Nduro series race 3 (finals) long course (50km)

I really enjoy taking on a good challenge of longer races and the Nduros in Rotorua are just the best.

They are awesome from so many perspectives. Apart from doing the best trails in Rotorua in one race I have learnt so many important elements in racing from these - to pace myself so that I don't burn out, when a good time is too sprint, knowing how far to push myself and when.

Having completed race 1 and 2 of the Nduro series (sorry blog followers - I haven't made a blog about race 2) doing the final 50km race is the "max-out" effort. The Nduro races have a format of shorter than 50km for the first race, pretty much bang on the 50km for the second and well over the 50km for the final race.  I knew this was going to be tough.

Even though I am the only person in the under-16 category doing the long course (nobody else is stupid enough to ride 50km at race pace), while I don't have pressure to get a place, I actually want to prove to myself that I can cut it with the best even more.  My goal on this final race was to keep up with the top guns in all the other categories and get in the top 30 overall.

Race 1 was a test to see how I would go, establish a race pace, test stamina etc. Dad and I took a steady as she goes' approach and finished around the 75th place.

Race 2  I attempted by myself.  I packed the pace up over a longer course and stuck with some top riders who were fantastic in giving me support and advice. In that I placed around 40th.

So with these experiences I knew that I had every chance of reaching my goal, but I also knew how hard it would be to place in top 30 with over 100 other competitors with a high calibre of skills and fitness (some of them were NZ national champions).

This time we didn't do out classic family experience and arrive 15mins before start.  We had an early trip down and plenty of time to prepare and relax.

Even so, I got to the start line not really knowing what to expect for this final race – apart from going hard and fast at the start to get into the single track clear of the main bunch, and hopefully not burn out in the process.

The 5 minute count-down to the start felt as though it had gone very quickly. In all the pre-race jostling I ended up being quite far back in the start line (maybe in the top 60) so it was going to be hard for me to get through.

When the gun went off it was a slow start with all the front bunch bursting off and me left in the bunch at a walking speed trying to pass everyone - Damn, damn, damn!!!

Still, dad's advice stuck in my head - be patience and smooth – don't panic, it was a long race. It wasn't until we approached the 10km mark that I found my rhythm. I was able to set a pace that wouldn't burn me out too much and was starting to catch riders ahead.

By the half way mark (25km) I could feel my legs hurting but I wasn't willing to ease back at all and maintained the pace using any down hill I could to stretch and relax.

I felt really proud of myself at the 35km mark because I began to catch riders who were New Zealand representatives for XC and the long 24 Enduro stuff, etc.

By this point my main concern was how long I could continue at the pace before my legs began cramping. After 2hrs and 30min on the bike my heart rate was over 180 and I was throwing everything I had left so I could make it in that top 30.  It was a real mind-game just to keep pushing.

I was actually really surprised when I came to the last huge hill climb because I had been so focussed on just keeping going.  I knew from the race map that I was about 5km was the finish.

I'll be honest - my legs were barely functioning – the body stores were running on back-up power – but looking around at my fellow competitors I could see everybody else were in the same position.

I was in a group of 4 riders and were all spinning up the hill on granny gear – I could almost hear the lags squealing.

As I reached the top I knew it was virtually all over. All I had to do was survive the downhill and make it to the finish unscathed and I would get that top 30. Boy did that last few k's feeling like forever!

Crossing the finish line I could feel the cramps beginning. Just made it!  I can honestly say I had nothing left - even another few hundred meters would have ended me.  If you look at the photo below I look almost relaxed, but trust me, my legs were jelly and if I'd had anything in my stomach it wouldn't have stayed there long!

At the prize giving I was given the 1st place in my category and 1st overall in the category for the whole series.  Even though it was just me in the category I felt proud going up because it had been a really honest effort and it felt good to be representing the R&R team who have really supported me on the journey.

Later that evening at home when I went to check online how I went overall I found out that I had come 28th!!!!!!!!

I had completed the 50km race in 3hrs and 34seconds (damn! only 34 seconds off being under 3hours).  It's really inspired me for next year- what do you reckon? top 10?

:)

N-duro (Rotorua) winter series race 1 long course 2014

The N-Duro winter race series is an annual event held in Rotorua every winter, it usually has 3 races in the series and 3 different lengths, short, medium and long. The short is usually about 15km long, medium around 30km and the long is about 50km.

For the first race of the series dad and myself decided to take on the longer course together just to get a good experience with keeping control of what a good pace is to last 50km.

