Pump track
My (brief) stint in the leadAfter a straight forward flight across the Atlantic from London to Montreal I met up with the Aussie Junior team (Trenton Day, Cameron Ivory, Kyle Ward and Mitch Codner) and we loaded up the hire car to capacity for the road trip out to the ski resort of Bromont. Bromont has held numerous World Cups over the years and even a world championship and is known for having a physical but fun XC course. The week was spent training on the track and on the other purpose built trails that make up Bromont’s mountain bike park. We stayed at the Canadian Cycling Centre which is equipped with a BMX track, Quebec’s only velodome (disassembled and relocated here after the Atlantic Olympics in 1996) and a pump track; this gave us plenty to do between daily stretching, yoga and recovery sessions.
As far as the race went, things went fairly smoothly for me. I wanted to have a fast start to test my legs, and I managed to take the hole shot and lead up the first climb. A few minutes in, I got swamped and had to try and get into a good tempo. I tried to push each lap and eventually finished 17th. Not too bad considering my lack of form lately, my sensations were definitely better than they have been, so I am happy.
In the junior’s race Trenton and Cameron had very solid races to finish 5th and 6th, with Kyle not far behind in 8th and Mitch in 10th with a flat tyre. Definitely promising signs for all the youngsters with the big one a couple of weeks away.
We are now at Mont Saint Anne, the venue for the worlds. There is the Quebec Champs here this weekend, then I will head down to New York for the final World Cup. The boys and I had a great ride in the rain today on “Le Sentier du Moulin”; it is a classic MSA trail that used to be part of the world cup course back in the 90’s. It pissed down just as we arrived which made it perfect for a skills session on the slippery roots. Lots of fun.
As far as the race went, things went fairly smoothly for me. I wanted to have a fast start to test my legs, and I managed to take the hole shot and lead up the first climb. A few minutes in, I got swamped and had to try and get into a good tempo. I tried to push each lap and eventually finished 17th. Not too bad considering my lack of form lately, my sensations were definitely better than they have been, so I am happy.
In the junior’s race Trenton and Cameron had very solid races to finish 5th and 6th, with Kyle not far behind in 8th and Mitch in 10th with a flat tyre. Definitely promising signs for all the youngsters with the big one a couple of weeks away.
We are now at Mont Saint Anne, the venue for the worlds. There is the Quebec Champs here this weekend, then I will head down to New York for the final World Cup. The boys and I had a great ride in the rain today on “Le Sentier du Moulin”; it is a classic MSA trail that used to be part of the world cup course back in the 90’s. It pissed down just as we arrived which made it perfect for a skills session on the slippery roots. Lots of fun.
