Dirk Peters XC MTB RACING

2012 National Championships

2012-01-30T18:52:00.003+13:00

The previous years National Champs in Dunedin hadn’t gone the way I wanted them to, but I had made sure I learnt from my mistakes for this one. Nelson has always been a good track for me and I was feeling very confident that I would be able to put together a good race. It is one of the rougher courses we race on and it seems to suit my style of riding pretty well. Conditions were extremely dry and the trail surface was very loose, with a lot of small rocks and plenty of dust. And it was hot!

We started at a steady pace and I slotted in behind Mikey and Carl for the first downhill. Mikey was off to a flyer and quickly opened up a little lead. I was behind Carl so couldn’t do much about it but wasn’t too worried, as I was expecting it to be quite close for the early part of the race at least. Coming down the second main downhill, Carl washed out in front of me and suddenly the race was wide open. I quickly closed the gap to Mikey and then as I was feeling pretty good took the opportunity and moved into the lead. My legs had that extra bit of speed that I have been lacking for a while and it felt so good to be riding out in front of a race again. Knowing that I had the advantage in the single trail sections which made up the majority of the course, I smashed it up the main road climb to open up a decent gap. There were several parts around the track where I could monitor the others’ progress and it was pleasing to first see that I was increasing my advantage, and then after several more laps move into a comfortable lead.

From there I was able to settle in and enjoy the rest of the race, focussing on keeping things smooth and controlled so I didn’t throw the win away with a careless mistake. The heat did start to get to me a bit on the last lap with a bit of cramp kicking in but nothing too bad. Coming into the finish to take the win in the Elite Mens race was such a great feeling and this will definitely go down as one of my most enjoyable days out on the bike.

Thanks everyone for your support. I am looking forward to getting out and racing in the National Champs Jersey this year and will definitely be making the most of it.

NZ CUP#1 DUNEDIN

2012-01-17T22:10:00.004+13:00

Although we race in Dunedin almost every year it was a new venue for us this time moving across town to Signal hill. The course was a tough one consisting of a brutal climb, steep and very long. Then a descent that was fairly technical but became muddy and slippery with the rain we had in the lead up.

I had a decent race riding to 2nd place. I didn’t have the speed on the climb to match it with Carl the winner but was able to finish best of the rest with a good margin. The big ascent of the hill each lap took its toll as the race went on and I would say I will be unlikely to find a harder climb in any XCO Olympic format races this year. The descent also had its challenges and I had a few wild moments sliding around in the mud. The bottom section in particular didn’t dry out as much as the rest of the track and forward progress was hard at times with the bike moving around all over the place. The other problem was the fresh layer of mud we picked up each lap adding kilos to the weight of our bikes and making the uphill even harder. The legs definitely felt it and I was quite glad to cross the line at the finish.

I have spent the last few days in Queenstown soaking up the sun and getting in some good riding preparing for the next round in Christchurch this Sunday. I have never raced there before so it will be good to have a hit out in some new territory.

Pig & Whistle Tour De Whaka.

2012-01-13T21:40:00.006+13:00

This weekend just gone I competed in the new Tour de Whaka event in Rotorua. As a way of spicing up their Summer races N Duro events came up with a new race concept which replaced the traditional three round cup series. The Tour consisted of a Hill Climb, Super D and Time Trial with an hour long cross country stage to decide the final result. As part of the weekend, but not counting towards the final results a XC eliminator race was held down at the Government gardens in town. It was a small turn out but we still had some exciting racing in a pretty cool setting.

Day 1 of the tour was a three way race of truth against the cloak kicking off with the Hill Climb taking us to the top of the forest. It wasn’t really a pleasant experience but was a great way to separate everyone out and gave a good indication of what the final results were going to look like. As we started the 2nd stage it started drizzling but thankfully the rain never really got going and we enjoyed a relatively dry first day of racing. There were some interesting times set on the mostly downhill Super D and then again in the short Time Trail stage.

After Day 1, I was sitting in 2nd place not too far behind Carl the leader. But it was always going to be tough to take back any time on a fast mainly flat Cross Country course with little climbing to test the legs and perhaps gain back time. The weather wasn’t playing ball for the second day and after an extremely wet night the forest was soaked. The XC ended up being a bit of an anticlimax as I was unable to make up my deficit and so finished the tour in 2nd place. However it was a good weekend of racing and it will be good to see this race grow and develop as it has a lot of potential and I am pretty sure every that took part had a good time.

I have now begun the annual road trip round the country to take part in the National Series and National Champs. The first round is this weekend down in Dunedin and it's a new venue for us this year with the race moving across town to Signal hill. We are in store for a tough day with a long and steep climb that is harder than anything we have raced for a long time, before a good long descent back down to the bottom and the start finish area. The weather hasn’t been the best over the last few days so it is looking likely to be another wet one.

Race season just around the corner.

2011-12-11T19:02:00.007+13:00

Hi everyone it has been a while since I last wrote. Time for an update.

I have been lucky enough to receive a new 2012 Santacruz Blur XC for the New Year. The frame has been redesigned and is a definite improvement from the previous model with beefier tubing resulting in a stronger and stiffer frame. Weight wise it is also a bit lighter and with the new features it is a lot more responsive and rides really nicely.The total bike build easily comes in under 10kg which is not bad for an XL frame.

I have begun working towards the New Zealand summer after enjoying a good offseason. Training started seriously again in mid October and so far it has been going well. I have competed in a few of my usual build up races including the Mid North Island series and the Rotorua to Ohope road race. Unfortunately one of our big early season races the Huka XL in Taupo had to be called off due to the weather. High winds were making things extremely dangerous in the forest with trees and branches coming down all over the place and the organisers made the right decision by calling the race off. It ended up being shortened with the results getting taken from where everyone was at the point that the race was stopped. As a result I ended up with second place which wasn’t too bad considering although it would obviously been nice to have completed the full course and had a true race.

This weekend I managed to pilot the new machine to its first win at the final round of the Mid North Island Champs here in Rotorua. It was a good race with plenty of riders travelling to have a crack at the new rock garden we have built for the Oceania Champs in March next year.

Over the next few weeks, training is going to be really important with time flying by and the National series kicking off down in Dunedin on January 15th. Before then I will probably take part in the new summer race here in Rotorua, the Pig & Whistle Tour de Whaka and do my best
to get out and make the most of the summer weather.

More Worlds Photos:

2011-09-08T20:17:00.007+12:00

Photos Credits, Raewyn Knight.

World Champs, Champery Switzerland.

2011-09-06T20:16:00.012+12:00

World Champs is the toughest race of the season, everyone comes in at the top of their game and the excitement and nerves are a level above what I normally experience at any other race. I arrived the weekend before, which gave plenty of time to ride the track. The first few days of practice weren’t the best and I seemed to spend more time rolling around on the ground than on the bike. I think I was feeling the pressure to ride fast and was pushing too hard and making mistakes which was easy to do on such a technical course. Thankfully after several days with multiple crashes I was able to rethink my approach and settle down and get some good smooth error free laps in.

Although the week shot by pretty fast race day was a tough one. We didn’t start till five in the afternoon and I endured a long day of sitting around watching the time tick slowly away. We got there eventually and it was a relief to finally get things underway. A big crowd turned out and it was great riding with such enthusiastic and vocal support particularly on the main climb and the ‘Hell zone’ climb and descent. I was strong for the majority of the race it was just the beginning that let me down. I seemed to be able to ride at only one speed from the start to the finish where as everyone else started fast and then either settled down and got into a good rhythm through to the finish or blew up and got slower with each lap. Unfortunately I got too far behind early on and was playing catch up the whole time. I did feel quite strong and enjoyed the race even though I wasn’t able to improve on my previous years result and finished in 36th position for the second year in a row.

It is now time for reflection with World Champs completed. My season is over and I am looking forward to getting back home to New Zealand and catching up with friends and family after three months away. This trip has been a very mixed bag. I have had a great time and have learnt a lot with some ups and downs and great character building moments along the way. I will be able to take a lot out of the experience with plenty of valuable material to apply to next year.

I would sincerely like to thank everyone who has supported and helped me out along the way. It’s now time for a break and a good long rest.

Val di Sole World Cup.

