Happy Camper

The Australian team for the World Champs was announced today and my name was on top of the list! Ok, so it was in alphabetical order, but i am very happy to be on there. It has been a big year and i have made a lot of progress, I am super happy to have been given this opportunity finish my season off with the biggest race of the year, in my home town no less.

It will also be good to welcome to Canberra some of the friends that i have made while racing around the world. Craig Paul (South Africa), Bjorn Brems (Belgium) and Mike Broderick (USA) have all made there respective teams so i will look forward to rubbing shoulders with them on my home track.

I am told that the Aussie XC team will now go into a training camp at the AIS for 2 weeks of training, testing, and maybe even sleeping in the altitude tent. It should be an interesting experience.

Well done to everyone else that got selected, see you all soon.

World Cup #6 - Bromont

I never thought i would be happy with finishing a race a lap down, but at the World Cup in Bromont on the weekend i was pulled after 5 of 6 laps with a big smile on my face. Paul VDP and Haas finished right near me and the three of us were exchanging high fives.

With Bromont being my 6th and final World Cup before heading home to Australia, I felt like i was ready to have good race. I was relatively relaxed in the days leading up despite a big crash on the Thursday that has temporarily wrecked my good looks thanks to a cut and swollen nose. The course had a few tricky bits and i think it was probably the most physical of all the Worlds Cups i have done courtesy of some steep climbs in the first half and some arm pumping, technical and undulating roots and rocks in the second. After raining early in the week it looked like drying up for the race. Nick and I had decided on dry tyres, but not long after we arrived at the track, the sky opened up. Just a few spots of rain at first....and then it started to piss down. Luckily i had the Medusas ready to go on the "spare" set (i.e. Rosie's) of Jetblack Rocket wheels. I waited until the last possible moment to start my warm-up, hoping that the rain might ease. No chance; I was soaked through in a matter of minutes and wishing i had a turbo trainer and a quick-shade.

With no start loop the race headed straight up the main climb for a couple of k's, but after the first 200 hundred metres we were all off the bikes running though the slop; elbows out and looking for any opportunity to pass. I was a bit tentative on the descents because i was unsure of how the rain had affected the tricky sections. After the first lap I came through in 62nd and as I hit the climb for the second time i half expected that familiar dead feeling in the legs which is the body telling me that i dug too deep on the first lap....but it wasn't there. I felt good! I had ridden a good start and i still had some cookies left in the jar. So i put my head down and rode a solid tempo, before the top I had conceded 4 spots but i managed to get them all back and one more in the second half to come through the next time in 61st. On lap 3 was still able to push all the same gears up the climb and I was starting to feel relaxed and smooth on the descents, that lap i climbed into the top 60. On lap four the rear brakes really started to fade and the lever was coming right into the bar; it made for some exciting moments on the D. I think a lot of guys were having the same problem, Hermida even stopped in the tech-zone to change brake pads. I knew that every second would be important if i was to avoid getting pulled so i could afford no such luxury. On lap five (of six) I told myself that it was the last and tried to ride as if it was. It turns out that it actually was, because when I approached the start/finish my old nemesis from the UCI was there to direct me off the course. But this time it was different. Under such horrific conditions and on a relatively short track, one lap down did not in any way seem like failure. Vandy was there with a big smile on his face and before i knew it Haas finished in the same state. Seeing how happy they were helped me to confirm that it was a sucessful race. We had managed to hold it together in some tough conditions and had all posted our best results of the year: Vandy in 54th, me in 55th and Haas just cracking the top 60. Haas's 60th place also meant that he has made it on the scoreboard in the world cup standings and with the massive haul of 8 points that has bagged him the wooden spoon (the coverted title that was held by yours truely for 3 rounds), well done Nathan. Blood was once again the stand out Aussie with yet another terrific ride for 14th, this has to be his best season yet. Lach was 70th and Nick "Chatswood" Both was 79th, with Macca unfortunately unlucky again pulling out due to a mechanical.