When we arrive to the event venue it wasn't very long till the race started so we had to get our things ready quickly, but of course dad was fluffing around taking forever to get ready. It was only 4 minutes before the start and dad was still talking to random strangers so I had to drag him over to the start.

The race was said to start in the next 15 seconds, It wasn't a long wait till we were on our bikes slowly and steadily making our way pass the slower people, watch a heap of people sprint off we knew that sooner or later they will burn out.

We got to our very first proper (huge) hill climb which was a forestry road which felt endless and was quite steep causing the sprinters to drop off and quite a few others to burn out. Dads plan for us was to spin up and cruise down and we will notice that we can go harder for longer, it was definitely difficult at times though cause I just wanted to burst off.

we got about 20km in and we were both going at a good pace, it felt quite nice that we were pacing our self not causing us to burn out.

At the 35km mark dad was looking quite sore from cramps and told me to go and sprint the last part of the race, so I hit the gas expecting to sprint 15km little did I know that the course wasn't 50km, it apparently was cut sort to around 43km so it was an easy sprint to the finish.

I felt pretty proud that I had survived that long course and with the new things on my bike (handlebars, seatpost) I felt like a rocket. Dad came in about 2minutes after me which i was really happy about.  

Can't wait to do the 2nd race.

 

Auckland Secondary Schools race series 2014 (Totara park, South Auckland)

Now I know I didn't perform to the best of my abilities in the last race so this time I needed to make my mark and get on the podium.

Totara Park is on farmland out at the back of Redoubt Rd in the South Auckland.  I'm wasn't very fond of the place before this race as I had only been there about twice and each time it had been miserable - but today was going to change my perceptions.

The trail are all fine gravel through mostly open pasture.  Because its a working farm so along the tracks there are cattle gates to stop the cows getting out which are very slippery when damp and they were definitely damp from the last  few days of rain. Overall the course has a relatively even gradient with a few longer farm road climbs which means you actually gain quite a bit of elevation over a ride.  The fast-flowing downhills corner can be quite a challenge because of the gravel. Sounds like fun!

Today the race start was set at the bottom of one of the gravel farm roads. This uphill would lead riders into the first downhill track fairly quickly.  If I was to explain the course simply it is up, down, up, up, then flat for the rest of it - with limited places for overtaking so you had to get a good place at the start and hold it.

Before race start we had a quick helmet check with one of the elite riders which was a nice touch.  

So per normal the under 20's went off first and then followed closely by us the under 17's.

They counted us down then told us to go. I stuck to my goal of not destroying myself on the start which allowed me to conserve my energy and hold the top 5 up the hill.  As we got into the first downhill I was able to recover some energy. In fact I was feeling really relaxed.

The 2nd uphill was much shorter but had more quick pinch climbs.  At this point I was still holding a good 4th place.

By the time we hit the 3rd hill I was beginning to hurt and the pack was splitting apart.  Just before the top I had been over taken by a few people and was set back in 7th.  I tried to keep up with them just until the top but then the first place rider just hit the gas and made a break for it and everyone else followed.  I was with them for about 1min then got spat out.  I must admit I was a bit freaked by this.

I was now riding by myself I had a good gap on 8th but was a way back from 6th.   I kept reminding myself that it wasn't even half way and I could get myself back up into the top group.

As I headed into my second lap I could see a few riders (about 2) in front of me and remembered them from the top bunch so I gave it a good amount of gas to reach them. It wasn't long till I was passing them - one was the under 17's top female who she was doing very well.  Now I was in 6th for the under 17's males and feeling faster.

Entering the last lap I was starting to pass some of the top under 20's racers but still no sign of my guys which meant they must be rolling at super speeds. The under 17's top girl was still riding with me and I knew she wasn't going to lose me yet.

We were both still together when we got to the final climb of the race and we were both feeling the pain.  I was hoping she would be able to stick with me till the finish but she just burnt out.

As  I reached the top and crossed the finish line I was still in 6th and this time I knew that there was no excuse - everybody had gotten so much quicker! Time to step up the training and work for it.

Little sister Paige again finished in 2nd so great job for her.

I can't wait to do the next race in a few weeks time in Whitford Forest I have to make podium this time!

Big thanks to R& R Sport for keeping me and my bike in top shape :)

Auckland Secondary Schools race 2 (Riverhead)

Oh Riverhead! My one true love - even when it is super muddy. Even though I seem to do badly in races in Riverhead, I still love the tracks there. Odd!

