Another great showing from the Torq Development team.  Steve Shaw, Garry Taylor, Emma Bradley and Myself (James G) contested the mixed team 12hr event.  We knew we might be in with a good chance of winning and went into the race very determined.  Torq fitness leader Matt Hart was miffed about not being in the team but this meant that bike reliability would not need to be a worry

The event itself was very well organised and a fantastic atmosphere had been created by Martyn Salt and his crew of warriors.  However the much predicted sunshine failed to develop and the race itself was a very soggy and muddy affair.

After the first lap the team were in 2nd place around 1 minute behind the leaders.  This lead slowly started to get larger and after 4 laps I thought it was best we found out who these leaders were.  Turns out the leaders were the Ergon UCI marathon team, who were treating the event as training event before at world champs event.  Suddenly we didn't feel so bad and undeterred we kept the pressure on for the whole 12 hours.  The Ergon team managed to get the one lap lead on the last lap and at no point did we give them the opportunity to have a breather. 

As a team we managed to gain a lap on the people in third position and consolidate our 2nd place.  Steve, Garry, Emma and myself put in some consistant laptimes and when things got groggy everyone helped each other out to get the bikes shifting again.

It was great being part of such a motivated team and a result which was very satisfying.

Well done to all

James

GORRICK ROUND 6 (OR ROUND 1 IN DISGUISE) – FRITH HILL 16^TH MAY 2010

Does the weight of your bike matter? Today I came to the conclusion that the weight of my bike for sure does matter. Racing in the expert category at Gorricks means there is potential for leg ripping by elites, and today was no exception. All said and done however I learnt a few things.

With Rob away from the house the week after this race I didn’t want to risk any crashes/mechanicals with my Cotic Soda so instead, decided to roll out my training bike; my trusty Soul. Now, my Soul is significantly heavier as you can probably imagine but she’s also pretty bombproof too and is a nice ride at the end of the day.

On the start line today there were four of us; two elites, Gabby Day and Maxine Filby, kiwi rider Geraldine Treacher (back from a month in NZ/Aus, partially extended thanks to volcanic ash) and of course myself. This should have been the January round but a blanket of snow had pushed it to May; that said whilst the early races had enjoyed warm temperatures and sunshine, we had grey skies, a chill in the air and rain threatening to ruin the afternoon.

From the off I wasn’t ‘feeling it’ almost immediately; this was most likely due to being stood around in the cold following my warm-up lap. Lesson one; warm-up is very important and should be timed right so you’re not stood around for ages. I get this almost right at Nationals and Southerns but take a relaxed approach at Gorricks as I have no objectives here, it’s purely training; but it’s important training so if I do them next season I will make sure I sort this part out!

Whenever I was faced with a bit of an incline on the course I was again struggling a little with sustaining power, or maybe it was applying more power when I wanted to go quicker, I’m not entirely sure. No matter what, my climbing was still a little off. Now here is where the bike comes in. I have a feeling that I was probably trying to climb at the same pace as I do on my Soda, however I had to haul a load more weight up the hills being on my Soul. Plus, on top of all that I am just getting back into training properly after my ropey two weeks so feel that once I’ve some more speed sessions and even zone 2/3 sessions under my belt, plus being aboard my Soda, normal service will resume.

Gabby and Max were long gone very quickly, and for me my head was a little off as well with that evil little voice saying ‘give up now, it’s hurting too much’. I didn’t however, as I know that giving in to that voice, just once, is the beginning of a slippery slope. Whilst not feeling my normal zingy self, I went about riding the course as if I were doing a skills session, as opposed to a race session, and tried out a few different lines on each lap to see which was the best and quickest. Strangely enough my heart rate did seem to be in the right place all this time, but as I said before, I really just did not feel that I was at max pace and my times certainly reflected this. Part way through lap 3 I took a caffeine gel in preparation for lap 4. This seemed to help as it was the best feeling lap and I was able to put all my best lines together around the course. I did however have the joy of finishing in the rain; 3^rd mind you and also took 3^rd in the series to, so all in all not too bad a day at the office entirely!

