March 7, 2007

The O’Malley File

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O’M. You came first on March 4th, last Sunday morning. Can you describe how the last half lap went down?

W.R. Coming into the final time up Harlem Hill (HH), Blake [Longacre] went to the front of a group of twenty, drove it hard. Miguel [Morras] was telling him to go. I realized they were using the exact same strategy they used on Saturday, at Branchbrook. I thought, ‘Oh shit not again, a little gap’. So I had flashbacks of the Branchbrook race. It’s a very fast course and I let him get away.

Now, I was descending HH in a 54-11, was in the aero position. Miguel had 75 meters on me at about the base of HH. It wasn’t as big a gap as the day before. I thought, ‘not again’. So with a group of twenty behind me, him in front I chased.

O’M. What speed were you doing?

W.R. I was still in 54-11, about 33 mph. We were both away from the group of twenty now, not pushing super hard. At the carriage path near the carousel we rode side by side. There was no BS, even pulls. Then he jumped on Cat’s Paw, right at the bottom. I came up on the inside.

O’M. What side did you sprint Cat’s Paw? What’s the best side to take it?

W.R.> The very best way, I’ve learnt from taking the WRONG one, is to go slightly on the left as the road bends left, the gradient there is not as steep. Just as it begins to flatten out, take a straight line and drift to the right side.

O’M. You were on his right at the finish I believe.

W.R. Yes, I jumped at half way up Cat’s Paw and had him by about a wheel at the end.

O’M. How has rowing complemented your cycling?

W.R. This is the first year I’ve had a coach for cycling. I work with Peter Cummings (wwww.plan2peak.com), who has helped me a ton. Also guys on Westwood Velo like Steve Goldman who is, as they say in New Jersey, the spicy meat of the Westwood Velo enchilada. Last year, I took what I knew from rowing and adapted to racing bikes. In rowing I trained for a VO2 max for a 6 minute effort. We did tons of tempo work for rowing and last year I would ride only tempo on the trainer in winter. Not the best training plan for cycling I learned.

I had a great rowing coach at Harvard, Harry Parker. He was [still is] the rowing coach for 42 years! Winter training in New England was such a grind so I don’t mind a bit of time on the trainer.

O’M. You lived in Austria, right?

W.R. Yes Salzburg. I was teaching at an American boarding school there. I taught American history, Biology and a model UN class. We took the class to Dublin for a conference and I ended up in the Guinness factory [brewery] (without the students, of course).

O’M. Let’s talk about diet and drinking? Are there core foods you eat?

W.R. I have a few favorites, a constant diet like pieces of toast with coffee in the morning. Post-ride I eat an egg white omelet and more toast with almond butter, great stuff [almond butter]! After a really long ride I’ll take a smoothie with protein powder, blueberries, strawberries and soy milk, with more almond butter and some flax seed. They [flax seed] have a smoky taste that gives the smoothie more texture!

O’M. You love that almond butter?

W.R. Yes I do.

O’M. Regarding drinking alcohol, have you had to curtail it?

W.R. I mean I don’t really go out much these days. I sit at home drinking a glass of red wine with dinner or have a beer with my girl friend if I’m going out. Lame perhaps. I’ve become a total lightweight.

O’M. What about your take on doping in cycling?

W.R.> It’s probably pervasive at the very top. I feel I’d like to think people aren’t using drugs but part of me doesn’t care [what others do]. I want to compete at the highest level, clean! If others are doing it, I don’t care. The sport has had a good start to clean it up. Testing protocols have to be much more consistent.

O’M. Who as a Pro inspires you?

W.R. I think Thomas Voeckler in the 2004 Tour. But for all round racer, I think Jens Voight. I also admire Wilfred Peters for his ride in the 2001 Paris-Roubaix. He rode a great ride for his team.

O’M. What races will you focus in the 2007 season?

W.R. I want to do bigger races and get results in big races, consistently, like Nature Valley Grand Prix, Tour de Gila in New Mexico, Altoona maybe. All of the New England races, Palmer and Sturbridge, Green Mountain and of course Bear.

O’M. Assuming you get the results you want, what’s the next step?

W.R. I might send out letters [to pro teams] with (hopefully good) results and power numbers. The last time I tested, my threshold level was 395 to 400 watts. It should be higher in the summer. I hope it makes me competitive.

O’M. Where do you see yourself in say 15 years?

W.R. I know what I want to be doing when I’m forty, practicing international law and living on the West Coast.

O’M. Will you continue with cycling, assuming you become a lawyer?

W.R. I’ll still ride my bike, yeah. I think it will always be a good way to relax.

O’M. When you’re training what’s going through your mind?

W.R.During intervals, I imagine scenarios in previous races. Maybe I cracked, so I tell myself if I hit the interval the way I want to it [cracking] won’t happen again. I’ll execute the way I want the race to go. I might think of Fitchburg 2006 and the cramp in my right hamstring. Or the stupid mistake I made in Altuna. Or the way I raced the Capital Region Road Race. Or the poor Green Mountain performance I did last year. I broke my rib in the circuit race, did the road race with a broken rib.

O’M. You rode Green Mountain road race with a broken rib?!

W.R. Yes and Bear Mountain. In the Bear race I was so pissed off with my rib pain, that I launched an attack early on. I did the Silvermine TT as well. After that I got an X-ray. I couldn’t sleep well and sneezing was very painful, just awful.

O’M. You have a huge pain barrier?

W.R. Rowing has taught me about pain. It has the worst race to training ratio of any sport. You learn to suck it up, to deal with pain. My girl friend finally made me go to the doctor after Silvermine. I was given pain medication for the broken rib, Vicodine. All I could do then was walk uphill on a treadmill in the gym. I did some yoga when I rowed, so my lower back was more flexible.

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Rowing for Harvard at the Pain Barrier

O’M. Why do you cycle? What do you get out of it?

W.R. I like to train alone, it’s relaxing. I like getting out of Manhattan and I find something peaceful and calming when training. It’s a great outlet, to think things over. It’s funny how it’s an individual sport. But just as enjoyable in a group.

O’M. What race did you enjoy winning the most?

W.R. It has to be the first race after returning from Austria in June 2005. It was the New Jersey RR Championships, cat 5! I won out of a three man break. I was stunned that I’d won, really happy. Later that fall, at Green Mountain, it was the first time I’d realized I could maybe do well at this sport. That was when I met some CRCA people. I only raced 3 or 4 times in 2005. 2006 was my first real season. This is my second real season.

O’M. What irritates you most about other cyclists?

W.R. I get annoyed with people who think they’re too cool to have a random chat. They look down on people who don’t have the nicest equipment or gear. I’m not super social, but I feel when you’re out on the bike all the other crap doesn’t matter that much. I mean I’m listening to Eddy Izzard [Rock n’ roller] mocking the Church of England in twelve degree weather on Harlem Hill. I try to amuse myself when I go out on long rides.

O’M. Good luck with the 2007 season.

W.R. Thanks very much.