Stu's Racing Blog

Karapoti Classic

2011-03-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

Despite having first competed in the Karapoti in 2000, it has only been in the past four editions that my affection for the race has bloomed. Part of the reason for that stems from my slow migration towards the steeper, rockier terrain of the lower North Island and away from the groomed, almost carpet covered trails of the central plateau.
This year the Karapoti finishes off a block of summer racing which consisted largely of chasing young fellas round and round a 5km loop without too much success. When I heard that the weather forecast was going to be rubbish, I couldnt help but look forward to it even more then if it were dry.

I managed to be the first person to set foot on the opposing shore of the river, successfully avoiding the large boulders, (Id encounter those on the way back though) and leisurely ambled onto my bike and tucked into the first few positions.I made sure I stayed in the front few riders on the way to the warmup climb, making sure not to drift back too far. As we approached the top of Deadwood, I had conceded about half a minute to the front 3 guys (Tim, Anton and Dirk), but my intimate knowledge of the course helped me to focus on bridging that gap before the rock garden. Theres a lot of riding between the top of Deadwood and the Rock Garden, and I put my head down knowing exactly the pitch and length of every rise in that section of the course. It paid off, I was closing in and manged to bridge up about 5min before the Rock Garden. A rush of confidence flowed as I realized I was at the front of the race. A confidence I took with me into the descent probably a little too brazenly. A little mishap and a dropped chain forced from 1st back to fourth about 2/3rds down the Rock Garden and I quickly thought.....comon man theres no time for heroics down here, just get down smoothly and in contact.

We all crossed the river together and Tim forced the pace up the Staircase. My calves and back were burning but I turned myself inside out to hold on up the pushing sections. I was elated to reach the clearing still in the group.

We descended big ring boulevard and my eyes began to fill up with silt. I had to do something because I could barely see and it was getting painful. All I could do was squirt energy drink into my eyes to clear it.....not ideal. It stung so much I lurched to the left and collided with Tim, luckily he stayed on but I had to step off the bike to avoid hitting the deck. Thinking he had caused it, Tim was very apologetic but I stressed to him that it was my fault.

I think we all knew as Dopers approached it would be the deciding stage of the race. And no sooner had we crossed the creek Anton was out of sight!! The rest of us had to dismount through the scree that had accumulated after the creek. My take on it is that Anton was light enough to keep the wheels on top of the scree while the rest of us got bogged down as the rear wheel cut into the loose rock. In any case once we started chasing it wasnt until some of the longer straights where we could see Anton, and only Dirk was strong enough to bridge the gap in a display of riding that he described as "easy enough". All I could do was watch and my focus was on securing 3rd as I approached the summit.

My seat bag containing all of my tire mending equipment flew of the back of my bike on the descent, but there was no way I was going to stop for it. My UST Kenda Karmas had been a stal-wart of the preceeding 2 hours and they werent likely to let me down now. I got down the gorge smoothly, and to my delight was only 30sec in arrears of Anton who had managed to take the win and become the youngest ever Karapoti winner.

For me it was a great result against a quality field in epic conditions. I fought hard to get to the front and gave myself every chance of winning. I did everything right throughout the race and can be thoroughly content with 3rd knowing those other two just had a little bit more to give.

A reluctant congrats

Photo: Janine Copp

National Series Nelson

2011-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Since the early races in January training had been going really well and my form was lifting nicely. I knew I had better legs than a month ago, but as you will read that doesnt neccessarily turn into better race results.

The course in Nelson was a condensed version of the National Champs held there two years ago, so I knew it well. Not a particularly demanding course, but difficult to make time up due to the meandering nature of the climbing.

The start didnt work out at all how I was hoping. I went from 4th wheel to about 12th or 13th in the blink of an eye as we approached the top of the road and had to shuffle into the line of riders as we negotiated the next 8min of singletrack without a single opportunity to make a pass.

I took some places as the course widened and finished the first lap in 8th, just under 1 minute behind the front of the race. I knew there was only one place to really make up time, and that was the first climb; 3 min on a gravel road.
I was feeling desperate to move forward so I pushed really hard to gain a much advantage as I could. To a degree it worked; I moved all the way to 3rd place. This was where I should have been all along, trouble is I had used a lot of energy to get there, hense it was short lived.

Frustrated by how the day was panning out, I slowly lost that advantage and drifted back into 7th place. It was a prime example how important the start is in being able to maintain a constant effort throughout the race. I had raced hard, and felt strong, perhaps a little restraint in the early laps may have prevented the (brain) fade that occured in the last laps, but I wanted to feel as though I was in the race for at least a small portion rather spending the entire race limiting losses.

Photo:Debbie Retief

It is nice to process what happened and say ok, I know what went wrong. Each race has its unique challenges, and my 13 years of experience didnt stop me from letting a bit of panic take control. Ive been hitting my forehead with the base of my palm ever since, I know better than to react with fury on the pedals, a patient response would have been better.......

Wellington XC Champs

2011-01-30T00:24:00.000-08:00

With the remnants of a tropical storm approaching it was looking ominous that the Wellington champs, held in Wainui, would be a wet one. I had made provision to change tires, and had packed warm clothes in anticipation of the weather. But gladly the storm had tracked slightly north and left Wellington basking in warmth and sunshine...at least until late arvo.

The trail network in Wainuiomata is a new and excellent addition to Wellingtons plethora of trail networks. Those looking after its development have catered well for all by ensuring the climbing meanders up the steep slopes of the ranges, through the manuka in a twisting gradual manner, and the descending offers variety for the beginner and the advanced.

Saturdays race used a long gradual singletrack climb. Being fast meant being smooth, it was easy to use too much energy by braking too late into the hundreds of corners and having to punch out of them on the way to the top of the course. Time gaps were hard to open, I made sure I learnt the climb on the first lap and figured out the sections where a burst in power was rewarded.

It wasnt until half way through the race I hit the front. Ben Murphy, who rides in Wainui a lot, used his local knowledge, aggressive tactics and brute strength to lead the feild for the first half. He caught me by surprise and ducked inside me into the singletrack early on. He proceeded to open a small gap as I tried to use brute force to stay in touch, which for reasons mentioned earlier, was primarily serving to tire me out. I knew I had to take my time.

The first time down Spoonhill, a 6-7min rough, rooty, rocky downhill was a little hairy. Your main ally on this trial is the death grip you have on the bars, especially in the dry where its possible to open the throttle a bit more. I had ridden it perhaps a year ago, and really didnt remember a thing. I got to the bottom in one piece and its fair to say the subsequent laps were a little more comfortable.

Once I hit the front I knew I wanted to open the gap straight away, I didnt want anyone getting into a rythm following my back wheel. I really put the gas on a managed a 20sec gap. There wasnt much more time to be gained out there, so I focused on maintaining it and staying in control down spoonhill. I took the win from Tom Bradshaw who had stayed in touch really well in the second half of the race.

It was great to hang out with the Wellington crowd and share some laughs. I enjoyed racing on a slightly different trail to what we would usually ride, although having said that, there were many parallels with Makara Peak. Wellington continues to impress with its variety of ridable terrain.

North Island Cup Round 2, Napier

2011-01-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Eskdale Forest has always been a great place to race, and the Hawkes Bay mountain bike club once again put together a course that was fun, challenging and unique to any course we had raced at Eskdale. Adding to that the intense heat of a Hawkes bay summer and we had a sweaty, dustbowl of a race to compete in.

(photo: Michelle Bellamy)

The addition of Dirk and Carl to the field since Tauranga meant the competition would be stiff. But none of us knew quite how each other were really going, the tension was certainly there.

I would have to say that the first 2min of the race was some of the fastest Ive had to cope with. Part of the reason for this lay in the first half km of the course. We had to contend a straight, false flat drag strip for several hundred meters before it funnelled into singletrack. I was swamped after starting on the left side of the front row, but managed to find a place in the line and followed wheels until the climb.

I dug deep on the main climb to make a few places up and chase down Dirk, Mike and Carl, who had got together at the front and created a small gap. Just as I was making headway, Dirk attacked the other two and opened up a small but significant lead, which he continued to build on as each lap went by. My efforts succeeded in firstly bringing back Carl on lap 2, followed by being passed again by Carl, but then passing Mike on the 3rd, to eventually being passed again by mike and resorting to chasing the pair of them again as they held me at 20 seconds.

The final lap saw me close right in on Carl who had let mike go. It was a thrilling race to be a part of, and although I was 4th, I was happy to have put so much into the race, while being close to the front. My lap times showed I have form, as the times were pretty consistent. I have gained clarity on where I can improve and now have time to knuckle down and do something about it, I am excited!!!

North Island Cup Round One in Tauranga

2011-01-11T14:18:00.000-08:00

Before I began back training at the end of October, the Tauranga race was going to be the first event to target. The Huka XL, Rice Mountain Classic and Eastern Express had all been build up races, and I had felt my form building as each of those events passed.
I chose a very traditional buildup, focusing purely on base in the first 6-7 weeks, then dropping back the milage and hitting the intensity. I was strict about how I went about it, and it seems to have paid off as the base I developed has enabled me to get through a lot of intensity training. And with pretty much no hiccups in almost 3 months. I knew I could perform strongly, and was aiming high.

Once I prerode the course in Tauranga, a compact and steep 15-16min race pace loop, I realised that the descent would be a telling factor, and it proved to be.
At around 3-4 min, it was a long descent for a cross country race, and a chance for those a little more risky to gain some advantage. I found my climbing form to be pretty good, despite having to let Mike Northcott go a little on the 2nd lap. The climb was around 7min, again it was long, and it contained around 10 steep sections requiring very short intense bursts, not a rythm climb.

