Relaxed spring too stressful for Julian Dean

Julian Dean, not a spring fan ©RoadCycling.co.nz

Mar 31st, 11.  Julian Dean was the 2010 NZ Road Cycling Rider of the Year - what has he been up to in 2011?

Everyone has a time of year they wish they could skip over. For some it is the chaos of Christmas, for others the cold winter months - for Julian Dean it is the spring season of cycling.

Dean is one of New Zealand's most experienced professional riders and in January was honoured at the BIkeNZ Awards as New Zealand's best road rider of the 2010 year.  

The judges felt his Tour de France multiple podium performances deserved to be recognised.

Dean, on the other hand, did not feel 2010 was a particularly great season. He had his heart set on a fantastic performance at the World Road Championships and despite the incredible dedication and sacrifices he made to get to Melbourne in top form, he said he felt like his legs were pedalling squares.

As a champion does, Dean picked himself up and has thrown himself back into the new season. The problem is, he doesn't like the spring months, never has.  

In previous seasons the Kiwi has pushed himself through countless spring races to pull himself up to the top form he knows he needs for the big tours later in the year.

This year, with his Garmin Cervelo team full of Classics specialists meaning he was not so needed, Dean had a different approach.

With the objective of a more natural build up, with less stress, the team kept him out of the big races and let him train at home in Spain with just a handful of races to keep him on his toes. Just as he hated all the spring racing, Dean has hated watching them unfold without him.

"I’ve spent way too much energy thinking about my training, trying to get in shape and wondering whether I was ever going to be good enough again to race with the guys I had been watching each weekend on the tele. Taking the so-called relaxed, stress-free approach to the season has been anything but. And probably not the approach I’d readily choose again," he wrote on his latest blog update.

To date, Dean has raced Trofeo Mallorca, Classica Almeria and most recently the Vuelta Catalunya. Like every other year, he will soon find his rhythm again and be back where he belongs - at the front of the peloton delivering his teammate to victory or, when the opportunity arises, showing his own great sprinting ability.