Em

BRITISH MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES ROUND 2 – WASING ESTATE 9TH MAY 2010

Was this a case of déjà vu?? It certainly was; the Southern XC round had provided the initial taste of Wasing, and left a bit of a mixed aftertaste. The southern round enabled areas of required work to be highlighted and, true to their word, the ditches were filled in and the run out from the drop off was surfaced better (although by the end of my morning race it was starting to churn up again so possibly this needs more work still). In addition, the Inevent/SIP crew decided to lose the awful clay climb and also to split up some singletrack to allow for greater passing opportunities. What this all meant was that lap times came down, helped by the drier weather, and therefore much to my relief we were on for a four lap race (I felt three laps would be much too short).

This time around my category not only included Jo Munden, back from two weeks in Majorca, but also saw a return from the ever consistent Caroline Goward. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this race as on top of it being bitterly cold I’d been suffering ever since getting back from Dalby with a sinus infection. This had wiped out almost two weeks of training, and worse, in my opinion, was having missed three speed workouts. My pre-ride however felt promising and this time there was no riding past the drop!

After a good warm-up I ummed and ahhed about whether or not to keep my knees on for the race but eventually opted not to; big mistake! On the line and again my heart rate was half through the roof. This time, annoyingly, we were starting behind the expert field. Since a good number of us masters are faster than the experts it can be exceptionally frustrating, but I set myself up behind Danielle Rider who has been doing well in her category and hoped she’d be looking to be out in front quickly.

We set off at the gun and after a short stretch Danielle fortunately was only 1 or 2 riders off the front, as we neared the right hand turn I got in front and sat on Adela Carter’s (Top cyclo-x rider) wheel as she led into the first singletrack. She is extremely powerful and was soon away. Danielle got back in front of me and for a while I was riding on her wheel but aware there were others close behind. Following a ditch (filled in!) crossing I put an extra effort in on the hill to start getting away and try and put some gaps in the field. I knew that I still had company but not who, however for a time being managed to get away and came through the fist lap in first. Then something strange happened; it seemed that my legs just didn’t want to play. The biting cold seemed to penetrate my leg muscles. I was very quickly caught and overtaken by Caroline and Jo and they seemed to disappear off into the distance. This is where I wish I was wearing my knees as my muscles were freezing and I think this, combined with reduced speed sessions, meant I wasn’t firing on all cylinders when it came to the hills (albeit small ones). I soon worked out that my strength was in the second half of the lap so this is where I concentrated my harder efforts. I eventually made it back to Jo but Caroline seemed to have disappeared. Sitting on Jo’s wheel at the end of lap 2, I was just trying to get some rest in preparation for lap 3. As we came through a section of singletrack suddenly Caroline was right there. Jo was able to bridge the gap to Caroline but I failed miserably. I didn’t worry and knew I’d put the hammer down on the second half of the course. I made it back to them later on, and then crashed! A poor line choice and possibly too hard a gear suddenly had me on the floor from the exit of the corkscrew-esque section and since a fireroad section followed this it seemed I’d lost them again. Still head down and sure enough I made it back, again, and the three of us started lap 4 together. Jo soon pulled away and very quickly opened up a gap that left me chasing Caroline. After a short while however the gap between Caroline and myself started to expand and no amount of effort managed to bring it back; she was long gone. I crossed the line in third, annoyed that I’d been ill and cold but also feeling relatively happy that I’d not completely died and that the lap times weren’t all that bad. Jo took a well deserved win having put over a minute into me on the last lap (clearly time in the sun had helped!!) and Caroline put about 45seconds in with her ever smooth and consistent style to take second.

 As for the course; a vast improvement on the southern round but not one I can say I really enjoy. I think Sherwood will be rated above Wasing for me personally. Still, there are rumours that races will be back and as the very kind land owner gets more experience of what racers are after, there is probably scope for course designers to make some additions to keep us on our toes.

Thought I would get my season started at the 2nd round of the NPS after circumstances preventing me from doing round 1.  I knew the course due to competing in the Southern XC a month before.  However, that had not been the best decision I have made on this planet - rocking up to a rickety course similar to Drumlanrig (not my favourite) a week after breaking ribs thumb and busting wrist is not sensible and I can assure you it is extremely painful! I had been concerned my body might prevent me going as I had been suffering with a really bad sinus infection and head cold since Friday but I felt a little better on the Sunday morning and decided to give it my best effort.

