Central Circuit ~ Champ 19k 7 Ints
Introduction
The Central Circuits are
designed to give you a compact, simple, yet challenging variety
of options depending on how you configure them.
If you want a brisk, high intensity workout on the way home from work, just choose the circuit that best suits your needs.
To give a more through workout at the weekend, just form a loop, or "lap" them to get the volume, duration and intensity you require. They are an excellent workout to prepare for local racing, a foreign sportive or an endurance charity event.
As an "add-in loop", to a week-end endurance ride, they are a perfect event simulation (or replacement) workout. Once the season is under way, just use any of the circuits as a mid-week, high intensity, low volume, race pace, top up.
In Jersey we are blessed by having "everything" within five miles of our door. I'm sure wherever you are in the world, if you look hard enough, you should be able to recreate a similar concept in your own "playground" of choice.
Follow The Rules...
You are totally responsible for your own actions. Ensure your
bike is in tip-top condition, keep your head up at all times, have
regard for other road users and never go faster than the speed in
which you can clearly see to stop in. Ride safe, give it a
hundred percent, and have fun.
Course Description
The
Champ Circuit is an extended version of
the Pro Circuit, with the mighty
Greve de Lecq climb added to the mix.
As a mid-week workout, it's as tough as they come. It's ideal as an
(early in the week) pre-event leg stretcher, to test yourself and your
bike! Or you can just use it to rid yourself of the
frustrations of the working day...
It's 19 km's long and can be done and dusted in just over an hour (if you live in town), including warm up and cool down.
To start you need to get yourself to Bel Royal School, by taking the first right turn off St Peter's Valley, heading for the Little Grove. Keep going until you reach the big white wall, at Kinkaid Gardens, which signifies your left turn onto Mont Cambrai.
Head up the twisting climb, over the crest, and keep going until you reach the yellow line at the junction. Once on the St Lawrence main road, prepare to take the first left down Rue de la Ville Emphrie. This brings you to the War Tunnels, take a left at the foot of the descent and head back to the valley. At the yellow line turn right and head for "The Vic".
At the Vic in the Valley pub, take the right fork, just as the road swings 90 degrees left, and begin your next segment by heading up the best training climb in the island, The German Road.
Turn left at the top of the climb and push hard, all the way along the narrow false flat until you get to the old Living Legend.
From there it's sharp right, sharp left, to descend back in to St Peter's Valley. At the yellow line, turn right and head out, and up, the valley towards St Mary.
The next segment starts at the fork in the road where the Fantastic Tropical Gardens used to be (ask your parents) and goes all the way up St Peter's Valley, around the corner at the top of the hill, and pushes all the way up the false flat, until you get to the road sign with the cow on it!
At the end of this segment, recover and take the left fork to St Mary's Church. At the yellow line, go straight across the junction and turn left in to the 20 mph zone, heading for the long descent in to Greve de Lecq.
At the foot of the climb, choose your gear wisely and begin the leg snapping challenge that is Mont de la Greve De Lecq.
At the top of the climb, take a left and head to St Ouen's Parish Hall. Continue past it and begin the next segment, to Val de la Mar, before taking the first left hander after the reservoir.
Straight on at the junction and drop down the steep Les Routers descent, back in to St Peter's Valley. Turn right at the yellow line and head back towards Bel Roual School.
On the way, you'll pick up two more segments. Echappe Tesson, which unsurprisingly runs all the way to the Tesson Mill, and finally Echappe Royale, which finishes at the row of houses on the left, before the Bel Royal School junction.
That's it, game over. Job done, go home, rest, recover and prepare for your target event.
There are seven significant EFR ~ Intervals on this course...
▼
Segment 1
climbs the challenging Mont Cambrai ~ 2:30 mins
▼
Segment 2
ascends the steady German Road Climb ~ 3:30 mins
▼
Segment 3
climbs out of St Peter's Valley ~ 2:25 mins
▼
Segment 4
grovels up Greve de Lecq ~ 3:50 mins
▼
Segment 5
Parish Hall to Val de la Mar ~ 2:00 mins
▼
Segment 6
runs from St Peter's Valley to Tesson Mill ~ 3:00 mins
▼
Segment 7
carries on to just before Bel Royal School ~ 4:00 mins
Who's it for?
This course is significantly challenging, but not
overly so, for anyone with a reasonable level of
fitness.
If your a "racer" it's a good leg-loosener before a weekend competition, or a leg-stretcher, mid-week, to blow away the cob webs. And of course you can add laps to make it a difficult as you want it to be.
If you're not in the island, obviously you can get the drift of what we are trying to achieve. You just need to find a course near you that allows you to replicate the concept of what we are trying to achieve.
What Next?
Or if you fancy a more strenuous session, upon finiishing the Cmap Circuit, take a left at the school, and do a lap of the Pro circuit, then when you're returning form that, take a left at the Vic and do a lap of the Elite Circuit.
Why not bag all three in one ride? Someone has to be the first to try it!
