Jake Gray is one of the most promising junior riders to emerge on the home scene in recent years and though he’s having a slower than usual build-up to the season he’s still logging some quality miles under the guidance of ex-pro and Rás winner David McCann. (Photo: Stephen McMahon - Sportsfile)
Gray is currently in the US avoiding the Irish weather while on a family holiday but that doesn’t mean he’s not keeping on top of his fitness.
Last week he had 17 hours racked up between Saturday and Thursday so suffice to say, he means business in 2016.
Here’s the detailed breakdown of his week...
Club/Team: NRPT-Magnet.ie
Weight: My race weight is around 68kg. I'm a few kilos over that now but I plan to have that shed by the start of the season.
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Date of birth: 11th March, 1998
Training goals at this time of year
- Work on my strength in the gym.
- Improve my bike handling and skills.
- Build my endurance
- Enjoy my cycling
- Trim down (gradually!)
Goals for the 2016 season
- Get selected for and get top 10 results in Nations Cup races.
- Make the Irish team for the European and World Championships.
- Get the best out of myself for those races.
- Have a better season than I did last year and prove I can perform on the international stage.
Saturday
I’ve been lucky enough to escape the Irish winter and I’m on an island off Florida called Anna Maria for today’s spin. (Don’t hate me!)
I rented a bike here and just did 1.5 hours in the evening to loosen out the legs, just spinning.
Sunday
Today I rode as part of a group for 3 hours and it was quite hard; though a lot of this was because the group half-wheeled the daylights out of each other.
There was nothing actually structured about the ride but we all ended up pretty buckled after some seriously hard and sustained efforts.
Monday
I was pretty tired today so I just did a 1-hour ride exploring the island, followed by a breakfast coffee.
Tuesday
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It’s still early days in what will hopefully be a very long season but seeing as the weather was good I managed a 3.5-hour steady ride with two local racers from Florida.
This was just an endurance spin with no heavy stuff.
Wednesday
Again, the emphasis today was on endurance and we did a 4.5 hour ride with an hour at tempo.
This hour was extremely quick as we were aided by a tailwind for it.
Tempo is a really good way of boosting fitness but it can be hard to maintain for long periods.
It’s that intensity just below threshold so you’re always on the power.
The sun and the scenery made it a little easier, however.
Thursday
More miles and more endurance today. This time I did a 3.5-hour ride with two racing guys again.
It was pretty steady but we did another hour of tempo.
I had to return the bike to the shop where I rented it today but I was due some rest days after a good week.
David (McCann) told me to enjoy the holiday as it’s an amazing place so I wasn’t too fastidious about sticking to a plan.
There’s time for absolutely meticulous training yet when I get back to Ireland and the season gets underway.
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