Briars Highland Fling preview

The real insurance marathon series has created a bit of a race within a race, but the elite men's field at the 7th Briars Highland Fling is one of the strongest ever. I am personally quite excited about the race and stoked to be lining up with the stellar field that will assemble this weekend in Bundanoon. I thought it might be interesting to do a bit of a preview into the race and a brief profile on some of the riders. 

The race promises to be quite entertaining this year with some interesting elements that will add to the complexity. Not only will the XCM series make for interesting tactics, but the Fling has the unique feature of the Wingello transitions that can influence the dynamic of the race. There will also be several teams, particularly with the 110km event coinciding with the 50km Half Fling, that will have the numbers to influence the outcome of the race. Not only will the 50 be a great race in its own right between some of Australia's best XC racers (including Ben Henderson, Trenton Day, Josh Carlson, Cameron Ivory, Daniel McDonald and Kyle Ward) that will no doubt make the first stage very fast, but there might be an opportunity for Rockstar, Swell-Redshift or Anytime/Trek who have riders with aspirations to win the full fling to take advantage of their team mates early on. 

Normally the Fling is decided in the hills on the second stage, and the heat and accumulated fatigue at this point has cracked me every single year I have done this event. However, with a deeper field and the influence of teams and tactics, this year could be the first to break that mold. There is also a new climb in the last stage that is supposed to be very tough and may well prove decisive if the race is still together. There is also a brand new section of single track in the final 10km that no one has ridden, but if the leaders get there still together it will most likely come down to a sprint. 

Here is a quick run down of the main contenders in the Elite Men's Full Fling: 

Nick Both (Swell-Redshift): Nick is a very talented rider but has struggled for form since a big accident in 2010. When he is moving he is bloody hard to beat and having been on the receiving end of his ability I will never be surprised to see him on the podium in any race. 

Dylan Cooper (Trek): Dylan dominated the junior national series and champs in 1997 and since then has built a long and distinguished career primarily in the XCO discipline. A veteran of multiple World Championships with a lot of international experience including several seasons racing for Trek in Japan, "Cooper-san" is a tough racer with the ability to win big races. He is a very tough competitor and he knows how to hurt. Dylan is also lightening in the single track, probably the most rapid in the race.

James Downing (Lonsdale St Cyclery): James is a bit of a late bloomer but is certainly rapid. He was the first across the line at Capital Punishment this year, but when the transition was considered Cooper was named the winner. James has good skills but the main single track sections might come a bit early in this race for him to fully take advantage of. 

Matt Flemming (Rockstar): "Flatty Memming" is a tough racer that you can never discount. He is a specialist of the EB and has won just about every marathon in Australia....except the Fling. He currently leads the XCM series and will be super motivated to take the race this weekend to seal the overall. 

Troy Glennan (Rockstar): Troy Glennan has never won the Fling but he always makes a big impact. In 2008 he attacked in the first kilometre for his Rockstar team, which had Shaun Lewis and the rest of the field turning themselves inside out to close his down, a classy move that ultimately set up Gordo's win that year. Troy is a motor bike and regularly demonstrates his power by stringing the bunch out for kilometres on end; last year it was at the start of stage 2 when Lewi noticed English was day dreaming in Wingello and gave Troy the nod...he dropped a bomb on the field and in 5 kilometres he blew the race apart. I would bet money that he will go on the attack this year for Matt Flemming, but if he doesn't he will line out the main field at some stage for sure. Who knows, if Glennan goes down the road for Flatty, the contenders for the XCM series might be too busy looking at each other to chase and the big man might stay away. 

Brendan Johnston (Trek): Of all the competition, I am most concerned about "Trekky". He is a young racer with a huge future. Despite being diagnosed with cancer in 2009, Trekky raced the Junior worlds at Mt Stromlo that year and did himself and his country proud. It has been a long road back for Brendan and he has been riding for the Suzuki team on the road this year. The specific reason I rate Trekky so highly for the 2011 Fling is his recent 9th place at the Melbourne to Warrnambool classic; if he can close gaps in lead group that is attacking itself to pieces after 7 hours of racing, then he can win the highland fling. 