2011-08-23T08:00:00.006+12:00

I managed to borrow a car to get to this one and so was able to avoid the trains which I am not quite so keen on after Geneva. The Fiat Punto had seen better days but it was so good to be able to use it. As I would be travelling with Anton it was looking like being a tight squeeze to fit all our gear but everything packed in nicely and we set off for a solid days drive to Italy. It was slow going with a lot of traffic and small roads and we noticed that the fuel gauge wasn’t super accurate. It tended to move around a bit and couldn’t make up its mind on how much was left in the tank. We had a fairly big climb of the Paso d Aprica coming up and with supposedly a quarter of a tank left we began heading upwards. Things went well to begin with, but with about 3kms remaining to the top we ran out of gas. Thankfully after standing around for a few minutes a couple of friendly locals stopped and we were able to explain the situation and they were kind enough to run Anton to the nearest petrol station to fill up a container to get us to the top. It was all part of the fun and we were soon back on the road for another couple of hours of tight and twisty mountain roads and congested towns making it to our accommodation in Dimaro just after 7:00pm.

I got in some good course reconnaissance over the next few days and enjoyed soaking up the excitement of a World Cup race again. The track was very similar to the previous year but it flowed a lot better with a new climb and descent mid way through the lap and a grass section removed to shorten it down. Not really all that technical it was however a very tough course with such a large amount of climbing and all very steep with not really any chance to recover and get your breath back.

It was super hot all week and I was very glad the U23 mens race was at 9:00am meaning we avoided the high 30 degree temperatures later in the day. It was a big field of 93 starters and we had a start loop plus 5 laps. The beginning of the race was chaotic as usual at a World Cup and I was unable to avoid the carnage ending up with pedal jammed in my front wheel. Getting going again I was keen to get on with it but was slowed every time the track narrowed and lost more places riding through way back in 69th after the first lap which was definitely not where I wanted to be. I went pretty well from there and coming into the final few laps was sitting around 40th. There were a lot of riders not too far in front and I made a big effort to gain some extra places getting up to maybe 34th with half a lap remaining. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to hold this and crumbled on the last steep climb falling back down to 39th. Not the result I was after but on a positive note finishing only 5min behind the winner is not a lot especially on such a brutal track.

Getting a good tough race in my legs has been very good especially with just two weeks remaining till the World Championships and although my result in Italy wasn’t spectacular it was a good to see that I am not too far off the pace. I am a big fan of the Champery course and am confident I have the ability to get up into more satisfactory position come World Champs time. I have another week here in Brot Plamboz and then on Saturday I head to Champery to meet up with the New Zealand team and get to know the track before race day on Friday the 2nd of September.

Good times.

2011-08-10T03:43:00.017+12:00

Well here's a bit of an update to let everyone know whats been happening over the last little while. I have been living in the tiny farm village of Brot Plamboz. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and is a good place to be if you like the quiet life. Jerome rents the bottom storey of a farm house and it is great staying here as I have a training partner and good company.

The riding is not bad with lots of small country roads and several decent climbs. There is also some really nice single track up in the forest nearby that is perfect for technical training especially when it is damp. The rocks around here are super slippery and it can get pretty loose at times.

Some of the locals.

The Creux du Van a massive circular cliff not to far from here. The Valley up in the distance is where I am living at the moment.

Riding around the Creux du Van.

The 1000th Anniversary of Nuechatel coincided with the 1st of August which is the Swiss National Day. This called for a pretty big Celebration and a huge fireworks display.

Last week we went to Morgins a small ski town in the Portes du Soleil region and got in some awesome riding up in the mountains. It is a really nice area especially when the weather is as good as it was when we were there. Morgins is just over the hill from Champery where the World Champs are going to be held and we did quite a bit of riding over in that direction. It is easy to do some epic rides and we made the most of it putting in a couple of big days. Lots of climbing combined with to many trails coming back down to choose from made for some pretty good fun out on the bike and the views weren't to bad either.

One of the tracks up above Champery

A small lake near the top.

The view from up high looking back down to Val-d llliez.

On Friday we drove over the border to Chatel in France and went downhilling for the day. In summer the ski lifts stay open for bikes and you can travel pretty much anywhere you want catching a ride up the hill on the lift and then coming back down with the bike. I borrowed Jeromes DH bike so I could cut loose and have some real fun. From Chatel we went up and over the top to Morzine and then over to Les Gets and then came back, riding for almost the whole day and doing to many runs to count. You would think it would be easy with no climbing, cruising down the mountain all day. But it was harder than it seemed and I was buggered by the end, struggling to keep hold of the bars with aching arms and fingers.

Looking back down to Chatel and a couple of mega berms.

Trainings going well and next week I am off to Italy for the World Cup in Val di Sole. I can't wait it has been a while since my last big race and it will be nice to get back in action at a World Cup again.

Back In Action.

2011-07-22T08:05:00.004+12:00

I am now back on my feet again after a couple of mixed up weeks. I was able to sort out a new Bike with the help of Rudy Hauser the Swiss Santacruz distributor. He has been awesome, with firstly getting a new frame and then helping to organise all the components to go with it, we have been able to get the bike built up pretty much the same as my last.

My first ride back on the Santacruz was so good, especially after a week or so on a borrowed hard tail, it was great to get back on the fully again. I had been keeping up the riding and running but decided to take advantage of the situation and have a couple of weeks of easier training to recover and get fresh for the last block of training in the run in to World Champs.

I had originally planned on travelling to the Czech Republic in August to race the 6th round of the World Cup series but have now changed my plans and will stay in Switzerland until the 17th when I will head to Italy for the final round of the World Cup series in Val di Sole. I have managed to suss out a couple of local races during the next few weeks that I will be able to use to keep my race legs going and hopefully get a bit of form before Italy.

I have a lot of people I would like to thank for getting behind me and helping me out over the last little while. Gaz Sullivan for his support and help with raising donations and everyone else who has contributed to the fund. The Rotorua MTB Club. Bike Culture. Stylie at Hyperformance hardwear for coordinating a new bike with Rudy over here in Switzerland. I have also had a lot of help from the Huguenin family in Neuchatel. Xavier for lending me a bike for a week. And now Jerome whose home I am currently staying at.

Coupe de France and Geneva Robbery

2011-07-08T06:46:00.005+12:00

Last weekend I headed to France for a round of the Coupe de France race series. I arrived after a long train journey from Switzerland on Thursday and was able to get out on the track for a look around on the Friday before race day on Saturday. The venue was high at 1800m above sea level and this added an extra element to what was already a hard course. Also it was longer than what we have been racing recently and lap times were 19 to 20mins in duration. It was a great location, right up high in the Mountains and we were treated to beautiful weather each day although because of the altitude it was still a bit chilly at times. The track was a good test with a nice mix of climbing and descending and in practice I was riding well and feeling confident for the race.
Unfortunately I had a horror start. As the gun went and I put the power down to move off the line my chain came right off the big chain ring. Initially I thought I had broken it but thankfully it had just fallen off. By the time I got going again I was dead last and with 106 starters I had a fair bit of catching up to do.
I was able to make good progress back up through the field taking advantage of any chance to overtake. I may not have made many friends with some slightly dodgy passing manoeuvres but within two laps I was up into the top 30. I could monitor my position each lap with the aid of the timing board at the start finish line and although it got harder to gain places as I moved up inside the top 20 I could see that I was racing well. The last couple of laps were especially hard as the constant passing accelerations I had been making all race began to catch up with me. Still I picked off a few more riders and after a bit of a battle up the last single trail climb I finished up in 11th place. In the end it was actually a decent result but a bit frustrating as I knew I would have been capable of much better.

Anyway way on Sunday as I made my way back into Switzerland I got robbed as I was leaving Geneva train station and ended up with up with one of my bags getting stolen. I was a sitting duck really with all my gear, spare wheels and bike etc. And it happened so fast. One second I had it and the next it was gone leaving me in pretty bad situation as the bag contained my passport, wallet and phone.
After a visit to the police station to report the robbery I ended up at a local hostel. As I had no money I couldn’t get a bed but I was able to sit down in the foyer and spend the night there. I endured a pretty rough night trying to sleep on a wooden bench and awoke early only to find more bad news as during the night my bike had also been stolen as well. So now I was really stuffed. At least the New Zealand embassy is located in Geneva and I was there as soon as it opened that morning. Unfortunately they couldn’t really do much for me until we sorted out an emergency travel document which would take a couple of days. With no money I was looking at facing another night out on the street. Thankfully I still had my laptop and so had been able to let people know what had happened.
After spending the majority of the day sitting around in town I headed back to the hostel where I was able to access some free internet. Things started to pick up from there and I got some good news. Someone had found and handed in my bag to the police station and I was lucky in that it still contained my passport and drivers licence. Later on I also managed to meet up with Richard Anderson who had travelled back from France to help me out. Now that I had my passport back there wasnt really any point in hanging around and I was quite keen to get out of Geneva as soon as possible.