So after 6 world cups, 3 UCI classified XC races, a state XC race, 3 road criteriums, and a marathon in 8 different countries, I am on the way home. When I look back on it I can see that I have come a long way in terms of my racing. It was pretty tough at times, for a while it felt like i was putting every race down as experience with seemingly yet another lesson learnt and I was getting a little impatient waiting for a big improvement. With a heap of help from my coach, Clarkey, we tried to work on my weakness and the race on the weekend felt like a breakthrough. To get through the chaos of the first lap at a world cup (albeit in 62th postition) and not feel like I'd had my doors blown off was a huge step up.

Now I must cross my fingers and wait for the announcment of the Australian team for the World Championships which is coming up in Canberra at the start of September. I have done everything I can do and it is in the hands of the selectors, hopefully they will throw me a bone.

Ready for a shower

Renting a lake house with a private beach (and pedalo!) certainly has it's advantages - this is Rosie and I relaxing on the lake at Bromont

Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup #5

Riding the treacherous "squirrel" - photo thanks to Tim Bardsley-Smith

Another one on the squirrel - photo thanks to Tim Bardsley-Smith

This is how i spent my morning - extreme cycling fan style. Simultaneously watching the grand finale of the Tour de France on the tele, and staring out the window of the apparment at a womens mtb world cup, and recieving live updates of the 24hr of adrenaline on Twitter. All from the comfort of my bed. Yeah the technology! All i need now is a nurse to tend to the bed sores and i could do this forever.

Nick rode to 83rd

Me suffering on the switchback climb

Chris J had another great race for 22nd

Stopped to pump up the tyre

Today's World Cup at Mont-Sainte-Anne was a pretty tough one. It rained during the morning so the course was quite slick when we raced. The big news was the opening of a B-line around "the squirrel" because the UCI was concerned that it was too dangerous. The squirrel consisted of a steep left hairpin on a slaby rock, then a committing rocky chute, and with the recent rain it was quite slippy and scary. Poor old Pat (the track builder) and his team worked all afternoon on Saturday at the whim of the UCI guys to build a brand new track on the side of a very steep hill, an awesome effort. They managed to achieve a b-line that was ridable (at least safer than the A-line) and that was slower than the main line, without making it so slow that running the a-line was ever going to be a good option, well done Pat.

With a lot of single track and 105 riders on the start line, the first lap was the predictable shit fight. I think i fared ok, thanks to some sneaky moves i picked up in Europe. I missed one pearler though when i was stopped and waiting for a bottleneck to clear i saw an option to climb over some logs on the left, unfortunately i was blocked on the right and couldn't get across. 2 seconds later a couple of guys went for it and i reckon they made 10 spots, that would have been gold. I was a bit nervous approaching the squirrel for the first time because i had different tyres than in training because of the rain, and the sudden appearance of a safer option did seem to make sense. I just tried to pretend that the B-line wasn't there, and before i knew it i was bouncing down the muddy rocks on the squirrel a bit sideways with one foot out. Cool.

After the first lap of traffic I settled into a tempo. I was lapping around positioned in the high 60's and was feeling pretty good. The squirrel got a bit less scary and i was able to pass people there most laps, which was nice. But unfortunately i must have been passed by as many people on the climbs because my position remained about 67th. I was loosing time each lap to Absalon though, and i knew that in theses conditions it would be hard to complete the entire race without getting pulled by the 80% rule. I just kept plugging away but on lap 4 I realised that I was slowly loosing air from my back tire. I didn't want to stop and fix it because it would take too long so i tried to nurse it through to the tech-zone where i could get a new wheel. Unfortunately it was bottoming out and burping more and more so i had to stop and add some air. There must have been a glut of riders behind me because even though i only stopped for about 30 seconds, i lost 5 spots. That turned out to be costly too because when i approached the finish of that lap (1 minute later) the little UCI guy with the flag pulled me out...damn! The guys i was with got through for one more lap. Oh well. 69th and 2 laps down. it is not the greatest result, but i did have fun on track.

I have one week to Bromont. Hopefully i can do a couple more laps there!

Velo Mag Raid - MTB Marathon

Riding the last bit on the rim

Me at the finish

Nick and I at the finish

The Velo Mag Raid podium (nick and i on the right)

This is all that is left of my brake pads!

Yesterday was the 76km Velo Mag Raid from Quebec City to Mont-Sainte-Anne. It pissed down all night before the race and continued to rain most of the morning. Nick and I rolled down to the start at Chateau Frontagnac in the centre of Vieux Quebec (the old town) and were saturated before we even started the race.