The biggest mistake I made in the race was to not leapfroging the eventual winner Sam Shaw at the top of the descent on Lap 2, I conciously remember deciding not to. It was one of those moments when you make a decision but during making the decision you realise in your gut it was the wrong one, so you try to convince youreslf it wont matter, but really you know it probably will. He put something like 20sec into me on the descent, I knew I had blown it. I was only able to close half of that advantage down on the climb, hense he kept going ahead slowly but surely, and I wasnt prepared to risk myself on the descent. All I could hope for was a mistake from him, but you cant really wish that on someone because it was a descent where you didnt want to crash, as Mike found out later in the race.

I was optimistic of a chance for 2nd place when some spectators advised me that Mike had crashed and lost his front brake. This did not slow him down enough for me to catch him, but it did however cost him the race, and he was a bit tender afterwards.

In the end I was happy with 3rd, I was consistent and strong, and glad my relative weakness was the descent and not the climb.

This weekends race in Napier is a vastly different course, flatter and a bit faster. Ill be looking to improve on 3rd.

World Championships

2010-09-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

Hermida winning the Worlds

What an insane race the World Championships is. There is no more of an honest race to compete in. Theres no hiding, no sitting in, and everyone is on their limit and desperate to show their strongest hand.

The weather had been interesting, intense heat and humidity earlier in the week was replaced by more mild, but rainy weather. The course however could cope with the precipitation, and it got tacky with wet rock and roots to make it interesting. Up until now I hadnt ever had to use my Kenda Nevegal tires, Karmas and Small Block 8's have been adequate but I am sure glad I chose them for this race cause they were amazing. Ive never used a tire that hooks up so well in muddy or tacky conditions so if you want a tire for mud, youve gotta get them. I had all the confidence in the world and didnt put a foot wrong, I used the 2.1 rather than the 1.95, which allowed me to run slightly lower pressure.

The beginning is always a fun time, 85 riders racing elbow to elbow at full gas, trying to take any gap that opens to gain an advantage. I always enjoy the first few minutes, the close racing doesnt phase me and I often am able to find a few gaps. Eventually we come to a standstill as the course narrows and 6 wide has to go to single file. This is a chance to breath a little, but it also adds to the intensity once we get going again. The spikes in intensity on the first lap are difficult to cope with, and something the guys at the front rarely need to go through. So while they are making hay at the sharp end, us near the back are still tooth and nail to gain spots.

The format of the race was interesting, we did 2 half laps first, and the same half of the lap which included the two climbs of the race. So we had to hit 4 steep climbs in the first 20 minutes. It was insane and I was feeling like I had left my best legs in the races in previous weeks. All I wanted to do was to find a rythm and hold it. With such a short lap I wasn't confident of staying on the lead lap, and only half of the riders did. So I made sure I rode as hard as I could and get in as much of the race as I could.

Its kinda tough knowing that your best day is still going to leave you wanting. Then having to battle through having not such a great day makes it even tougher. But to have the opportunity to race for the biggest annual prize in the sport, puts it in perspective.

It has been a brilliant month of travelling and racing. Lots of stories and good times with friends. I hope its been an enjoyable read as its sure been fun bringing it to you.

Racing and its up and downs

2010-08-29T04:33:00.000-07:00

Up until yesterday I had been able to resolve things that had happened in the races and still continue without too much penalty. But yesterday was a different story. Racing World Cups requires everything to go right, as youre already losing time hand over fist to the superior ability of the top 5 riders in the world.

I got away from the start line well, managing to go around a couple of tangle ups. The speed was insane up to the top of the course on the first lap, but I managed to hold a good position, right around 50 of 100 riders. The descent was fast and this is where all the carnage began. I would say 20 riders flatted on the first lap alone, including myself. Parts of the course were high speed over rocky terrain, and it was carnage for tires. A split second before I flatted my internal computer told me "TOO FAST"....bang. I needed to tip toe that section a little, but I came in heavy and paid for it.

There wasnt a lot I could do except ride it to the tech zone and get a wheel change. However the wheel I got was a different alignment to mine and the rear brake was dragging and making a loud noise as I climbed. I persisted as it was all I could do, but I felt laboured after having the break in rythm and having to deal with a dragging rotor. And at the finish I realised the extent of my brake dragg, I got about half a turn out of the wheel when I spun it.

I only managed half of the laps due to the time I had lost. It was one of those days you hope doesnt happen, but eventually does at some stage. I certainly wasnt alone in my misfortune, a lot of riders suffered with punctures. It seemed to be the nature of the course.

Ill be putting this one behind me a refocusing on next week. Over the years I have got pretty good at putting disappointments behind me and not letting them affect me. Like I have said, everything has to go perfectly well at this top level or else you get hammered. Ill be looking to have a race where I can push as hard as I can and have a clean race, and if I can do that Ill be more than happy.

World Cup Final, Windham NY

2010-08-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

My travel partner Nic Leary and I took the long drive down through Vermont and the city of Albany NY to a really nice skiing district in New York state for this weekend World Cup Final.

Our first look at the course was a reasonably wet one, caused by consecutive days of rain and drizzle. But the weather came right yesterday and the track is drying to the point where its kinda like that bluetack consistency, which is the point where rubber and dirt at at their most friendly.

The course contains a long, but not steep climb, broken up by small slightly descending sections in the trees. Kind of like a 3 steps up, one step down scenario to the top of the course. Then it dives off the high point to finish the lap with a fast, again not very steep descent via a mixture of ski run and rocky single track.

It all pretty elementary, even in the wet. But I like it and am confident of a strong race. I had to hold back during todays lap, I wanted to open it up but new I had to keep the cap on until tomorrow. I also had to resist the temptation of doing another lap.

The race begins in the town tomorrow and heads out to the ski hill via a short section of road. An interesting start, and one that will require some concentration and keeping out of trouble.

Quebec Championships

2010-08-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Mt St Anne hosted the Quebec Champs this weekend on what was largely the World Champs course, but with the rock garden omitted. It was a great opportunity to train at race pace on the course and learn lines and gear selection.
Although the field boasted a number of Kiwis and Australians, we were not given preferential treatment on the start grid. This meant that it would be great practice for passing and getting through traffic, while making it more difficult and a harder race.

I was able to ride aggressively on the start loop and slot in around 10th position. I would have liked to be higher, as by the end of the first lap I was around 5th and feeling really good about how hard I was able to push. Getting to fifth however took a lot of effort and it meant those few in front of me who began at the front of the grid had a much nicer time of things. Despite this, Mike Northcott had done what I had to and was in the top 3, showing it was possible to reach more of less the front.

As the laps went by I there was a bit of shuffling around but I was able to hold my position in the race and be consistent from lap to lap. Slow traffic was a bit of an issue with 4 grades on a 15min lap at one time. I knew that I felt good enough to really push the last lap hard. However, I slashed my rear tire on the 2nd to last lap. I stopped and worked the stans around the gash to seal it. Thankfully this worked and I used my CO2 to get it back up to pressure. Unfortunately I lost a few spots and wasnt able to get them back, so my 7th place wasnt really indicative of my ride.

I had a much better feeling in my legs than last week, I am enjoying the racing and I have gained more encouragement from feeling strong and continuing to build. But for a while now I havnt been able to put a result on paper that is reflective of how I am riding. Thankfully my form is the best its been all year, and I have 2 big races coming up to apply myself.

Snaps of Mt St Anne Rock Section

2010-08-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Below is the dodgy rocky section which casued a bit of an uproar last year. Being wet, a lot of riders were unsure about the danger involved in riding it, and not having organised a chicken route, orgainisers were forced to cut an alternate route the day before. As Ive said, it takes some concentration and isnt too tough in the dry, but I am concious that I will have to ride it in the wet at some stage, which doesnt excite me too much. Today was straight forward, however I did manage to catch a rock at the bottom (easily visible in front of my rear wheel) causing a flat, I did have a tube in the rear so it wasnt at all surprising.

World Championship XC Course....Early Impressions

2010-08-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend Mt St Anne, the hosts of the World Championships are hosting the Quebec Championships. This gave Nic and I a perfect opportunity to have a look at the course before the bustle of World Championship week.
The Canadians love to accentuate the technical aspect of mountain biking, and the Mt St Anne course is certainly indicative of that. One section in particular, new to the course last year dives of the side of a ski run via a steep tight rock corner and diagonally down a rock garden. The section as a whole takes a bit of concentration...so not to get off line, as the consequence of crashing is significant. I rode it 3 times today, and didnt have trouble. Although it wasnt exactly pleasant.

It was nice to have that section to myself today, rather than trying to get it dialed while a fluster of 200 XC riders crowd around watching your every move.

The course as a whole is slow, and by that I mean it requires a whole lot of effort to maintain go forward. There are no flowing sections at all....no free speed. Amongst the toughest sections are those that traverse across flat or slightly rising terrain while negotiating a woven pattern of tree roots and prominent rocks. It requires great continuity of upper and lower body coordination and strength. Ill make sure I get a couple of snaps of these sections Im talking about....stay tuned.

Coupe Canada Bromont

2010-08-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

I had a buzz of anticipation for todays race, I had prepared really well and didnt feel any effects of Jetlag. Having come from winter, the heat would be greatest challenge today, with the mercury hitting 30 degrees.
The UCI World Ranking call up helped me and my fello kiwi riders with good start positions. I was called up 8th of 58 riders. The start was not too fierce, I slotted in at about 10th wheel and was content to let the tempo of the race catch up with me naturally, rather than dig too deep and go backwards, which certainly happened to a few riders.

