National Series #1 - You Yangs

The weekend's opening National Series round was the first time I have ever raced at the You Yangs and I have to say it is definitely one of the best XC tracks in Oz. It had me a little worried after my first practice lap, and I was thinking: "how am I going to ride that fast without flatting or crashing!?" A couple more practice laps and my biggest problem was trying to tear myself away to go and rest up for race day. I could have ridden that D many more times, I was loving finding a new line on each lap and getting quicker and quicker. Heaps of fun.

Come race day I was feeling pretty good. I was a little concerned at how I would handle the high power rocky climbing sections since I have not had much intensity yet, but I was super keen to change around and get an idea for where I am at. First lap was pretty smooth really but I did have a few nervous moments on the start loop, the scariest when the big Paul VDP decided to lean on me (intimidating to say the least). In the end I got through clean and was happy to be sitting in 5th up the first climb. Norri and Aido had a small gap over the top and Carslo, Me, Hendo and Pauly followed at about 15sec. On lap 2 Carslo had unloaded Hendo and I, but we were happy to keep ticking over knowing that we hadn't given up much time and we were still within striking distance; a good plan in hind sight that worked for Hendo, but by lap 4 I was fading fast. As I had suspected, the steep pinches had taken there toll and I had to battle around to hang onto 6th by the finish. Hendo went on to take his first win - well done mate.

Overall I am very happy with my race. My quickest lap time was up there, and at the halfway mark I was still in contention. With a bit more training I reckon I should be able to squeeze a few more quick laps out. Looking forward to Tassie in a few weeks.

Highland Fling

Despite the ominous forecasts and showers over the weekend, the Southern Highlands provided hot and dry conditions for the 110km Highland Fling MTB marathon. Going in to the race with only 5 weeks of training under my belt I didn’t have any thoughts of a big result, rather just a regular part of the build up for the summer’s national MTB series. I had two goals: (i) get to the finish & (ii) make an impact on the race, i.e., the usual strategy of going hard on the front at some stage to help out my buddy “the wombat” (Shaun Lewis), then blow up and grovel home.

Early on in the race I was primarily focused on my first objective, so when Matt Fleming went off the front in the first sector I wasn’t very keen at all to chase him. At the first transition the main group of about 10 was still together (with me still in it!...so far so good) and Flemo was still away. When Pete Hatton attacked early in the 2^nd sector, things weren’t looking good for the main bunch with two of the strongest riders away (presumably working together). It was about then that I switched over to prioritise on objective #2 and went to the front to limit our losses to the leading duo. I lead the group up “the wall” and into the Wingello single track with Lewi on my wheel. By the time we re-emerged the group was whittled down to Lewi, English and I. This is the point of the race where you start to hit all the hard hills, and is usually the point where I crack, but with Lewi now without any real teammates and me with a bit left in the tank I continued to try and push the pace for a bit longer. As predicted, I was in trouble before long and was dangling off the back of English and the Wombat. English surged up a climb and I dropped my head, seemingly destined to ride the rest of the day on my own. But Lewi told me to “hang in there” and he eased up enough to allow me to stay with him, however unfortunately English was gone. On the run into Wingello I was very thankful for Lewi’s company and we swapped off turn. Soon enough I was able to do my fair share of the work, but not without some level of discomfort. At the transition we saw Hatto, Fleming and English (now together) leave about 2 minutes ahead of us. Not wanting to get caught out by the neutral 5 min transition, we resisted the temptation to chase early and instead, we took our full 5 minutes. It was hard to get going again and my tummy space was definitely cursing me for to abuse I’d dealt it (about 8 gels and a red bull!), but having a mate to work with soon saw us clipping along quite well once again. I was really enjoying this race, and it occurred to me at the time that I was loving just being out there swapping off with a mate and putting the bad form behind me that had plagued my overseas campaign this year. Once we started to hit the first hills, Wombat began to get leg cramps. I eased off a tiny bit to prolong our companionship, but after the next creek I looked around and he was gone…..and I was on my own L. Oh well, only one thing to do, so I put my head down and kept chasing. It hadn’t really occurred to me that I would catch Fleming and Hatto, but when I saw them at the top of the long grassy climb, I finally had a carrot. I lifted the pace and regained contact at about 6km to go. I wasn’t sure what I had left, but I had to attack straight away, this hurt, but it was enough to get rid of Fleming. From there Hatto and I tested each other once, either without any success, before we agreed to swap off to the finish. He popped my on the line, but once the time was adjusted for the transitions, I was given 2^nd place.