This is the 2nd race in the Auckland Secondary Schools Series (AKSS).  The first one was at Hunua which also doubled up as the North Island race, in which I came 5th overall but 2nd in the Auckland kids, which I was very happy with.

It was a beautiful day at Riverhead, but for the people that don't know the place, can get very very muddy with even the smallest amount of rain.  Since we are now into the winter season and because there had been rain during the week there was no way this is going to be a dry course.

Lately I have been practicing trying to control my nervous energy before races and surprisingly my techniques were working.  For this race I was not concerned about what my finishing position might be but improving my own performance.

Once all settled in at the base camp area, I warmed up around the forestry roads so I would be ready for a hard 1st lap.

As the organisers called us down for race briefing (which lasted only 5minutes) we were straight over to the start line. It was a surprisingly big race field and I was slow to remember that now I was into the older group,  the earlier the start.

the start with the under 20's at the front

First it was all the boys and girls of the under 20's and then it was the under 17's - aka my group.  I secured a good spot on the front line and was ready to go.

My plan was to take the start not too hard (and not too easy) and try place myself in the top 5 for the first lap or two and then build up.  But as the horn went off I started to get people closing in on me trying to box me in so I made a break for it, getting out of the squeeze just in time.  Well - so much for that plan, but I had a good gap on the rest of the field.

me at 1st place after making a break for it

For the first 10 minutes I was at the front of the bunch going at a great pace. The course was very very muddy - peoples wheels were going everywhere and soon I was joining the chaos.  It seemed that every time you would slide out it would take a little piece of your energy until there was nothing left.

me in probably the driest section on the track

By the time I got to the end of the first lap I was only just holding 1st when I had a major wheel spin session which saw 2nd place over take me.  I had low-traction race tyres on and I was begining to regret that decisions.

I tried hooking on behind the new 1st placer but I my energy was already sapped. The longer the race went on, the more my energy went and so did my positions - it was killing me.

As I reached the last 1km of the race I felt horrible.

It seemed that the top 5 of my category had gotten a whole lot quicker over the past few months.  I was at 6th place trying hard to reel in 5th but every time I got close my wheels would wash out again with the extra speed - so,so so frustrating.

I confess at that point my goal was just to finish. Entering the last little track section I could even see the 7th placed rider gaining behind me.  How could this be?  Seeing his happy face seeing me gave me the boost I needed to get over the line.

When I finally reached the finish, I was exhausted (and I confess, not feeling very happy about my performance).  I had made some serious errors in judgement and I knew what I had to improve on. The major lessons - don't run dry weather tyres in wet muddy conditions, and understand its going to be an endurance race so skills, not speed.

Paige (little sister) did very well and finished 2nd in the under 15's as a guest rider (since she isn't in secondary school yet).  I think my training with her is working. Totara park is the 3rd race of the series and lets hope I can prove myself better there.    

Rotorua Xterra Team (Mountain Bike Stage)

The Xterra event is something I have been down to watch others do and support family members on, but I had never done it myself so this race was going to be a new challenge that I was extremely excited about.  This event is very big with individual and teams competing, based around the Blue Lake (in behind Rotorua to the east).  The MTB race enters the Whakarewarewa trails from a direction I'd never done before so that was going to be a nice change.

Dad and I had been asked to be part of a team as part of a bigger group known as "The Auckland Nude Skydivers" who have been doing the event for years together.  I'm not convinced that they actually skydive, but the names catchy.   Each team has 3 people - one person doing the swim (1km), one doing the MTB ride (26km) and the last one the run (12km).  I was chosen to do the ride with 2 other older guys who had done this event for many years.   Awesome!

The increasing accommodation prices in Rotorua and tight family budgets dictated that this was going to be a day-run.  After a 5am start the family and I arrived down in Rotorua at about 10am (had to have the power breakfast stop mid-way of course!) which gave us enough time to catch up with the teams and get to know team members.   Quite funny really - it was like a blind date but then having to think how you were going to remember each other at the transition.

The swimmers were all asked to go to the start line at 11am for an 11:30am race start.

BOOM, The race gun goes off and a hundred+ swimmers sprinted to the Blue Lake and were off.  At that point I was equally eager and nervous. The pace of the front swimmers was awesome and soon the field had stretched over quite a distance.  After about 10minutes of them still swimming my nerves had calmed as I thought my partner would be most likely mid-field.