The exposed climbs were insanely hot, and I quickly worked out I needed water over my back and arms. Once I did this, being able to ride a gear higher was instantly possible. I definitely poured more water on me than I drank, that included sports drink, I didnt care, as long as it was cool, and it was working.

I was able to ride the technical section in the trees really well, closing in on riders here. Mike, Carl and I were all racing neck and neck, changing positions regularly, it was a real 3 way ding dong battle, we were all quite evenly matched today and fighting for the top ten.

Unfortunately I lost contact with them on the last half of the final lap, when a chain problem caused me to stop to untangle it. This cost me a couple of spots instantly, and all I could do was ride strong to the finish and conserve my 13th place.

I am really happy with how I felt out there today, a big confidence booster after a crappy winter of illnesses and lackluster races. It has certainly left me wanting for more and I feel that a little more heat acclimation and some specific training will bring me up.

I will be heading to Mt St Anne, the site of the World Championships next weekend, there is a race which I think I will do, the Quebec Championships.

Canada Cup Course, Bromont Quebec

2010-08-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have had 3 sessions on the course for this weekends race and have figured out most of the ideal lines through the various technical sections. Being a ski hill, it is quite rocky, and it is the flatter traversing sections that are consuming our interest rather than the descents. Several sections require "negotiating", rather than hitting as fast as possible. Riding them is almost the same sensation as walking across a thick gravel driveway in bare feet, the idea is to place the wheel just in the right place while keeping the power on to maintain momentum, and always being prepared for rocks coming at your front wheel.

Riding this course makes it startlingly obvious how pedestrian the courses are in NZ, in a general sense. Rarely do I need to practice lines in NZ. But much of the difference comes from the type of terrain, and the track building. Here, there is a rocky base, where most of the NZ mountain bike parks are not rocky at all. I think this is to the detriment of skill diversity in NZ XC racers. World Cup courses will always have sections that are technically very challenging to just ride. In NZ, the difficulty often comes from trying to ride a section as fast as possible, not from merely trying to ride it, big difference.

Nevertheless, my skill base is sufficient so I am at ease, and I am feeling strong this week, resting was just what I needed.

World Championships on the Horizon

2010-08-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

I have just arrived in Bromont, Quebec and am finding it pretty easy to get acclimatised to the 25 degree, 70% humidity weather, just how I like it. August 2nd was the selection date for the New Zealand World Championship team. After having 2 strong years of racing in 2008/2009, 2010 has not thus far gone as well as I had wanted or planned, and that racing sometimes, but you just keep trying and having faith in what you're capable of knowing it is achievable again. Therefore, making the NZ team was far less of a sure thing, and when this type of situation comes around, it makes you realise how much you want it and have worked for it.

I was ecstatic to learn that day that I had made the team, and the 5 week trip I had planned for Canada would be concluded with the World Championships. This weekend I have the Canada Cup final in Bromont. This will be followed by the World Cup Final in Windham NY, and a week later, the Worlds in Mt St Anne.

My best performance this year I know is yet to happen, and I am doing everything I can to ensure it will happen in the next 4 weeks. Its not until things arent going perfectly to plan do you realise the complexity of gaining your best form and performing at your best. It can be hit and miss, especially when preparing in winter, but I have done my very best and feel confident of good races this month.

Trucking Along through Winter

2010-06-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

Since I last touched base a lot of things have been coming together. My preparation for the 3 day Tour of Taranaki on Queens Birthday weekend went very well. I rode strongly and finished about mid pack in 22nd. I was found out in a couple of areas, particularly the flat cross wind sections on the morning of the 2nd day, but my climbing and stamina were good, which I owe partly to the tandem riding.

The weather was of course terrible for that race, and everyone I know who raced ended up with a cold. This put me back a little, and I had to miss one MTB race because of it. But it gave me a chance to recover a little and start building again. I raced again last Saturday at the first round of the Kapiti Coast Road series. I am very pleased with the conditioning I have, and the training I have been doing is really paying off. It is certainly difficult to do quality training in winter, but I have made sure the quality is there, while sacrificing the bigger miles a little bit, this way its not so bad getting out in the rain to do something specific rather than riding for hours on end. Making riding more interesting by doing rides on the tandem adds a fun element while making training harder.

I have made plans to go to Canada on August 7th to do 4 races, including the World Championships in Mt St Anne (selection pending). I am looking forward to escaping winter for a while. I have loved being in Quebec each time I have travelled there and I am sure this time will be no different. In the mean time, I have lots of local races to do to continue building form, including road, MTB and cyclocross races.

I have never raced Cyclocross, and while Ill be using my MTB, it will be fun to try a slightly different format of racing.

2010-05-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

Thankfully I managed to get myself into a team with Ed Crossling to ride in the Wainui 6 hour on Saturday. The entries suddenly closed off after the event quickly grew to a point where the organisers thought they had as many entrants as they could handle. It was dubbed a "low key" fun type event, on a fun and not too challenging course. However the 3 days of rain we received made the course very boggy in sections, and the metal that had been put down on the rest of the course gave everyone that sinking feeling. Therefore, it was pretty challenging to really push.

Not having raced for 2 months, I wasnt ready to expect the world, and it took me a couple of laps to get my eye in on the slipery stuff. Ed and I were doing double lap stints, and I wasnt setting the world on fire with my pace, consistently doing 24min laps. It was nice to get the feeling of really pushing again.

After comfortably increasing our lead throughout the event, it was becoming touch and go to whether I was going to have time to get one more lap in. I was given the official time of just over 22min to get the last lap in as I went through the timing gate. I had carefully prepared myself by downing about 700ml of coke just before I was set to go. I wanted to see just what I could do, and with the incentive of getting a lap done in a time that wasnt unachievable, I had the motivation I needed.

Pleasantly, I found a gear that I couldnt find up until that point in the race. I didnt put a foot wrong and was able to push at maximum the whole way. I made it with 20 sec to spare and although it didnt really count for anything, I was extatic to get round in such a fast time, and it turned a lacklustre day into a very pleasing day out.

Of course the day was extremely enjoyable being able to camp out with Bushlove. Davo pushed simplicity to the maximum by winning the solo on his rigid single. Ricky and Al had a more sporadic day with a mixture of riding and a fair amount of chewing the fat at the tent. Cheers fellas.

Next up I have the Tour of Taranaki, and tales of 3 days of road racing in the wallowing sunshine and light breezes (fingers crossed)

2010-05-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Carolyn and I have been lucky enough to be given the use of Jackson and Rose Greens older tandem. Cant beleive they go mountain biking on it, but road riding is great. The first thing you realise is how little momentum it carries, any slight rise in the road will mean youve gotta push a lot harder to keep it rolling.

Last weekend we tackled a pretty hilly route, with a 15min hillclimb, talk about strength training. There is really no opportunity to alter your speed on climbs because you cant get out of the saddle easily and accelerate. Therefore its all about rythm and plugging away in a reasonably big gear.

Carolyn likes a slower cadence than I do, so its a definite strength workout for me. Its nice to be able to do some different type of training and still get a lot of benefit out of it, probably more so than on the normal bike.

I would recommend it for anyone who is wanting to imporve on hills (everyone), as it takes so much more effort to keep the thing moving.

Loving the trail running

2010-04-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

For some of you this talk of running may seem strange, as it is probably something you include in your exercise regime without much thought. But for someone who has only cycled for years and years, the thought of including another mode of exercise into the mix is very novel.

I have started to mix up my running a little more now, adding in trails and hilly terrain. It certainly adds a tougher element, and I have had to alter the way I look at a rocky peice of trail and how I propose to negotiate it. I have really taken a liking to running for several reasons. Firstly I am surprised at quickly I have adapted to it in terms of muscle damage, the legs arent sore at all in the days after a run. Secondly, running is such a different beast to cycling, the pace you put out on a climb has far more consequence on your output beyond that climb, pacing becomes far more important, and recovery from a surge in power is far more gradual. In that way, it is a more honest mode of exercise. It has made me realise just how many times there are moments of zero power output on a bike, and I certainly beleive that the constant power outputs during running, all be it for a shorter duration, create better aerobic adaptation than cycling.

Thirdly, running targets the active musculature in a broader and more well rounded fashion. Where cycling has a magnified focus on the Quads and the Gluts, and other areas act to control power transfer from those muscles into the pedals, running involves the calf and hamstrings, as well as the tibialis and the hip flexors, meaning that the power production seems to be more evenly distributed. The entire motion invloves more musculature in a more balanced way due to the complex motion. Some of the musculature acts solely to brake limb movement, others to brake and provide motion to a limb, meaning a broader range of muscle function. The core (abs, back) too seem to be very active in stabilizing the swinging leg motion.

I can see myself including running indefinitely in my training, the key will be to stay injury free. Talking to freinds about their account of running has been mixed with stories of injuries here and there, but the overall theme appears to be that running is very effective and therapeutic.

New Roady

2010-04-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Getting a new bike is always exciting, and even though I am sure some of you mountain bikers dont think much of road riding, I am pretty partial to it and the gear that goes with it. Above all I am amazed at how stable my new Quantum feels on the descents. Being in wellington, the roads around here provide me with a fair testing ground. The new style shimano levers are also an improvement in shape, as well as the stiffer big chainring, up shifting at the front is very direct, no chainring flex at all.

My first run

2010-04-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

The off season is a good chance to try some different things without them interfering with events. I had decided a while ago that I would start running in april. I have seen how including running has been beneficial for other mountain bikers, and thinking about the nature of it as an aerobic exercise; it doesnt get much better.
Once I had got dressed in usual running attire (shorts, running shoes and a t-shirt) I interestingly felt self concious wearing it (compared to full body lycra?!?!) And I began to realise just how rigid an athlete I was. Cycling is all that I do, and just the thought of doing other forms of exercise felt foreign.

