National Series Wrap-up & National Champs

With so much going on and a huge block of racing, I haven't managed to do much blogging of late. My new job and new house have kept me busy between racing the National Series, Champs and Wildside, but now that I am on a little break I'll have a go at catching up. 

I haven't written a race report from Wildside because I am writing a story for Enduro magazine for that one, but shortly after that was the Canberra round of the National Series All Mountain Cup. Racing the AMC at home was fun, I even worked nearly a full day on the Friday which seemed to be appreciated by my boss and kept the nerves down. The field was probably the best we have seen all year with everyone there to test their legs before the national championships. Chris Jongeward took out the Super-D in a bit of an upset over Carlso, then was Pauly, Macca and me in 5^th. The course for the XCO was disappointingly easy and void of climbs or technical challenges, but the pace was super fast. I got caught up early and missed the split for the front bunch. Sid was caught out too but did an amazing job to bridge the gap, while I was destined to spend the whole race on my own :( Macca got the win and I was happy enough with 5^th. The point to point was only 1 hour long but it took us on a magical mystery tour of some of the Stromlo trails that we rarely race on. Macca once again dominated and I was 4^th and moved up to 4^th on GC. Not bad, but room for improvement before nationals!

Subaru Australian National Championship

As far as MTB racing in Australia goes, the National Championships is the big one.  All the best riders in the country come together to battle it out for the right the wear the converted green and gold jersey; a competition that takes on even more meaning in an Olympic year as the hopefuls are particularly focused on staking their claim on our single spot at the games.  The conditions that greeted us upon our arrival in Adelaide were ridiculous: temperatures in the high 30’s and a forecast for 38degC on race day.  As the week went on the forecast got worse and worse with the temperature eventually hitting 40degC for the Elite men’s race!  This is bad news for a fair & freckly guy like myself, but having had more than my fair share of heat stroke, I have learnt a thing or two about avoiding it.  I would have to pull out all the stops in my efforts to keep cool and hydrated if I was to get through this one; minimal warm-up, wet jersey, ice packs, water to tip on my head each lap, and lots and lots of Gu Brew electrolytes!

On the start line it was a pleasantly familiar atmosphere with the event centre alive with excitement and anticipation for the biggest race of the year.  Photographers, TV cameras, supporters and spectators were all buzzed around the place under the shadows of the giant TV screen the dominated the site. I didn't really feel nervous and was actually quite calm on the start line; I knew I had done the hard work & was in pretty good form and I was confident that I had the experience to handle whatever this race would through at me .....all I had to do was hurt for 1h30m and enjoy the experience.  When the gun fired I was a fraction slow to get clipped in and was soon boxed in, but in a complete reversal in fortune from last year a gap miraculously opened right in front of me and I rolled straight through up the first steep ramp to be in 2^nd wheel right next to my team mate Nick Both who dutifully let me go ahead into the first corner.  Chris Jongeward lead the race and pushed hard on the front, while I just kept him close and tried to limit my exertion.  At the end of the first lap Chris was a few seconds ahead of me with Dan McConnell, Lachlan Norris and Paul VDP just behind. At that moment Chris appeared to blow and found reverse gear and we were pretty much all together, Macca went straight around us both and I followed. Unfortunately I was got held up as I made my way around Chris and ended up having to dab, loosing valuable seconds while Macca disappeared up the trail.  Pauly and I chased together for the next 2 laps, but having been so focused on drinking and keeping cool I soon found myself in a spot of bother and I realised that I had forgotten to eat!  Paul then got away from me and I took the opportunity to eat a couple of GUs and regain my composure and control.  Lachy Norris caught me and disappeared out of site as I waited for the effects of the GU to kick in, but it didn’t take me long to get going again. I knew my slight easing of the pace wouldn’t have cost me too dearly and I was focused on regaining Lachy’s wheel.  I caught a glimpse of him with just over one lap to go and could see that the gap was diminishing on the downhill sections.  As we went through he start finish for the bell, I could see him up ahead and I knew I could catch him, however with very few opportunities to pass I had to be smart about how I timed the catch.  I took my time and tried not to burn all my matches, gradually bridging the gap with half a lap to go.  I knew I had only one opportunity left to pass before the finishing straight so I rode behind him patiently and waited for the short uphill fire road crossing.  Just as I knew exactly what I had to do, Lachy did also; he accelerated as soon as the trail widened and did everything he could to stop me coming around...he succeeded.  Back on the single track I could not pass and he could recover.  I wanted to be going faster, but he had the luxury of dictating the pace.  He also started to employ a few other tricks of the trade and as we approached some rising switchback he would back me off to upset my momentum and then accelerate away causing me to have to chase back on.  Knowing exactly what he was doing helped me to stay calm and patient and I just gave him a bit of breathing space knowing that I had only one chance left and I needed to make that one count.  I resisted the temptation to try anything dangerous to get around on the loose descent of “Sunset Boulevard” and I knew that it was now coming down to a sprint.  I watched his body language carefully and I knew he was tiring (at least that’s what I told myself), up the final climb to the finish straight I tried to stay close enough to pounce, and as soon as we hit the straight I made my move. Neither of us are really renowned for our sprinting prowess, and after 1:30 of racing in 40degrees I’m sure it looked like it was in slow motion, but I had just enough to get around him and score my best ever nationals result and realise my dream of winning a national championship medal.  Meanwhile, 2 minutes earlier Macca had taken his 2^nd national title and Paul VPD had claimed the silver medal 1 minute back.  The podium ceremony was a bit of a highlight for me and a really buzz to share the champagne with four athletes that are all gunning for the Olympics.  

