An awesome month of riding and racing has just gone by with two races and numerous rides and training sessions in between. I feel like I’m riding my MTB smoother and faster then ever and I’ve got a good eating plan to keep the metabolism cranking. The weather has cleared up now, the rain seems to have dried up and although the temps have dropped down close to 0 degrees overnight, the night riding season is upon us and is in full force.
CORC ACT Champs XC – 22nd April 2012
I entered this late and went in to the race viewing it as a hard training session. But after being involved with only ¼ of the racing going down for the weekend, I ended up being envious of the guys and girls who had signed up for the full deal. It seems the ACT Championships is an epic weekend of racing that eventually extrapolates the best all round riders in the nation’s capital and eventually crowns the overall champion. You can race all or some of the following events:
Gravity XC – 10mins of sprinting down XC trails
Dual Slalom – 1 on 1 knock out on a short DH course
Cross Country – Typical XC event, 90mins of thigh burning madness
Downhill – 3mins of pure downhill adrenalin
I only entered the cross country this time but hopefully next year I’ll be organised with enough bikes to give the whole mountain a smashing. It was awesome to see my good friend Brad Morton take-out the overall, only finishing off the podium in one event. Well done Morto! Brad took off down the dual slalom course and I heard a young downhiller dude say, “Oh, he goes ok for an XC dude” if only he knew the history of racing that Brad has going through his 30 something year old veins. Speed roller skating, BMX racing, Junior/Senior Motocross and now all things push bikes, just to name a few.
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| Awesome photo of Brad in the DS with me 'photo bombing' in the background |
I raced the cross country event, frog leaped Trent (friend and rival) a few times swapping from 6th to 7th but he eventually got my measure, opened a gap and I finished up in 7th. I went way too hard on the first lap and never really recovered. I wasn’t that puffed, but my hips and thighs were yelling at me to stop after the 2nd lap. I was a little under prepared with lack of training as per usual. But it set me up well for the following weekend.
Tumut 3hr Enduro - 29th April 2012
I entered my 2nd year of XC MTB racing when I set off at the start of the Tumut 3hr. With 12 months of riding experience under my belt, I’m a little smarter on the bike, I’m a little more efficient with my riding, I’m humble in my surroundings with the realisation that speed comes from years of structured training and not months of sporadic hill efforts. I’m refreshed to see the masters still going hard and even showing me a few new lines and ideas to get over the technical stuff, and I’m stoked to have formed new friendships and connections in this demanding sport that requires all the help you can get.
My goal for this race was to be consistent on the lap times, ride clean lines, punish the track where I am stronger and survive in the sections where I’m weak. I started out by letting the fast and furious do their thing and watched as about 20 riders disappeared in a cloud of dust and humming tyres on the dirt. Curbing the adrenalin and not going on the chase is extremely difficult for me but I managed to hold back, got into a very steady pace and got round the 1st lap without busting myself. It wasn’t long before riders started to find the pain that I was avoiding, one by one I crept passed, saving myself for the pinches, conserving on the long slow climbs and getting out the saddle and stoping out the crests. I remember at about the 2hr mark, ripping down a single trail at 30-40km/h, and consciously opening my mouth and taking in some deep breaths. The fresh cool mountain air was bliss and made me feel refreshed and ready for the final hour ahead.
I rode a lonely race for about an hour, was passing some lappers but didn’t seem to find anyone who was about the same pace, until the last lap. Just as is started the last lap my right calf was beginning to cramp, I stopped and stretched it at transition and threw down half a red bull and a shot of honey. 10 minutes into the 6th lap I noticed a bright orange jersey appearing behind me, immediately I made the mistake of trying to work out who he was and where he might be in the standings, I probably should have just put my head down and nailed it. He caught me and I confirmed with him that were racing but I wasn’t sure if he was on the same lap. Regardless he was showing way more pace then me at the time, and my calf wasn’t getting any better. I tried nursing it but it eventually seized up, I made it to the top of descent and coasted home to complete the race in 6th place.
6th David Roberts
1 00:19:10 00:19:10
2 00:30:26 00:49:36
3 00:31:47 01:21:23
4 00:31:26 01:52:49
5 00:31:55 02:24:44
6 00:32:11 02:56:55
The lap times of 1st place...
1st Aaron Bashford 03:01:45
1 00:15:48 00:15:48
2 00:27:03 00:42:51
3 00:27:07 01:09:58
4 00:27:19 01:37:17
5 00:28:04 02:05:21
6 00:28:10 02:33:31
7 00:28:14 03:01:45
The only thing I would change for next year is my hydration, apparently Powerade doesn't quite have the electrolyte/salt content required and could have been the cause of my cramps. My lovely wife has ordered some Endura Powder through the pharmacy that she works at so I’m looking forward to trying it out over coming rides and races.
I didn’t have any Gel shots for the entire race, I took some big gulps of honey on every 2nd lap to the total of 180grams, consumed 2ltrs of water, and about 600mls of Powerade. I felt good on the way home, no headache, no gut ache, just a good feeling you get after a 100% effort. I’m going to mix up a home Gel shot recipe with honey for the next race.
Next Race is the James Williamson 50km, 12 days time
Peace
Dave
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