So I set out for a 20 minute jaunt around the block. Initially I felt comfortable which was to be expected consideration my fitness level, but specificity caught up with me. My hip flexors were the first to tighten up, and I really began to notice the constant nature of it, there was no free wheeling to be done.

The second noticable difference was the heart rate response, it was certainly much higher than during the bike ride. By the end of the run I felt I had gone a little too hard, but I got through it.

I hit the hay that night expecting to be crippled come daybreak, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure I could certainly feel the muscle damage, but I could walk unassisted and almost without limping. I am hoping by sunday Ill be set for the next one.

The Grape Ride

2010-03-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my turn to play support crew for my girlfreind Carolyn. We had targeted the graperide as a fun event for the both us to do together. Training had being giong well for Carolyn and she was hoping to improve on the time and average speed she set at the Tour of the Bay back in October.

Through the Chaos at the beginning we decided to jump in the huge queue a bit further up than our pre assigned grid order. This was a great idea as it enabled us to start strongly and settle in a bunch. My job was to drive our bunch once we had established it was going to stay together and was going at an appropriate speed. Oddly, the first bunch we got into consisted of about 8 women, me being the only male. And once I had done a 20km turn on the front I was everyones freind.
We reached Picton, 35km into it, with a 32km/h average. We were way ahead of our best case scenario of 25km/h.
But the hills were about to begin, and the buffer we had was perfect. We reached Havelock still averaging 25.6km/h with only a 27km flat run to the finish. We did need to sit on about 25km/h to get in under the 4 hour mark, but the wind was hindering our ability to do this, until a bunch caught us with 20km to go. Our speed immediately lifted and we flew over the final 20km. The finishing time of 3 hours 51min was much better than we had predicted. A time of around 4 hours for the 101km was our best case outcome, so to be well within that was a huge success.
There were a fair share of mechanical problems out there, of which I was able to assist in literally about 10 of those. It was so satisfying to help people who had gear, chain, brake problems, and get them going again when they thought their day was finished. A big contrast to going to a race with only my goals in mind. It is something I want to continue to do more of.

Oceania Championships Dunedin

2010-03-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to this race ever since the Karapoti, as I knew my form was on the up. I had trained really hard in the two weeks prior and felt really good about my condition. I arrived on the Thursday and got a couple of laps in on the brilliant course they have at Bethunes gully. The weather forecast was thankfully good for the weekend, word was out that there was a big Australian contingent. Nice to see them make a comparable effort as we do to traveling across the ditch.

I was called up on the front row of the start grid, which proved to be unhelpful due to the head wind in the start straight. I was also on the outside, which meant as the more powerful riders surged ahead beside me, they dragged forward riders who were behind them. I had to quickly find a wheel to suck onto and get in the pack as quickly as I could. I was further back than I had hoped as we began the lap proper. But I was aggressive and took a couple of decisive gaps in the feild. We hit the first climb and I immediately knew I had the legs, I surged past a bunch of riders and kept the pressure on. By the end of the first lap I was in 7th and I had settled into a strong rhythm. My aim was to keep picking off riders as I could, I was gaining time on the climbs, a nice feeling, but not capitalizing on it over the undulating terrain. At half way I was about 10 seconds behind Mike Northcott, and my goal of being first Kiwi felt very achievable, until he lit the after burner and disappeared. Upon closer inspection of the results, it turns out my lap times began to drop off, where his stayed very constant, a sign of a rider on top of his game. I remained in 6th place for almost the entire race, finishing up in 7th position.

I am very content with my performance, a big improvement on the national championships and the races earlier in the year. It felt nice to find such a good rhythm on the climbs, and to feel good about racing at my maximum. Lap time consistency was a concern, and has been all summer, something I need to look at for the future.

The Karapoti

2010-03-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Karapoti is always such a fun event to be at, let alone ride. The whole mountain bike fraternity turns out and its always fun to share stories with so many friends. The sheer demanding nature of the course helps us empathise with eachothers stories of struggle and misfortune.

I was expecting the course to be really quite dry, and I was making that known to riders parked next to me when I first arrived in the valley. They said it was on my head if it was wet, which is why I was glad not to have bumped into them after the race because as we hit the gorge it was evident by the puddles that it was going to be a messy one.

I tucked myself in the top couple of places just looking after my legs before we hit the steep climbs. A group of 7 of us got away once we opened out onto the gravel road and we were putting on a good pace. As we hit the hill I really tried to force the pace and break up the group, which I succeeded in doing. 3 of us formed at the front after Deadwood and we paced eachother well on the undulating terrain.

I quickly realised very early on that I had about 5 psi too much in my tires, which made climbing tough on the slippery rocks, and descending pretty scary also.

We turned into the entrance of the Rock Garden and I was in touch with 2nd place. Tim had left Brendon and I as we descended and by the time we began climbing the staircase, he had used his running skills to his advantage, it was the last we saw of him.

Cabin and Anton began coming back to me up the staircase, my stumbling walking style was not helping things, I almost tripped myself up at one stage. But the nice thing was that I was with them at the top, and as we hit big ring boulevard I realised my legs were really working well today. I decided I needed to get everything out of my legs and left Cabin and Anton on a climbing section, I had high hopes of catching up with Brendon again on the final climb until disaster struck. I flatted. I had put a small slice in my tire and the sealant was not fixing it. I had to put a tube in and hope I didnt lose too many spots. Inevitably Cabin and Anton went past me, but no others, so all was not lost.

Once I got going again I looked after the tire on all of the downhills, I only took one tube and no real amount of pushing down the hills was going to gain any places. I made sure I put in plenty of effort on the final climb and preserved my 5th place.

So on one hand I was really happy with how I felt. I think Tim certainly dealt with the conditions better than anyone, hense the reason he won. But I know my climbing speed was on a par which is pleasing. And I cant really complain with a 2 hour 28min time in the wet and with a puncture. I can only think of one other sub 2 and a half hour time with a puncture, so that in itself was a bit of a triumph.

The final race of the season is in 2 weeks in Dunedin, the Oceania Champs, and I am filled with optimism since having the best legs Ive had all season. Ill be looking to finich with a flurry.

National Championships Mt Victoria

2010-02-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

Wellington really turned on the weather for yesterday big race. The course was really dry and fast, which is just as well because it would be absolutely treacherous in the wet.

I was looking for 3 wins in a row this year, no mean feat. And my performances in the last few weeks had not filled me with much confidence. I was hoping that back to back racing was going to bring me up to form, but thus far it hadnt delivered.

Mentally I felt confident and eager to give my best, especially in front of my family and freinds.

The race began fairly fast and I was able to stay in touch with the leaders after lap one. My intention is alway to go for the win, which means to at least stay at the front. However there was a 15 sec gap at the end of the first, which is never a good sign. I was holding onto 3rd but feeling my grip on the front 2 riders loosening. I began to realise that it was not likely to happen for me. I began to fade a little as that realisation hit me, and as I slipped to 4th then 5th, I began thinking about how my form just hasnt been right for a couple of months now.

I ended the race very underwhelmed with 5th place, I had raced as hard as I could, but I havnt been able to reach that point where am comfortable at maximum revs. Every pedal stroke seemed to be laborious, and a good rythm never quite attainable.

The difficulty of being at my best at so many different points of the year has certainly caught up with me. This time last year was certainly great for me, and my preperation for the World Championships in September went really well, resulting in a great finish, and winning the Huka XL in Taupo at the end of November is definitely a highlight. But perhaps it has all left me physically a little jaded. Nevertheless my results have still been solid enough, and I am still content with my performances.

I will be going into the Karapoti with a completely open mind, I will purely be out there to do as well as I possibly can, without placing any pressure on myself. Knowing that things can still happen on their day.

North Island Cup Final Rotorua

2010-02-20T00:20:00.001-08:00

The weather really turned it on for us this weekend, which made the course really dry and fast. I felt I had prepared really well during the week with a much reduced workload, and during practice yesterday I certainly felt fresh and strong. I was very optimistic.

The race began with the customary drag sprint up Nursery rd. I was swamped right off the line which I wasnt too concerned about, Ive began races heading up there for over 10 years so I was content to leapfrog riders as the error of their ways caught up with them. I found myself in the front group of 5 after a few minutes of riding and I was feeling comfortable.

I felt great holding onto a top 3 spot as the first lap ended, but as we descended into the finish area down the challenging "Old Exit Trail" Cracks in my course knowledge and general descending speed began to open. I hoped it was a one off as I climbed back up to the leaders.

As the laps ticked by I realised that I was losing time on every meaningful descent, and having to climb back into contention. Pleasingly I was able to actually do this, but as the race wore on the fatigue began to compound from having to dig deeper than my adversaries on the climbs. I had to let the front of the race go.

I fought to keep a clear and positive head as two riders passed me in quick succession. I was back in fifth, and feeling the effects of playing catchup. I was able to ride consistently going into the last lap, and I felt good to perhaps get one of those places back. But the gap was a little big to overcome.

So today really felt like I was limiting losses, it was pretty frustrating, but I wasnt about to do anything stupid on the descents and ruin the races in the weeks to come.

Although 5th wasnt the result I wanted, I am quite content about where I was fast and how that relates to next weeks National Champs course. My knowledge and strengths certainly swing in my direction on the Mt Victoria course, I will be focusing on that and keeping an open and optimistic state of mind.