So, was up on the grid with Scott O'Neill and Sylvain Garde, two really fast road riders. The gridding system was poor- number order if you had not scored points at the first round of the BMBS and not related to current rankings, frustrating to say the least. After all the confusion and arguments we were gridded and then off - all 48 of us. This caused some massive traffic jams (due to tight nature of front of the course) and split the bunch up more than some other events.

Frustratingly, I felt I was riding like I was towing a trailer, I'd had a huge accident on the road on Thursday (one of those bunch crashes which I avoided but unfortunately someone not paying attention behind smashed into me) and had felt rough from that.  Wanted to complete the race though, except on lap 2 my front wheel washed out on a turning which was an off-camber little bombhole and I fell and cut open my injuries from Thursday.  Determined, I fought on with the 3rd lap but by then I was just thinking "don't fall, don't fall" and eventually made the decision I was doing myself more harm than good and withdrew. Not an enjoyable course at all in my book, but then I don't personally get excited about the similar Drumlanrig course, each to there own I suppose and can't say they suit my style.

Sylvain did well and my other training buddy Serge Hunt did really well, not sure why I cant keep pace with on a MTB..but will change that when recovered from my injuries.

Spent yesterday in bed, then just tried to go out on my bike, lasted about 10mins, body clearly prefering my bed. Looking forward to 3 weeks holiday in the sunshine now, so hopefully will be nice and fresh when i get back!

SOUTHERN XC ROUND 1 - WASING ESTATE, 11TH APRIL 2010

Wasing was the new kid on the block for 2010 so it was a fresh, unseen course for all riders. My pre-ride of the course didn't fill me with excitement, but I did decide on the day that I wouldn't pass judgement on the course until the BMBS round there in a couple of weeks; all courses deserve to be bedded in when cut from fresh.

Off from the start was a blast over the grass, before a short tarmac interlude and then onto traditional fire road material. This turned into a singletrack climb with the initial introduction to Hampshire's horrid soil type; a small little climb but with a clay base. A brief foray back onto some wider trail before heading into more singletrack with a few little tricky sections made tricker by the aforementioned clay that was still damp. This was then followed by the almost unrideable (except by a few superhumans) claggy clay climb. The singletrack wound around a bit more before popping you out via the drop-off, or chicken line. Now here's where I completely rode like a blonde on my pre-ride as I just did not see the drop option. Commenting to Rob at the end, "where was that drop-off then?" to which he replied along the lines of "you rode right past it!", ooops!! Oh well, it just meant I wouldn't ride it in the race and when I did look down it, the bottom looked like it was now a lottery if you kept your front wheel or not. A wide, steeper then it looked, climb led from here to some brief respite on fireroad before hitting the next section of singletrack. This wound itself around the woods, included a few mini-drops with mini-banks, and eventually led you to the greasy corner followed by the stiff little climb. There then followed a corkscrew like (if you race Gorricks you’ll know what I mean) section. Fireroad, bluebell wood (well it should be soon if they get their little heads out the soil!!) fireroad, arena is how it then ended. There were a few stream crossings, and unfortunately by the afternoon these were seriously getting deeper. They were rideable, but at times it was a bit of a lottery as to whether you cleared it or not.

This year I’ve decide to apply a bit more seriousness to Southerns; this mainly means to warm-up properly on the turbo as I would do at a National! I was second in the series last year so this year I’d like to go higher. I also have to work on eating, as being an afternoon race I really struggle to keep my energy topped up properly which last year, resulted in some very poor performances at afternoon races.