Shaun Lewis (Rockstar): No one knows how to win the Fling more than "the Wombat". Often referred to as "the fastest man in November", Shaun has won this race twice and certainly knows how to bring good form to the biggest marathon in NSW. Last year he was a day early struggled to find race winning form the day after destroying everyone in the Bundanoon Dash, but this year he is missing the Dash to focus on the main event. Lewi is part of the strongest team in the race and he is smart enough to use that to his advantage. 

Ronan Magaharan (Swell-Redshift): Ronan "the powerhouse" Magahran is a cross country skier with a huge engine that has recently turned to mountain biking. He is probably still a bit green for this year because his skills haven't quite caught up to his motor, but he will be up there for a while. Ronan is definitely a "puncheur" and the long race distance is not to his favour, but this makes him a real prospect for the win in the dash. 

Ben Mather: Ben is a "rouleur", and he has the ability and the ticker to make the race hard for everyone. He was the National Marathon Champion in 2010. He is just a super strong guy who is not scared to ride a whole marathon off the front on his own, and one of the few that has the engine to pull such a move off. Ben will also be motivated by the XCM series, but because of this he will be heavily mark by Rockstar and Trek. Having said that, nothing Ben does will surprise me. 

Daniel McConnell (Trek/Anytime): There isn't much that needs to be said about Macca other than....he went to the Olympics! Dan is the most rapid rider in the race, pure class; he is the only one that has ever been in the front group at the World Championships or a Racerbike Cup against the very best riders in the world. If he is on a good day, he will win. 

Brad McGee: This reminds me of when Phil Anderson raced the first ever Otway Odyssey. I was excited and scared that he would tear everyone's legs of. This man has worn the leader's jersey at all three grand tours and won the Olympics & Commy Games. It is true that he is retired, but who knows? At the very least, it will be an honour to line up next to a legend of Australian cycling....it would be classic to see him attack off the gun! 

Jarrad Moroni: A very accomplished mountain biker before concentrating on the road. Jarrad is a very wily bike rider that knows how to win. I am not sure if he has good form but if he is anywhere near the front at the end, he will be favourite to win a sprint. 

Matt Potter (Gu): A consistent performer in Aussie marathons and enduros, Matt is no stranger to the front bunch. If he is on a good day he will be a threat for the podium. 

Glenn Stojanow: The Fling is a great race for bringing back the old school. Stoj is an old school XC racer that later turned to the road. I haven't seen him for a few years, but if he has been doing a bit of training he could be dangerous. 

Paul Traynor (Berry Mountain Cycles): "Gezer-tits" is a pommy that can ride a bike. He has the ability to talk in any situation, which is normally entertaining but when you are suffering in the race it can be annoying. He probably isn't quite strong enough at the moment to go the distance but will talk the ear off whoever he is riding with and will probably be the motivation for some breakaways by people who prefer peace and quiet. 

Marc Williams: Marcy is probably the dark horse of the race. He has ridden quite a few flings and was in the lead group last year when he flatted about half way through the race. Marc is a roady that usually dusts off his carbon Trek 29er a couple of times a year for a marathon or two. This year is different though, he has been riding it more than ever. He recently finished a very impressive 3rd in the Mitta Mitta to Mt Beauty MTB classic in Victoria and he won the Honeysuckle Hammer in Canberra last weekend. He has form and might even have the skills. 

Me (Swell-Redshift): Veteran of 6 Flings and never won one. Fresh off a win at the Cape to Cape I am very keen to win my first marathon.

I am not sure what it is exactly about the Fling that I love so much. A good pun doesn't hurt I suppose: "a fling of beauty", "the best fling since sliced bread" are but some of the classics from over the years. Wildhorizons certainly have the ability to create a fun & friendly festival atmosphere that makes this event so enjoyable. Not to mention the awesome mix of fire roads and singletrack that make up this iconic and addictive marathon, which is becoming a monument of Australian mountain biking. Huw Kingston and his team have been able to build an event built on principles of sustainability that truly engages the local community, which not only benefits the local economy, but benefits all mountain bikers with the legacy of trails it leaves behind and the positive message it sends to councils and governments. I hope everyone is looking forward to the race as much as I am...see you all there!

