Down South

Since the Bluff race on the 6^th I have stayed down in the South island on a training camp with the team, training hard making the most of what the deep south has to offer in the way of riding.

First up we spent a few days in Dunedin where we caught up with kashi Leuchs. It was great to talk with him about the season ahead and we picked up a lot of valuable advice. We also managed to rope Tom Bradshaw in to act as tour guide showing us some of Dunedins best trails and despite the threatening forecasts the weather was surprisingly kind.

 

 

Over the last week we have been living it up in Queenstown, based out of Glenorchy. The riding has been amazing and the climbing miles have been stacking up after some pretty epic days in the mountains. The trails are so different compared to back home in Rotorua and the skills have been getting a good work out. Riding out of the comfort zone has been a good way to speed up the adjustment process to the new Super Fly and I am really enjoying pushing the pace now that I’ve got the hang of it.

 

We have a few more days left in the South with a busy schedule of riding and a race in Nelson before we head back home on Monday.

2013

The 2013 season has come with some big changes with a new team and new partners. NZXC Racing has been formed to help develop New Zealands Cross country Mountain Bike athletes achieve international success and I am proud to be a part of the team in its debut year.

This makes for exciting times with new equipment and products to adjust to with the major difference being the bike. Moving from the Santacruz full suspension across to a Trek 29er Superfly Hardtail has been an interesting experience but I am looking forward to putting the new bike through its paces and getting fully adjusted to it over the NZ season.

I would like to thank Mike Stylianou at Hyperformance Hardwear and Santacruz NZ for the support I have received over the last few years. I have come a long way since Stylie first began coaching me in 2007, moving on to support with Santacruz in 2009 and his help has played a big part in my achievements to date. 

New bike, Trek Superfly.

The racing kicked off for the year with the first round of the New Zealand Cup in Bluff this weekend. I hadn’t raced there before so it was nice to compete at a new venue.  The track was quite a long one with 20min+ race lap times. The highlight of the course was the long rocky descent which was pretty tricky when hit at full speed.

I had a solid day starting well and establishing a lead after the first laps which I was able to consolidate through the race winning comfortably in the end over team mate Carl Jones.

The new bike was great, performing well on the climb and the big wheels helped on the downhill rolling comfortably through the numerous rock gardens and flowing berm sections. It was also a perfect start for NZXC Racing with Carl and I going 1,2 in the Elite Men and Amber Johnston taking out the Junior womens race.

The team at the top of Bluff Hill.