Lining up to start this time were two familiar faces from Sherwood plus a couple of riders who I’d not raced before. All afternoon female cats started together; elite, expert, masters and sport. From the off I attempted to get through the expert field and get onto Maxine Filby’s wheel (elite) as I knew she’d be setting a good pace.  Eventually I got the position as the course turned to singletrack, but she slipped on the first clay climb and I went past. It didn’t last long though as she was soon through again as was Lydia Gould (expert). Jo Munden was with me too and we’d already had one battle at Sherwood prior to a leg/bar incident and the onset of cramp which meant Jo dropped back. Max and Lydia were soon off leaving Jo and me riding together. It soon turned a little comedic as first one of us would slip up and the other would go in front and vice versa. Add in to this the course tape being broken causing me to over shoot a turning (with Jo thankfully shouting and alerting me) and it was a bit of a yo-yo affair. We were together for all three laps, and pushing each other hard. It was the final stream crossing that I think was the turning point. I’d had a good line through the previous couple of laps so was aiming for the same line again, however my front wheel hit something and I ground to a halt; then Jo did the same. We were both dragging bikes out the muck and I was again trying not to panic but get back on the bike as quickly as possible. Clipped in, I got my head down and applied full power (or as much as I have) and went for it, not knowing where Jo was but knowing that, from her road racing, she probably had a better sprint than me. I kept my head down and it was only as I went through the final hairpin that I saw Jo was sufficiently behind that I could ease off; but just a little. As I crossed the line it was the first small step towards a hopefully more successful southern campaign than last year.

BRITISH MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES ROUND 1 - SHERWOOD PINES 28TH MARCH 2010

Season opener Sherwood is a ‘marmite’ affair; you either love it or hate it. After last year and a great course I was actually looking forward to the race, although I was also concerned due to the early season start, lack of speed work I’d done and a complete unknown field in my category.

A stopover in Derby Friday night meant Rob and I made it to Sherwood nice and early in order to get sorted before heading out for an early practice. Initial reports from riders who had already been round talked of an even better course than last year, and they were certainly right. James Hampshire certainly did himself proud with what I believe is the best Sherwood course I’ve ever ridden. With the obligatory log hops and tight, twisty singletrack, he also managed to pack in a fun, gulley rollercoaster ride, multiple line choices and a testing steep bank to get up. I then did a second lap with some race pace in to see how some of the sections would ride and to see what my legs were initially telling me; seemed ok! I’d timetabled my day and therefore food was next (Thanks to Rob agreeing to wash my bike) and most importantly, to ensure no panic attacks overnight, I set my watch an hour ahead to pre-empt the clock change.

Race day dawned, I’d had a good sleep and didn’t feel tired. Brekkie down me and I stuck my nose in my book for a while to relax. It soon came time to warm-up so I plugged into the Ipod and got going on the turbo.  Warm-up over it was off to the start and I’d made a decision to avoid chit chat as much as possible (clearly a shocking revelation!) and keep to myself; it was needed too as my heart rate was up, most likely due to nerves, but as long as I could keep them under control I wouldn’t fall to pieces.

I had the number ‘1’ board in my category so was first on the line. There really was only one other racer from last year who I knew, the rest of those in the category were relatively unknowns but had bumped the numbers up to a decent size making it double figures for once in the category! I like to get a good start and out of the way of everyone, I also wanted to be first in the singletrack at the end of the fireroad section. Rob had advised me to sit in behind someone on the fireroad and attack over the top to ensure I didn’t get held up. Well, it didn’t really go like that; from the off I was on the front but I am convinced I didn’t end up towing anyone. Kirsty from AQR however made the initial move and got into the singletrack first however I soon overtook at the next available opportunity and got my head down. I could hear people behind but had no idea who it was or what category they were in (we’d been started with Vets & G Vets at least, I believe).

The first lap was not a perfect execution of a solid XC lap. At one point I had the bike sideways in one of the few slippy sections and was overtaken. Then there was a delay at the steep bank as rider after rider queued up and then towards the end of the lap at the end of the fast, swoopy singletrack a rider went down causing a brief dismount. This put me in a group, who as I came through the finish I tried to overtake. I wasn’t sure who was in my category and Rob didn’t know either when I took a bottle.

Lap 2 spread people out a bit more but I still had company. I think I may have swapped places with about three other people at one time but the next time through the finish I was pretty sure I was in 1^st.  Lap 3 went much better but again I had someone on my tail, and since I didn’t know who it was I was trying to shake her but as I came nearer to end of the lap she started putting some serious pressure on and what seemed to be a last lap sprint for the line as she went past me; it turned out she was indeed doing that as she was the Vet women’s winner, much to my relief!

