Mt Somers MTB Race 2012

The Mt Somers Mountain Bike Race was one of my first big events that I competed in back in the day.  I missed out on the event in 2011 so this year it was timed nicely after I had been back into training for the last couple of weeks following a break after the Oceania MTB Champs.

The day was a scorcher and after a good warm up I was feeling relaxed and ready to hit the course and see what I could remember from a couple of years ago!

A good roadie start was embraced along the tarmac for a couple of clicks which then headed right and onto the off-road and left up the first major paddock climb.  I sat in for a couple of minutes at the front of the bunch then I flicked it up a gear and made a bit of an attack to see who had the legs to jump on.  Much to my surprise by by the time I reached the top I already had around a 100 metre gap on the others.  I wanted to make the most of this situation I was in so I kept the pressure down to increase my lead throughout the race as we soon entered the hills and rougher terrain.

The middle part of the race went smoothly and I kept a good rhythm going on my Trek 29er as it ate up the gnarly parts of the terrain.

Finally once back onto the gravel road after having made my way through the Challenge course's larger loop the course followed back down the original paddock and tarmac that we had started on back to the venue.  I finished the final few clicks strong tapping out in my 36 tooth front single ring and came across the line with a solid winning time of 1 hour 28 and 52 seconds.

Fantastic day out!!!

2012 Oceania MTB Champs

This was it, all or nothing. The final race of the NZ season ending with the 2012 Oceania Championships held in Rotorua, New Zealand.

I arrived Wednesday afternoon and got straight onto the track and wanted to investigate what all the hype was about with the new rock-garden that had been put in place especially for this event. It certainly got the nerves going a couple of times during practice as it was made on a steep downhill dropping into a neat downward 'S' bend followed by a 2-3metre gap jump. Sure enough after a couple of runs and close calls I had it nailed and was feeling confident at race pace.

The rest of course started off with a fast climb up the tarseal and past the first feed zone then headed up into the trees, up a short climb then a super fun and flowing downhill lead past the second feed zone. It then shot up a techy short gutter climb and looped around the forest undulating until it came back out, down the rock garden and through the start/finish.

On race day we had a 3pm start so I was waiting with anticipation all day to get ready and hit that start line. I had a good warm up and felt I had the course flowing well and the legs felt ready to fire.

Race start went very well, I aimed to sit on Dirks wheel and did so and felt I could have jumped ahead if I wanted too but I thought I'd be best to follow on the first lap. As we entered the single track I got jumped heading into this by Tom although that didn't matter too much. It was near the top of the next climb in the trees where two or three of the Australian riders put out a charge to get ahead. Once past the second feed zone and up the short steep pinch an attack got made and I was stuck behind one of the Australian riders. Meanwhile Dirk and Tom and another Australian or two had followed suit with the front lads and I was stuck behind on the single track. Lap two and I started to get into my work up the climb dropping one of the Australians and moved up a couple of places passing some of the Elite men (who started 2 or 3 minutes ahead of us). I managed to catch back up to another one of the Australian riders after a bit of a smack fest up the hill and got back onto Toms wheel by the time we went through the second feed zone. As we went up the short steep pinch Tom slipped a pedal and I had to dismount. I managed to get past shortly after and started to get into a good rhythm for my race. Lap 3 came around and I cleared out from behind getting away from the Australian I had caught up with Tom and was in a solid 3rd position and could see the 2nd placed Australian at the top of the climb. I kept pressing on and felt I climbed well and the big wheels made the rock garden look easy. In the end I finished in 3rd place in the Under 23 field! Big thanks to my sponsor Matt Bailey and Cycleways and to Mat Waghorn for helping me get around for the time in Rotovagus!

Pass to Pub 2012

I was looking forward to a good hit out in the Pass to Pub Mountain Bike race held just out of Fairle before the 2012 Oceania Mountain Bike Champs this weekend.

Last year I fell short behind the line coming in second so I had a strong determination to make sure I came home with that marvelous gate trophy of the event!

We left Christchurch and headed South into some good weather and while the venue still had a chill in the air the sun was blazing and I was ready to race.

The course started off with a bit of a grind up the farm paddock, I got the legs working hard and I managed to split the field straight away to see who the competition was for the day. As we entered the next part of the course there were 5 of us. Up the next shingle hill I kept pressing on to see who had that extra edge. We then turned left and headed up the valley dropping 2 riders. Shortly after I made an attack and followed through with it managing to pull away - great! I wanted a clean win so I made sure I kept the hammer down and smacked the road section in top gear.

The final part of the race saw me riding over some rough,bumpy and over grown paddocks but I stood up and the big wheels flew over this section of the race. Once over the last creek crossing I came across line taking the win with a good solid gap on the other riders.

Form is looking good for this weekend!

NZ Cup Round 4 Napier

The final round of the NZ Cup was held at Eskdale park in Napier. The course followed the same track as last years with a couple of adjustments but it made for a good, solid power course. A steep sharp climb was there to keep everyone honest as well!

