2015 and the end of 2014 have been big for me! On the bike, I tried my hand for the first time at two rounds of the National XCO Series, i took part in my first stage race and off the bike, I am about to welcome my second daughter into the world!
This year is also a big one for the team. We have new multi-talented recruits in Eliza Kwan and Ed McDonald as well as two new major sponsors in Hammer Nutrition and Maxxis Tyres. We saw awesome results throughout 2014 and you can see them all on our website
For me, this period I am calling end of 2014 and 2015 started back in November where I went to the Triple Trail in Jindabyne. Battling for the overall win was myself, Guy Frail and Glenno Columbine from the ONYA stable. I was lucky enough to win all three stages and have an absolute blast on the ever growing trail network that is around the Jindabyne area. Paul Gardner is a genius and builds some of the best trails I have ridden. The Triple Trail is about 4 years old, but it is an awesome race with 3 stages in 3 different venues over two days. You should definitely add it to the calendar!
Triple Trail, Bungarra
Next up was the National Series Round at You Yangs, VIC. I was a bit nervous about the race considering the fields at these races are full of strong guys! There is no hiding at all!
Dropping off
The track was interesting, it went something like: Climb, descend, climb a little bit, descend, ride around flat corners then repeat.
Glenno on top of the rock feature
The flat corners
I got a mid-pack start and avoided a huge crash on the start line. I basically rode with Reece Tucknott and another guy the whole time. Reece got away after the other guy stacked on a rock feature, i attacked him at the start of the last descent and finished 9th in Elite Men. To put it simply i was stoked to creep inside the top 10. The guys in front of me are all well known in the game!
Looks fast
Next up, National Series round at Mt Stromlo! Home sweet home, but the hardest track in town. Cardiac Arrest and whatever they call the rest of that bloody hill.
Made it over cardiac
I started on the back row and was in the middle of the pack as we flew up the fireroad on the start loop. By the time we hit the steep part of the start loop i looked back to see one guy sitting behind me, not ideal! I moved up about 5 places and hit the single track in about 25th or 24th out of about 30 starters. On the very first corner/rock garden we were off the bike and running. Back on the bike we hit Cardiac and within 10m we were running again. After lap one i was sitting 20th.
Cornering somewhere
My terrible start may have been a blessing in disguise because the first lap was governed, and at no stage did i hit that ever so familiar redline… Over the course of the next 5 laps i slowly but surely picked up riders.
The single best thing about racing the top level of Australian MTB in your home town is the support you get from people lining the course. Canberra has a pretty tight cycling community, even if there are rivalries and lovers tiffs between individuals and groups. But when a big event like this comes to town and the locals are competing, we all seem to band together and cheer each other on! I remember being deep in that box we all know, but still being able to hear people cheering my name. I couldn’t ever see anyone because i was chewing my stem and concentrating on what i was doing, but i could nearly always recognise someones voice cheering for me. Its pretty weird actually. I do remember Dan MacNamara giving me feedback about how i was making up places and how far the next guy was. I also remember asking Big Blakey Hore for his water bottle in a non feed zone because i had missed my bottle in the main feed zone. He didn’t give it to me cause it was empty, i hated him at that moment! I remember some little girl passing me one of my bottles at the top feed station that Blake McCauley had put up there for me, these were a god send each lap. A quick splash in the gob and the rest down my back was so refreshing at the top of that climb! I also think Jake McGee and Grace Sulzburger were standing on Cardiac Climb (i could be wrong), unfortunately i was unable to show them my mad skills at cimbing that thing cause not once did our little group clean it!!!! NOT ONCE!!?? The one time i had a clean run at it i wheel spun and jumped off. So shit 🙂 In training i cleaned it every time… I promise…
Last Lap with Tasman
So at the end of the race i ended up with Tasman Nankervis and we had a sprint to the finish, the last thing i wanted at this point in the race, but i was able to stay ahead of him!
The sprint!!!
I finished the day in 13th. From 20th to 13th is OK with me, the one thing we always say in XCO is that if you give any of these guys a head start, you are f$%ked. They are fast and you are never going to catch them!
Onya Bike and Ride 