So things are not too bad for me now. We are staying with friends in Nuechatel and I have even been able to borrow a bike so I can keep riding until I sort my own one out which hopefully will not take too long.
I would like to thank everyone for the help and support I have received over the last few days. After this little set back I am very determined to get on with things and carry on with my races and hopefully achieve some good results at the upcomming World Cups and World Championships.

Racer Bikes Cup Chur.

2011-06-29T06:52:00.006+12:00

This was a new venue for me and the course in Chur turned out to be perfect for racing. A short section of tarmac to start the lap off was fast but also ideal for drinking and feeding. The rest of the track included a large amount of climbing with plenty of passing but there was one tight and steep switch back section to mix it up a bit. The descending wasn’t very technical but was fast and it did have a couple of trickier parts which when ridden at speed became a bit dodgy. There were also some nice bermed corners and then a final switch back section down to the start finish area.
After Engelberg I had completed two weeks of good training and was determined to ride a much stronger race in Chur. The field was big with over 60 starters and included plenty of top riders.
The start went alright and I came through in 28th after the first lap before losing a few places due to the speed of the early part of the race dropping down to 31st. I was feeling a lot stronger but was a bit unsure as to what I could do. We had 9 laps so it was going to be long day and I wanted to be able to finish the race off well this time round.

For several laps I rode in small groups. Our pace was up and down and at times I was really hurting just to stay on their tail and then just a couple of minutes later they would all be sitting on my wheel. I didn’t really like to change my speed so much and fit in with their tactics and tried to ride my own race at a consistent speed. It was a super hot day and I think the conditions started to take their toll on a lot of riders and as they started to slip back I steadily made up ground.
I really started to enjoy myself and it was great to be able to actually race rather than struggle through at the back of the field like the previous week. With three laps to go I really went for it pushing hard for those final laps picking up a few more positions in the process. It was a relief to cross the finish line and my final result of 18th place was a solid result. I know that I finished 19th last week and was disappointed with that but this race was a much higher standard and I was pleased with how I had turned things around and felt that I had ridden a much better race.

Photos thanks to Samuel Kummrow.

First race - Racer Bikes Cup Engelberg.

2011-06-13T18:47:00.010+12:00

Engelberg last year was a mud bath and after Saturdays practice session up at the track it looked like it was going to be the same this year. However Sunday ended up being a beautiful day and the course dried out nicely.

Our race was 10 laps of the 3.2km track with 136m of climbing per lap. One big hill dominated the course and with the laps being so short there was very little respite from the long climb to the top.

I had a good start but by the end of the first lap I had dropped off the pace a bit. I started to pick up places as the laps wore on but it was very frustrating as for the majority of the race a big group of maybe 10 riders were within my sights but I just couldn’t bridge the gap. Through the middle of the race I made a big effort to get in contact with this group and as it contained riders from about 7th to 14th position it would have been good if I had of been able to achieve that. I got very close but wasn’t able to finish off the final meters. The big effort I made took its toll with the final 3 three laps being a bit of a letdown as far as my speed went and my final result of 19th wasn’t what I was after.

Still I did show a bit of pace especially through the middle of the race and this was always going to be a tough day at the office being the first one of the season. Now I know where I am at and have a more definite idea of what I need to work on and look forward to improving at the next race in Chur in a couple of weeks.

Photos thanks to Joanie Huguenin.

First week.

2011-06-08T04:56:00.008+12:00

Well we have been in Switzerland for a week now and it has been a pretty action packed few days. Jet lag hit me pretty hard and I have only just started to get back to a normal sleep pattern. The heat has also been a bit of a shock to the system although it is very welcome and I am certainly not complaining about that.
What I have written here I originally wanted to put up on Sunday but I have been having a few issues with my computer so it’s a bit late but gives an idea on whats been happening so far.
Saturday.
Up early. The plan for today was to have a bit of a look around Zurich and then get a ride in later on in the day followed by some hunting Swiss style in the evening.

Dani gave us a lift into Zurich on his way to work. We then checked out a few of the shops and went for a walk down Banhnofstrasse which is one of the most expensive streets in the world. The average monthly lease price is about €327 per m2. After window shopping for a while we jumped on a tram to Zurich Zoo. This was pretty cool as I haven’t been to a Zoo in a long time. Most of the usual suspects were present although with it being a super hot day a lot of the animals were hidden away attempting to get a bit of relief from the heat.

Originally we had planned on riding our bikes back home to Schaffhausen but it looked like it was a going to be a bit of a mission getting out of Zurich and as we were going to be doing our main travelling by train we thought it could be a good opportunity to try out the famed Swiss rail system. All we had heard was how simple and easy the trains were to use so how hard could it be? Unfortunately we ran into trouble early on when the train that we thought we needed to be on didn’t turn up. After chewing through a fair bit of time we eventually gave up and took the next train to arrive and ended up at Zurich airport. From here we managed to sort ourselves out and eventually made it back to Schaffhausen a couple of hours late.

We had arranged to go hunting with Dani at 6:00. Hunting Swiss style is a unique experience and is a lot of fun. You start the evening off with good food and sit around talking until it starts to get dark. Then it’s time to move to the hunting hides which are small huts over looking an area where game is likely to wander. The idea is to sit quietly until you see something you want. After wards you sit around and talk a bit more and then its home to bed.

Sunday:
Up early again. Today we were leaving Schaffhausen and moving on to our accommodation for the next few weeks in central Switzerland at the foot of the Alps. After the previous days mix up we had debriefed and taken on some advice from our hosts and so armed with new found knowledge and experience we were all set for the days train trip. I had a fair bit of gear with me and knew that it was going to be a tough day lugging it around.

Once you know what you are doing train travel is actually quite easy and works well but it would definitely be a lot easier if you could avoid travelling with a couple of 20+kg bags and for me changing trains was always going to be the hard part. We made the first of our two connections with out to much hassle. The 2nd one however had me straining to lift my heavy bike box the small but seemingly forever distance to the train and in the end we only made it with seconds to spare before it left. Of course if we had of missed that one we would have probably only have had to wait for 10mins for the next one but you don’t think about that at the time. Eventually after a couple of hours we made it to our final stop and it was here that the fun really began. From the station we had maybe 2km to get to our accommodation. I got stuck into the task at hand but after a several minutes I had only moved a pitiful 100ms or so. A local passing by gave me a lift but we didn’t make it far and he moved on pretty quickly once he realised how heavy my gear was. It was time to reassess as I obviously wasn’t going to get anywhere in a hurry the way things were going. In the end I decided the best thing would be to build my bike up and then use it as a trolley to support my box still packed with gear and wheel it along. Thankfully this worked and eventually we made it to our destination tired but happy to have finally made it.

After all that action it was still only 2pm so we went down to the lake front for an hour or so and had a bit to eat in the sun. Re-energised it was time for a couple of hours on the bike. The weather was amazing and my ride that afternoon is going to be pretty hard to beat. The views from up high were post card worthy and I had a great time out on the bike. I ended the ride with my favourite Swiss drink, strawberry buttermilk and then went for a swim in the lake which finished the day off nicely.
This week has started off well and now that we are properly settled in I have been able to focus on the training and getting fully prepared for the race at Engelberg this weekend.

Update & Switzerland.

2011-06-02T05:40:00.001+12:00

After Oceanias things were pretty quiet. I had three weeks where I kept off the bike as much as possible and had a good break. I then came back to training nice and fresh with my focus firmly set on my overseas campaign and my big objective the World Champs in Champery, Switzerland in September.

Over the last couple of months I have been lucky enough to get the chance to ride a Santacruz Nickel thanks to Stylie at Santacruz NZ. It has been great for training on and I have enjoyed the benefits of the extra travel and beefier frame which has allowed me to open it up a bit more on the downhills and experience a slightly different style of riding to what I am used to.

After my experience last year in Europe I have been looking forward to getting back over so it is good to finally be here. From Auckland we had a 12 hour flight to Shanghai, a 30min stopover to switch planes and then after another 12 hours we touched down in Zurich at 3pm on Tuesday the 31st. Despite getting stung with a pretty hefty fee for excess baggage it was another wise hassel free trip and my bike made it through unscathed. I haven't been as lucky with jet lag and am feeling a bit sleep deprived after a couple of interrupted nights.

