Roller Coaster ~ Champ 13.4k 114m
Introduction
All the Roller Coaster Circuits start
and finish on the outskirts of the centre of St Helier. They
are
designed to give you a compact circuit in which to test and develop
your climbing ability, speed endurance, and top end cruising speed,
all within a simple, extendable, safe route.
If you want a brisk, high intensity workout during the lunch hour, or on the way home from work, just choose the circuit that best suits your needs. And if you have time, add a second loop, to simulate a long sportive type climb after heavy bout of speed.
As an "add-in loop", to a week-end endurance ride, they are a perfect event simulation 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.
Jersey's glorious north coast ~ the top of the island
Course Description
The
Roller Coaster Champ Circuit is
the hardest of our climbing/speed circuits, and takes the challenging
to the highest level. As a mid-week workout, it's ideal as a 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 14.4 kms long and contains 114 metres of continuous climbing and is probably the longest, highest, continuous climb in our island! A "double lap" can be done and dusted in around 90 minutes (if you live in town), including warm up and cool down.
To start you need to get yourself to the Robin Hood junction and and head for Trinity Hill. The segment begins just after the junction for Vallee de Vaux, as the hill begins to steepen.
Push on up the climb as hard as you can until you get to the Oakland's Lodge. From there, keep the power on but ride at your speed-endurance threshold all the way to Trinity Garage and beyond.
Ride all the way up to the yellow line to Trinity Church at the top of the climb. Do a quick shimmy left, then first right, and go around the left side of the church to head for the Vesconte Monument.
At the monument, take a right and continue uphill to the top of Les Platons and follow the road around to the right. Coming off Les Platons, turn left and head for Haute Croix. Then it's route back in to town down the Cannonball Run Champ. Blast through Sion and back towards St Helier, to finish at the hotel just before Queens Road Roundabout.
If you're in a recovery week, that's it, game over. Job done, go home, rest, recover and prepare for your target event.
If you're in your training phase, take another lap or add a lap of one of the other circuits, Elite or Pro, as an added challenge.
There are two significant EFR ~ Segments on this course...
▼
Segment 1
Oaklands Push; Initial Trinity Climb ~ 3:30 mins
▼
Segment 2
Cannonball Champ ~ All of Queens Road ~ 8:30 mins
Who's it for?
This course is quite 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.
What Next?
If you fancy a more strenuous session, upon finishing the Elite Circuit, why not try the Pro or Champ versions.
Why not bag all three in one ride?
