Mont 24hr - SenseCore Racing - 1st place

This years Mont 24hr marks my 8th attempt and it was as exciting as ever. SenseCore came to the party and provided fresh support for the team. SPE provided a magical new track layout that was longer with more climbing than last year but somehow felt like it was flatter and faster. Maybe I am a bit stronger, hehe. Our team was super strong and reliable and the new comer, Cosi Hofman blended into the campsite with ease. TLC Cycles tried extremly hard to get me back on my Scott. But unfortunately with my frame waylaid in transit from the USA I had to borrow a Niner Air 9 Carbon from the gentleman himself, Brad Dalton. This bike proved to be a suitable weapon for carving up the flowing trails of Kowen Forest.

From a captains perpesctive there were plenty of highs and lows and the race did not go as smoothly as we hoped. Our attrition began on the Friday before the race when Gordo had an OTB and was banged up badly. Worried that he wouldn't be able to recover and race he asked me to find a reserve. With some negotiating around night laps I found a replacement. Gordo spent friday evening bathing himself and chomping down on anti inflammatory and pain killers. By 730pm his groin and lower back were numbed enough that he felt good to go. So we took the gamble and Gordo recommitted. Alright, the team is back together let's focus.

Cosi after another solid lap. Me on the right.

Gordo started us out with a spectacular lap that not only had him posted all over the media but also had the team running inside the top 10. John and Cosi both put down blazingly quick times with John grabbing a top 5 fastest day lap for the weekend. Brad came in on time and as expected fast lap in the low 51mins. 3 mins into my lap I looked down at my SenseCore app and  I chuckled as the HR was reading 178 and I was breathing hard, but everything felt lubricated and the legs were turning with ease. 25mins into the lap and I felt like I had dropped off the power, I got out of the saddle and soon realized my rear tire was losing pressure. I pushed on for another 5mins but decided to cut my loses and grabbed a shady spot under a tree to do a tyre change. The tube went in smoothly and within 5mins I was back on the chase. I was shattered for losing so much time but stomped as hard as I could to bring my 1st lap home in about 57mins. How some guys like Dylan Cooper change their tyre in less then 2mins is still a mystery. I tagged in Trent and when he returned in under 52mins we had completed our first revolution. By this time we were already in 1st place for the category but Synergy Synners were only minutes behind us. Today's Plan had galloped away to a 15min lead in the unclassified overall.

Gordo on the start lap and loving it

The rest of the afternoon and night went very smoothly for us, slowly creeping away from Synergy and slowly gaining on TP. It was exciting watching the times come in as we knew TP were going to be hard to beat. Great times were had hanging out in between laps. Everyone keeping busy upgrading the campsite to keep the cold and dampness out.

White men can jump! Trent letting it go.

Eventually the early morning fog rolled in and riders were coming back with legs and frames caked with a thick layer of dust. It seemed that the later and darker it got, the faster Cosi was going. Obviously he didn't admit to us that he was an offspring of Bruce Wayne, this young blood batman laid down sneaky fast laps all night long and even on his last lap had very little fade.

My 4th lap at 730am was to be my last but it was special. The sun was just coming up, the event center was smothered in fog but half way through the lap, the top of the course took us up above the cloud and gave a beautiful warm boost of motivation. I channeled it and punched out my fastest lap of the race. Coming down beer garden track through the fog and into transition to meet Trent completed my Mont contribution and left me with a huge smile.

With the sun breaking through the mist and 3hrs to go the gap from Synergy was over a lap and the gap to TP was down to 2mins. It was looking likely that we could take the double. In a champion effort Andrew Hall from TP threw down a 50min flat on the 2nd last lap of the race. This proved to be the nail in the coffin for us. Now it should be mentioned that I'm talking about competing with TP but they were running with a team of 4 and we were in a team of 6. So for Mr Hall to lay down one of the fastests laps of the race on his last lap is nothing short of awe inspiring. Brad went out as our last rider with an near impossible gap to close, only a puncture or crash from TP would give us  a chance. But none of us knew this at the time and Brad literally sent himself cross eyed trying to catch up. In doing so Brad clipped a tree on the final descent and had a spectacular crash in the pines. Brad rolled straight through transition and I knew something wasn't right as he pulled up in the crowd. With a crokey voice from looming bronchitis, spent body from 24hrs of racing and a rattled head from a helmet smashing crash, the only thing the gentleman could repeat was "how do you bonk at the 40min mark".

Brad dusted and done. Champion effort!

Race over. I was worried about our man Brad, he was scattered and seemed concussed. It was a sour note to finish on and made me review all the circumstances that lead to it. But after a good sit down and chin wag with us all he came good and bounced up on the podium to receive our 1st place trophy.

Massive shout out to our families (and Cosi's mum) for holding the fort while we are out on the bikes. This cycling business can be all consuming and can take its toll but be assured that it makes us extremely happy.

So lads, who is up for the Mont 2016? Who is going to step up to the mens 6 category in 2016? Will Onya return to retake the title? What happened to Specialized, I saw the Mont in their racing calendar but they were no show. This is the best MTB 24hr in Australia, let's keep it that way with plenty of sharp competition.

Ride on.
Dave

Wrap Up Vid from SPE

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=780788718695860&permPage=1