McConnel/Fry take Jayco MTBA National series opener, racing not the winner?

In what was a weekend of few surprises, Team Torq rider Dan McConnel and current Australian National Champion and Tasmanian local Rowena Fry have taken out the first round of the Australian National Cross-Country series held in Glenorchy, Hobart at the weekend. Few would have bet against the pair who look likely favourites to take line honours at the Australian National Championships to be held in Adelaide in a little over a months time.

Up and coming stars Paul Van Der Ploeg and Bec Henderson took out the U/23 event in style, placing 5th and 4th respectively in the Elite category overall.

But the big talking points of the weekend were unfortunately not about the racing, rather the restructuring of firstly the commitment of Cycling Australia to the long term future of mountain biking and the new format of the National series.

The devastating decision of Cycling Australia to withdraw funding from the elite level of mountain biking effective immediately was clear, with numbers obviously down on previous opening editions mainly due to the now defunct Discovery Tasmania team, who bore the brunt of this brutal and rash decision. The up-beat atmosphere around the race site and determination of the riders themselves was positive enough for any spectator to leave with the impression that CA have clearly made a massive error. Fantastic rides from not just the winners, but some of our lesser known riders who seemed out to prove a point were particular highlights perhaps showing that the sport has a much brighter future than previously thought, with many carrying on the same form which led Australia to it's best ever World Championship results no more than three months prior.

Of course the fact that Tasmania is such a bloody long way to go could well be a contributing factor, or the re-jigging of the format for the 09/10 series. MTBA have seen fit to delete some of the more popular categories in favour of focusing on Elite XCO, XCC (short track) and a new four hour enduro series on the Sunday. Many are not entirely convinced that this is the best way forward. Infact a large percentile of those now racing in the Elite ranks have not come through the junior ranks at all but Sport or Expert classes. How those out of the Junior or Espoir ranks but not yet ready for Elite level competition are supposed to gain experience on our Countrys biggest stage is now beyond me. Bring them back!

The upsides are Jayco are now the major sponsor of the series, bringing funding and credibility. Specialized bikes have also come on board to lend a hand. Most notably is that three of the four rounds have been catergorised C2 events, meaning minimum prize money, UCI points and kudos.

And so the circus rolls on. Maybe the Christmas break will bring some answers, some sanity and some form. Some deep thinking from CA and some re-hashing from MTBA to get things back on track.

Sydney Crit racing

Why is Sydney Crit racing so damn negative?

Every race I enter, people just aren't willing to put it on the line and have a go. Seriously, it's not the World champs and that $30 for the win ain't going to get you a grill. It's a club race, no one cares if you go out the arse. YOU CAN'T SPRINT. Bottom line. Stop sitting on the wheel, following, not touching the wind. You know full well the dude on you left is the clubs best sprinter and he will whack you. Get out there and make yourself a better rider by attacking and giving it your all.

I'm the first to admit this may not get you many wins. I am proof of this. But if your last 200m is anything like mine currently, you don't have a choice. You have to go. And if the lame bastard behind you winds it up and drags the whole bunch back to your wheel, you have every right to get on your high horse and abuse him/her. This is exactly the point where someone should take the initiative and go BAM straight over you. WHACK, you're in the box. And the next person, and the next, and the next. Drop the clubs best sprinter, split the group work and narrow your odds.

Not hit the brakes when they catch you and sit on your wheel, expecting you to continue on in the wind. WTF is that? The chaser is doing 15km/h more than you, has just made the catch and he jumps on the brakes to take your wheel! Here's a novel idea, use your momentum.

Be positive.

Holidays

It's good to be back from a break and riding again. I'd forgotten how much fun it is. The early mornings, feeling tired all the time, 3.30itis, eating anytime you're not asleep.

With a basic plan and 4 solid weeks of riding in the legs pushing big gears, it was time to hit up some local races. Peleton sports put on a Wed arvo crit round the driver training centre for fun, and it is! Nice little course, but with no jump in the legs it makes going forward and sometimes back from the bunch pretty hard. 

Ourimbah 8hr or Fat Tyre Festival was on again, and there was some competition this year for the solo win.

