Wildside preview

There are two kinds of mountain bikers; those that have done Wildside and those who haven’t.  If you are one of the former you will probably be able to relate to post, and if you are one of the latter I hope for you that you are on your way to Cradle Mountain!  

Held every two years, no race creates more excitement and anticipation than this classic of stage races, and with only 2 days before the 2012 event I can’t wait to get down to the “Apple Isle”.  I thought I would write a little preview about this year’s race and remember some of the highlights from the 2010 edition.  

Wildside typically attracts a stellar field of the nation’s best racers and the field that will assemble at Cradle Mountain this Saturday certainly looks like living up to that billing.  There are no less than three Van Der Ploegs (including arguably the most talented, humble and good looking one, Daniel), Olympian Sid Taberlay, former winner Adrian Jackson, confused motocross rider that has lost has motor Josh Carlson and international Max Plaxton.  At the pointy end, a field like this guarantees some exciting racing and a deserving winner, but there is much more to this race than the front bunch.  It is a journey from the top of Tassie to the rugged West coast, through some truly stunning and varied terrain.  It will be a journey that requires commitment which makes the rewards that much sweeter, and everyone that gets to the finish will feel a sense of accomplishment.  Friendships will be formed and fortified as people share a terrific mountain bike experience.  Additionally for me, this year Wildside will be an opportunity to race with my Dad and brother who are both competing in it for the first time; the Blair team will race with the objective of trying to get “Big Davo” up for the GC in the Grand Masters class!  It will also be a chance to race (against) many of my sponsors: Jason (2XU), Rob (Sram), Dion (Adidas Eyewear), Llyody (Gu) and Nic (Felt) are all making the trip to Tassie which a clear indication that it is not just the riders that love Wildside, but the industry as well.  

Why am I so enthusiastic about this race? Well I guess it is because in 2010 I had such a good time.  On that occasion I got a last minute call up to ride for the KOM Cyclery team and I went into the race with no expectations.  It turned out to be one of the most fun times I have had on my bike, shared with a great team of riders and our wonderful soigneur Sammy.  The highlights from that experience were:
Ø  Assembling at Cradle Mountain on a cold misty mountain morning not knowing what to expect
Ø  Stage after stage of some of the fastest MTB bunch racing I have ever done
Ø  Hanging onto the Paul Vandy express for as long as possible in the 2-up time trial at Zeehan
Ø  The Trial Harbour stage – no single track, but just the roughest, gnarliest, freeridy and fun sandstone fire trail I’ve ever ridden
Ø  Seeing Mark Fenner get ripped from his bike when a fish hook went through his finger along the beach on the final stage
Ø  Racing with Willo for the last time and having the opportunity to work for him on the last stage so he could maintain his spot on GC
Ø  Being served an amazing salmon fillet at the finish of the last stage in Strahan
Ø  Smuggling about 5 bottles of “stage winner” wine into the Strahan pub after it ran out of booze
Ø  Paul VDP running up and down the main street of Strahan in his undies   Hopefully I’ll see you there. If not, start planning for 2014…..unlike the Olympics, you will only have to wait 2 years if you miss it.

Mt Buller - All Mountain Cup #2

After such a long break since the 1^st national round at Perth’s Goat Farm, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my form at Mt Buller for round #2 of the All Mountain Cup. I was unsure whether my win in WA was a fluke….perhaps with a bigger field including Macca and Pauly I would get my legs torn off this time?

Friday morning practice and the XCO track was just like I remembered it, albeit minus the axel deep mud and ruts from last years mudfest. So after one lap of that, Lewi and I joined up with Alex Meyland and Michael Crosbie for a run of the Super D course. Unfortunately disaster struck for Mick when 1/3 of the way down a stick went into his spokes and sent him onto the ground. I heard the horrible noise and by the time I had braked and turned around, he was still sliding on his face!  What then followed was a slight change in priorities as we set about the task of getting him out of there, a job made even harder by the fact that we had to put up with the constant assault of concussed repetitive ramblings that came out of his mouth.  After about the 30^th time he asked “what happened?” we started making up different stories…you have to keep yourself entertained somehow! Btw: Mick is ok now despite requiring a bit of (elective) plastic surgery that night.  Mick’s little incident set the tone for the rest of the practice and made me question the value in taking any risks in my race run on a track where a mistake at 60kph could potentially end more than just the weekend.  It was no surprise that Josh Carlson took the win in the Super D, Sid was 2^nd and I managed 3^rd; 45sec behind on a twenty minute run….ouch.

The XCO on Saturday soon came around pretty quickly and before I knew it I had my head in the handlebars again.  Despite being familiar I had forgotten exactly how physical the Mt Buller course is and I probably started a tiny bit too fast. I spent most of the race dangling of the back of the lead group, and on the last 2 laps when Macca and Pauly stepped it up I had no response.  I did manage very consistent lap times for the whole race, but Dan pulled out a negative split on each lap to take a superb win, followed by Paul in 2^nd and me 2 minutes back in 3^rd. I was happy to beat Sid by enough to move up to 2nd overall in the general classification with one stage to go, but the gap to Dan would be tough to close down on the final stage.

Stage 3 was a point to point from Corn Hill out to Mt Stirling and back, taking in the amazing trails of Stonefly and Misty Twist.  22km didn’t seem like much on paper, but with virtually all single track and some solid climbs I was quite cautious going into the race.  Predictably, Sid (sitting in 3^rd on GC) attacked early in a gutsy attempt to put Macca and myself under pressure and try to make up places, he was soon joined by Pauly VDP.  I was feeling tired from the day before, but being first on Sid’s hit list (one place ahead of him) it was my job to chase, thankfully Carlso let me through so I could set the pace.  I was only quick enough to gain a few seconds on Neil VDP and Macca by the top of Mt Stirling but Josh was no longer there, and then came Stonefly! I had been looking forward to this.  It was so much fun, its was hard to remember that we were racing; it felt like I was just out riding with Neil and Dan. By the time we hit the bottom we had caught Sid…and Carlso had caught us!  Having caught Sid, I was confident that I was going well enough to hold onto my 2^nd position overall and my focus turned to trying to put Macca under pressure.  I led the group down into Misty Twist and back up again but only managed to create some small gaps, Macca was looking solid.  Still wanting a stage result, I pushed on into the final downhill section and managed to hold a small gap.  Pauly was a run away winner, with me leading the chase group over Sid, Neil and Macca. 

Overall it had been a fun weekend of racing; the stage race format of the AMC definately lends itself to a venue like Buller where there are so many awesome trails to showcase, and I left there with a since of fulfillment that is difficult to get from a stand alone XCO.  I'm also happy with my form going in Wildside this weekend!