In an office somewhere in Vancouver they dictate the next 12 months of my and many other athletes lives. The 2010 World Championship series has just been released, starting off in Sydney in April before moving to South Korea, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria and finally in September, Hungary.

Added into the mix is the start of the London 2012 Olympic qualifying process - after June 1st points are collected and rankings are made over a 2 year period; slots are then allocated and teams are picked.

Points can not only be collected in World Series events but also at World Cups, Continental Championships and Continental Cups.

Lots of travelling and lots of racing to come now that we are under 1000 sleeps from the big show !

My first port of call will once again be South Africa for winter training. I leave my base in Scotland soon as the temperature drops here to single digits and my days start and end in the dark. Last year was my first time in Stellenbosch and I am really looking forward to heading back there.

Stellenbosch is a small University town outside Cape Town and as I found out last year is a small mecca for endurance athletes - not least with Specialized Athletes such as multisport athletes Conrad Stoltz and Dan Hugo and of course the Mountain Bike weapons Christophe, Burry and Lene . . .

I'm off to search out some sleeveless tops to help with some multi tasking