Sydney MTB champs which turned into the Western Sydney champs.

And Thredbo to Khancobin return! ouch.

Still to come, Tour of Bright and National round #1 in Tasmania!

It's sad to note though that the Merida/Flightcentre gig is no more. Well for me anyway. The team will continue on with some young talent who are squarely focused on XCO. The management picked the team with the picture of Enduros and 24hr racing, which I believe I fit well, but they don't see it. I'm not bitter, infact it has renewed my enthusiasm for the sport and I look forward to new challenges. But it does perhaps show that the new management has absolutely no idea what they are doing. Best of luck to them.

Now where's that razor.....

Customs, North American style

Customs although extremely serious in nature, can often be a joke if not boardering  on the ridiculous. I take my example from North American customs who, according to their propaganda whilst moving through, "pledge" to do almost everything under the sun. Pledge seems to be a word they have taken on board as it is often used in formal occasions or occasions of high importance, therefor it may have more significance to the American people, but to the average Aussie I think not.

It all starts on the drive to the the Departures sector. Police, and lots of them, with big guns, mainly shotties, make you stop the car. If you look suss they have a big mirror to search under the car like they're looking for illegal aliens, if not you get waved through but you know their are no smiling eyes behind those aviators.

Leaving Canada to fly to anywhere in the states requires you to jump through a series of hoops, each more ridiculous than the last. In fact my recent travel experience would tell me this is the case when travel to the States from anywhere. You "leave" Canada, I say "leave" because as soon as you cross into customs, you're on USA soil. What the? Canada or even Montreal from which I was flying out, a country with a fierce Quebecois sector, believing it's self to have the resources to form an independent country (don't make me laugh) yet still part of the Commonwealth (well, they still compete in the Commonwealth Games!) but they're customs is being run and medalled with by Uncle Sam. Makes perfect sense!

Off to see the first bit of uselessness then! The ad-hoc x-ray machines they have so carefully installed. After lining up for an hour or more to check in, you now take your own bags over the the x-ray machine which has been carefully placed in the middle of the terminal between check in counters. So you line up again for an hour to have your bags screened. And they still didn't find my compressed air canisters....Sorry, they did and when asked I said I wasn't sure what they were talking about and they let it through. (Is that a gun sir? No. Okay then on you go! But you can't take water through....WTF?)

Next it's having your boarding pass stamped by a very unhappy person. Maybe they are so unhappy because they realise their job is worthless. You have a boarding pass, here's a stamp that has the word "pledge in it somewhere for you, off you go. Yet you could very easily walk around behind this person and up the stairs with out them noticing...to security screening. Oh how I love security screening. You wanna smell my shoes? OK! Here you go, in the tray for you! Laptop in it's own tray, but remember, very important not to place anything else in with it, especially on top, cause, you know, the x-ray machine wont be able to see it then? I even had to take my sunglasses off, which are plastic and never set the metal detector off. Not sure what they achieved by scanning those, maybe to see if they were x-ray glasses? Do you have liquids in here sir? Yes I have a bottle of water, in the side pocket in plain view for you to see, why do you ask? Liquids are prohibited. Really? Even water, an essential element that makes up more than 80% of the human body? Well i'll be! Maybe you shouldn't let all these people on board, incase the water they are made of is explosive! Take double care with the fatties!!

So it's now mandatory to fill in even more paperwork (there's a section on there asking for your rectal temperature) give finger prints and have your photo taken (smlie!) so they can track your every move and examine your name to see if it's a little too foreign for them, plus pick over every detail of your photo (got brown hair, eyes, tanned skin, stubble? Maybe a mustache? Funny last name? You will be singled out for "special treatment", sounds like something that happened back sometime around the Second World War.....)

I had my boarding pass reprimanded and told I would be searched and so would my back, must've been having a bad hair day. After not setting off the main metal detector, that wasn't good enough for them so I was scanned with the individual one. Still nothing, nothing, nothing, bingo! What's this then? Two dimes in your pocket! You're nicked! Shoes on, laptop away, bag search (and he didn't even find the pocket on the bottom for the helmet holder,slakcer!) pat down (didn't find my lip balm) and off I go to do nothing but sit near the gate for hours on end.