Cape to Cape MTB

Nick's little friend at Margaret River

The Felt Nine with Sram XX - the perfect bike for the Cape to Cape

A photo from a little while back at Rocky Trail GP4 at Stromlo

A moment with Mike "the man" Tomolaris

The Cape to Cape MTB stage race takes competitors on a journey from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste in the Margaret River region of WA. The race has been growing in numbers since it's inception in 2008 and the 4th year attracted 800 riders that came for the 4 stages and 220km of singletrack, forest trails, dirt roads, beaches and road.

At only 40km, stage one from Cape Leuuwin was shortest but it was probably the hardest with a few solid climbs, plenty of sandy trails and a killer section of energy sapping beach.  Fortunately for me, it was one of those days when you just feel great.  On the first main climb at the 6km mark I went to the front to apply some pressure and hopefully cause and split.  It didn’t quite go to plan as I ended up off the front on my own, so I just pushed tempo and hoped that someone would jump across because I didn’t fancy 34km on my own.  I expected to be caught at any minute, but as the kilometres ticked by I started to think that maybe I should go for it and by the time I hit the beach I decided that I was 100% committed.  Despite being low tide, the sand on the beach was terrible.  It seemed to be like quicksand; sucking my tyres down and I felt like I was going so slow.  I started to panic that the bunch would come flying past at any moment and I just focused on keeping the power down & the momentum up, while constantly scanning for the hardest bit of sand which was sometimes in the salt water – sorry bike!  The remainder of the stage seemed to go on forever; the last few climbs seemed so tough but having now gambled so much energy on this stage I did not want to get caught. I pushed all the way to the finish line in Hamelin Bay to take the first stage, with a time gap back to Chris Jongeward, Craig Cooke & Jason English of 7 minutes!

Stage 2 started with predominately bush tracks and single track and finished with a very fast and open 2^nd half on dirt roads.  Predictably it was Chris J who was the main aggressor and he pushed the pace on all the narrow sections, I was super attentive and stuck to him like glue. After loosing time on the fist day he was riding with a kind of reckless abandon that makes him very dangerous; he is one of the best bike handlers normally, but when he rides like he has nothing to loose it is a sight to behold! As a result of Blood’s surging, the main group split and reformed several times, fortunately I was feeling good and able to keep contact.  The lead bunch swelled to 6 riders for the final 20km fast run in to the finish at Xanadu winery.  We all had a few digs to get away, but the day was destined to come down to a sprint where it was Hatto who out-foxed us all with Blood and Lewi 2^nd and 3^rd.

With 20kms of Margaret River’s best single track and the finish at Colonial Brewery, stage 3 was one of the most anticipated stages of the race.  The abandonment of Jongeward meant that it was English that assumed the role of pace maker for much of the first half of the race.  It was in the 2^nd half of the stage that things got serious with Peter Hatton making his intentions clear with several venomous attacks.  With 15km to go he managed to snap the elastic and get away solo with Craig Cooke and English dragging me along in a chase group.  With 6kms to go we hit a steady climb and I attacked Craig and Jason to set off in pursuit of Hatto, but it was too little to late.  Peter Hatton is a classy bike rider and when given a sniff of the finish line he is very hard to beat. He held on for a second consecutive stage victory, but more importantly took more time out of his rivals to move up the GC to 4^th. I came across alone in 2^nd with Craig Cooke popping English for 3^rd.