AMC National Series Finals, Awaba

On a high from the National Champs, I tried to settle back to earth and focus on the 4^th and final round of the Real Insurance All Mountain Cup National Series finals which was less than a week later.  The All Mountain Cup format sees riders competing in various discipline over course of a weekend stage race with the cumulative time over the 3 stages forming the final placings and the awarding of series points.  I had led the series from the beginning after taking out the first round in Perth and then following that with consistent performances to finish 2^nd and 4^th and Mt Buller and Canberra respectively, and the pressure was on me to hold off the challenge from Athens Olympian Sid Taberlay who trailed be 33 points and was coming off a disappointing 10^th place at Nationals.  I was motivated by my strong race at Adelaide and when I hit the start line for the 1^st stage of the Newcastle AMC I had hopes of finishing the series the way I started it...with a win!  Unfortunately my body had other ideas and I had nothing, I felt really fatigued and struggled around the short 2km circuit in the horrifically wet conditions to finish 4^th on the stage.  On to the Cross Country event and I knew that it would be tough, the conditions were still muddy and wet and despite trying my best to rest up I knew that I didn’t have the same legs that had propelled me to the podium a week earlier.  Sid attacked early on and had me under pressure, I followed for as long as I could but eventually dropped back and was passed by Josh Carlson.  The wet and muddy conditions usually suit me, but I was struggling to put out enough power to maintain a smooth speed.  I just tried to focus on the basics and use all my experience to grunt through a race that was just as demanding on the bike as on the body with the sand and grit cutting though brake pads quicker than I have ever seen.  I managed to hang on to 3^rd place but it wasn’t pretty.  It was also enough for me to move up into 3^rd on GC, which would be just enough to retain the series lead if I could hold it for one more stage.  Sunday’s point to point was only 12kms so I was relatively confident, but with such muddy conditions and tired legs, anything could happen.  I tried to go with Sid early, but he was again too strong.  I was forced to limit my losses and focus on staying upright, eventually coming on 4^th on the stage and retaining 3^rd for the round, but retaining the series lead to become the 2011-12 Australian National Series Champion! I'm pretty chuffed with that, it is such a relief after leading from the beginning, I'm also glad that I was able to win a round and have a great national champs on the way. Looking back it is also interesting to note that I rode every round (and the champs) on my dual suspension Felt Edict. For someone that is an old school hardtail-lover from way back, that is amazing....the Edict is just too much fun. Having said that though, I'm pretty keen to rip out the Felt Nine for some of the marathons that are coming up. Also note-worthy is that in 12 individual stages of the national series I didn't have a single mechanical or flat tyre, which I have Sram and Maxxis to thank for. Thanks also to all my other great sponsors that have helped to make my national series so successful.

For now though, I am having a short break, which have recently been made slightly longer by the postponement of Capital Punishment. My calendar will now revolve around doing some of the Real Insurance XCM races and hopefully Alice Springs stage race before the next big target which will be the national marathon championships....so plenty of things coming up to get excited about. As well as the upcoming races, Swell Design have just finalised my new race kit and it is off at 2XU getting made at the moment. Good luck to all the guys heading over the Rotorua this weekend!

Finish at Nationals (photo by Mick Ross)

Nationals Podium (photo by Mick Ross)