The first swimmer came in for a rapid time of 12min this was Hamish Carter's (ex-Olympian and world-class triathlete) swimmer, followed a few minutes later by increasing number of competitors, except for mine!   At this point I was starting to worry, because dad's swimmer had come in the top bunch and he had already left on his ride.

My swimmer finally came in a couple of minutes after dads (about 5minutes behind Hamish Carter) - bout the top third, so not too bad. 

I jumped onto the bike as fast as I could and gave it a huge burst up the first climb up the main road before entering single track - I was feeling pretty good and passed a heap of riders who were struggling with a long steep'ish uphill start.  Turning left up onto the gravelly forestry road I was able to recover a little and maintain a high pace before hitting the hills I knew were coming up.

I was able to pass heaps of people before finally getting to the biggest climbs in Rotorua - Hill Road + Frontal Labotomy.   And trust me - Hill Road lives up to its name! its a beast.  It took me about 10 minutes of hard climbing to get to the top of the road and my legs were burning.  I had managed to continue passing other riders but only managed to get sight of dad near the top. 

Hitting Frontal Labotomy I had closed the gap but now I wondered if I could sustain the pace to overtake him.  At the very top of the track as we popped on to the road together I couldn't risk waiting, I had to go for it.  As I started to pick the pace up to get in front of dad he saw me and started to try sprint with me.  Somehow I managed to maintain my speed and got into Billy T first (brilliant Rotovegas downhill track). I love this trail and just nailed it, getting a good gain.  The hurt transferred to my arms but it was worth it - what a rush!

After another more gradual forestry road climb we were into another Rotovegas classic - Split Endz. Just before I could get into the track I got passed by an extremely quick rider. I decided to hook on behind him and battle through my pain barrier - using his speed to help keep me focused. I wasn't going to let this man go.

As we got to our last downhill  I realised that I was a little faster and more confident on the downhills meaning I was able to recover while he was still working hard.  Popping out down onto the lake side forestry road we had manged to get well clear of everybody. We had good speed working off each other and were able to relax a little and chat.

The final climb was a nasty one - a long moderate climb on good forestry road.   Perfect on a social ride, killer at the end of a race.  I could feel my legs wanting to give out but the guy told me "treat me like your dad - don't let your old man beat you up".  This motivated me to push hard up the hill, I felt very proud that I had done it.

All we had to do now was a short downhill to the main sealed road back to the event base. This was largely flat but at this point my companion had got slightly ahead of me and gaining on a rider in front.  I thought we wre the first two and just assumed that he was a straggler from the solo race prior. My goal was to catch them before the finish even though I was absolutely wasted.

I put my head down and used what little energy I had left to drive those 29er wheels hard.  As I caught up and went to pass them, both realised my challenge and we started a sprint finish. The guy I was riding with had more power left than me and won the sprint, with me a close second and the mystery "straggler" third. 

We all dismounted and sprinted to the transition area for our runners, who went straight off at pace as our overall placings hung in the balance.

My riding partner and new friend then told me I had done a great and told me to look at who we had caught up to.  Even though I could barely stand I pulled myself up and saw Hamish Carter - amazing!   Our straggler was in fact him trying to hold us off!  He was soooo nice, smiling and gave me a hand shake - very cool.  

It was only then that I noticed we were the only 3 in the transition area – I had managed to get our team from the middle of the bunch to top 3.  Plus I had beaten dad!

Hours later and as the runners were finishing, I found out my runner had come in with the 2nd fastest time getting us into 2nd place overall for the males teams. Fantastic effort.  Dad's team had done well coming in 4th overall by less than a minute - dad reckon he should have pushed harder and beaten me - yeah right!

After the race we had to say our goodbye's and hit the road to Auckland, missing out on prize-giving.  It would have been nice to celebrate the outcome but even just being there with the group was fantastic - a really nice group.   On the way to home there was constant trash talk and laughter about youth and speed verse age and cunning.

I really enjoyed this event and was proud to represent R&R, particularly against riders of top caliber (and an ex Olympian of course).  It was also one of the only time I actually got to meet some other R&R sponsored racers which was quite cool.

Its a great event and if you have a chance to do this one, don't pass up the opportunity.  Highly recommended.

 

North Island Secondary School (NISS) MTB XC, Tie-Breaker and DH (Hunua)

Hunuas are definitely not my favorite place to race. It's always hard work racing there.            

