Brown early favourite for Cycle Challenge

[Matt]

Brown early favourite for Cycle Challenge

Press Release: Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge, 3 October 2011

 

MTN-Qhubeka’s Arran Brown has launched himself into the status of early favourite for this year’s Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge following a string of victories over the past six weeks.

 

Brown won the first big classic of the new season when he outsprinted Nolan Hoffman to the line at the PowerAde Lost City Classic in late August. Then it was his turn to serve up a clever win in the MTN Zoo Lake Criterium and last weekend he won the Rand Water Race for Victory in convincing fashion.

 

His winning ways started in July in Knysna when he won the Oyster Festival Classic shortly after the MTN-Qhubeka team returned from a brief stint in Europe.

 

After coming so close on so many occasions in the 2010/2011 season, it seems Brown has regained that special edge that saw him become the first rider to win the magical trio of South African races in the previous season. The pinnacle trio is made up of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour, the Durban Amashova and the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge.

 

“In my team set-up with Medscheme I was never the marked man who was watched carefully in a race. Everyone was afraid of Malcolm Lange. With all the experience in the team with guys like Malcolm and Nic White I learnt a lot and they set up my wins perfectly.

 

“Coming to MTN-Qhubeka the expectations were all squarely on me and I struggled to come to terms with that initially. But we’ve worked hard at it this year and it’s all coming together very nicely.”

 

Brown attributes a lot of his current form to the international racing he did with the team in the first half of the year. “In the first six months of the year we only raced in two events in South Africa. We did a lot of hard racing and training in Europe and on other continents.”

 

The team’s fitness specialist Carol Austin made one big change in his training regime when she decided to up his training load from 18 hours a week to 24 hours.

 

“Initially it led to me feeling dead on the bike and not sharp in the sprints at all. Recently we’ve cut back on the mileage and concentrated on sharpening up and it’s really come good at the right time.

 

“It’s a big goal of mine to win the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge this year and I am confident. I have been spending a lot of time with my lead-out riders, working on getting the different strengths of each rider into the correct order and this has taken a long time to get right.

“We are also planning our approach in every race meticulously. It’s been great to see it all work after trying to get it right for so long. Jacques Janse van Rensberg has added great experience and depth to our road squad.”

 

MTN-Qhubeka are riding in the 5 stage Herald Sun Tour in Australia next month as final preparation for the Cycle Challenge. “I’m very fortunate that we’ve got such strong backing from the team management. It just all feels right at the moment with my form coming good and the moral in the team at an all-time high.”

 

“We are determined to race in Europe and become a competitive European team in the near future. That goal has made us all lift our game and we are super motivated."

[andydude]

The team’s fitness specialist Carol Austin made one big change in his training regime when she decided to up his training load from 18 hours a week to 24 hours.

 

“Initially it led to me feeling dead on the bike and not sharp in the sprints at all. Recently we’ve cut back on the mileage and concentrated on sharpening up and it’s really come good at the right time.

 

It was interesting for me to read he trains around 18 - 24 hours a week. I would've thought that it would be more. And it seems he is doing the extra hours at a much slower pace: "Recently we’ve cut back on the mileage".

 

I wonder if the training would include everything, e.g. weight training and actual cycling?

[fandacious]

It was interesting for me to read he trains around 18 - 24 hours a week. I would've thought that it would be more. And it seems he is doing the extra hours at a much slower pace: "Recently we’ve cut back on the mileage".

 

I wonder if the training would include everything, e.g. weight training and actual cycling?

 

yeah - I would have thought it more.5hrs / day x 4 days, 2 rest days and 1race day of 2-3hrs

 

not too bad compared to an 8hr office job