All in all it was a very fun day out and a very pleasing result. I had no idea that I could produce a ride like that at this time of year and I am just stoked to feel like I am starting to ride fast again after a very tough year. Thanks to everyone that believed in me! And thanks very much to all the sponsors of the Swell-Redshift team. Well done as well to Cameron Ivory who achieved a podium in both the Bundanoon Dash and the 50km Fling, a top effort for the youngster of the team and an exciting sign of things to come.

Scott 24hr

Well the Scott was once again a fun event and perfectly timed as a sturdy reminder of two things:

• Mountain biking is really fun (even though the solos got most of the good trails, and hammerhead continues to gather cobwebs)
• You can lose a lot of fitness in the off season

This year our Swell Redshift team of six was a little less serious than in the past and we were happy to not have too much pressure on us. Being in the sixes, definately allows a bit more time for socialising, which is a nice change. We had a solid hit-out and managed 4th in the sixes, not a bad effort, but unfortunately just off the podium. Well done to the other teams, especially the Spearmans and Lonsdale St boys that really made a race of it. And who could have believed that a washed up old downhiller could step to the nations best XC guys? Ryan "the shadow of his former self" Lennox . . . . . I salute you.

Thanks to the guys at Swell Design Group for the sweet hook-ups and the good times.

Off season

Puff-balls muchrooms (the size a a football) and parasols with my buddy Julie in England

Bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong

I couldn't find the scaftag on this one

RSPCA approved fish storage?

Mong Kok in Kowlon

Hong Kong island from the star ferry

Aussie spring skiing

Well after a disappointing season and a very ordinary performance at the World Championships in Canada I am currently on a 5 week break. Hopefully the batteries will get a chance to fully recharge and I can hit the domestic season hard again this year. We definately have an exciting year ahead with the Swell Redshift MTB Team so hopefully the results will come.

As fair as the off-season goes, I have been having a good time. A week touring around Britain, followed by a week in Hong Kong has done me good. Back home now and the task of looking for a job is a priority (as well as getting in a bit of skiing before the snow melts).....anyone got a job for me?

My first race back (and probably first ride too) will be the Scott 24hr. I can't wait. Lucky it is such a fun race because it is easy to remember how much it hurts to race for 24hr coming straight off a break.

2010 World Champs - Part 1

Pump track

My (brief) stint in the lead

After 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.

Aussies Supporters

Australian XC mountain bikers are historically fairly hard-up when it comes to racing World Cups in the Northern hemisphere. Our country is so far away that the level of cost, commitment and sacrifice required to get over to Europe is somewhat greater than the countries that typically dominate the sport. This geographical disadvantage hits us two-fold because it is also hard to find domestic sponsors that see the value of athletes racing so far away from their target market in Australia, and it is often not encouraged, which is probably fair enough. Despite these hurdles there is a committed bunch of riders that save up their pennies and put their lives on hold each year to head over the Europe and “live the dream”.

With the formation of the Discover Tasmania team in 2009, things were looking up for Aussie cross-country mountain bikers. Not only was the national program, headed by Neil Ross, bigger than ever, but all the Aussies overseas had the support of the National Coach at big races. Australian numbers in World cups were at an all time high and the results were starting to come, but unfortunately the recent high performance funding cuts have left us with no official support and on our own once again.......or has it?

We have always been lucky to have the support of our partners, parents and friends to fulfil our world cup dreams, but in 2010 we have probably needed it more than ever and those loyal plus-1's were there once again. These are a group of people that need recognition as they often make similar sacrifices as the athletes, many of them coming back year after year. Despite being dragged along by their particular rider, they are always happy to help all the Aussies equally (and usually a couple of token Kiwis as well). On behalf of all the riders I would like to thank all our supporters that have been helping us out over the years, and take the opportunity to introduce those personally that have been tirelessly helping us out over in Europe for the first half of the 2010 season. This is not an exhaustive list of support over the years, but very indicative of the kind of support the close-knit Aussie XC community have enjoyed.