This is a two day event, the first day starting off with the XC race and followed in the afternoon with the Tie-breaker race (a mini enduro type race). The second day was the downhill day with the timed run in the afternoon.

 Day 1
We arrived at the Regional Park very early because the gates had to be closed by 8am, meaning I had to get some extra sleep in the car on the way out.

The Under 15s were the first ones to race. My little sister Paige was in the under 15 girls and she started off strong holding a nice 3rd place. When she came around into her 2nd lap (of two) she looked great but 4th wasn't to far behind. After 25min Paige came in looking very tired - just beating 4th place by 3 seconds in a sprint finish. Awesome effort.

Lil sis in the start

Now mid morning, the older riders were next. The under 20's went off first, then a 15 min gap were the under 17's (my category) and under 16's.

With about 40-50 people in this group it was a huge mass start. When the start gun went off my plan was to just draft-off someone and save my energy for the last lap. But no one was making a move at all and I could see that everybody were going to tangle at the first sharp corner across the paddock. I knew that if I got caught in the bunch I would be held back, so I burst off. I managed to get a good break but took the corner very badly and got swung right out. However I was still able to keep the pace up and hold second place into the first track.

After that we popped back out onto the grass in the spectator area. I was already hurting but was still with the top six (2-3 were in under 16's).

Bursting into corner first

me and some dude popping up at front

The pain at the top of the biggest hill

Going into the second lap, man was I hurting! I kept getting caught behind a guy who could burst the roads but was slow on the tracks. While that got me annoyed I held my ground.

This stayed the same as we started the 3rd and final lap, and I had not been passed by anyone. About half way through the final lap I finally managed to pass the "annoying" guy. I knew that there was alot of single track until the end (which he would struggle with) meaning I could get a good gap before the last road sprint.

Leaving the road in the last hill climb, about 200meters away from the finish, I came across 4th place and was really happy that I had made time. We stuck together up the hill and turning for the final sprint I thought I would be able to take him on. But I was more wreaked than I thought and just could not sprint. He beat me by 7 seconds. So 5th place (under 17's) in the XC - not bad.









It was a long wait for the tie breaker to start in the afternoon but I needed the rest. While we waited I found out as I was in the top 15 people overall, I would be starting in the first group- no pressure!

At about 1pm the Tie-Breaker started. It took about 10 minutes until my turn to start. I was not worried about this race at all and was very relaxed. It was going to be fun.

The Tie-Breaker is a small race that should only take about 1min 30sec for the top racers and about 3min for the slowest riders. I made sure to get a heap of speed coming off the road start getting into the single track (Kauri Trail) so that I could have good momentum through the track. As I popped out into the grass area where everyone was watching. I hit the first corner of the chicane badly, going in short causing me to swing out wide (like the XC start) and lose some speed. I hit the gas to get into the trail and felt like I was gaining time back.  Getting through the finish line I felt pretty good about the sprint, except for that one little stuff up which cost me a few seconds.

In action during the TB

 
It was a bit of a ride back to the race center and I missed watching quite a few people, so I had no idea how my race compared with other riders. About 1 hour later the results were all in.

At prize giving they only announced the place-getters for each category. I knew that I had missed out on an XC placing but hoped that I might have got somewhere in the Tie-Breaker. When they called the under 17 men, I found out I had got 2nd place, and was only 1 second from being first!

Me in the middle With the silver

Day 2
Day 2 was another early start, but this time we only had one race to worry about - the downhill.

The race rules required full-face helmet, knee and elbow padding. It felt so weird riding in all this gear. Weirder still I was on my XC hardtail - but no worries I knew I could get down the course, just not in a hurry. I really just wanted the points for the overall ranking, a DNF would not help.

After 4hours of pre riding the course they called up the first group to be shuttled up for the timed run.

I to wait nearly 2hours until it was the under 17's turn to shuttle up. As we were going up I wasn't feeling too nervous, just some excitement going through me. At the top it was another long wait until it was my turn to start. One by one, by school, riders would be started 30 seconds apart.

As I got to within 5 people away from starting, I was starting to freak out thinking of crashing, etc but I told myself that I only had to do it once and I didn't have any pressure.

At the starting block, all clipped in and ready to go, the offical started to count down then just screamed go!

I burst off of the starting block with more speed than most of the downhillers I had just watched. The track began with a lot of sharp corners and some very bumpy sections. I handled this without too many problems.

As I approached the half way mark my chain came off!   @#%*!!!!!!