Oh the joys of the circus.

Quebec

I liked Quebec, it's charm, the place we stayed, distinctly less American. But it's back through Montreal to Bromont in Old Gold, ya!!

Bromont is sweet, nestled below one of the smallest ski hills i've seen, it makes Thredbo look massive. Our accom was a nice little cottage positioned in the sticks with the promise of WiFi, sleeps 6 and self catering. It was one of those, but charming none the less. The owner was a delight, even offering her home internet just around the corner to compensate. We later found matresses in the wardrobe to sleep the extra two, but after we'd been there 4 of 6 nights with one of us on the couch. The upshot of theses things was our own private beach on a fresh water lake, with nice warm water and a "pedalo". You know, one of those pedal boats, old red. Great for recovery sessions and getting far enough out that you couldn't touch the slimey, weed covered bottom. Ewwww.

The course was to my liking, technical, singletrack, rocky and dry. A Canada Cup was held here not more than 3 weeks ago and it rained to hard you'd have thought it was a boat show. They had done extensive work on the tracks to improve drainage but it didn't look like it was warranted.

Until we went for an arvo roll and got bucketed on. Right, now I see. The humidity alone is enough to make you think it's Illanbah and if it didn't rain to break it i'm sure we would've needed oxygen.

So prepare for a boat show we did, mud tyres, a mud guard that looked like i'd won the meat tray at the local and rain jackets were in order. Till Friday. Then it stopped, dried up and I was thankful to be thinking about putting the dry wide tyres back on as i'd had some problems with flats during practice. Slippery in the wet, but the roots and rocks don't get any softer. Ideally a 2 inch mud tyre is the go. Lesson learnt for next time.

Race day and it was muddy for the juniors, dry for the women, then on que 1hr before the mens start it opened up and the scurry was made back to mud tyres. And it didn't stop. I wasn't discouraged by it at all, it's part and parcel of riding, and having ridden the course in the wet I was comfortable, even finding a few nice lines on the D's (descent) to make up time.

I started much better and felt better too, coming through lap one in 70th feeling OK, having started 82nd. The first climb was exactly that, a climb as we ran the entire thing (which destroyed the course) due to the mud and the size of the field/lack of a start loop. Starting lap 2 it's like my legs packed it in, again. What the hell? I didn't think I went out that hard, but maybe I was wrong? Either way I was sliding backwards off the hill without a trace. Having only lost 3:30 on the first lap I had a positive outlook, then despair, then frustration, then anger, none of which made me magically go faster. My D was good, smashing the good lines, railing corners and making ppl look stupid. But I lost so much time on the climb that again, come end of lap 4 I was pulled.

I always knew that to achieve what I set out to do maybe wasn't realistic and I was prepared for what happened, I thought. But when it actually happens and you fail to realise something you set out to do and had been set on for so long, it's hard to take. I don't feel like i've wasted my time, on the contrary, I'm sure i'll come away from this the better for it. But to realise the bitter disappointment by being dragged off the course, and knowing I can race better than I did, that I can be better than my results suggest, that cuts.

Mont Saint-Anne

World Cup Mont Saint Anne has held a race here without fail for around 15 years. Massive history here, so it's nice to be involved. And that's about all I ever was, involved. I never got my head around the track, not sure why. Rooty, rocky and once it rained, very slippery. the UCI even intervened to put a last minute B-line down the Squirrel - a step section full of rocks that once wet, you couldn't slow down, just steer and hope.

Practice makes perfect, i'm told. And so I did, everyday, without fail, even in the rain and it did make me more at ease. But come race day it all went out the window, especially on the climbs. My legs both deserted me and felt like dessert, like a meraingue left in the rain too long. I couldn't hit any of the lines I had in practice and this culminated in lasting 4 of 6 laps before being mown down by the lead moto, I mean Julien Absalon. I often get them mixed up.

Still I can could draw on this and use it to my benefit when we hit the next WC round in Bromont in a week.