So far I have been taking it pretty easy and just getting the body acclimatised before I start any real intensity in training. It has been quite cold especially yesterday which only made it to a chilly 13 degrees but its going to be back up to 26 degrees by the weekend.

My first race is just over a week away on the 12th at the Racer Bikes Cup in Engelberg. Its going to be really interesting to see how it goes and I am getting pretty excited about getting back into the racing.

Oceania Continental Championships Shepparton, Australia.

2011-03-21T16:31:00.012+13:00

Photo credit © Shane Goss

2nd place U23 Men, 51 seconds behind winner Paul van der Ploeg of Australia. Apart from the first minute I thought I had a pretty good race. But my poor start virtually cost me any chance of winning. Paul’s a super fast power house and it would have been a tough ask to challenge him, but losing some 40secs on the first lap wasn’t the way to go about it.

Mt Major was the venue for the race. There really wasn’t anything major about the ‘Mountain’ and you would struggle to even call it a hill in most places but the dead flat landscape surrounding the town of Shepparton meant that any sizable lump of dirt stood out. Probably around 90% of the course was single track with a lot of slower technical rocky sections but also some super fast downhill as well. Unfortunately there was almost no climbing at all and with the majority of the track being narrow, passing was very limited with only about a km of grass at the finish of each lap providing any opportunity to overtake.

Apparently last year during the Aussie national series the temperature got to 40 degrees here. We were lucky this year and it wasn’t too bad which was a good thing as we would have been baked in the sun on the exposed hill.

From the start line we had about 100m to sort ourselves out before the course got narrow and then entered the first section of single track. A good start was going to be very important. I knew this and so when the gun went I planned to smash it to the first corner and all going well be at the front. The gun went and before I knew it I was sitting in a long line back in 7th place. Not at all what I had wanted.

I squeezed my way round a couple of riders in the first couple of k’s but I was stuck back in 5th until the grass at the end of the first lap, where I was finally able to move up into second and begin the chase. I then had 4 laps left to try and catch up to Paul but despite pushing the whole race I lost time on all except the final lap finishing slightly frustrated but reasonably happy in second place.

Thanks to Nigel and his family for putting up with me for the trip. Pam for the great meals and Paul for the driving & feeding during the race.

It is now time for a bit of a break. I think I need one. I am starting to feel the effects of what has been a pretty big New Zealand season and with another overseas trip coming in the next few months this is a good chance to freshen up again. I’m going to see if I can keep off the bike for a least a week and plan to then get back into structured training in three weeks time.

N-Duro Summer Cup, Final Round.

2011-03-13T17:08:00.004+13:00

It was nice to get back on the top step of the podium today and even better to round off the series with the overall title. I reckon today’s course was probably the best of the three this summer. A lot of climbing but the reward was some of my favourite downhill trails in the forest. It is always good fun having a race on the same tracks that I spend so many hours training on and I have really enjoyed racing in the series this year.

On Tuesday I am off to Aussie for the Oceania Continental Championships. It’s always a great contest racing against the Australians so I am getting pretty excited. There may be the odd rider from French Polynesia to spice things up as well. Race day is Friday. I don’t know a lot about the course but I have heard it will be fairly open and there may be a few rocks. It should be a good trip.

Karapoti Classic.

2011-03-07T20:01:00.013+13:00

Karapoti is tough enough already but this year the weather conditions spiced things up and made it that little bit more extreme. Barrelling along the gorge in the first part of the race I couldn’t even tell if it was raining or not from the water getting splashed up as we smashed through puddles strung out in a big line of riders.

Fairly early on a group of three of us split off the front of the race going up the Deadwood climb. Tim set the pace followed by Anton and then myself. The plan for me was to wait and see how things panned out. In other words I was going to be playing follow the leader unless I absolutely couldn’t keep up. Once into the final climb I would attack and all going well ride away to the win. And thats almost how things turned out. Stu managed to join us and for the majority of the course all four of us rode together. The rock garden and the tough hike a bike up Devils Stair Case didn’t do much to split us up and it was clear that it was going to come to a show down up the last climb, Dopers hill to decide the race.

We hit Dopers Creek and the loose gravel coming out the other side forced Stu, Tim and I off our bikes. Anton however was able to stay riding and seizing his opportunity made his bid for victory. I scrambled back onto the bike as soon as I could and set off in pursuit. Reeling him in was easy enough but try as I might I couldn’t drop him and by the top we were both still together, well clear of Stu and Tim.

Despite a crash for me and a few attempts by both of us to get away from each other before the finish, we were still locked together coming into the final river crossing. I was confident that my superior height would give me the advantage in the dash across but although holding the lead coming out of the water, my sprint let me down and I missed out on the win. I was obviously disappointed with second but for the first time ever I got through Karapoti without getting a flat tyre, busting my bike or blowing. So to be honest I was actually quite satisfied with how I rode and pleased to have made it onto the podium for the first time.

National Champs.

2011-02-28T18:25:00.004+13:00

I guess we were due for a wet race and after dry conditions all season, we finally got it down in Dunedin at the National Champs. The weather’s a bit different down there. As the majority of the country made the most of the last few weeks of summer we were in wintery conditions with temperature highs that barely made it into the mid teens. Rain in the days leading up to the race played its part and riders were soon on the hunt for mud tyres.

We were given five laps and with the track conditions the way they were it was obviously going to be an interesting day. The majority of the track was actually in pretty good nick. All except for the middle part of the lap, where things got tough when the gradient steepened. Traction became very hard to find and for a hundred meters or so it was easier and faster to get off and run. The mud was thick and heavy and the going was slow. Running up the climb was a bit of a slog but thankfully drier conditions higher up made it possible to get back on although clipping in was an issue as pedals and cleats became clogged with dirt. Another dismount and run for the last pinch at the top and then it was into the descent. Fast and flowy in the dry, it had transformed into a barely controllable slide down the hill. For me it soon became less about trying to get down the hill fast and more a battle just to stay up right. I pin balled my way down the slope each lap and as the race wore on I got to know a few of the trees beside the track pretty well.

I was after the win in both the U23 Men as well as the overall Elite Men’s race. However today I just wasn’t fast enough. I probably didn’t handle the tricky conditions as well as I would have liked. Despite having been near the front for the first few laps I had to settle for second place. It was a disappointing way to end the national season especially after doing so well in the series. Congratulations must go to Carl for winning the Elite Men’s title. And on a positive note despite losing out on the overall win I successfully defended my U23 Men’s National title and will again be able to wear the National Jersey with pride when I head overseas to race later in the year.

New Zealand MTB Cup Round 3 Nelson.

2011-02-15T14:41:00.004+13:00

I have just got back from four days in Nelson and a race win at the 3rd round of the New Zealand MTB cup. It was a really enjoyable little trip with some good riding, glorious weather and the result I was after on Sunday with a win at the UCI cat 2 race.

I arrived on Thursday and put in a few laps on the race track with Nelson local and sometimes MTB racer turned super fast roadie George Bennett. Coming straight from Rotorua, I found the track a bit of a handful early on. It always takes a bit of time to get used to the lack of berms on every corner which is what the majority of tracks are like at home. I crashed a couple of times on the first lap but soon got the hang of the tight twisty trail and its often rocky and extremely dry surface. I was a bit surprised with how little climbing there was in the course because although there was a fairly long road climb at the start it wasn’t steep so it was a bit different to the typical hilly Nelson circuit. It was obvious that it was going to be a very fast track if the weather stayed fine for Sunday.

That evening Stylie and I went for a trail ride on the ‘Peaking Ridge’ track. We went the shorter way to the track consisting of a long and often extremely steep climb up a gravel road and then a smaller 4wd track. After riding that I have had to reassess my ideas on what is actually a steep climb and I now know where to come for some punishing hill training. When we finally made it to the top the reward was an undulating extremely rooty and rocky single trail continuing along the top of the hill to our destination at peaking ridge. The descent down the Peaking ridge trail was awesome. I have never ridden such a rooty trail and particularly higher up there were some pretty rugged rock sections as well. I would have been better suited on a bike with a bit more travel and a more trail friendly geometry but the Blur XC handled the track well and really it was up to me to ensure that we made it down safely. The track opened up slightly as we got lower down and once I got used to things I was able to get a bit more speed up and really start to enjoy it.