N-Duro Summer Cup # 3

2010-02-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Heavy overnight rain made for a far more moamy surface for racing on Sunday. Which meant a quick tire change from my Kenda Small Block 8's (a very fast rolling slick tire), to the Kenda Karmas (a knobbly profile) meant I was feeling really fast on the descents. Three of us (Mike, Cabin and I) broke away early and continued up Tikorangi Pa rd together, Mikey stretched us up the climb but we all came back together through Gunna Gotta.

The following climb saw Mike stretch us again, I was able to ride back to him before the beginning of Hot X Buns. The long descent down Hot X Buns and Bunny Jugs gave Cabin the chance to ride back to us.

Mike kicked again on hill rd and the elastic snapped this time, I began to run out of steam and slowly but surely Cabin reeled in the last few meters and overtook me in Old Chevy.

I was dissapointed to crack in the final portion of the race, I think that it may have been my nutrition leading up the event which saw me fade, as I know I have the legs to compete.

So a 3rd place finish was a little dissapointing, it has given me extra focus to really get my preperation right for the following events.

This weekend I am back up in Rotorua for the final of the North Island Cup, I really want to put in a perfect performance.

N-Duro Preride

2010-02-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

Today was a chance for me to ride the course for this weekends N-Duro race on Sunday, if I could find my way around. Even though Ive ridden the forest for over a decade, I have barely ever ridden on my own, and I quickly realized even though I knew all the names, I dont neccessarily understand how they all link up. My crudely drawn map was barely helpful and I found myself on the phone to Cabin telling him my location and getting back on track. He was a wealth of knowledge and I was able to find sidewinder and eventually Hot X Buns. By the time I got to Old Chevy I realised how taxing it is to ride in that forest. The climbing is very broken up, so a ride consists of hundreds of small intense efforts, Rather than few longer climbs where a rythm can be maintained.

I found myself admiring the beauty of the forest as I climbed up through the Tickler, and as I meandered through Old Chevy. I certainly wont have the time or patience to be doing that on the weekend.

North Island Cup #1 Tokoroa

2010-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

The two weeks between the Nelson race and yesterday seemed an eternity. I had got in some really good training in that time, somewhat punishing myself for a pretty poor race in Nelson. Tokoroa was a chance to put in an improved performance.

The course didnt particularly suit me, no major climbs, and a lot of short power climbs. The weather was hot and the track really dry which made for a very fast attacking race.

As we began around the start loop, I quickly realised that my legs felt fantastic!!! I was pleasantly surprised and a rush of confidence and focus came over me. As we started the lap proper, I did something I pretty much never do. Instead of being patient, I let that confidence overflow and I shot to the front and really put the pace on, thinking that I was completely bulletproof. I managed to shed a lot of riders, but there was still a core group with me. At the end of the first lap, I came through in third, and wondering if I should have put that much effort in so early.

Eventually as the race wore on, I found that I was able to bridge to the front on certain sections, only to lose time on other sections. The front of the race was slowly but surely inching away, and when Karl made his move, I didnt quite have the legs to go with him.

I was still able to ride consistently throughout the race and hold my position well. I had raced really hard on the first lap and still managed to stay near the front without completely blowing up.
My assessment of the race?
Legs - A
Bike - A+
Tactics - C
Result - B+

All in all I am pretty happy, and now eager to be able to improve on the 3rd place. Yesterday was the first of 5 weekends in a row of racing, I feel really motivated and excited about the coming races.

Karapoti Preride

2010-01-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was pretty much my last opportunity to ride the Karapoti before raceday. And after a full week of wonderful weather, we were greeted with wind and rain. The course however was still holding up nicely due to it being dry all week. I rode it using Kenda Small Block 8 tires, which are very slick, and didnt once have a problem with grip both up or down.

I was a little worried that the Sram XX 2 x 10 system might leave me overgeared. But having lived in Wellington for over 6 months now, the climbs actually did seem overwhelmingly steep.

I have a stretch of 5 weekends in a row of racing. Of which I am really looking forward to. Training has been going well and I am keen to go out there and push my hardest.

South Island Cup, Nelson

2010-01-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

I was really hoping the law of averages would work in our favour and we would have a nice dry track to race on in Nelson. But the forecast was completely contradictory for the friday, we got a huge downpore all afternoon. And although the course held up nicely in the wet, it was still pretty slippery in places. Nevertheless this was not an issue in the end, everything was ridable.

For me this race was a chance to start the season after not racing since the end of November. Also, it was a chance to put my new Competitor through its paces.
The start of the race was lightning fast up the long gravel road, George Bennet jumped away near the top and grabbed a small gap while I slotted into 4th as we headed down the the hill. I knew if I wanted to win I had to be aggressive, so I gave chase and moved into 2nd place. I wasnt worried about how I was feeling, I just gave everything with winning the race in mind, regardless how I was feeling, rather than pacing myself. I was pushing pretty hard but after 2 laps I realised from the time check I was getting, the George was moving out bit by bit.

I was locked into 2nd, realising I was unlikely to win the race with 3/4 of it gone. A short stop in the pit zone for an adjustment saw me slip to 4th with 2 laps remaining, I pushed hard to get 3rd place back, only to run out of steam on the last lap and come in 4th.

For me this race had done its job, I had ridden reasonably even though it felt like a struggle all day. I am always concious that the first race back after a long dry spell seldom goes well, and with my main goals for the season still 3 races away, I am happy with my progress. It was a good chance to race the new bike and get a real feel for it.

A New Year and New Sponsor

2010-01-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Since I last blogged Ive had a 3 week stretch in Ohio for Christmas. The Americans get pretty enthusiastic about Christmas with all the lights on the houses and huge trees. I only got in 2 rides outdoors, when the temperature crept above freezing. But I did manage to do a lot of indoor training, which has worked out great, Ive been back now for almost 2 weeks and Im feeling great and keen to race.

My first one is this weekend in Nelson. I am now on the Avanti Team Competitor, a hardtail. One defining feature is the Sram XX groupset, the 2 x 10 system is simple and excellent. Being 8.9kg race ready, it is lightning up the climbs, and the geometry makes it nice on the descents, even despite making a switch from the fully to hardtail.

Next week Ill have a breakdown of the Nelson race, a good breakdown.

Epic Huka XL

2009-12-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

After last years somewhat dissapointing Huka I wanted to prove to myself that I could ride a marathon race without fading because of poor prep. My plan was to have more than enough provisions with me and take them on periodically so that I had the energy to ride hard all day. This meant using a Camelback, something I havnt done for years.
As the race unfolded, I followed wheels to get into the groove of the race. Mike was riding hard just out infront, he was slowly pulling away but still within sight. As we climbed the outback I started to feel really comfortable, and knowing that Mike was getting away I took off in pursuit. I had a great rythm going, and although I couldnt yet see Mike, I was getting time checks of 40sec which was within reach.
But a momentary lapse in concentration saw me hit the deck on a high speed corner. I had ranged wide into soft dirt and it threw me off. I jumped up pretty fast but quickly realised my knee was really sore, it had taken most of the impact. I stood there for a bit as the others went past me. I suddenly got that terrible feeling in my gut that my day was finished, I wasnt sure if I could even pedal with my knee. But I got back on and rolled down the descent, still in a bit of pain, I had dropped back to 6th and probably lost 2min.

I began to pedal the bike and realised that my knee was not going to prevent me from riding hard. I knew I needed to pull myself together again and focus. I began to see 5th place up ahead, and I decided I was going to make the best of the day despite what had just happened.

The following 40 minutes filled me with tons of confidence. I passed 4 riders and regained 2nd place. I was hearing that Mike was only 1min ahead, my legs felt great and I knew I had a chance to catch him and fight for the win.

It felt like the gap was closing metre my metre. It was a slow process and I got within 5 sec of him as we neared the Huka Falls when he attacked me. The gap went out to 20 seconds. I tried to lift the pace but fatigue was really setting in. Its a funny feeling when the level of fatigue is the limiting factor, and not your maximal rate of power output, such as in a shorter race. I just tried to maintain a consistent pace with spikes or dips in power.

I approached Spa Park and began to think that maybe Mike had done enough to stay away. But on the last climb out of the river there he was, just 5 or 10 seconds ahead, I knew I could catch him. We rode together from the bunjy platform to the finish straight. I instigated the sprint from 2nd position, knowing that sucking his wheel till the last second is a bad roady tactic. I knew I needed a strong kick if I was to beat Mike in a sprint, and as we crossed the line, I felt I was just moving ahead. It was too close to know for sure, and it took them an hour to work it out. I just had the momentum on my side as we crossed the line, I had overcome a big crash and some pain to somehow get to the front of the race and win.

Both Mike and I deserved to win, and there was only one-one hundredth seperating us. It hardly seemed fair but Mike and I are long time freinds and we were both pretty stoked that it was us sprinting it out.

It is an amazing feeling to overcome adversity like that and be triumphant. Even though it was technology that decided the result, I knew I had ridden a great race well before I reached the line. That was the biggest triumph, winning the race was just a bonus.

Taupo on the Horizon

2009-11-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Finishing exams for the year has given me a bit more spare time to put into quality training, and I have had a nice lift in fitness since my last post. The inclusion of the Belmont round of the PNP series and 10 laps at the Wild Wellington have been both fun and instrumental in my preperation for the Huka XL at the end of the month.

TheWild Wellington was the first relay race I had competed in for several years. And Mt Vic proved to be a great venue for all abilities. I was able to pump out some really fast laps in the begining, although they really took their toll later in the day as my lap times slowly increased until I gave up the ghost and just had some fun out on the course. I demoed the new 2010 Specialized Stumpjumper. It was amazing to ride, especially on the descents, noticably more suspension than the Epic, and still a light bike, an awesome trail rider.