Montreal

Montreal city has a certain lack of charm. For somewhere that is supposed to be a Quebecois hotspot of culture, mixed with North American stylings. It's really just a snooty north american city, nothing more. Burger joints, obese people drinking gallon Cokes and Grand Lattes topped with cream and worst of all.....filtered coffee.

I was lucky/unlucky enough to be staying gratis at friends extended family, keeping my footprint small and helping where I could. We hired "old gold" hannah montanna made by the now defunct Pontiac brand, backed by GM, Buick, Cheverolet and nearly every other brand of car being sold in the USA right now. Even though GMC say on their ads "Two cars can't share the same market space" reffering to clearing old stock.....but they can make the same car, just with different names on it? And that's enough to fool people into buying them? I digress...

The squirrels are cool.

And so it's off to Quebec city, which I am looking forward to. The 3hr drive not so. But it flies by as we play with every gadget Old Gold has including but not limited to: Auto sliding side doors (how lazy are ppl here!) DVD screen, infrared headphones for the back and a compressor built into the back quarter panel, handy for those pre race tyre changes maybe....shame it didn't work, like a lot of things on the car.

Quebec has a much richer history and even more snootiness about it, but that fits with the whole theme of the city, built around it's old town. It works. It would work even better if they had real coffee. We stayed very accommodating extended family again which was superb. These ppl loved having visitors, even thought they spent most of the summer on their boat in the harbor renovating it. And they didn't speak much English, which was good I think. I spent most conversations getting the jist of things, nodding, giving single word answers, but laughing all the same when required. Shame my French is so shoddy, but then, even if it was good, they speak "Quebecois" so they mightn't have understood me anyway.

And so it's off to Mont Saint-Anne, via bike as we hit our first race of the 3 weeks. An 80km point to point, which would be a perfect warm up and to rid myself of "Aerolegs"

It would be if it was dry. Instead MASSIVE bog holes, mud and all associated greeted us. But we left with no brake pads, rooted cables, ghost shifting and $125CAD for 5th, just enough to cover entry and a rebuild.

Mont Saint-Anne isn't big. You think ski towns are, but even the hill is small. It has nothing on the European resorts for size, but much more for technical riding. And rain, much more rain. I'll thank the Magura boys for saving my bacon with free brakepads, when I couldn't find them anywhere. Little used brand of brake yes, but they work so well so i'll be stocking up when home.

Don't fly Delta

So it's off to Canada for some world cup action! My first outside of Aust and hopefully an experience to remember.

The first thing to remember is not to book with Delta Airlines. If you have a bike you will be charged an extraordinary amount to take it with you. Really you could freight it over cheaper and with insurance for what they charge. $376AUD and you still have to sign the waiver! What a joke! And they were 3hrs delayed! Extortion!

A sign of things to come?

Merida 24hr comes home

The Merida 24hr has long been held at Koralbyn Resort, and rightly so. But there is a new kid on the block for trails up in Toad Territory, Peppers Hidden Vale Resort.

Following the success of the Flight Centre Epic, Peppers have been busy building single track on their vast property so that people like us can enjoy singletrack to our hearts content. And that's what we did, 24hrs of it in fact. With a 9km loop and one of the smallest turnouts i've seen for this type of event, it made for a very personal introduction to the Peppers trail network.

Our 4 man team took the lead straight up, and were never headed. Impressive was our mixed team holding on for a deserved 2nd overall and the amount of cane toads seen during the early hours of the morning. Our Merida bikes were flawless as usual and with Nite Rider lights backing us during the darkness, we didn't miss a beat. Thanks to all.

Highly recommended place to head for a weekend of riding. Tie it in the Mt Coo-tha is Brisvegas and you've got yourself a long weekend of good riding friends.

2009 Oceania Champs, Thredbo

Another Thredbo race, another shambles of a course. What joy is there in racing up a grassy ski slope? The demise of Raw NRG, thank God, would usually bring about change for the better. Alas the people that matter, the riders, were left wanting, as usual by unimaginative course design, regulation red tape and interference of MTBA to produce another anticlimax when this race should be elevated to a higher pedestal than even the National Championships. With more points on offer, higher price money pool and racers from all over Oceania, why not put on a spectacle that will make people WANT to ride and race in Australia. Show them the best of what we have, use an established venue that is easy to travel to if you're arriving from Tahiti and promote it as a riding destination? It's little wonder that mountain biking is in this kind of state with this kind of support.

