Welcome to the first installment of Eugene Laverty’s four day diary from the Red Bull Diagnostics and Training Center. Here he takes you through day one at the world-renowned facility near Salzburg, Austria.

Eugene:

“When I imagined the Red Bull DTC I pictured some place in the city but this place couldn’t be further out of the way! It’s in a nice, quiet little area where you just wouldn’t expect such a place. From the moment I heard of the DTC I wanted to go because of the depth of science involved with fitness testing and programming here. It’s fair to say I’m not disappointed after day one as I’ve been prodded more times than a pin cushion and tested in areas right across the board.

Today started with some standard procedure tests in the laboratory before hitting the treadmill. The speed was increased every three minutes and my little legs ran as fast as they could until they gave up the ghost after two minutes at 18kph. I never knew I could run that fast! However, the speed matters little. It’s all in what the blood samples say.

Afterwards the physiotherapist checked me over with all sorts of scans from head to toe. I doubt you could buy that sort of machinery in PC World! Lastly I sat infront of a computer screen for an hour and a half solid doing psychology tests. I felt mentally drained come the finish but I guess that’s kinda the idea!

Three more days lie ahead, some interesting stuff is going on between those walls but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Red Bull. After all, they don’t do anything by half. Drop by tomorrow for my second installment of the week.”

Check out the new video of Eugene, his brother Michael and the infamous Neil “Tubman” Thompson up in Magilligan at Davy Mac’s MX track. This was the last time before the season starts that Eugene got to ride his new CRF 250 R supplied to him by Honda.

Eugene: ” I enjoy riding motocross from time to time for training purposes and for fun during the off season. We have a great track on the north coast of Ireland owned by our friend Davy McCullough. It’s a perfect practice track as it’s sand-based so we can ride no matter what the weather.”

To view video go to Eugene’s ‘Video’ section.

T9 Images copyright the video contact neil_mckeown@hotmail.com.

The quiet period is over as we head to Portimao for the first test of the 2010 campaign. You know what’s great? I’ve stayed put so it’s just like an extension of the 2009 season! I’m flying to Stansted to meet up with the team and all I’ve got is my luggage; all my racing kit stayed in the workshop over the winter as there was no need to move it! This changing teams lark is overrated in my book, all it does is create hassle. I’m really looking forward to getting on my CBR again, last time I rode it was back in October at the same circuit when I dominated the race so I’m looking forward to picking up where I left off.