As I went through the feed for the final time I could see that I had company not that far behind me, and as I came back into the arena singletrack it appeared as if she’d gotten closer to me. From here on in I completely buried myself; I was not having this race taken off me. Even when I felt that I was sufficiently clear I did not let up and even sprinted to the line, no sitting up beforehand, just a little smile about 5 metres out! It was my first ever National 1^st place and I was absolutely chuffed to bits.

There was however, something else that had me just as ecstatic as my win. That something was my beautiful Cotic Soda; she is an absolute World Class stunner and I feel so privileged to own her. Cy and Paul at Cotic (www.cotic.co.uk ), and Ian and Kate Potter of AQR (www.aquickrelease.com ) have done an awesome job of designing, developing and testing a bike that just wants to go faster. She has rocket like acceleration, slithers smoothly through the twisty stuff and feels planted on the steep stuff. I had to ride her fast otherwise I wasn’t doing her justice. I really hope I can keep it up as I need to do her proud for the remainder of the season!

GRRICK ROUND TWO RACE REPORT - Tunnel Hill

(well.....really round 1 that’s been re-arranged)

Gorricks are definitely becoming THE pre-season series to get you back up to speed and this was certainly evident in a number of the categories.

Rob - SuperMasters

Rob was up first thing in the morning going off with the Supermaster men. He managed to time his arrival to the venue with 10 minutes to go having set the alarm a little too late! He made the start...just.  It was freezing and snowing a bit as well; nice. Anyway, for having a whole bucketful of stress lately and training having gone down the toilet he looked pretty good at the finish, coming in 21^st.

Em - Expert

I was off at the other end of the day; it was still biting cold but at least now when riding it was warmer. The course was really good, with some little drops, a bit rooty, a few sharp ups, a little fire road and very singletrack heavy which is always good. I was in expert; although I race Masters at National, Masters at a Gorrick is a lap shy so I think getting more of a workout is the way to go therefore 4 laps was the order of the day. There were 6 of us in total, a very good turnout considering and a few familiar faces too. Abi Greenway was back from a year in Italy and France, along with Maxine Filby who went from Sport to Expert last year and Malin Tindberg our UK based Swede who is riding under the WXC banner this year but moving from Masters to Expert at National level.

We went off with the Sport women. Along the opening fireroad there was some shuffling and I managed to sit in behind Max and Abi before taking a different line and coming together almost at the same time as Max’s line choice met mine. One of the sport women then decided to cut me up on the corner with me almost ramming her wheel! Over the little drop and then unfortunately I was on the same line as the sport woman when she spun out on the root at the top of the little up. A couple of the women went round me whilst I got clipped back in but I thought ‘no probs, will catch up’. A little further round someone else also spun out and again I had to get clipped back in. It really went downhill from there; my shifters were misbehaving. Shifting quickly was not possible, even trying to pre-empt a shift wasn’t easy, I couldn’t get in my big ring and also the thumb shifter wasn’t rebounding back so I had to manually try and flick it back each time (oh and that was a pain as I had thick gloves on). Halfway around the first lap, as well as my shifting problems I had a stitch from hell which was giving me pain all down my right side. Stitch finally gone I started on lap 2 however, shifting was becoming progressively worse and in the end I decided with a trip to Spain coming up that replacing some shifters (which could be gotten at home) was a better option than ripping a mech or chain which would need a shop trip, so I withdrew after lap 2. I was extremely disappointed however I’d rather it all happened now and left me in a better position for the National and Southern Series.

So roll on Spain

FULL RACE RESULTS FOUND HERE

Hi All,

Well I said I would do it and here it is.  Basically its just a blog for you all to use to put race results and anything else results related.

If you've not used a blog, its fairly simple and luckily all in rich text.  If you want to do things in MS word first feel free as copy and paste does work....However if you use clever stuff it may not transfer too well.  You can embed pictures, files and video if you want and its really simple to add hyperlinks.

Anyway have a play and put your little reviews of performance up on here.

I only ask that you put the name and date of the race so they are easy to manage.  If you would rather I had a quick browse of your wording before sticking it up, then fine..  If you manage to get a few photo's that will make it even better... (To insert photo's you have to upload them first, there is a nice icon to allow you to do this...)

Cheers

James