Team Merida Flightcentre Impractical Hot Hatch turned out in style with an array of small, turbo charged cars that no other team could hope to match. No, you can't carry much in the way of equipment, but that's not the point. They're quick and we were hoping to be just that this weekend. JK was towing a trailer the whole way which he couldn't shake at any stage during the race.

And so to the race proper!

A highly strung field turned out to gather points for the upcoming European season. Although a slightly sub par turn out from the Kiwi's in Elite men, missing their highest echelon of riders meaning they would not feature in the results.

A rough, hardly ridden course and fetus like start loop greeted the riders as did 7 laps which maybe should have been 6.

The team didn't start well with most of us falling into the back half with a frenetic start the culprit. AJ's ginger staying power did see him work through the field along with Mick Bosch, with usual German precision. JK seemed to suffer from a lack of legs during the race, which was evident before and after the event just from looking at them.

Earlier in the day, a cocky P-Hen showed us all how it was done by winning the small fry category. Could "Ze Bosch" and his Ginger friend emulate such success?

Short answer is no, but these two Gladiators of modern day mountain biking made a good show of it, entertaining the masses by slaying anything in their path, including natives of the home country, both espoir and senior, Tahitians and Kiwis alike. None were spared and in the end a podium place was presented to "Ze Bosch" for a well ridden 4th place in Elite men, with "His Holy Gingerness" a few spots back in 6th.

A well earned break (for some) now awaits.

New Zealands Karapoti Classic 2009

Here we are again! For the 5th year running in Wellington, enjoying the wind. But we're also here for the rain this year. The first year i've had to race this in foul conditions. Good times, could we see some patented tripod action?

With the lack of single track, probably not, but puddles, oh yes, lots of puddles.

The traditional Makera Peak ride was had, with us jumping off things we shouldn't be on sub 9kg bikes, but hey. A good pasta dinner at "Pasta de Casa" and we were ready.

Going into this with our 3 top riders, we were confidant a good result could be had. That looked likely when I went away on the first climb, then AJ went well away, without company and the race looked in the bag. With myself and Tim marking any other move we had the leader and two more in the top 5.

Disaster struck in the Rock Garden, as it quite often does. I snapped a chain, somehow, while not even pedaling. Four mins later I was going again and still feeling good guessing I was just outside the top ten. In quick succession I passed three riders, then another four with flats, one of which was Tim. That constant lack of air would see him drop out of contention.

I gave it everything to the finish, knowing I was on a reasonable time. Having not seen AJ anywhere (or Tim at the start, since he was under water for some time) I assumed we had the win in the bag. But again no air at the bottom of the tyre, the crucial part that you ride on, was a problem. They only ever seem to go flat at the bottom! Even riding on the rim 6km home couldn't save a top ten spot.

So it goes, Lady Luck is a bitch. I grabbed 3rd to add to my 2nd, 5th, 7th and 8th in years gone by. I'm gathering quite a collection of numbers, all different. The 1, 4 and 6 would be nice editions in years to come.

Ottway Oddessy

Another race, another missed start. Well almost. I wasn't on my bike when the race kicked off as I was letting some of the 60psi out of my tyres, but I did manage to get back up the front of the pack, then we hit the first major climb.

I was comfortable in the anonymity of the 4th bunch on the road, besides the 3rd bunch weren't far up the road, and when we caught them, I could have a chat to JK, who happened to be my carrot. The predictability of what happens next is amazing. I flatted, on a flat, gravely stretch of road. So I took my time and thought about what Cal B had said to me not long before "I'm going to pull the pin at the first feed" The more I thought about this, the more it made sense. The marathon champs had been cancelled due to devastating fires and I had no races coming up over 3hrs, so if I ride for 3.5-4hrs, flat stick, that is the perfect training.

And it is good fun, zooming past people who are riding to conserve and battling people who i've never even seen for the lead into the timed descent. Sorry to the guy who tried to stay on my inside going into that, and hit the trail marker pole, but you shouldn't have been there.