I quickly put it back on but then found that I was stuck in one gear. Luckily it was the hardest gear, however this little mechanical had cost me a good 20 seconds (that is alot in DH).

I carried on pumping my way through the track, having a few very close calls, almost crashing as I tried desperately to recover some time.

Almost crashed!!!!!

 
 
Anyway, I survived and had fun.  While I was annoyed with what happened, I thought I had done pretty well for being on a XC bike.

The next few hours were great fun getting to watch the under 20's come down with a whole lot more speed and style than me. After the racing was finished a few selected riders got to go back up to the top for a demonstration run. They cruised down and and then at the very end hit a couple of huge jumps which was amazing to watch.

At the end of the day was the final prize giving. My little sis ended up taking out 3rd for the DH and Overall for the under 15 girls. Congrats Paigeee

Paige in the middle with her 3rd overall certificate

My mechanical on the downhill had cost me any chance of a top 3 placing overall. That's racing!

After I got home I checked the full results online:
XC-5th        TB-2nd        DH-20th       Overall-5th        

What an exhausting but great weekend. It was a really professional set-up - well done to the event organisers.

Thank you to mum and dad for driving us out every morning at 6am  for two days.

Thank you to R&R Sport for the great support over the last couple of weeks helping me get a new kit and a huge thanks to Jesse Voza for getting me to where I wanted to be!!!!!!!

Giant 2w gravity enduro (Rotorua) 2014

Once is never enough I say for this race

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!   what better to do as a warm down from Nationals Racing than this?

The family had planned this race down in Rotorua (part of the Bike Festival) as a day trip, as only a week after the Nationals, the budgets were pretty much shot.

Very generously R&R were letting me borrow a full-sus bike again.  I even got to decide on which bike -Trek Fuel ex8 or the Giant Trance 27.5 slx - oh my god, bike heaven!!!!.

I ended up using the Trek as they had lent the same one to me for the previous race and I knew how it handled (best all-mountain bike everrrrr) which was important since I would have little or no warm up time before hand.

Arriving late into Rotorua I had to sprint to the race registration, who thanks to lovely cellphone calls on the way down, where aware of my predicament.  A quick change, gear on and pedal to the start/finish _ made it to my mates who were waiting to get going with minutes to spare - phew!!.

Once race briefing was finished we waited in line to tag on and go.  Its a streamed start in the centre of town followed by a beautiful ride along the waterfront to the forest trails. When we got to the first shuttle pick up area we found out we were some of the first people to the shuttles meaning we didn't need to wait in a huge line to get on a shuttle.  The resulted in us getting to the start of the first run 30min into our 6hour ride limit - awesome.

Stage 1: This was one of my favorites.  It started with Gunna Gotta (which was running mint with brilliant berms and drops) and then it popped onto the road before a short sprint across to the next track (Katore Jumps). This had huge gap jumps which, if I didn't have the full-sus,  I would not have done. At end of that track was another small road crossing before going into Tickler which had a few drops down before a short, quick full-bore climb to the finish of this stage.

Stage 2: Over to the other side of the forest where we again caught the shuttle to one of the highest point of the forest. This was meant to be the shortest stage following half of Tuhoto Ariki, but boy did it feel long with short climbs, hard wet sharp corners and a lot of pedaling.  By the end of the track everybody was very tired.

The organiser must have been having fun with this area because you then had ride a few km up the track to the next stage - ow! the lgs!

Stage 3: The longest stage of them all, also had a big queue at the start.  Starting with Hatu Patu with a very hard rutted downhill then popping onto a road a while before hitting G Rock which was lovely.  Pumping out of Chestnut into Roller Coaster with its nasty long uphills I was starting to feel buggered.  Heading into the final part of the track which was about 200m long before a straight down to the finish, I was toast!

We then had to head back to the shuttles at the same spot for the next stage.

Stage 4: This was probably the scariest stage for me. Starting on the National DownHill I felt like I had no control. Coming up to a drop which was full of mud caught us by surprise and made sure all competitors had a covering of mud (have to look the part).  A road sprint to the finish ensured all the mud and rock was flicking up into my face and by the finish I looked like I felt - well worn!

Not too far from the 4th stage was the 5th one.

Stage 5: After fluffing around at the start line at the top of Direct Road we finally got the energy levels back to get going on this stage. A road sprint section for 20seconds we then hit Hot Cross Buns, which for those who don't know it, is full of hard drops and sketchy corners on quite a slope down the hill.   Coming out of the track on Pipeline Road we went across to Bunny Jugs which only lasted a few seconds before it was a sprint to the finish.

