for you?
BG: It was a beaut day to finish. Warm, sunny and light winds. L&M needed to defend yellow and they achieved that by keeping the pace high the whole way. Average speed might be over 50?? I followed wheels and thought about sprinting for the stage but didn’t have the legs for it in the end. I was happy to roll in behind the leaders.
QK: Operating in a team environment for a full week must be pretty good. What level of support did you have in Southland for the team? Any particular people you want to thank for their assistance and support whilst you were in the Tour?
BG: Yes the E H Ball ITM team here in Invercargill have been a great sponsor and it has been fun riding for them. Brian Hatton has been a great driver and Martin Riley helped us with team management. In a composite team there is a degree of self management and all the riders have contributed well to off the bike tasks like cooking, cleaning, planning and all the packing and unpacking. It’s quite a logistical undertaking organising this kind of tour and we’ve managed it with a minimum of fuss. It really has been an enjoyable tour and it is the people that have made it so.
A Strava link for Brett’s ride in this the ITT can be found here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/766119670
Here is the Strava link for the final road stage:
https://www.strava.com/activities/766119788
Previous episodes of Life in the Peloton can be found here:
https://www.coachray.nz/2016/11/06/life-peloton-tour-southland-final-day-interview-ayden-toovey-2/
https://www.coachray.nz/2016/11/06/life-peloton-tour-southland-final-day-interview-guy-carter/
https://www.coachray.nz/2016/11/05/life-peloton-tour-southland-stage-five-interview-brett-grieve/
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