The First Week Back

2009-10-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

I capped off my first week back on the bike with the 3rd round of the PNP race series at Mt Victoria. The sunshine came out which made for an interesting contrast of nice fine weather and really muddy trails. I had pretty much one good hour in me, holding onto the lead. I faded very quickly after that which saw me drop back to 3rd by the end, the last lap was more for the enjoyment of the slippery conditions.

It was really nice to get the legs moving again, even though I feel like I have lost all of the top end speed I worked so hard to get over the winter. But breaks are important, especially if there are objectives periodically throughout the year.

World Championships Elite Mens XC

2009-09-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is a late post I apologise. I have been waiting for a photo or two to appear. My result at the Worlds was exactly as I was hoping, and would have eclipsed my hopes if not for a bit of drama throughout the race.

About 20min before the start I was standing at start line, feeling really excited and inspired about having the opportunity to race for the World Title. I felt calm and I just wanted to get out there. I started cleanly and avoided a crash after about 1min of racing, this put me in a pretty good position starting the first climb. The pace started to go up about half way round the first lap as everyone began to spread out. I began to feel the pace a little as the first lap drew to a close, but I knew I would get better and better as the race continued. And thats exactly what happened, I got into a good rythm with two other riders, and I felt I was the strongest.
However I came unstuck on the 4th lap when I went clean over the bars into wet rocks. this shook me pretty hard and I lost contact with the two riders. My main goal was to get 7 laps in and it was a certainty until the crash. I worked really hard on the 5th and 6th laps to ensure I could finish the race. Coming through to start the last lap was a great feeling, not to mention coming through to finsh the race. For me it was a turbulent race in which I really had to keep my nerve, and it was this that kept me fighting in a good position. A totally clean race would have put me in the high 40s at the finish I am sure. But thats racing, and I am proud and inspired by my effort.

All of the work I put in through the winter really paid off and I was able to be competitive in the race. It is always a bit of a gamble spending so much time preparing for one race, without the luxury of having other big races coming up to redeem a possible bad performance, thankfully for me I didnt need that scenario. The bike racer in me wishes I could have had a cleaner race, but when I think about the journey from May to September and the result that came from it, I cant but be content and hungry for more big time racing.

Successful course practice

2009-08-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

Todays pre ride went very smoothly. I headed out just as the course opened, which gave me a clear run at the tricky bits. I stopped at the hammerhead to get my head around it. The marshal at that point was really helpful, he pointed out that it appears to be a bigger drop than it really is because standing at the top of it, you look out over the whole park and the city. This made it much easier for me just to look at the course, and from there it was straight forward from there.

The defending womens World Champion Marga Fullana was also up there trying to get her head around it, I was trying to give her some encouragement, (via a spanish enterpreter she was with). Not sure if she managed to ride it, the ironic part is that the chicken route has a chainring eating rock. Most riders are talking about chain ring strikes on rocks, I havnt had a problem so far, possibly due to the higher BB on the fully.
It is a very fun course to ride, not a lot of elevation and a lot of high speed singletrack, its going to be an enjoyable race.

The Team relay is this afternoon, it will be good to get up on the course and watch some racing.

Walking the World Championships Course

2009-08-31T03:22:00.000-07:00

Mark, Nic and I arrived into Canberra around lunchtime I knew I wouldnt get to ride the course today, but we did head out and have a bit of walk around the more challenging parts, and they are quite challenging. The 500m rocky section of the course is dominated by what they call the "Hammerhead". It is a nasty looking rock drop which is followed up by a another less prominent drop, each on their own are just fine, but putting them both together in quick succession seems to be challenging. I havnt ridden that section yet so I will reserve judgment until tomorrow.

In general the course is mostly flowing singletrack, with a half a km section of undulating rocky singletrack with tricky corners both up and down. Lots of time can be won or lost in this short section, this is where most of the practice will be happening.

BP Road Race Series Race 4

2009-08-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

With just 2 weeks until the big race in Canberra I was keen to get a hard ride in at the final BP road race around Mirimar Penninsula and finishing up Mt Crawford. Being a handycap race, the focus is on trying to keep the bunch in formation. But with the winding nature of the course, and the hills mixed in, it was prone to breaking up, but that made it all the more interesting.

I was enjoying the climbs, however they were not really steep enough for my liking. Turning onto the final climb to the finish I made a dash for it in pursuit of Joe Cooper, who had flown about 30s prior. I got half way across, but as the grade lessened, and the head wind bit, I found myself enveloped again. We continued to chase, and as we hit the final half km, I found myself leading the bunch into the headwind, I got suitably swamped as the kick for the line began, but I managed to hold the first half a dozen guys. Tactically it was not my best work, but I suceeded in having almost the hardest ride I could have had, which is what I wanted out of it. I still did not enjoy chasing a lone rider up the climb, only to watch him continue alone to the finish, hats off to Joe.

Fully recovered in record time

2009-08-19T18:44:00.001-07:00

I am a few days late with this post. Miraculously, I was done with the cold by sunday, I was able to do a really hard training session on Mt Vic on monday, I felt strong and rested. I could not have asked for a faster turn around. I have two more races before the World Championship race on saturday the 6th. This weekend is the final round of the BP road race series here in wellington, finishing on Mt Crawford on the Mirimar penninsula. Then the following week is the first round of the PNP MTB series at Makara Peak. This should be great build up for me, and there wont be much need to do any hard sessions between, it will be just about tapering my training in the final two weeks.

Winter Cold Remedies?

2009-08-12T18:07:00.001-07:00

Only 3 and a half weeks till the World Championships and Im fighting of a cold.........not ideal. Looks like I will miss this weekends road race in Wainui, the weather doesnt look great which only strengthens my decision not to race. Really hoping I can do some key sessions next week after a light weekend. Intervals sessions have been going really well, and I have really enjoyed the road racing, which I am a little worried about. Still....nothing beats hurtling down some flowing singletrack, or climbing a really steep rocky ascent. Ill post again once Im feeling better, Im hoping that will be sooner rather than later.

Winter Road Racing in Wellington

2009-08-08T02:30:00.000-07:00

Since almost getting hypothermia in Rotorua last month, things have been going very well with training for the World Championships. I have recently moved to Karori, Wellington, its brilliant to be living so close to the Makara Peak MTB park. It is a very well looked after park and it is always a good time getting out on the trails. Coincidentally, the nature of the trails at Makara are similar to the Worlds course in Canberra. There is a lot of flowing singletrack in Canberra, and some tricky rocky sections. So Makara is perfect for my preperation.

I have also included a string of short road races in the Wellington region. These races are between 45min and 1H30min long, so they are very high intensity and the level of the feild here is really good. They have really added value to my preperation. Apart from puncturing in todays road race around the Wallaceville circuit in Upper Hutt, things have been going great guns. I was extremely annoyed at puncturing today, which shows that my motivation is very high.

The first round of the PNP Mountain bike series will round off my preperation for Worlds, just one week before the big race. Its a challenge to gain form through winter, but by careful planning and a bit of discipline, I have managed the training load I needed to get myself into shape.
I will be looking to hopefully build on the work I have done since my buildup began in May. I have periodized this season very well, and as a concequence, both my form and my motivation are at full strength. And they are going to have to be if Im to do myself juctice next month.

Winter N-Duro Race 1

2009-06-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

I had struggled in the days leading up to this race whether to attend at all, as I was still battling with a head cold. It was not really enough for me to change my training significantly, but I knew it would affect me in a race situation. But I decided to go for it, as I am really motivated at the moment and I did not want to miss a rare opportunity to race during the winter.

Rotorua turned on a sunny winters morning, however it had rained heavily the day before, leaving the trails quite muddy, for Rotorua standards. The pressure was on for a number of riders needing to perform to make the Worlds Team for September.

I was happy to follow wheels in the beginning just to see how my legs were and let the others unwind their nervous energy. I put in a couple of hard efforts to move up, and found myself riding in the front with 2 other after about 15 minutes. The legs certainly werent great, and I was dreading the bigger climbs later on.

As we hit direct road, and became a duo at the front, I felt like it was my ability, or my willingness to hurt myself that was getting me up the hill. Either way we worked together well as we rode to the high point of the course and beyond.

Dissapointingly, it was while descending Split Ends where I was lacking. I just didnt quite have the flow going and let a 10 sec gap develop. I fought tooth and nail down Pondys and through the chinese menu to close the gap, focusing on smooth cornering and powering over the undulations. But neither of us were giving an inch, going into Be Rude Not To it was still 10sec. I continued to fight, but by the finish the gap had gone out to 40sec, it seems I just faded slightly at the very end, which I felt was the case.

All things considered I am very happy with the result. Developing race form during the winter is a tough thing to do. But I feel I am succeeding.

My 2nd time up the tip track

2009-06-12T01:26:00.000-07:00

About 4 days after the Taranaki Tour had finished I began to develop a head cold. I wasnt sure if it was going to affect me for the 20 odd minute race up Hawkins hill via the Tip Track. The rain began falling about 5min before we were set to head off, and it was bitterly cold The spray from the road made it difficult to get up to temperature, but luckily it was only a kilometre till the offroad began.