The next few days were spent at the race track and by Sunday I knew it pretty well. Rain had been mentioned on the forecast but the weather man got it wrong and we were treated to another hot sunny day.

The Race:
No one really wanted to be in front up the first section of road so the pace was slowish from the start until the last pinch where George attacked to take the lead into the single track. I made sure I got his wheel and that was where I stayed for the first laps. We got a good gap on everyone else early on and it was clear that the battle for the win was going to be between us. I felt comfortable in the single track and I was pretty confident that as long as I didn’t let a big gap open on the road sections I held the advantage. After three laps of following I decided it was time to have a go and countered an acceleration from George, opening up a small gap and then taking the lead at the top of the climb. With the remaining three laps I extended my lead eventually taking the win with a two minute advantage over George in second place.

So it was a pretty successful trip. Thanks Stylie for the accommodation and for introducing me to some ‘real’ mountain bike riding. Hopefully I will be back some time soon.

N-Duro Summer Cup Round 2

2011-02-06T19:21:00.003+13:00

It has been a very humid summer so far this year in Rotorua and today was one of the hottest days we’ve had. At least the race started at 10:30am and was over before the temperatures peaked but even so it was tough racing conditions.

Today was my first race with my new Shimano 315 Shoes. The custom fit treatment has allowed me to get a really comfortable fit and they feel really good and worked great. I took another win so it was a good day.

New Zealand MTB Cup Round 2 Napier.

2011-01-18T16:13:00.004+13:00

The first really big race of the year and with the added incentive of being a UCI Cat 2 race the second round of the New Zealand National series was always going to be an interesting one. The track was fairly typical for Napier. Twisty and fairly tight single track sections and a very dry almost sandy trail surface. It was fast and a lot of it was flat but the main climb more than made up for the rest, rearing almost straight uphill and its steepness and length definitely took its toll as the race wore on.

After a quick start the field kept pretty much together until the climb. About halfway up I moved into second position and as I was unsure of how strong everyone else was, decided to stay there for a while as the track undulated along the top of the hill for about a km. Feeling good I slid up into the lead coming up out of one of the dips and then decided to take advantage of the opportunity pushing the pace down the descent. By the bottom I had a nice lead and from there I kept on the gas opening up a 16 second gap at the end of the first lap.

The track was quite bumpy with a lot of tree roots and I felt that my Santacruz Blur XC gave me a big advantage as the majority of the riders were on hard tails. Particularly on the flatter sections of the track I could maintain a lot more momentum and was able to stay pedalling where in some cases it was almost physically impossible for a hard tail rider to be doing the same. As the race went on I was able to extend my lead and by the end of the six laps I had a comfortable two minute advantage over second place. I am pretty satisfied with how things went and am happy to take the win as well as the valuable UCI points that come with it.

N-Duro Summer Cup #1

2011-01-10T09:42:00.003+13:00

First race for 2011 and a win on the New Bike. The bike worked beautifully and I had a lot of fun racing in the forest which was in great condition, dry and very fast.

Next weekend is the 2nd round of the New Zealand Cup in Napier. Because it is a UCI Cat 2 race it will be important to get a good result with valuable world ranking points on offer. We will head down on Friday so we can have a few days getting to know the track before the race on Sunday afternoon. The course will be similar to the one I raced on in the Mid North Island series so it should be a pretty good one.

2011 Race Bike

2010-12-28T20:13:00.008+13:00

Here it is, my machine for the New Year.
Santacruz Blur XC Matte Black Carbon frame
2011 Shimano XTR
Fox Fork
22.5lb/10.2kg

I have had the chance to put it through its paces in training and am very pleased with how it is going. In particular I have found the new XTR to be brilliant. It is a very classy group set. Light weight but you know you can rely on it to stand up to the abuse that comes with racing. Shifting is amazingly smooth, the triggers have a nice soft release and gear changes are very quiet. The brakes are also a highlight. The levers have a very nice feel to them and are good and powerful.

Another feature that I really like about the new bike is the remote control lockout on my Fox forks. Rather than stuffing around reaching down to manually turn a lever on the crown of the fork I now have a simple thumb button on the bars. Locking the suspension out is now much more accessible and can be activated to make anything from a long seated climb to a short burst out of the saddle more efficient. Because it is so easy to apply it becomes much like an extra gear change.

Weight wise the bike is about 1lb lighter than my previous one and it is noticeable the difference in climbing and also moving back up to speed out of corners etc. It definitely feels a lot zippier and more responsive to any acceleration.

I have been really enjoying riding the new bike. It is so nice to have new gear again it really helps freshen the mind and adds a bit more excitement back into the training. Thank you to Stylie at Santacruz New Zealand, As well as Sheppard Industries for helping me out with the Shimano components and Blue Shark Ltd for doing the same with the Fox fork. And to Rob and Mike at Bike Culture thanks again for your incredible support and the bike build.

My first race for 2011 is the 1st round of the Nduro Summer series on the 9th of January which will kick off a busy schedule where I will be racing most weekends building up to the National Championships in Dunedin on the 27 February and finishing at the Oceania Championships in Australia in mid March.

Mid North Island Cup Final, Napier.

2010-12-13T21:51:00.007+13:00

I really enjoy getting across to Napier. It’s always good riding in the Esk forest. The trails are a bit steeper and tighter than at home and the race organisers always put together a great course. Conditions on the day were super dry and a lot of the corners had big dusty washouts so it got pretty loose at times. There was a fair bit of climbing in the 9km course and 4 laps in the Hawkes Bay sunshine made for a fairly tough day. I managed to finish off the series with another win and as this will be my final race for the year it was good to go out with a bang.
I have a bit of a rest week coming up and then it’s into the N Duro Summer Series and the Nationals starting early in the New Year. Can’t wait.

Rotorua Mid North Island Cup

2010-12-06T18:58:00.001+13:00

Round 3 of the MNIC was held here at home in Rotorua. It was a good race and I enjoyed the chance to have a thrash around a few of my old favourite trails. The legs are going well at the moment and I managed to get another win under the belt. Using these local races is great prep for the upcoming National season and I am having a lot of fun getting out there and supporting the series.
The Rotorua round marked the end of an era as it was long time Rotorua MTB Club XC event organiser Mati Tomasevic’s last race in charge. Thanks Mati. I would also like to acknowledge Rotorua Hyundai for their great support of the race and the Rotorua MTB Club.

Huka XL

2010-11-30T13:38:00.006+13:00

The Huka Xl is one of the many races that make up the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. It is a huge event and its great that Mountain biking is now an integral part of the big day. Although I have raced on the road around the lake several times over the years it was my first time competing in the ‘Huka’ and I was keen to have a good race. The large amount of prize money up for grabs ensures that it is always very competitive with every one chasing the cash that comes with the win. At just over 80km it makes for a long race but it’s a great course packed full of Taupo’s finest single track. There isn’t a lot of long climbing but the twisty trails really wear you down and by the time you start heading back along the river to Taupo several small but pinchy climbs ensure that you make it to the finish well and truly buggered.

The 7.00am start time meant that it was going to be a very early Saturday morning. Just after 4:00 I was up and getting in some breakfast and then into the Ute for the drive down to Taupo. After sorting out rego etc there wasn’t much time for a warm up but the start was taken at a nice pace and I sorted myself out slotting in at around 5th wheel for the first few minutes and then moved up into 3rd once we got into the main Craters of the Moon trails. And thats where I stayed for the majority of the race. A small crash had me chasing to get back to the front for a wee while but I was riding well and as the kms ticked over things were looking good.

Unfortunately the distance was a bit much for me and with only about 15km left I ran out of gas losing contact with the leaders. As I neared the finish my legs were pretty much shot and going up a cruel little climb I slipped from 3rd to 4th. I was a bit gutted to drop off the podium but I was very glad when I finally made it to the finish and relieved to hang onto 4th place.

It is amazing how smoothly the event runs. With so many riders to keep under control the organisers and many volunteers did a great job and the Taupo weather came to the party as well, it was maybe even too hot. And despite not winning the major spot prize of a new car I had a great day and am already planning for next year.

Mid North Island Cup Round #2 Taupo.