The race started with about 8km of police escort to get us out of town. Nick and i were quick to hustle our way to the front and draft the lead car, which as well as being a good sit, had the added advantage of having mudguards. So while we sat there relatively dry, the rest of the field was copping a roster tail. When we hit the dirt it was apparent that this race was going to be won by the guy who could keep his equipment working for 76km. There was so many sand traps, creek crossings and muddy bogs, plus with all the rain and the spray off the tyres, it was really hard to see anything. Nick and I set a decent tempo up the first main climb and had a small advantage through the first feed zone at 26km but it regrouped to a lead bunch of about 6 guys soon after. Nick was first to loose contact when he fell victim to a particularly nasty bog that past his knees. I managed to sneak off the front over the top of the climb, but on the descent to the next feed zone i had a front wheel puncture. I lost a bit of time fixing it and was back to 6th through the feed. I chased pretty hard but was distracted by a rubbing front brake and a slowly leaking rear tyre, but i kept telling myself that everybody's bikes are probably playing up by now. By the top of the last climb i was back in the lead with 10km of mostly descending to get to the finish. The first 5 or so kilometers was pretty rocky and it was very hard to ride softly enough to nurse my partially flat rear wheel though stones. After a few k's i had bottomed the rim a few times and burped a bit more air forcing me to stop and pump it up. This put me back to 4th with a lot of work to do (and risks to take) in order to catch up. Luckily there were a few pinches, which helped to drag the last kilometres out a little bit. I got to within view of the leader with 2km to go before suffering another front wheel puncture. So suddenly i had gone from thinking i was going to run out of track to catch the leader, to hoping it would hurry up and end before i got swamped. I ran some sections and rode the rim, narrowly managing to hold onto 3rd place. Nick rolled in soon after in 5th place after suffering a few mechanical problems.

Les Mardis cyclistes de Lachine #2

My second attempt at the Lachine criterium saw drastically improved weather from the week before. I tried to position myself well because my road bike sponsor, Kevin, told me that he and his Plant Energy team mates were keen to blow the race apart in the second half. With 7 laps remaining of the 31, there was increased activity and i was super attentive because i wasn't feeling too bad and i wanted to try my best to be in the winning move. Anyway, i clipped a wheel through a corner at maybe 45kph at hit the deck. I had time to realise that i was still sliding before i actually came to rest. I lost a fair bit of skin, which isn't ideal, but i am happy that nothing important is broken. Probably the worst bit, certainly the most embarrassing, was the rather large tear in the knicks that probably revealed a bit too much. Oh well.

Bromont - Canada Cup XCO

The start of the race (i am on the right), and you can make out Jo Wall on the Womens start line in the background

up the first hill

I thought i had raced in mud before, i was mistaken. I also thought that my skills in the mud weren't too bad, once again i wasn't exactly spot on. Since i last practised the Bromont course on Friday the track turned into peanut butter and it was so hard to get around. In the 5 lap race, I reckon i managed to ride every section well at least once, which meant that there were up to 4 times that i stuffed up each section! Not really good odds. So it was a bit of a battle to say the least but i am so glad that i had this chance to experience these condition before the World Cup here in 4 weeks, in fact that is the reason i am here so early. I ended up 11th, which isn't the end of the world, it's just a bit off the mark. Hopefully it will all come together soon.

Les Mardis cyclistes de Lachine

Perfect night for a ride?

I am getting more settled in Montreal and have been able to get some excellent training in lately. I have met a few local cyclists and more and more i am discovering good places to ride.

Last night i raced Les Mardis cyclistes de Lachine, a local weekly crit that is a bit of an institution here in Montreal. A local pro roady, Kevin Lacoombe (top bloke), lent me his winter bike so that i could have a ride. Quite a few people were staring at me on the start line, i'm not sure why...maybe it was the fact that i was on a cross bike with canti brakes, or that it was the biggest bike i have ever ridden. Anyway, it was a fun race. I was a bit scared of crashing after witnessing 2 the week before (when i watched) so i wasn't happy when the rain started to fall in the first 10mins. By the finish it was pissing down and it was hard to see much at all. Good race though, i'm keen as for next week.

Thanks again Kevin!