Central Circuit ~ Elite 9.1k 3 Intervals
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
Elite Circuit is our small, compact circuit, a cut down version of our
larger Central
Pro & Central Champ circuits.
It's ideal as a pre-event leg stretcher, to test yourself and your
bike!
It's 9 km's long and can be done and dusted in less than an hour (if you live in town), including warm up and cool down.
To start you need to get yourself to Bel Royal, heading up St Peter's Valley. At the Vic in the Valley pub, take the right fork, just as the road swings 90 degrees left, and begin your first 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, take the left and head for The Windmill, but take the first left before it. You're now on the Grande Route de Augerez and the start of the Moulin Rouge segment.
Carry on this main road until you hit the small crossroads immediately before the St Peter's main road. Take a left and head down the steep Les Routers descent, back in to St Peter's Valley. Turn right at the yellow line and head back to the "finish" outside the "Vic".
That's it, short and sweet. Job done, go home, rest, recover and prepare for your target event.
Or if you fancy a more strenuous session, take a left at the Vic and do another lap, or two. But if you can do three laps, then maybe you should be trying the Pro or Champ options?
There are three significant EFR ~ Intervals on this course...
▼
Segment 1
ascends the steady German Road Climb ~ 3:30 mins
▼
Segment 2
climbs out of St Peter's Valley ~ 2:25 mins
▼
Segment 3
screams down La Grande Route de Augerez ~ 2:00 mins
Who's it for?
This course is a nice challenging, but not
overly so, circuit 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?
If you're looking for something a little more
challenging, we have the
Central Circuit Pro
to test your mettle.