And so it came to fruition, the pin was pulled and I felt great. Until "Ugly Naked Guy" took the challenge to ride the last 12km nude. We didn't need that and I wouldn't be shocked to hear you being sued for damages by some of the kids that were there in years to come.

But the question remained, would this pay off in 2 weeks, in New Zealand?

National Champs 2009

The 2009 Natioanl Champs kicked off at Mt Stromlo for the 3rd and last time, next year being moved to Radelaide. All the usual suspects lined up, with one notable exception; myself. Having missed the 08 edition of this race, it was nice to be back. Back in the seriousness of it all, the hype, the jokes, the lack of form. It all means nothing when the starters gun fires, except the lack of form, that stays.

And boy did it. I'm having trouble telling you where I finished. I even had to look up the results. It's all training, isn't that what they say? I hope so, cause it's what I needed, to suffer, to creep, to cramp and be overtaken on the last lap, again like in years gone by, by little Timmy Bennett.

Reality check, I have more work to do.

Short track was much the same affair. I started from the very back row as seeding works on 1st lap time. Seeing as I had THE worst start and jammed my chain somewhere in the bike during the first lap of the XCO, I suppose it was justified. I continued to slide backward into no mans land until the inevitable happened, and I was pulled off the track. Although I did last a little longer than expected, which was nice.

Training....there are bigger fish to fry, and they are coming.

Why are Mavic wheels so popular?

Why indeed?

Mavic wheels have always looked good. Simple. Across the board, low to high end, the Mavic range is distinctive and attractive. Meaning people are buying them for the looks? Well why not? With so many riders now more interested in looking good at the cafe, why have a wheel that actually performs well? And why did Mavic change the original design of the Ksyrium when it worked so well? Performance or just good marketing.....

The beginning of the "prebuilt" wheel started with the Helium, later becoming the Ksyrium for Mavic. Made famous soon there after by a certain man by the name of Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France on them. See what publicity does, and why so many companies are pushing to have themselves included in the pro peleton? When this wheel was released it included a aluminum rim, "Zircal" spokes (also aluminum), alloy nipples and most importantly a dual bearing freehub body (bringing the total to four bearings in the rear wheel).

Fantastic design! But things started to slide in the name of weight and cost.

Mavic released a Gen II Ksyrium (one of the most popular) including a machined rim to save weight, and the dreaded single bearing freehub - FTS-L, with a plastic bush replacing the other bearing again to save weight, but also costs.

Mon Dieu! What a shambles. Service intervals went through the roof. The unmistakable "cat in the hub" high pitched scream was born, and people out for a sunday morning cruise would end up riding their bike like a fixed wheel track bike as the dry freehub would make it impossible to freewheel. Yet people continued and still continue to buy these over priced, poorly designed wheels. When a replacement spoke costs $10 and a freehub (which don't forget now has a plastic bush that wears out very quickly) costs $195 I simply can't understand why this wheel is in such high demand.

Ask any owner and they will have had one of these problems, ask any mechanic and they will tell you about the amount of maintenance needed to keep these wheels on the road. If the owners of these wheels had to take care of them and do the work themselves to keep them true, stop the spokes and nipples bonding together or constantly lubricate the freehub, they would never have bought them.

With Mavic recently announcing the re-introduction of the "FTS-X" system in their highend freehub bodies (rejoice!) it will stop the hunt for the old dual bearing system hub bodies. But it wont stop the aluminum spokes and nipples bonding over time, the ride quality being absolutely crap (stiff yes), the rims filling with water in the rain and it certainly won't make one of the least aerodynamic wheels on the market more aero.

Speaking of which, the new R-Sys wheel, with fat, round carbon spokes, how much drag are they trying to create? And how many people have these wheels killed or injured? We can thank the common sense Mavic showed issuing a world wide recall on the front wheel. Too little too late for Karl Menzies and other guinea pigs in the pro peleton.

So next time you think of wheels, think anything other than Mavic. You can certainly find better value, performance, weight, ride quality, serviceability and aerodynamics in the multitude of brands out there. But I can hear you thinking it now....."yeh but they just don't look as cool".