Ian Potter – Driver/manager
Ian is the husband of Kate (our highest female finisher at the 2009 world champs) and he runs a MTB guiding company in the French Pyrenees called A Quick Release. He drove all the Aussies around to the first 3 world cups in the big blue AQR van, clocking up some serious k's behind the wheel.

Mark Codner - IT consultant, mechanic, general problem solver and owner of the team's “spare bike”
Father of talented Aussie junior, Mitch, Mark is a very handy guy to have around. An aircraft mechanic for Qantas back home, he has a knack for solving problems and is a magician with a bag of cable ties. The Codner's also tend to stay somewhere with a good internet connection, very handy.

Margret Codner - Team cook and back up feeder (usually stationed at the most remote feedzone!)
Mitch's mum Margret is a great cook, and looks after everyone with her caring motherly nature.

Ray Lacis - Team manager, beer sampler, procurement officer, mechanic
Kath O'Shea's partner, Ray, is a true all rounder and a seasoned campaigner. Logistics, attending manager meetings, organising shipments of product, wrenching bikes and tasting all the local beers and cold meats, he does it all.

Rosemary Barnes - Logisitc coordinater, feeder, translator, gluten free chef
Rosie (my girlfriend) is a terrific travel agent and great with languages. Having also raced at a very high level herself, she is a very good feeder as she knows what we need, sometimes before we realise ourselves. She also looks after my gluten allergy and makes sure that I never go hungry.

Jarrad Acfield - Photographer
Jarrod used to work for Southcott in Australia but is now based in Scotland. He made the trip out to Houffalize and was great to have around for moral support and to take some great photos of the race.

With some riders going home and other coming out for the second block of World Cups there will be a bit of a changing of the guard in terms of support “staff”, but I am sure that, as always, we will all be in good hands. Hopefully the second half of the season will yield some great results for the Aussie riders and that our supporters get the recognition that they deserve.

Thanks again.

Oceania Championships - Dunedin NZ

Well, it has been a hectic past few weeks of racing, travelling and training, as well as getting all my affairs in order before the 6 trip to Europe. I hope i got everything done...too bad if i didn't because there is little i can do now from the Qantas Club in Melbourne apart from continue to smash through their entire supply of smoked salmon.

The Oceania Champs in Dunedin last weekend was a rather pleasant way to top up the UCI points before heading to Europe. I had a somewhat unwanted stress when trusty Qantas lost our luggage and my bike (i'd better get more salmon, they owe me). Luckily, Rosie had once again outdone herself with the accommodation so at least i had a lovely view of Otago Harbour to look at while i waited patiently for my bike to finally arrive. It eventually showed up the day before the race.

With some tough climbing and plenty of fast smooth pine forest single track, the course was heaps of fun and well suited to the euro-veterans Dan Mac and Lachy. As predicted, those two went out hard and no one could go with them up the first climb. VDP was in third and i was just back with AJ and Mike Northcot. With the 5 lap race including plenty of climbing, i was trying to save a little for the 2nd half, but with Northcot sliping into 4th and Aj right behind i was pushing pretty hard...then disaster....a flat tyre. I couldn't believe my luck, there were about 2 rocks on the entire track, how could this happen?!?!!? Anyway, after a disappointingly long pit stop i was back in the race, sitting in about 12th(?) and struggling to regain my rhythm. I no longer felt smooth and i was nursing the rear wheel which i had only managed to get up to about 20 psi. I battled back to 9th before the finish managing to salvage a valuable 75 uci points. I'm still really happy with my form, and i am glad i have got my annual flat tyre out of the way early this year.

I am feeling a bit better prepared heading to Europe this year with a few k's, a couple of stage races and a couple of strong races under my belt. Hopefully i can settle in over there and have a good ride in the first world cup at Darlby Forest in the UK. However, I'm not sure how i will be feeling this weekend at the UK national series opener in Sherwood Pines, wait and see i suppose.

Ciao.

P.S. i have now established that it is possible to eat too much smoked salmon.