For the final stage of our race we had to ride 10min back to the shuttles where we had originally started.  By the time we got to the start of Stage 6 we found out we had 45min left of our 6 hr time limit.  Boy had the day gone fast!

Stage 6: This stage started with Corridor and then went into Soak Hole, both great fun trails but technically challenging.  At this point I was the only one of my mates who hadn't crashed.   Murphy's Law - shouldn't have thought it (let alone the trash talk) - I lost it on a corner and went over the handle bars.

No damage to either myself or the bike but the pride was in tatters.  Worse, I had been seen by the others so I couldn't even hide it - epic fail!

As I got back on the bike, my mate Kim was coming up fast behind me, necessitating a very dodgy pass on a lady which made Kim lose me before we popped onto the road - pride restored a little.

Following the side track we had a nasty little climb before entering Exit Trail which was full of drop after drop after drop - OMG! arms, brake fingers, evrything was hurting now!

Getting round the lake front back to the finish I was out of energy, but the nature of this race is all fun - you just feel great for doing it.   As we all caught up and talked about our various adventures it was clear everyone had a great day.

Full credit to the organisers and the support crews for an awesome day.  Rotorua Council and business community, your support is just incredible - really leading the way in adventure tourism and events.  The start/finish in the centre of town was just brilliant - some an amazing vibe and atmosphere.

Thank you very much R&R for the bike for the weekend absolutely loved it!

2014 mtb xc national championships Rotorua

This is was the big one. My final under17s nationals! I needed to prove that I was up there with the top guns.

The Rotorua Nationals are always large races and everybody wants to get 1st. 

Traveling down the day before, we were staying at the Holiday Inn (luxury by our standards) courtesy of complimentary stay passes I had won as a spot prize at a previous event. An easy unpack I then got on my bike and did a pre ride on the course.  Man! in the perfect conditions at 1pm the course was already dusty. It was going to be an interesting race of conditions remained the same.  After the ride I had a lite dinner and then headed off to bed early - tomorrow was an all or nothing day.

7am wake, 7:30am breakfast - I needed to force myself to eat because the nerves were really kicking in, I was actually feeling really ill.  I'm not sure whether this was real or just head games, but  I was way less than 100% 

My family and I rode out to the race venue together.  I followed this up with a good hours warm up, ridding myself of some of the nervous energy.  About 20min before race start, the feelings were back in full force and mum had to get me two panadols just to stop me from vomiting.   They worked! The panadols went straight in to action and I felt like I could do anything.

The day was now hotting up - a perfect Rotorua day.  5 laps of the 6km circuit in theses conditions was going to be fast and intense.  As everybody lined up ready to hear whose name would be called up for a ranked start position I actually started to relax more.   Nothing to be done now but race.

For those who haven't done this before, they group riders in lines of 5, the fastest ranked riders at the front from then the next 5 and so on. When they were calling out the names for the 2nd line my name was suddenly called out, I was very surprised - my heart rate had jumped straight to 130bpm! Boy was I scared.

The organisers called out the race would start in the next 15 seconds, then about 3 seconds later the horn went off.  The sound of 30 competitors clipping in and gunning it was amazing.   The start is one of my strengths and I was bale to make my way through the top 6 to get me into 4th place hitting the first single track. At this point I felt amazing.

I held this position for almost the whole first lap.  I felt great except for a familiar feeling of tension in the back of my quad but just ignored the feeling and pushed hard, determined to keep the pressure on the riders in front.  As I got to the last hill of the first lap I had about 3 people hard in behind me but I was comfortable at a good constant speed.  Suddenly, half way up the hill my leg felt like someone was grabbing my quad and cutting it with a knife - no warning, just sudden excutiating pain!

I fell to the side of the track almost in tears because not only was I losing my brilliant placing, but I seriously thought I had a major injury to deal with.  I was punching and rubbing my legs and (much to my disgust) realised it was severe cramping.  By the time I had any feeling in my leg again I was pretty much in last place (30th).

Sitting there like a basket case on the side of the track I thought my race was over.  The desire to drop out and save the pain and embarrassment of a poor placing was just so tempting!   But no, my stubborn pride kicked (blame that on my parents) _ giving up just wasn't an option.  I was determained to finish this race even if I came last.