From the start of the race I jumped in front after putting in a powerful first effort and lead around and up to near the top of the major climb - fantastic start!!!

As we made our way to the top single track that traversed along the forest ridge line Dirk, Carl and Mikey slipped past me and I didn't quite jump onto the train as after my excellent start I thought that I might be best to take it back a notch and save the legs for an attack later in the race.

For the next first few laps I kept roughly the same gap on the leaders and saw them on the same spot each lap going up the climb just ahead. I thought that was great! I may still have a chance of getting back on and being in for the win if I launched an attack soon!

Once on lap 4 I noticed after coming through the start/finish for my fifth lap that the front lads had split up as Dirk put in a huge effort and increased the gap on myself and the others which split us all up into solo riders.

I kept going hard and got my last couple of laps complete keeping consistent and finishing 4th position in the Elite men. Overall I was pleased with my race considering I was not quite 100% but nevertheless I gave it a good nudge!

These results slotted me into 4th Elite also in the 2012 New Zealand Cup series.

Bring on Oceania Champs next weekend - final race of the New Zealand season!

NZ Cup Round 3 Wellington

The third round of the New Zealand MTB Cup was held in Wellington in the Mt Vic Park. The course was fast and hard and had a couple of short yet tough climbs and followed mostly the 2010 National Champs circuit.

During the two practise days that I had I felt I had the course nailed and was looking forward to seeing how the body was going to cope on race day.

From the start of the race the course shot up a tarseal hill, around the velodrome then up a gnarly steep climb. I was in a respectable position but started to drop several places. I wasn't 100% so I knew it was going to be a tough day in the saddle but I was still there to race. A slight change in my race plan was made for!

Lap 2 came around and I felt the body was starting to settle into a rhythm halfway through this lap which was a good sign. I pressed on and started to pass more and more riders. By the last lap I had pushed my way up to a respectable position and was pleased to have still got stuck into my work and come across the line 6th in the Elite field.

This weekend I have the final NZ Cup Round held in Napier - looking forward to bringing back some good form!

Skins Road Race 7th January 2012

The Skins Road Race is an event held prior to the Elite Road Racing National Championships that follows the same course with 56km of fast racing action!

This year the course consisted of two laps on the flat followed by two laps using the main climb and also the main spectator point of the race (where there are a lot of hurt looking faces!).

The morning of the race came around and firstly it was off to work for a couple of hours for me before heading off down the road to the start line.

My Trek Madone 5.2 Road Bike equipped with a pair of sleek Shimano Dura-ace wheels from Brad Williams (my boss from Halswell Butchery) , I had a fast looking race machine and was keen to see what the body could do up the first climb in the race.

Starting a road event is always very different from a mountain bike event in the way that it is quite casual to begin with. I changed my mindset and went in with a game plan of letting the body warm into the race on the first lap then attacking when I hit the climb on lap three (first of the full laps).

A couple of attacks had been made early on and one rider was starting to get away on the second lap so I decided I needed to try and get the peloton working to get back up. This didn’t work out too well as most people wanted to save themselves for the hill so only three of us were rotating up the front!

Once we hit the climb it was game on! I smacked it hard up the hill in my big chain ring and past the break away rider very quickly managing to create a good gap by the time I was off the hill. From here I went into time trial mode on the flat pushing hard and once I went through the start/finish it was one last time to do that all again! A final strong push up the hill to increase the gap with the rest of the lap to follow I finished winning with a solid lead on the other riders very stoked with how I rode!

Big thanks to Brad Williams (Halswell Butchery) for the support!

2012 National Championships

The 2012 New Zealand National Championships were held in Nelson this year and another fast and exciting course was put on for all riders young and old.

After my performance last weekend only 7 seconds behind the winner I was very keen to see what I could lay down on the table and get a result of which I knew I was capable of.

During the practise laps the course was rather skittery which made for one or two loose exits out of some tight corners. I opted to run my Geax Barro Race tyres which turned out to hold on nicely in those sketchy corners and were super fast up the climbs.

Race day came around and I felt a bit funny before the start of the race (must have been the nerves!). The first part of the race wasn't the best for me as during the start climb up to the single track I was feeling a bit flat until the steep top section of gravel road. From here I managed to overcome that feeling and smacked it to get back onto the back of the front riders. After the first downhill I then pulled myself back behind Carl with Dirk and Mikey leading the charge. Unfortunately after the rest of the lap Dirk and Mike had pulled away as Carl had slipped behind and I was stuck behind him.

Finally when I got into clear terrain I got into a rhythm and started my hunt to catch Mikey up. Dirk had managed to create a gap and while I got close to Mikey I just couldn't quite get right back onto him and finished the race in 3rd position in the Elite category (2nd Under 23).

Overall certainly not the best race for a couple of reasons but still fairly happy to be 3rd in the Elite field as a second year Under 23 rider, plenty of room to improve!

Bring on Oceanias come March!