2010-11-21T18:28:00.009+13:00

It was a wet start to the day at home but 20 minutes down the road it was dry and by the time we got to Taupo things had taken a turn for the better and the weather was not too bad at all.
As usual the Taupo MTB Club put on a great event and there was a good turnout of riders of all ages. It was especially good to see so many youngsters getting stuck into it. Unfortunately though the number of competitors in the open grade was somewhat lacking. Still it turned out to be a good training mission and it was nice to be getting in some action on the MTB again and I had a lot of fun riding what turned out to be an awesome course. And even better to top the day off I was pleased to receive a $30 Hells Pizza voucher as the prize for the win so I’m eagerly waiting for next weekend where I will make good use of it after the Contact Huka XL Race.

Rotorua To Ohope.

2010-11-14T20:28:00.004+13:00

It’s been a couple of months now since my last race back at the world champs in September. So today was a good chance to get the legs turning in anger and back into the swing of things with a busy race calendar over the next few months.

I don’t often give the roadie a run but the annual Cycling Rotorua Inc club race to Ohope beach is a lot of fun and I thought I’d better dust the cobwebs off and get into it. Mind you it’s a great route for a bike race so it wasn’t a hard decision. A couple of small climbs to test the legs and nice views as you pass by several lakes, a fast drop down the Rotomas, through Texas (Te Teko), a bit of side wind to keep things interesting near Awakeri and into Whakatane and finally the climb up over the hill and down to the finish on the beach at Ohope.

I had a good day in the saddle although my arse wouldn’t agree, I am definitely not in great condition for several hours riding in the seat on the road bike and would much prefer the constant changing of positions that comes with mountain biking. My second place finish wasn’t too bad. And in the end this was what the rest of us were left to fight for after Clinton decided he wanted to be a motor bike and soloed to the win dropping us on the twisty descent down the Rotomas. I love the last climb to Ohope from Whakatane it makes for an interesting finish as it is long enough to launch an attack and split the race up preventing the normally inevitable bunch sprint.

Next week is the second round of the Mid North Island MTB Series in Taupo which I am really looking forward to. It’s not until you have a good break from racing that you realise how much fun it is. It will also be a good chance to have a practice on some of the tracks to be used in the Huka XL the following week.

Until next time.

16 Inch Dual Slalom World Champs

2010-10-21T20:55:00.007+13:00

With the World Single Speed Championships in town this week it was a good excuse to come up with a few hard case events in the lead up to the big one on Saturday. And so the 16 inch dual Slalom World Championships were born.

Each rider had one run. With the winner from each heat advancing to the next round.
The size of the bikes made for some very entertaining racing. It was action aplenty and a good time was had by all.

Cycle Speedway

2010-10-11T19:25:00.002+13:00

How good would some of this be this summer?

Fishing

2010-10-07T21:11:00.005+13:00

What better way to spend a nice afternoon than floating around on a lake? And even better I caught a Trout a well.

The good ship

Success.

Home Again.

2010-09-29T16:03:00.011+13:00

After almost four months away from home it's good to be back. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been too flash but I've been having a break off the bike anyway so it hasn't been all bad. The last couple of days however have been great and hopefully a preview of the summer to come, can't wait.

We went and watched the mighty BOP take on Otago last Friday in the ITM Cup and I really enjoyed it, the first rugby game I have been to in a couple of years so it was nice to get back into it and despite the weather it was an action packed game especially the first half with plenty of tries and the Bay came through to take a comfortable win with a try in the final minutes.

I am already rearing to go and now that day light saving has kicked in I will start riding again in the Whaka forest. I will probably take things nice and easy for the next week or so but I am looking forward to the NZ summer race season and will get back into the training in October.

World Champs Photos.

2010-09-08T11:13:00.005+12:00

World Championships Mont Sainte Anne, Canada.

2010-09-07T14:25:00.002+12:00

Mont Sainte Anne is probably one of the most famous venues for Mountain Bike racing in the World and this year the World Championships coincided with 20 years of world class events held at Mont Sainte Anne which is quite an achievement given Mountain Bike racings short history.

I arrived in Canada good and early to acclimatise and get comfortable on the course. Getting to know the track was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the very dry conditions which were so extreme that some sections were very similar to trying to ride in the sand dunes at the beach. Mont Sainte Anne is known for its technical nature and it lived up to its reputation this year with plenty of challenging terrain and the now well known rock garden. A couple of tough climbs, combined with the bumpy rough single track were quite hard on the body making it a tough track to race on.

Starting in 32 place I was forced to line up in the middle of the grid which is often the worst place to be as usually any crashes that are going to occur happen in that area. But fortunately I got off the line well and dived round the outside of the first couple of corners gaining places as everyone tried to take the shorter inside line. From there it was flat stick to the first hill. I lost a few positions for a while but made it back up to 34th over the line after completing the start loop, which was pretty good by my usual standards and with six full laps left things were going well.

Things were pretty frantic for the next couple of laps as a very quick pace was set by the leaders. It was a case of hold on as long as possible. I struggled for a while dropping back into the 40’s but once things settled down a bit after the first part of the race I was able to get into my own rhythm and I started to ride a lot stronger and made good progress moving back into the mid 30s.

However despite nothing actually going wrong, I felt I wasn’t ever really able to get to maximum spark and as the laps ticked by I couldn’t make any further progression up the field. My end result of 36th was not what I had been looking for at the World Championships. Still despite being a bit disappointed with the way this race went I still have three more years left in the U23 age category. So I have time to progress up towards the pointy end of the field and all things going well a podium finish in the next few years.

Mont Sainte Anne

2010-09-01T00:09:00.003+12:00

I have been in Canada for just over a week now. The travelling wasn't too bad, a busy night of packing following our last race in Switzerland and then an 8 hour flight to Montreal airport before finally arriving in Mont Sainte Anne after a 6 hour drive. I have found slotting in to the time zone over here easy enough and certainly a lot better than if I had come direct from New Zealand.

The Worlds course is very good. It has a bit of everything on it but probably the best feature is its technical nature. A couple of good climbs will split the riders up nicely and then you really have to be able to keep the speed up through the rooty and rocky sections if you want to do well. It has been very hot and dry here lately and the track is super dusty and it is a lot of fun to ride. I have been able to get plenty of time in on the course and know it very well now.

A bit of rain is forecasted for later on in the week but if anything that will be good as it would help pack down the dust and would make things slippery enhancing the difficulty of the track.

Race day for me is Friday so I still have a few more days left but I am feeling good on the bike and especially on the track and can't wait to get into it.

Photos, Racer Bikes Cup Muttenz.

2010-08-31T12:56:00.002+12:00

Racer Bikes Cup Final, Muttenz.

2010-08-26T05:18:00.002+12:00

With World Champs fast approaching the final round in the Racer Bikes Cup series would serve as a great last hit out before the big one on the third of September. It was also my last weekend in Switzerland after almost three months of training and racing.
Luckily for us the wet and cold weather that we had experienced in our last couple of weeks was put on hold, as summer made one last effort and treated us to brilliant weather for our final days in the Country. Arriving in Basel we were surprised to find the track was quite close to the main City and it seemed to be a very unlikely venue for a Mountain Bike race. There wasn’t really much to the track either. It was predominantly flat with very little in the way of single track. The main highlight was a small but fairly steep climb followed by a fast descent and apart from a small section in the main start finish area the rest was open & flat. Despite this it was a good race venue as it allowed a lot of people to come and watch. The start finish area was in a horse race track with a grandstand and there was a good atmosphere with the main start loop and finish line on the horse track and a few twists and turns with a couple of jumps to keep the spectators happy in the middle. The start list was very strong with the race being the last in Europe before all the top riders headed to North America for the final World Cup in New York and then Worlds in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada.
The race itself was very frustrating as it turned out to be a bit like a road race with big groups forming and a lot of mucking around with no one wanting to drive the pace. I perhaps made the mistake of pushing a bit too hard early on and through the middle of the race. I was strong up the climb and would attack there every lap, trying to get further up in the race but would get run down by the big bunch of riders that had formed mid field and then the speed would slow right down again as no one wanted to set the pace, with a group of riders sitting on their wheel. Eventually I did manage to get a bit of a gap but by then I had run out of gas and was slowly reeled in over the last couple of laps dropping down to 27th.
I wasn’t very pleased with my result as I would have liked to have finished higher but it was very good training and perfect preparation for Worlds.

Val di Sole World Cup / photos.

2010-08-05T06:55:00.007+12:00

Mountain Bike World Cup #5 Val di Sole, Italy.

2010-08-01T19:11:00.003+12:00

I have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks, the atmosphere and hype that surrounds the Mountain Bike World Cup Series is very special I have had a great time. Getting the chance to go up against the world’s best is awesome.

