Mercury Cycle Coaching

We have had some fantastic feedback for the Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge for 2010, and wanted to share it with you:

The Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge 2010
20/06/2010 - Review by Sawmill on Cyclosport.org
       
The Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge (DLMC) is the big one. Over its 195km, I count 11 climbs which total 509.5 ‘climbbybike’ difficulty points - coincidentally precisely the same total score as the Marmotte’s monumentous  cols du Glandon, Telegraphe, Galibier and Alpe d’Huez. It’s also my local sportive, and I’ve been anticipating it for the last 6 months. I was pleased to ride it with Jim who is becoming a fairly regular sportive companion, and who had driven up the night before from Cambridgeshire. I heard that for the last couple of years, the event has run in poor weather over a tougher course, so counted myself lucky on all counts.

We arrived at Ruthin about 20 minutes or so after the first starters had gone.  The school field was already quite full of empty cars and I wondered if we’d left things a tad late. At registration I noticed the talismanic Dave Lloyd himself, leant nonchalantly against a car in a sweatshirt, chatting with all the time in the world, and I wondered how far we’d get before we saw him again.
 
We dibbed our timers and set off more or less alone, for a few flat kilometres along lanes leading to the Shelf. It’s a pretty climb with a couple of sweet switchbacks halfway up, giving a satisfying glimpse back of the altitude already gained. We passed a couple of riders who’d started a little while before us.  We crested the climb and made our way down to the Alyn Valley and the Col du Fer a Cheval (Horseshoe). Over the easier short side today, we’re rewarded by the spectacular descent, carving down it at a cracking pace. After sweeping past the impressive ruins of Vale Crucis Abbey, Pentrefelin comes as a rude shock - 1.7km at consistent 9%. Four riders surged past, laying down some power. “Did you forget your oil mate?” one quipped at my squeaky drive chain as he left me standing.   I hadn’t notice it until then but, as I crawled up the hill, the squeak started to bug me.  

Read whole review on http://www.cyclosport.org/members/myblog.aspx?mid=14024&size=9999