Specialized Shiv Masters Track World Record

 

In 2009 I broke the M50-54 2,000m world record on a Specialized Transition in Sydney, Australia... a road frame with track drop outs!

In 2014 I broke the M55-59 2,000m world record on a Specialized Shiv in Manchester, United Kingdom... a road frame with track drop outs!

 

Geeking out on a Sunday afternoon:  In the five years that have passed since my trip to Sydney, the UCI has outlawed the Transition.  I went for the Shiv for obvious reasons: fit, aerodynamics and total weight is just over the legal limit.  When you are racing in and above the 50kph range you look for speed in your training, and in your machine.  Here's how my 4 October 2014 world record went down...
- unmodified 2013 large Shiv, never built up for racing on the road
- ultra fast 2012 McLaren helmet borrowed from Don Langley (UCI legal)
- brand new 2012 Specialized large aero gloves
- brand new 2014 Squadra long sleeved large skinsuit
- brand new 2014 Specialized xlarge socks ;-)
- brand new 2013 Zipp super 9 disc wheel with new Continental tempo tire @ 160 psi
- borrowed 2014 Fast Forward front disc with new Continental tempo tire @ 160 psi
- relatively new 2014 Specialized S-Works 46.5 shoes
- Shimano 170mm cranks with 52x14 gearing at an average of 109rpms after start.
= 2:19.821 vs. old record of 2:20.413 (James Host)

Thank you Specialized for making such great products.  Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Junior Director (and still loving to race)

Aimless? NOT something you see in bicycle racers

“Your son is getting an F in physical education” was the story my wife shared with me this morning.  She was fresh off “parent-teacher meetings” last night.  Surprisingly, both parents and the failing student showed up!  That doesn’t happen very often.   

How does a freshman in high school fail PE?  It’s rather easy if you don’t show up and dress up.  Must be present to win!

How is this story related to our NCCF Team Specialized Juniors?  Well, besides some cyclocross racing, we are into the “off-season”, or put differently “between seasons” which makes it’s the perfect time to reflect on what went right and what you should be worked on.  We have been in this assessment cycle for the past month and we’re getting ready to move into the “Goals” phase.  This will be a deep dive into what the juniors want out of themselves and their teammates.  We’ll take the assessments and goals into our December team camp to ensure we are on the same page, to ensure what we are shooting for is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T).  Going through the assessment and goal setting process is invaluable to our team and itself is an exercise to bring us together.  The juniors are not fond of the extra time required when they might want to relax with friends and take a break from the bike, but it is completely worthwhile!

A special thanks goes out to every parent that appropriately pushes their child to be all that they can be.  The parents of the “F” student didn’t give a care about their son failing.  As you might imagine, I get pretty fired up about this kid wasting our tax payer’s money –and- my wife’s time and energy.  Thankfully bicycle racers are very goal driven. 

Fact: none of our junior teammates are failing any of their classes! 

 

Cheers, Larry Nolan, NCCF Team Specialized Junior Team Director

Goal setting

I have been working with a coach for the last four years in an effort to improve my fitness and cycling ability.  Every year, even before we start working on the racing schedule, he has me fill out a goal sheet.  There are three sets of goals that I fill out.

The first set are the three goals that you want to accomplish for the season.  For me, this included 1) Podium at Elite Track Nationals, 2) Upgrade to Cat 1, and 3) Become a dominant M123 rider.  This established my main focus for the year.  As the season progressed, Elite Track Nationals didn't fit well in the schedule and got skipped over.  However, I was able to make good on the other two.

The second set of goals are process goals.  It is fine to want to win something, but how are you actually going to accomplish it?  Things on my goal sheet included 1) Maintain 10-12 h/week of training, 2) Continue to improve on descending, 3) Work on communication to execute team tactics, 4) Post a sub 17 min climb on Old La Honda, etc.  These gave me clear, tangible goals that I could work on throughout the season.  If I was starting to hit some of these process goals, I knew that obtaining my season goals were within reach.

The last goal is your dream goal.  For the last two years, my dream goal was to win a world championship. Honestly I though that would be my dream goal for years to come, or at least until I started to outlast my competition.  However, I put it down as a reminder of what I wanted to aspire to.

As it turned out, I took my first shot at a world title this year and it paid off.  The experience was unbelievable, but I had confidence in myself knowing that I had been able to hit most of my process and primary goals.

The point is, make sure that you are thoughtful of your goals this season, Make sure they are clear and the processes are defined, but also don't forget to be a little bit bold.  You might just hit them.

Now to figure out next years goals...