I was confident that with the better start position I had earned for this race I was in with a good chance of getting a stronger result than my last outing in Champery. Lining up in 102 position meant that I moved up several rows on the grid from the 129 place I started in the previous weekend. The track was also better suited to cope with the huge amount of riders competing. A lot of time would be spent climbing and all the descents were short and fast. Even better the majority of the track was wide enough to allow passing reducing the bottle necks that are sure to occur as riders fought to get to the front.

Conditions on `D Day’ were perfect, dry and very fast and I was feeling good on the track. I was more nervous for this one. I knew that I could do well here and didn’t want to blow my chance. It was also the first time racing in my new - New Zealand U23 National Champions jersey so I was excited about that.

Unfortunately my start let me down. Just after the start a crash occurred immediately in front of me, with no room to manoeuvre my progress was halted and I lost valuable race position. At this level you can’t afford to lose places from the gun and by dropping back to 133rd after the first lap I was in for a hard battle for the remainder of the race. Still I was riding well. My legs felt great and I steadily made progress throughout the race. The Santacruz Blur XC was running beautifully and my speed on the climbs in particular was good. The 2nd and 3rd laps I hauled in a lot of riders but by the fifth lap I had hit the wall and had to really tough it out to hold on to the finish. In the end I had to settle for 96th place out of 196 starters, 1 lap down on winner World Champion Nino Schurter. It wasn’t quite what I was aiming for but on a positive note it was an improvement from last week and I did make up plenty of places from the poor first lap. Against the U23 riders today, I finished 27th. Only five weeks left to go till World Championships in Canada so the next few weeks will be packed with plenty of quality training and I will be sure to place particular emphasis on my starts. Looking forward to an easy recovery day tomorrow.

Are you ready....

2010-07-31T05:01:00.009+12:00

Val di Sole World Cup tomorrow, can't wait.

The weapon, ready for action.

We have been back at the Sport Hotel Rosatti in Dimaro this week and have had another enjoyable stay.

Plenty of time has been spent up on the Val di Sole track getting some good training in.
The course is very different from 08 World Championships, with very little flat and a lot of very steep climbing followed by fast but not very technical descents.
Brilliant weather all week had the track in a very dry and dusty state but a bit of rain yesterday has hardened things and the track is in perfect condition.
Starting in 102nd position tomorrow, a big improvement from last week. 6 laps so it will be a very fast race.

Should be good.

World Cup #4 Champery, Switzerland.

2010-07-26T09:44:00.002+12:00

My first World Cup in the Elite men turned out to be a race of mixed emotions. In the lead up to the race I was very excited. World Cup races are the pinnacle of Mountain Bike racing and finally getting the chance to have a crack at one had been a goal of mine for some time.
The weather in the days before had been wet and the track had become very muddy making several sections unrideable. Practice was good I enjoyed the technical nature of the track and felt at home in the greasy conditions. The mud only increased its difficulty as it already had plenty of slippery roots and rocks but it was good because it required good all round bike skills to do well. Race day dawned clear and fine and a 2:30pm start time gave things a chance to dry out a bit. Starting in 129th position, I had plenty of work to do to get up towards the pointy end of the field but I was very determined to have a good race.
But ..... I hadn’t been aware that I had entered a running event as that’s how things panned out for the first few laps at least. A field of 175 riders all fighting to get to the front made for a large amount of congestion and a lot of time was spent off the bike. It was very frustrating, the only real chance to get on and ride each lap was up the main climb and it was taken at a furious pace as riders sought to gain positions. Most of the moisture had dried up turning the mud into a thick sticky mess and it was very slow going. Many places were quicker just to jump off and run remounting Cyclocross style in the rideable sections. Racing against such a large amount of riders made for some very chaotic moments. Riders crashed and bikes became tangled up all over the place. A lot of very expensive equipment was destroyed very quickly and swear words in different languages filled the air. In order to make head way risks had to be taken and every little gap no matter how small was an opportunity to move up. As a result of the all or nothing attitude that had to be adopted I had several crashes but somehow my trusty Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon made it through unscathed, thanks Bike Culture and Hyperformance Hardwear.
Although I gave it everything I was unable to finish getting lapped after four laps finishing in 102nd place. I was left feeling a bit disappointed getting lapped is never a good thing but this is the top level of the sport and due to the extremely fast pace and high attrition rate only 58 riders completed the race. You can only give your best and at the end of the day I couldn’t really complain. It had been an awesome day and it was great to finally get an Elite World Cup under the belt. I will be after a better result next week at Round #5 of the World Cup series in Val di Sole Italy, Bring it on.

France and le Tour

2010-07-16T04:03:00.029+12:00

A break from racing over the last week gave us the opportunity to head to France and see a bit of the Tour. We also caught up with good mate Keiran Hambrook who is over road racing in Morteau.

We left our base at Schaffhausen on the Thursday and spent the next couple of days in Morteau at Keirans flat. It was good to catch up with Keiran and meet Sam and Matt his team mates and we arrived at a perfect time with a carnival starting up next door to their flat. We even got the chance to see them race at a Friday night Crit race.

The Boys Before there Crit race.

The Carnival.

On the Saturday we made the drive down to Morzine to catch the Tour de France mountain top finish at Morzine Avoraiz on the Sunday, as well as the rest day and then stage start in the following days.

We decided that we would try a bit of camping to mix things up a bit. Luckily we managed to borrow a tent as it would have been a bit tight with two of us sleeping in the back of the VW. Our first campsite was on the other side of the Mountain from Morzine.

Campsite #1

Dinner, Check out the instant BBQ.

Sunday dawned and it was Tour time. First up we went for a spin up the mountain to suss out a good posse to view the race from. The atmosphere was building, the spectators were out painting riders names on the road and things were starting to get exciting. We rode the last 4km of the tour climb then ducked home to have a feed. From where we were camped we could take a gondola up to the finish line and we made sure we got there nice and early to get a good spot. We managed to squeeze in right against the barriers just before the 100m to go mark. It was perfect we could see all of the finish as well as the big screen so we saw all the attacks getting laid down before the summit.We took advantage off all the handouts from the race sponsors in the Tour caravan and settled in for the finish. It was a super exciting race with Andy Schleck attacking near the top and dropping every one bar Samuel Sanchez, but he was to strong at the finish starting his sprint right in front of where we were watching to claim the stage win.

Freebies at the Tour.

Andy Schleck about to out sprint Samuel Sanchez to take the stage win at Morzine Avoriaz.

The next day was the Tour rest day, a great chance to get up close to the riders as they went out training. I snapped a few photos of Cadel Evans as he posed for the press in his yellow jersey and I even saw TV commentators Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen stuck in traffic in the middle of town.

Cadel Evans in Yellow on the Tour rest day.

Legends, Phill Ligget and Paul Sherwin.

We moved down from our mountain campsite on Monday night to a spot between Morzine and Les Gets so that we could be in a better position to view the start of stage 9 the following day.

I attempted to get back into town to see the riders warming up before the stage start but there were to many people and I couldn't get near the center of town. Instead I settled for the beginning of the stage proper at the end of the neutralised start section. Again the size of the event blew us away. The race caravan leaves several hours before the race start and right up until the riders come past the roads are packed with sponsors, media and team cars. Once the riders have gone by the team buses come along followed by any stragglers from the media. It takes several hours for the tour to pass by a point on the road. It really is an amazing event and it was great to get the chance to experience it first hand.

Campsite #2

The start of stage 9.

Racer Bikes Cup Flims

2010-07-06T04:19:00.003+12:00

We made it to Flims on the Friday before the event to check out the course. It was very good, short but with a little bit of everything. The main feature was a very steep climb but the down hills were really good and nothing like the carefully groomed single track we get back home. It was full on roots and rocks and lower down a few wooden features including a big wall ride and a couple of drops. I decided after one lap that it was my favourite race track of the trip so far. It really was a good track with a perfect mix of climbing and technical as well as good passing and feeding sections.