The final stage to Dunsborough is renowned as being fast and I can see why; the majority of the stage is on dirt roads and with GC positions up for grabs the stage was the most aggressive of the race which ended up with an average speed of 28kph...not bad on a mountain bike! With only a handful of seconds separating 2^nd and 4^th, Hatto, Craig and Jason had a titanic battle to decide the make up of the final podium.  Hatto and Craig were super aggressive, with Hatto in particular launching an unrelenting barrage of attacks on Jason in an attempt to bump him of his 2^nd place overall.  The constant surging kept splintering the main field with some lulls and the odd wrong turn seeing it come back together again time after time. With about 8km to go Hatto finally got away for good and a couple of kilometres later I attacked in an attempt to solo across to him.  I was able to join Hatto with about 5km to go and the two of us worked together; him for a GC result and me for the stage.  Having had a much easier stage than the super aggressive Pete, I was able to take the stage with him on my wheel stopping the clock for his anxious wait to see if he had gained enough time to make the podium overall.  Lewi was next in with English on his wheel doing enough to hold 2^nd overall, but Craig Cooke came in an agonising 18 seconds too slow to drop back to 4^th overall.

I certainly left my first Cape to Cape with some very fond memories; good company, scenery, wine and food, new & old friends, fast & fun racing and a lot of laughs.  Thanks heaps to the Bennets, the Kennedys, the Aubreys and my Swell-Redshift team mate Bosch, for all the support and good times. I can't wait to get back over to WA for the National Series opener in November.

 

Scott 24hr

What a weekend it was for the Scott 24hr; a few small showers over the weekend made the track super tacky and the mild temperatures overnight made it less intolerable getting out of bed for that 4am lap. Swell Design had the usual army out on course with a total of 24 riders in 4 teams. The Swell-Redshift mixed six consisted of Cameron Ivory (fresh back from XC worlds), Nathan Spencer, Nick Both, Peter “Pinky” Kreillis, Rosie Barnes & myself. I opened the account with a double lap and was happy to get the team off to a good start despite a very scary encounter with a massive Eastern Grey kangaroo that actually took a swing at me. Hendo (who was ahead of me) had managed to piss him off so much that he certainly wasn’t going to cop any shit from me and he stood his ground as I approached.  At the last moment I swerved off the track to go around him and he tried to kick me, definately a scary and sureal experience.  From there, the team took control and we soon overtook Anytime Fitness and built a small lead over Merida. During the night Anytime went to bed, but Merida closed the gap.  Just before dawn, Ryan Standish (Merida) passed Rosie on the red climb and got a gap over the top. Sensing that the situation wasn't good, Rosie desceded like a woman-posesed and caught Ryan, eventually following him into transition.  I was out next and managed to get a gap again, and as Merida threw everything they had at us, Cam, Nick, Pinky and Nath lifted and punched out some great laps to get the gap out to 6 minutes again. With two laps remaining Rosie and Standish had a rematch on the red lap. The tension in transition was crazy as AJ and I (and our respective entourages) waited for Rosie and Ryan before we could comence our "ride-off" for mixed-6 glory. 24 hours of racing and it came down to this......Rosie was first into view and the Swell crew cheered, seconds later Ryan appeared!  The gap was 9 seconds.  Pacing the lap was a bit tricky; I did not want to give AJ a chance to catch me so I had to start fairly hard, but I didn't want to go too hard and blow.  Luckily I had the aid of a head start, and Cam & Clarkey out on the track giving me splits so I could measure my effort fairly well.  In the end I was able to do my team proud and hold of the 'flying ginger' to finish the 2011 Scott 24hr with a big skid into the arms of my team mates. Wow, what a way to finish after 24 hours of hard racing! That is what these races are all about; everyone digging deep for the good of the team and the excitement of it all coming down to the wire.  The stoke from this race is sure to hang around for a while.

 

As usual the support from Swell Design was second to none. My Felt Edict LTD with Sram XX was amazing and I was having a ball on both laps. An especially big thanks to my awesome team mates!

The snow is melting and the MTB pre-season continues

 I got the hole-shot from Gracie at Dwellingup!

 The start line at Tathra,

R-L: Cameron Prosser (who lead the first lap), Paul Brody (old school pinner), Me, Ryan Gormly (snowboarder and backyard bike mechanic)

I've been flat out since the last post; I quit my job, had a little break, did some skiing, surfing, training and racing...and then started my new job, which is conveniently located at Mt Stromlo!

