Good Fighters

Now I know you are thinking, sponsor supplies new bike, rider must big up the product. Well that should always happen, without sponsors many athletes could not compete with such great equipment. However, getting the right bike for myself has always been problematic and custom builds have always been the preferred option. At the final round of the Midlands MTB Series in Sherwood Pines I was about to get a shock. I took my bike but was in no real mood to race as I had ridden a marathon around the peaks in my usual 39 x 11-34 gear constraint and had even succumbed to the hunger shakes that evening before the race. But as the sun was out on race day I put my number on and lined up at the back of the grid. The gun went and I stamped hard on the 180 cranks. I didn’t lock the front forks as I usually do, I’d set them up firm with a lot of rebound damping and left the rear traction control down to the pro pedal on the Fox shock. After the initial sprint I found myself feeling very strong, the lactate was not as apparent as it sometimes is and I managed to slot into the single track in about 6th spot feeling very comfortable.

Ripin the Rush hard towards the podium

The singletrack was split by very fast sections of forest trail and I kicked again managing to pass my nemesis Darren Alexander (Mini Adventure) with surprising ease. By this stage I was thinking I have put zero pressure on myself for this race and the goal was to just get round, focus on skills, have fun and hope that yesterdays 100 Peak District kilometres and the 3 kilograms of extra weight I am carrying don’t make me look too bad. An extra bit of luck found me as Matt Barrett (Raleigh) pulled up in front of me half way into the first lap with a snapped chain and I found myself riding in 3rd spot with Chris Rathbone (Websters Cycles). So from that point on my goal was a podium. Chris and I both had some problems as his rear tyre had lost some air and was in great danger of rolling off on the bomb hole whereas my Tune cranks, which had come loose in the English Marathon Champs were obviously permanently damaged from that race and began to unwind themselves. I had to stop after lap 2 and tighten them up but easily caught back up with Chris. I followed Chris for a lap and still felt comfortable making notes on the sections he was stronger on and where he was not so strong or where his tyre may cause him to slow, then Chris followed me for a lap not giving me any distance. Im not that sure where I pulled away from Chris it may have been through one of the Star Wars style fast tree dodging sections or on a sandy drag, but I soon found myself out in second place. At the start of the final lap I was caught by Lloyd Bettles who was pacing his laps well. I followed his wheel and started to plan my finish strategy, which in brief came down to unleashing the 1600 watts I can muster in a sprint as soon as I get round the last bend. If all else fails at least it will give the crowd some entertainment.

I took the lead into the second to last section of singletrack but somehow jumped my chain off the sprocket loosing a couple of pedal strokes and Lloyd nipped by but sportingly eased the pace for me to get back on, he was also keen for the good fight . He was now in front and I was holding his wheel looking forward to a sprint finish. The last singletrack section came and I was just a fraction too close to his back wheel, so when Lloyd got his line slightly wrong I had no time to evaluate my position and over corrected hitting a lone pine cone and hitting the deck. Lloyd put the hammer down, the crowd had no sprint finish and I settled for 3rd. Stephen James (Torq) won the race 1 minute 30 seconds ahead of us.

Apart from my after market cranks (I use them as no one makes a BB30 180 crank) the Rush was truly faultless around Sherwood. Planted, smooth, nimble, comfortable all those superlatives that you hear now and then in a MTB review, and it felt very fast. I had no pressure for that race and the effect of that psychological state was very useful. It shows the power of how process goals can reduce stress and allow performance and enjoyment to shine through the often stressful outcome oriented world of bike racing. I’m still way over my target race weight, my season was badly disrupted by swine flu and one particular rubbish event but im loving racing and riding again thanks to our sponsors, Cheers.

Myself in 3rd, Lloyd Bettles 2nd, Stephen James 1st

This week has been spent prepping for battle as Jenn O’Connor and myself recover our bodies and sort out our equipment for the Intermontane Challenge in Canada. My Lefty has been tuned to perfection at the Eightyaid centre in Germany and is buttery smooth and ready for the fast flowing trails or North America.

Yesterday I raced the Midlands Championship mountain bike race and had one of the best fights In my 20 years of mountain bike racing. The result was ok, 7th place, my legs were good and I was riding the Scalpel to its very limit and beyond on a couple of occasions. Crashes were causing position changes every lap and it was a race I had no intention of settling in to.

Loamy sections were proving difficult for the weight weenies who were running semi slick tyres, giving me and my Panaracer Rampage a very big advantage. I did get my suspension set up slightly wrong with too much air in both the front and rear, but that firmness allowed the Scalpel to zip away from my competition when the course opened out. On the last lap I was clear in 6th spot but a root rolled the tyre and I had the dilemma of riding it to the finish and risking rolling the tyre off completely on the big bomb hole section or quickly stopping to put some air in, I chose the latter and was passed by my nemesis, Darren Alexander (Mini Adventure).

I rode hard to catch him back up waiting for my time to attack, which came on the final steep loamy climb where I hit the 180 cranks hard and powered away to a 20 metre gap. As the finish line approached my chase and attack was being paid back and I looked round to see Darren closing me down. He put in a good finishing effort and beat me to the line, a fight I will continue in the next round.

The race was an experience I will recall to lift my spirits in future races. On reflection It wasn’t the result that mattered to me, it was the way the race unfolded and how I managed to focus on gaining places rather than holding position and fight hard to the end.

Negotiating the roots courtesy of Rob Crayton Photography