Czech XC World Cup Round 2

After staying in Albstadt for two weeks and racing the first World Cup it was time to leave and make our way over to Nove Mesto Na Morave in the Czech Republic. I travelled with Adrian Retief this time making for a quick trip, my bikes however travelled with the NZXC team in their big van, thanks guys!

                                                               The Relaxation Penzion

                                                        Everybody outside the Penzion

Our massive room

It was pretty warm when we arrived, and I was finally able to ride in just a shirt again. It was cool staying at the Relaxation Penzion again with the coolest guy I know in Czech, Milky. He was friendly as usual and egging us on to race well, even giving us wine after the race, was pretty cool!

                                                        Really intense on the start line

From then on the weather got pretty cold and there were small showers each day but not really enough to change the course, race day came along pretty quick and I was feeling pretty good and was ready to race hard. I had a good start loop coming through in the top 60 and after the 1^st lap had worked up into 52^nd,

 usually I am completely stuffed at this point in the race but was feeling good and felt like I could go faster but this is where it started turning a bit sour.. On one of the road sections a rider came across me swiping my front wheel and taking me down on the tarmac, luckily it didn’t do too much damage and I was back onto a bunch’s tail in no time,  but on the first major rock garden I had a bit of a bumpy ride down and my front tyre burped losing all the air, I went down on the rocks pretty hard but got back up quickly a bit dazed and tried running to the tech zone, after about 4mins of running

 I realized I had a CO2 (crap) and pumped up the tire like new. I was able to get in two more laps after this going from about 105^th to 76^th before I was lapped out. I was gutted after feeling so good and not being able to get a result out of it but that is racing as they say.

Big thanks to Sam Thompson for feeding me again and to Adidas for some more lenses for my Half rim pros.

It is also pretty motivating to know I can get up in the field a bit easier now so am amped for Val Di Sole, Italy (the third world cup) in 3 weeks.

                                                             Walt Disney Castle

                                              One of the best pizzas I have had, holy cow

The King's holiday home castle

Thanks for reading.

Cheers

Albstadt, Germany World Cup Round 1

I arrived in Munich, Germany two weeks ago and was picked up by the NZXC team which made for a relaxed trip to our accommodation in Sigmaringen, a big little town about 20km from the World cup course in Albstadt. NZXC, Adrian Retief and I were all staying in the same spot, a triathlete hangout of a Tri Club called ALZ that already had some New Zealanders and Australians staying which made it nearly feel like we weren't in a different country.

Sigmaringen Castle

Slide Time

After settling in we headed over to check out the course, my first impression was that it was a really fun course and I didn't notice the steep climbs that much, later on in the week though I did an effort on the course and realized how hard it was going to be to push in this race.

Race day came along quickly and I felt as ready as I could be, the sun was shinning and the birds were chirping. I was seeded back in 85th which on this track was a big disadvantage as there was no start loop and not enough passing for the 1st two laps.

The gun went off and I started my desperate charge to try and make up as many spots before the single track.

But after about a minute we were off our bikes and lining up to ride up the first climb and it was like this for most of the 1st lap, after that there was still a bit of congestion until half way through the 2nd lap, and I started to make up some places. Every climb was a sprint for the single track I was pushing my limit to make up spots hoping that it would help next weekend in the 2nd World Cup. By the last lap I was spacing out a bit, not being used to pushing the body so hard and had managed to move into 65th position sitting with a Swiss BMC rider, we could see a bunch of riders just ahead and it would be an easy 5 places, I messed this up though, crashing on a slippery downhill and snapping my seat clean off. I lost sight of the riders and was passed by six more as I did half a lap standing, trying to hold off cramp until finishing in 71st in the end.

(Where I Crashed)

I was pretty happy with how things were going until
the crash as the Swiss guy I was riding with finished up in 59th.

Next weekend I race the 2nd round of the World Cup series in Nove Mesto Na Morave, Czech republic. From memory this course has a much longer start loop and a bit more opportunity to pass.

Big thanks to Sam Thompson for feeding me and all the people out there cheering the Kiwis on! Also to Merida for giving me a new seat for free to replace the old one.

Cheers

big

Triple Crown 2013

The Triple Crown Enduro event has 3 timed downhill runs like usual but this year had a slight change in format compared to other years having shorter runs for each stage with the longest run taking around 6 min. The night before there had been a massive downpour and a good show of lightning, luckily enough for us there was only little patches of light rain on the day of the race.

The first stage started at Tihi O Tawa and finished at the end of Billy T, I was seeded first so was plowing into the puddles straight away. This stage was the most fun though with the main aim for me to stay on my bike and pedal when I could, it felt a bit slow but I was pretty happy to find out later I was 3rd overall down the muddy chute.

Next we headed up the hill and down Little Red Riding Huck to get to the the 2nd stage which went down Hot Cross Buns and Bunny Jugs, I started out going pretty fast and got a bit too much air over one of the rollers at the top of the run, my back wheel came over my head and I belly flopped onto the ground, I wasted no time getting back on the bike and had to struggle breathing for a bit, luckily just bruising some ribs and getting some scrapes. From there I used the adrenaline to boost down the track as smooth as possible and make up for lost time.

We had a good group train down Be Rude Not To on the way to the next stage which started at the top of Corridor and went though a range of tracks from there including Eastern Spice, Turkish Delight, Soakhole, Exit Track, and Old Exit Track. This was easily the stage with the most pedalling. This was made up for though with some awesome jumps and berms most of the way down. I had my best run down here riding everything pretty well and staying clear of contact with the ground.

The day finished up with some scrumptious baking made by Kim McVicker, fosh and chups, and then prizegiving. This year there was an award for the fastest time down the Hotcross Buns stage to Honour Paddy Avery's skill on the bike and the fact that he smashed us all down there last year. Murray Avery (Paddy's dad) made an awesome trophy which I was lucky enough to take home.
I also took out the overall win by 15 secs which was good motivation for upcoming enduro racing in Europe.

Big thanks to everybody who helped organize the Triple Crown this year, it is one of my favorite races!

Also lately I have competed in the NDuro 24 (12hr team event) and the NZ Single Speed Champs for some fun and they were both awesome events with racing not the main focus.

At the moment I am in Germany preparing for the first XC World Cup round, and will be tripping around Europe to compete in all sorts of events (check my schedule). I flew over on Emirates again this year and am now a silver member which was awesome. When I got to Dubai I was able to chill in the Business Lounge with access to free food, wifi and showers. We arrived to good weather luckily and I didn't feel too jet lagged until bedtime which is the first time that has happened. I have ridden the world cup course and really enjoy it with some good climbs that allow for passing and some fun rocky descents.

That is all for now, will keep posting when the racing begins.

Cheers