As far as training went, there was a couple of sessions on the Jindabyne trails, solo road missions around the Illawarra (with a few of the old favourites like Saddleback, Jamberoo pass and Glen Garry), road riding with the boys in Wollongong and a fair bit of Queanbeyan MTB gold. For the racing, there was the Tathra 3hr, Dwellingup 100 and the Rocky Trail Entertainment 4hr at Stromlo.  I managed to win the Tathra and Stromlo enduros, and got fairly smashed at Perth in the Dwellingup 100 to finish 4th, but overall I'm pretty happy with how the form is coming on. Looking back I suppose I have been doing a fair bit, which isn't bad considering I snuck in some spring skiing and and few waves. I certainly feel like Ive been busy and have the droopy eyes to back that up. 

With the Scott 24hr coming up and the warm weather and long days kicking in I get more and more motivated everyday.  It doesn't hurt that I just got a new F-series Felt road bike, and I am currently tinkering in the shed with a new Felt Nine (29er MTB).  I really liked the Nine that I road in Alice, but this one is on a strict diet and when it's finished it should be a rocket ship....my aim is for it to be lightest bike on the start line at the Highland Fling in November. We will have to wait and see.

Go riding....now!

NSW State XC Champs - Nowra

With the unseasonably warm August weather melting all the snow, it was a perfect weekend to go down to the coast for a mountain bike race. The NSW State Champs was a fairly laid back affair just South of Nowra and the track that they put on was great fun. Heaps of cool single track and some fairly fast fireroad climbing made the race quite exciting. Ben Hendo and Mitch Codner broke away toward the end of the first lap and Andrew Arthur and I tried in vane to chase for a while. We could see on the odd occasion throughout the first couple of laps but after that it became a race for the last podium spot. Hendo (the burglar from the ACT) eventually unloaded Mitch for a 2 minute win and Andrew and I came in for a sprint finish another 2 minutes later, which I narrowly won. Andrew had waited for me on the last lap to take a stick out of my wheel, what a gentleman...should I have let him have the sprint?

A good fun day out in the forest and with the fitness slowly starting to return I've definitely got the stoke back for mountain biking. What's next? Tathra?

Back from the wilderness

Good times in Alice

Me and AJ on a dirty weekend in Melbourne for my first cross race

The Sentinel and Watsons Crags

The Sentinel

My birthday party

Cross

Strezleki Creek, Sentinal and Carruthers

Cross

Watsons Creek from Tenison Wood Knoll

Having been racing a riding pretty solidly for the past 3 years, I felt that in 2011 I deserved a rest from structured training and racing bikes. It turns out that it was also a break from blogging!

Finishing the season with a win in the Red Centre Enduro stage race at Alice Springs was the perfect way to transition into my break and I did so with contentment, satisfaction and relief. Since then I have been catching up on my life. I did a fair bit of skiing, including a few back country trips and a brief jaunt over the the NZ club field of Craigieburn for a life changing long weekend of skiing steep narrow gullies. I have also got into racing cyclocross, something that has been on my list of things to do since I first my first taste of frites & mayonnaise. The trouble is that cross is quite an intense sport, so trying to do it on the break means that it is rather punishing. Still fun though, and the crew at Dirtydeeds in Melbourne certainly put on a good show.

The past month or more I have started rolling around again and getting into Anytime Fitness to build a bit of leg strength. I have a new bike too....the new Felt Edict Limited. Getting back on a dually again is a bit crazy after 3 years a hardtails. The Edict is like my bad conscience whispering in my ear, it encourages reckless abandon on descents and says: "get off the brakes you pussy, I want to go faster". The result was some fun riding, culminating with a big crash and the subsequent removal of a large portion of the skin from my face. Lucky I am a bit of a goldfish.

So I am now super motivated to get back on the bike properly. With the Dwellingup 100 in Perth only a few weeks away I am anticipating a bit of a shock to the system. But with a race calendar that includes the Highland Fling, Scott 24hr, Cape to Cape, the new look National Series, Oceanias in Rotorvegas and Wildside I have plenty to look forward to and don't feel any rush to regain my form too quickly.