It took me a whole lap to reach the race stragglers who I passed with ease getting.  By the end of the 5rd lap I had climbed to 20th,  but the next level of riders had quite a lead on me.  As hard as I pushed I just couldn't make significant gains.  I had a few spills on the track but nothing major and remained in 20th for the rest of the race.

After the race I met up with a few mates who were telling stories of how hard they had found it and the fact that by lap 3 the positions barely altered.  It was amazing hearing that people had really suffered but never the less we all still really enjoyed it.  That's Nationals racing I guess - its a much mental as it is physical.

Prize giving for the morning races where held before the Under 23s and Elite's (afternoon) and I couldn't believe that after weeks and weeks of training, my little sister (who had been given dispensation to race under-age) had reached her goal of getting top 5 in under 15 girls.  Even better - she actually came out the competition with a silver medal. Super proud of her!!!

The rest of the day was spent watching the older rider suffer on that demanding track in incredibly hot temperatures, and experience an amazing sprint finish between Anton Cooper and Sam Gaze.  If I had been feeling sorry for myself in my race, seeing these top riders suffer just left me in awe.   Brilliant race Sam /hard luck Anton (40km at race pace and 1sec in it!!!!) - but inspirational riding for us younger riders.

Thanks Jesse Voza for the coaching through the last couple of months - I felt a huge improvement.  And to R&R Sport for providing the new kit, great bike check before the race and just unwavering support - it means alot!  And finally to Bike Medic (Ants) for customising my bike over the last couple of months and the words of encouragement.

You really can't do these things on your own - its a team effort.

2014 mtb xc nationals (wellington)

Nationals!  One of the biggest events for most mtb racers.

Last year was my first experience of Nationals.  It was a huge step up from local 'under 15' races to under 17 at the National level.  This year I was determined to perform better, particularly as was to be final race in the under 17's due to by birthday being right on the age threshold.   Time to make a name for myself before under 19.

There are 3 races in the National series - Wellington, Nelson and Rotorua.  Rotorua was no problem being relatively close to Auckland, but my parents said I would have to choose between the other two as we could only afford one.

I had never ridden either Wellington or Nelson, but I had family in Wellington and given Pop (grandad) has been a major supporter of mine, this was the obvious choice.

So hundreds of Dads Airpoints later, Pop, Dad and I were winging our way to Wellington the day before the Saturday race. Unbeknown to us, it was Wellington Anniversary that weekend so we had a wicked deal on a luxury hotel in the city centre - nice!!!!

Arriving Friday morning I decided to test the track straightaway.  It was a simple unpack and bike assembly in the airport car park before a 10min ride to the Hataitai Velodrome where the race base was located.   The track, while technical in places, proved no problem for me and I got the hang of the track quite quickly, but the climbs were mean.  It was going to be tough racing.

The next day (race day) I decided to ride from the hotel to the velodrome as part of my warm up. After some quick laps around the velodrome I felt physically prepared but mentally I was jittery - those hills had started to unnerve me.

The race start up the velodrome entry road was quite short but steep. Even in that short distance the top 2 riders managed to get 100meters in front of everyone else - fast!

I was holding in with the top 5 entering the first hill climb section but with a lot of rough riding, passing, handlebar rubbing and poor lines on my part, I ended up being pushed to the back by the top of the hill.  I desperately tried to use the first level section to sprint up to the top 5 again but that hill truly had killed me already.

I maintained 12th through the first 3 laps but with limited opportunities for passing the top riders were increasing their leads.  Entering the 4th and final lap I realised that breaking through was almost impossible ( I was exhausted).  Instead I decided to hunt down 11th place rider in front of me.  Getting close on his tail I had noticed that his downhill skills were not the best.  I knew that the final downhill prior to the finish was my best option so when this approached I used up the last of my reserves and went for it.

Coming up on him fast I could tell he had heard me as he too started to crank up. We were both going full-bore into the start of the downhill - there was absolutely no room for error.  Suddenly my competitor pulled right back - he had toasted himself.  I had manged to get in front without the pressure of someone right on my tail and by the end of the downhill he was no where to be seen.

I was on my own for the final sprint to, and around the velodrome.  I was just some pleased to have completed that one exhausted by uninjured.

11th was way below my goal but I was still pleased just to have finished.  The competition was the best I have ever faced and the course had been tough and unrelenting.

Thanks to Jesse Voza and the J-Squad team for the training, R&R for the support (moral and gear, plus always having my back) and of course dad and Pop for getting me down to Wellington.