Having ridden the tip track midweek for the first time, it was fresh in my mind. I knew the gradient was consistent with one undulating section mid way up. I rode a really consistent tempo to the half way point and it felt really comfy to push hard. I hit the middle section as hard as I could, without thinking about the final ramp, the small downhill section meant I had a short respite from pedalling. As I approached to top, I quickly realised I had been too fast, they hadnt got to the top gait to open it, but the dismount only cost a few seconds, I punched over the final sealed section to the finish to realise I had also beaten the time keepers to the top, who left for the finish line just as we had taken off. Apparently I had reached the top in record time, however, without an accurate measure of what that time was it is difficult to make it official.

Needless to say I was really happy with my ride, and after a minute or so rest, I felt as fresh as before I had began. A good sign.

It is now 5 days after the Hawkins race and I still have the remnants of a head cold. I am really hoping it will clear before sundays enduro at Rotorua.

Tour of Taranaki

2009-06-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

What a difference a break makes. I have just completed 6 weeks of training, all be it in less than ideal conditions most of the time. However, somehow, when the motivation is there, and the legs feel fresh, it almost doesnt matter. My first test coming back into fitness was the 3 day Tour of Taranaki on Queens birthday weekend. 300km of racing in 3 days. I think everyone can remember what the weather was like that weekend!! Despite the legs being a little underdone intensity wise, the km's I had in the legs meant I had the conditioning to ride solidly. I knew pretty quickly however that I wasnt able to put in any huge efforts.

I really enjoyed the chance to ride a road race, something far more foreign than a MTB race, but equally challenging and enjoyable, and a great 3 days of training. Having endured the weather that weekend, going into winter I am sure I can withstand any conditions.

Big thanks to Josh Page, Sam Haslett and the Torckler family for a great weekend of racing.

Getting Back on the Bike!!

2009-04-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

3 weeks ago I didnt want to even look at my bikes after pounding out the final weeks before the Oceania champs with deteriorating form and motivation. I gave myself till the end of April before I would get back into some formal training. But the fire is back already, which is just in time really, as at the end of march I felt like I could have a year off not just a month.

Training through the winter in order to get ready for the World Champs is going to be a trying situation. This is where training needs to be inventive, ensuring the drive to get out in the cold endures. I have quite a few good ideas up my sleeve to achieve that. Good thing being, the weather hasnt deteriorated just yet, I can start back with the late autumn sun on my shoulders.

World Championships Reconnaissance

2009-03-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

Upon travelling back to Sydney from Thredbo, we had organised a couple of days in Canberra for scouting of the course for the World Championships, being held in early september. The race is being held at Stromlo, where a purpose built recreational park has been set up. This includes a Criterium circuit, cross country running track, and a network of mountain bike trails. The hill has a very baron appearance due to the absence of large trees, and is not helped by the lack of rain making things dusty and brown. But the quality of trail building is certainly there, and once youre on the hill, there is a great mixture of technical rocky singletrack, and very fast, bermed flowing trail resembling a slalom course for xc bikes.

I will be interested to see how they will design a physically challenging course with enough climbing. There is certainly enough skope to, however, a lot of the single track is really 'fun' and not challenging enough to make the best riders in the world suck wind.

I was happy to 'clean' the technical rocky section, a 5min long peice of trail, and involves negotiating 2 technical rocky decsents, and a section of traversing over boulders. Quite fun and tricky to ride, but certainly not typical for a race course. It took me a number of goes to get it all right in one go, and it was not nearly as hard as I had thought after riding it the first time. Of course it is much different in a race situation.

Oceania Championships

2009-03-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Having raced in Thredbo 2 years ago, I knew the mild altitude (1500m) was just enough to make racing that little more difficult. It wasn't noticable in training, apart from a slightly elevated heart rate, and dry atmosphere. The weather is changeble in that region but we were lucky to have a period of warm, settled weather throughout our stay.

I wanted to finish of the season by leaving everything out on the course. I very much succeeded in doing that, however my feeling during the race, and the result, were below my expectations.

I unfortunately missed the split of 5 or so riders who went off the front on the first lap, I had a dreadful start, getting swamped at the first corner after a dragrace up the ski run to begin the race, I didnt panic, as I knew the 7 laps would take their toll and I didnt want to start too quickly. I really enjoyed the closer nature of the race, fighting to hold a position in a line of riders make it a much tougher event. I began to get my legs during laps 2-4, I reeled in riders who had started too quickly, it was going to plan.

However, unexpectedly, the lights went out almost completely on me on the 5th lap. It was like the flick of a switch, the final 2 and a half laps were a huge battle just to hold position in the race, the aim of catching riders was gone. I found some energy to hold off a couple of guys on the last lap, and when I hit the finish line, I knew I had worked harder than I had all season. I came accross the line in 8th place in the Elite, 12th overall in the race.

Although the result was "ok" I was less than happy with how I felt on the course. I did however really really enjoy the closer nature of racing. The level of competition was closer to the level I need to compete at regularly in order to improve myself as a rider. After the race I began to think about how easy it would be to race in Australia on a regular basis, possibly forfeiting races in NZ for a tougher, more fullfilling challenge. This is certainly something I will contemplate throughout the winter.

Results

http://www.mtba.asn.au/cms/uploads/news/resultsxcthroceanmar09_v1.pdf

Thredbo, Australia

2009-03-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

The last race of my season is a couple of days away, we are in Thredbo, a ski town 3 hours south of Canberra for the Oceania Championships. Life was pretty hectic in the days before we travelled, including tuesday, when we flew to Sydney and drove for 5 hours to Jindabyne, (nice town by a lake, perfect place to get a block of land and plonk and kit home on it....oh the serenity!!!). Today I have been able to catch up on some sleep, relaxation time and tv watching.

The course is pretty grovelly, with some nice rocky sections both descending and climbing. Much of the course climbs up the ski runs, it does zig zag somewhat, but there are only very short downs to break it up, I can feel the race will be a bit of a lung burster.

The Wettest Karapoti Yet??????

2009-03-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

Karapoti Classic
2nd, bit over a minute behind Mark 'Cabin' Leishman

A few of my freinds have said they remember one in the mid 90's that was pretty muddy. One 3-time winner I talked to cant remember one wetter. Who knows, but to be fair I could imagine it to be potentially a whole lot worse than it was on the weekend.

It wasn't until the day before the Karapoti that my legs actually felt fully recovered from the National Champs, I was sweating all week that I wouldn't be ready. And after my huge day in Nelson, I felt mentally that I had already had my best day of the season.

I really wanted to put in a strong performance here though, Karapoti is such an iconic race for everybody who rides there, we are lucky to have such an event, and it really makes a rider want to put everything into the course.

I was particulary impressed with my crossing of the first river, I gained a good 5 meters on the whole pack and leisurely got on my bike to begin the ride up the gorge. A main group formed and we played slalom through the puddles in the gorge. It was a solid pace as always, with much anticipation for the climbs.

It always amazes me the transition from fast pack riding in the gorge to granny ring spinning up the warm up climb, it hits like a brick wall. I was happy to stay 'near' the front, but struggled to find a rythm as a few riders edged away. I worked my way up into 2nd place, there were 3 or 4 of us chasing a lone Australian, who appeared to be pulling away.

I lead the group down the rockgarden, my Epic was amazingly stable down there, although I did dismount for one rock drop. I didn't find it too challenging despite the wet conditions.

So began the push up the staircase, where I preceeded to fall asleep and let riders get away from me, in the end this proved to be the deciding factor at the finish line. I didnt feel I could (or wanted to) push any faster than I was, despite others getting away on me. I got to the top and tried to play catch up, riding the descents at a pretty scary pace, dealing with the conditions meant the legs were not feeling as fresh as predicted, I knew Dopers was going to be tough going....and it was. Despite that I did make up a place to move into 3rd at the top, still no sign of the 2 others, at this point I was content with my placing, on a day that was 'a bit of a struggle' for me both mentally and physically.

I was pushing through all sorts of pain to get on top of a gear heading down the gorge, it was a pretty untidy gear mashing session down to the finish. My final surprise was seeing the Australian hobbling home with a puncture, my first thoughts were....'Cabins going to win!!!!'

For me 2nd was a very pleasing result, on a day where so many people had gear issues, my bike was a dream to ride despite the bad conditions. And sometimes mountain bike racing involves a fair amount of luck and good management of epuipment.

It was really great to see Cabin win on the weekend, as I rode down the tar seal at the finish, the anticipation of congratulating him was helping me get to the end as quick as I could.

Victory in the Mud!!!!

2009-03-03T00:14:00.000-08:00

I cant say I have ever felt so much elation in winning a mountain bike race as I did this weekend at the National Champsionships in Nelson. I was going into it having not raced for a month, after overcooking myself in January, and having to change my training and racing plan in order to be ready for the National Champs. I had a fair amount of uncertainty having observed race results from the week prior, how would I fair against the rest of the field? How was my form? I had to be confident in the notion I had given my body time to rest, and I was fresh mentally and physically.

The weather was not flash to say the least, the course had dried nicely towards the end of the week, but we knew rain was coming for saturday, it was persistent all day, however the course offered a reasurring amount of grip on the climbs and descents.

The race began up a dirt road climb, the pace was really high and my cold legs were struggling to warm up, riders were streaking ahead which didnt instill me with much self confidence. But I was content to ride in the train in 5th place, picking off riders and making it up to 2nd place at the end of the first lap. From then on I felt better and better, I took the lead and held it for the next 2 laps, I felt comfortable and feeling I could win the race.

On lap 3 I noticed Clinton was beginning to close in, my legs were losing their snap and I decided to take my coke one lap early. He caught me on the 4th and we rode together, my aim was to get as much energy in me for the last lap.