Happy riding (and enjoying whatever snow is left!)

Marathon National Championships - Mt Joyce QLD

The 2011 Australian Marathon Championship was a bit of a magical mystery tour. There was a lot of concerned discussion between riders before the race; details of the track were pretty sketchy, no one had ridden the course, and we didn’t know what tyres to use(or bikes - 26” or 29er, HT or dually). We couldn’t even get access to the area the day before the race to have a look at the track. On the start line no one knew what to expect.

The race format was 3 laps of a 19km circuit and not knowing what we were in for meant that the pace on the first lap was fairly controlled. After smashing through about 5 kms of bumpy grass we hit the first single track section which must have gone for about 15kms! I was in 2nd wheel following AJ and there was a train of about a dozen of Australia’s best riders in toe. It felt like a training ride out with friends, we were hitting totally unseen drops, doubles & berms (including one massive timber one!)…bloody good fun. We emerged from the single track with smiles on our faces and hit a gravel fireroad which soon pitched up hill and reminded us that it was a race. It wasn’t too steep at first and then we turned a hairpin and saw the first ramp in front of us. It was probably 20% (?!?), anyway, steep enough for me to wish I had a 36T cassette instead of the 32. Peter Hatton showed his first card and hit the front, setting the pace up the hill. There were 3 or 4 more hairpins, each revealing yet another steep pinch and prompting me to wonder if I could continue Hatto’s tempo much longer. Hatto and I crested the hill together but Gordo, Mather, Cooper and Lewi weren’t far behind us, with the rest of the group not too far behind. After the day’s first little test, the pace eased off a bit and the group came back together again. 5kms of fast fireroad and some more bumpy grass later we return to the start/finish in a group of 11; all the favourites still there and everyone somewhat wiser after the reconnaissance lap. Back onto the bumpy grass and the race seemed to stall as no one wanted to sit on the front. I took the opportunity to eat and drink plenty in what was clearly going to be the “calm before the storm” and the last chance for my tummy to see some solid food. Approaching the singletrack AJ and I were at the front and then Trek team mates, Hatto and Cooper sprinted around us and it was game on! Hatto slipped clear and the pressure that he applied, right at the time we started catching the back markers of the ½ marathon, incited panic in the group and blew the race apart. When we emerged from the single track Hatto still had a slight lead over Mather and I, with the rest of the race seemingly in tatters. Knowing how strong Hatto is, and the form that he had at the Cape Epic, I decided to try and bridge across to him, so at the bottom of the big climb I stepped on it. I couldn’t close the gap on the climb but pushed over the top and joined him at the bottom of the descent. I told Hatto that the race was in pieces behind us and we agreed to work together. Despite this agreement, Hatto didn’t work so I rode on the front for about 10kms, but starting to worry that he would pump me on the next climb I gradually backed off the tempo. It wasn’t until Mather had bridged across to us and the pace lifted again that I realised Hatto was actually just getting tired, so with word getting to us that English was chasing, I went off the front on my own. By this stage I was getting pretty tired myself and starting to cramp. I just tried to keep a solid tempo and hoped that I could get the to big climb first. Unfortunately Jason caught me and attacked with about 15kms to go, and I had no response. All I could do was to maintain my tempo and hope that he had a problem. With the cramps getting worse, the main climb was a real punish. I struggled to turn over the 28-32, but with a bit of a grimace and a few audible grunts I eventually got over the top. I had been looking forward to the last descent, but my body was glad for it to be over and on to the relatively smooth fire road run-in to the finish. I crossed the line pretty smashed for 2nd place, happy with the result, pleased with the race that I rode, but having podiumed at a national champs there were the inevitable “what ifs” running around my head. The 6 weeks has been pretty tough with injury and illness, so most of all I am relieved that I was able to put together a good ride and get a bit of confidence back. I am looking forward to the Canberra tour in 2 weeks!

As always, thanks to all the sponsors. Your generous support is much appreciated.