As we started the last lap, I could sense Brendon Sharrat was closing in, it was all getting too close for comfort, I had to try something, I lifted the pace on the first climb and moved clear of Clinton, I just put my head down and didnt look back, I knew they were close, and I was really fearful for them catching me. My sole focus was on keeping smooth amd making sure I was hurting myself as much as I could, this meant I was going as quickly as possible, and not making any mistakes on the increasingly slippery course.

Coming down the final descent into the finish was a great feeling, I had fought so hard, and I had kept my head clear of negative thoughts not only during the race, but for the weeks leading up to it. This proved to be my greatest asset.

As I write this, on tuesday night, I can still feel saturdays race in my legs, and Karapoti is just a few days away. I will certainly be approaching it a little more relaxed, but still equally motivated to get the result I want.

Getting to the Business End

2009-02-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Thursday nights club race at Santoft forest, just west of Bulls, was the perfect tune up for Nationals this coming weekend. I was able to work really hard for 30min on a flat to rolling course, with some good competition to really push me. I rarely think to go riding at Santoft forest, but it is a great alternative to Kloop as it is sandy and great after some rain.

I am really looking forward to this weekend, and to Karapoti the following. Now it really is time to perform.

A plug for riding in Taupo

2009-02-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

After spending last weekend riding the trails in Taupo, I am compelled to go out on a limb and say that the trails there are at least of the same quality, and probably more fun than the Rotorua trails. Perhaps I am a little biased having grown up there, but the trails I grew up riding on have largely dissappeared, and the network that has been developed over the last 10 years is far and beyond what was there originally. The clever use of the reasonably small scale (compared to Rotorua) makes for more riding options and a trail network that links together really well. This is helped by signs indicating the entrance to most of the trails.

Hats off to Bike Taupo and the Taupo MTB Club for their work in developing the Spa Park-Huka Falls trails, the trail link under the highway to the main forest, and the main body of trails itself. I constantly found myself thinking how great it used to be having this on my back doorstep, which in turn got me thinking about my development as a rider and the influence that this great facility had on that. Although, I couldn't ride in the mud to save myself before I moved to Palmy, but perhaps in hindsight, ignorance was bliss.

Heat, dust and a tree that didn't move

2009-02-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

N-Duro Summer Cup #2
4th
This was the third race this month in Rotorua, and as a course goes, probably the best. It took in many of the popular trails in the forest; Billy T, Split Ends, and Pondy's. Of course getting up to them would be the hard part, climbing Direct road in the beating sun was enough to make you feel you deserved all the great trails that followed.

As the race got underway, four of us were riding together at the front, two of the old crew (sorry Cabin), and two of the new. The pace was really on as we hit Direct road, and it was the new crew setting the pace, Dirk stretched us heading up Direct road, with 3 of us coming together again as we got close to the high point of the course.

Just before we crested into Billy T, it seemed my read gear cable had broke, I stopped to assess what had happened, and it wasnt till the end that I realised that the cable had pulled out from the rear derrailleur attachment. Subsequently I only had the small cog at the back, and the two big chain rings on the front. Determined to finished I kept pushing, having to grind a little up some of the climbs, luckily the big climbs were over. Only being passed by one rider was a success at the end of the day.

Split Ends would have to be the highlight of that day, a supperbly designed and constructed track, apart from one chicane where I managed to clip a tree with my hip....ouch!!

2009-01-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am back into the swing of routine and training after a tough week or so of racing. I'm moving beyond the day in Wellington, realizing that sometimes rough days can have positive upshots, if your'e willing to look ahead to the next opportunity to gain inner redemption. It makes you want to fight that little bit harder to get the result you are wanting. Not only that, it helps you each day to focus yourself a little more to those goals and get more out of your preperation.

I know that I have been in this position more than once in the past years of racing, Ill keep that in my mind as I continue with my training towards the National and Oceania Champs.

North Island Cup #3 Mt Victoria, Wellington

2009-01-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

After last weekends Woodhill success, I was motivated to continue the strong racing and go for the North Island series win. It was tightly poised, I knew I had to win the race to win the series. Saturday nights heavy rain changed the track from a dust bowl to a harder packed, slightly slippery affair, but still easily managable., The same could not be said for the mornings race, but the sun and the strong wind dried things out nicely for a 2pm start.
As the race began I fought to stay in touch with the front of the race, I felt really off as I climbed up to the top of the course, but I was hoping to ride through it. I came through in 4th on the first lap, and suffering like it was the end of the race. I tried to get my head into gear and hoped my legs would follow suit, this got me through the second lap, and I had moved up to 3rd. But I lost ground again on the long climb, and all hopes of winning the race and series were lost. I decided to give up the fight on the 3rd lap after a few minutes of quarrelling with myself. As a rule I really loath pulling out of races, and its not something I do often or lightly. Racing two races back to back last week was far more difficult to recover from than I imagined. Now I need to look forward to the National Championships in 6 weeks time.

North Island Cup #2 Woodhill Forest, Akl

2009-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

By last tuesday I was confident I had kicked the congestion that had hung around through the Christmas period. The short efforts I did on wednesday afternoon felt really good and my legs werent heavy at all the next day. I had a big weekend organised for myself, the North Island Cup at Woodhill on saturday, then the Summer cup in Rotorua on sunday. It was a tough ask with all the driving in between.

North Island Cup - Woodhill
1st - 4min37sec ahead of Mike Northcott
The forecast rain on friday night, which would have made riding in the sand much easier, didnt eventuate. But as it turned out, the track held up well and we only pushed our bikes in one very short section. The pace was vicious off the start thanks to Tim Madgwick, I was swamped getting off the line and had to work really hard to get up to 3rd wheel. I slotted in to 2nd place as the lap began and couldn't close the 15 sec gap to Mike. We were both working super hard, me to hold the gap, and Mike trying to extend it, it was a real armwrestle. I wanted to get the wheel, but just couldnt, and by half way, he still had 15 seconds, in sight the whole time. But the day got better and better for me, I got his wheel shortly after the lap 3 began and decided to pounce on the main climb, I was feeling great and had to give it a try. I really put my head down and managed to get out of sight. I kept the pace high on the final lap, not wanting anyone to come back at me. It was a strong win for me, it was nice to be pushing at maximum and get the power out of the legs.

Summer Cup - Rotorua
Today was a tough ask after yesterday to try and back it up with a 45km race in Rotorua. I was in the best hands on saturday night, a nice meal at 9.30pm set me up well for the morning. And I thought it was going to be great in the first 5min. However, after 10min, it changed, and got progressively worse, I tried to a couple of times to push the pace on the climbs, but there wasnt even a glimmer of the pace I had the day before, I decided not to force anything so just rode to the finish for 3rd. In hindsight I should have just left it. I will use that for future reference.

Sat 3rd Jan North Island Cup #1 Rotorua

2009-01-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

North Island Cup #1 Rotorua
2nd Place @ st. as winner-Mike Northcott

What an exciting race!!! My feelings post race where polar opposite to before the start. I have been fighting of some congestion for over a week now, not knowing if it is hay fever or the remnants of a cold I had in the week before Christmas. Today was going to be a lottery; would it affect my race?

The first 10 minutes went really well, the new bike was handling like a dream, and I was tucked in 2nd place feeling my confidence grow. Until the main climb up Direct rd, I could feel the heat of the day on my back, but goose bumps came over the top half of my body, I beleive this was caused by the decongestant tablets I took. This climb was the tough part of my day. The new epic was incredible down the hill, I was able to recoup the lost seconds from the climb, and at the end of lap one Clinton had joined us. From then on it was a real yo yo battle, each of us sharing the lead until Clinton made a break at the top of the course on lap 3of 4.

With a lap to go Clinton had 25 sec over Mike and I, and built a little more until (not known to us until after the finish) he came to grief on the steep part of the course. Not knowing what had happened to him we caught and went straight by him with 2km to go, it was clear he was just surviving. All of a sudden the subsequent sprint would be for the win and not for 2nd place. I think we both really felt the adrenalin kick in. The last km was very fast and Mike lead out as we came around the final bend, I began the sprint as soon as I could after the bend, but was unable to match his kick. I couldnt help but smile from ear to ear after crossing the line and thinking about the close racing from start to finish.

Special mention should really go to Clinton for his attacking ride, and his commitment to the race by continuing in the hope of still winning in the face of shear pain and injury. Hats off.

Welcome!!

2008-12-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Since I have enjoyed reading other blog pages in the past, I have decided to create my own. Mainly as a way of sharing my experiences as I traverse through the racing season and beyond - with a few other points of interest along the way, including experiences of old from passed international racing seasons, and other ventures I am involved in.

The first peice of exciting news has to be the arrival of my new Specialized S-Works Epic!! After having raced on a hard tail for the last 3 or 4 seasons, I had created something of a mindset that Fullys werent for me, and that I was forever bound to cross country world of gram pinching at any cost to get a theoretical advantage. But mountain biking isnt road cycling, and after hearing and reading all the stories about the new Epic, I would be a fool to opt for a hardtail if given the opportunity to ride the Epic.

My first ride in ernest up at Kloop proved to be more than I bargained for. Known for its mud, rocks, roots and overal slippery nature, I was itching to know how the bike would act. The first impression was how stable it was, and the huge grey area between grip and slide, in which you could almost contsantly ride in. Most inlike the hardtail, which is a more "all or nothing" affair. I felt myself leaning the bike over much further and still maintaing a line through wet corners. The slacker head angle certainly helps here. The rear end is noticably more active than the previous model. I was blown away at the speed I could confidently ride at in the wet. Small wobbles were easily correctable, and the tracking over off chambre wet tree roots was more than a surprise, where previously I had just tiptoed around them.

One last comment I have to add-its race weight will be 10kg on the nose.