Flims is World Champion Nino Schurters training ground and he was the local hero. A massive crowd came out in support of the World Champ. A very strong line up of riders turned up on the day and although this was my fifth race over here in Europe the excitement of racing against the big stars of World Mountain Biking hasn’t diminished.
For this race I was aiming to really push myself early on rather than pacing myself and perhaps having a bit more left for the last couple of laps. I really wanted to be mixing it up near the front of the field and I was after a strong result in my last race before the World Cups.
Right from the gun I went well, I really pushed the pace and kept attacking whenever I had the chance and had my best start of the trip so far coming through in 13th position. It was pleasing to be so far up the field as traditionally I have been very poor in the first lap. I was hurting but I just put the hammer down and kept driving the pace. I was determined to leave everything out on the race track today. The technical nature of the course favoured the full suspension and the Santa Cruz was in its element. I was able to charge on the downhill sections and gain time on my rivals.
I rode in 12th position for the majority of the race but 8 laps turned out to be a bit too much and coming into the last couple of laps I began to run out of steam. Grovelling through the 7th and 8th laps I unfortunately dropped several positions and ended up in 16th place. Still it was my best placing of the trip and a solid result to finish off the first block of racing.

Five races in consecutive weekends has been very full on but also an amazing experience. Racing such high quality events can only be a good thing and I have learnt so much. It will be good to have a bit of a break. We plan to head to France to see a couple of Tour de France stages and then build up to the World Cup races in Champery and Val di Sole at the end of July.

Swiss Bike Trophy

2010-06-29T02:08:00.005+12:00

The Swiss Bike Trophy is one of the biggest races on the international calendar and always attracts the top riders in the world. The race is high on a hill overlooking the city of Bern and is a magnificent setting for an event. The public come out in huge numbers to support the race and the atmosphere is amazing. The main access to the race venue is via a cable car and every spectator that entered the car received a rattle, the combined noise of several thousand rattles and the usual Swiss bells certainly created a lot of hype. Commentators report back to the start finish are from several positions on the race track and organised bell ringers drum up support every time a rider comes past. It would have to be one of the most exciting races I have competed in. Even though I was racing flat out I really soaked up the support and enjoyed the experience, it was great being a part of such a high quality event.

Summer has really kicked in over here and the temperature on race day was very hot. The heat and a very hilly course made the racing conditions very tough. Despite some steep climbing it was a very fast race track and there wasn’t really anything too technical. But it was great for the spectators with the track looping around the hill with the start finish area on top. It meant they could easily get around to several vantage points without travelling to far. Race start was 1:45 right at the hottest part of the day and I certainly felt it. But this didn’t slow anyone down, the race was super fast for the first few laps. At one stage on the 3rd lap I ended up getting tangled with several riders after someone crashed on a tight switch back corner and blocked the track. With nowhere to go I piled straight into him and then got jammed up as several more riders came crashing in from behind. Luckily the bike and I escaped relatively unscathed. The feed zone was a highlight of each lap but the fresh bottle I received each time didn’t last very long and unfortunately didn’t do much to quench my thirst. I rode well through the 2nd half of the race and gained a lot of positions. I have learnt now that the racing over here is all about those first few laps only the really top riders appear to hold the same pace throughout, everyone else goes nuts at the start and then fades away by the end. I really have to work on my speed through the first half of the race if I can gain a few positions higher after each of the first few laps I would really start to get some very good results. At the finish I was 29th which I am reasonably happy with.

Next weekend I race another Racer bikes cup in Flims and then it’s a good couple of weeks off until the World Cup races at the end of July.

2010-06-21T23:21:00.006+12:00

Racer Bikes Cup Engelberg.
Two wet muddy races in a row, anyone would think we were still back in the New Zealand winter and not summer here in Switzerland. Today’s race was one of the muddiest I have been in. Rain all week and freezing cold temperatures (it was snowing not far above the track) made for some extreme conditions on race day.

Engelberg is another very unique course, mainly because of its length. It’s only a bit over 3km and lap times were between 10 and 15 minutes and that was with plenty of mud to slow things down. The track is basically one big climb and then a descent back down to the bottom of the hill with a small section of flat before and after the start finish area. Because of the conditions we ended up racing 8 laps but we were scheduled to do 10.

I had a much better start position for this race lining up on the third row. I had my lucky number 13 on the bike so I was feeling pretty good and was keen to have a stronger result. Right away I felt a lot more comfortable. I lost places at the start of the climb but got most of them back by the top. The single track had been gravelled before the race so although it was wet it wasn’t too slippery, but the fun really started when we entered the grass section of the track below the famous Titlis Ski Jump. The thick mud made it pretty much a hold on and hope for the best situation. 3 chutes and if you made it to the bottom safely you were doing pretty well. It was absolute chaos the first lap with riders crashing all over the place. I got down alright breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to slog my way through the mud along the flat to the safety of the tarmac start finish area. After the first lap I decided it was faster just to get off and run along the flat. I flew up the climb on the second lap and by the end I was up into 16th position. The bike was starting to suffer by now. The thick casing of mud was clogging the drive train and chain suck was becoming a problem. The climb was fine, I dropped it into the small ring and spun my way up but I had a lot of trouble riding everywhere else after a fresh coating of mud and grass each lap. The only thing to do was man up and slog on for the rest of the race. The attrition rate was very high with a number riders pulling out after they or their bikes couldn’t hack it. Disappointingly I lost places through the middle of the race and got lapped by the race winner with meters left off my 7th lap. But 19th place wasn’t too bad and a big improvement from the previous Racer Bikes Cup result. I was very pleased with how strong I felt and perhaps if I had done a better job of clearing some of the muck from my drive train each lap I would have been able to spend more time going forwards and finished a little higher but I can’t really complain.

Looking forward to a bit of sunshine and a dry track next week at the Swiss Bike Trophy in Bern.

Tour of Switzerland

2010-06-20T03:53:00.008+12:00

We made it back to Switzerland after our short Italian trip just in time to see a few stages of the last week of the Tour of Switzerland. Heres a few photos from the roadside.

Stage 5 Photos.

Showing our true colours.

Waiting.

The break away, eventual stage winner in red Marcus Burghardt.

Stage 6

Into the real mountains today.

The break.

The peleton.

It was really good getting the chance to see a race like this up close. Most of the big names were here, Lance Armstrong, the Schleck brothers and even New Zealand rider Hayden Roulston. We got a good look at Hayden as he set the pace at the front of the main peleton for his team leader Tony Martin on stage 6.

Internazionali D'Italia Adamello Bike XC Vermiglio

2010-06-16T06:06:00.004+12:00

Race two of our internationl campaign. I had actually ridden this race before back in 2008 when I raced it as a junior in the lead up to the World Champs that year so it was pretty cool to be returning two years later. Single track is scarce but the unique part of this track is the section through the streets of Vermiglio, a few stairs, cobbles, alley ways and the vocal support form spectators cheering from there balconies and windows definitely makes Vermiglio different from the usual race track.

The main descent is so steep that you really have to control your speed, there is a big gully off to the side near the top that you don’t want to go riding into and rocks and stairs lower down make it quite tricky. The other down hills twist through paddocks and were good fun with a few natural jumps and nice slalom corners. Climbing wise the track was tough, the longest climb started out extremely steep and it was a struggle to even ride it especially in the latter part of the race. The grade did ease near the summit before a hike a bike section took you right to the top below a water fall. The other main climb is rough and rocky and came after a tight corner which hooked straight back up the hill from a descent.

The race was another character building session, for the first part of the race I found the pace really tough. The hardest part was the flat sections, the speed would really get cranked up and I lost a lot of time to the stronger riders. A lap into the race and it suddenly started pouring with rain. The track got greasy really quickly and it got very cold. We even got pelted with hail at one stage. I had a couple of loose moments in the slippery conditions but managed to stay upright and finished relatively strongly passing several riders in the last couple of laps to finish in 29th position.

I am reasonably happy with my result. The step up in performance that comes with racing in the Elite level in Europe is really tough but thats why I am here, to race and learn from the best. I will look to improve next week back in Switzerland at the next round of the Swiss Racer Bikes Cup in Engelberg.

Italy

2010-06-13T04:13:00.009+12:00

We've made the trip across the border from Switzerland to Italy this week to race the final round of the Italian International MTB race series the Internazionali d'Italia Adamello XC Bike Vermiglio.

We have been staying in the Trentino region of Italy in an area called Val di Sole (valley of the sun), calling the Sport Hotel Rossati in Dimaro home for the past few days. Its a bit of an upgrade from our last accommodation and we are having a lot of fun here. The swimming pool has been getting plenty of use and the buffet dinner and breakfast are just the thing to keep us going with all the calories we have been burning while training in the mountains around the valley.

Home for the past few days, note the weather.

The Swimming Pool.

Dessert

The weathers been really good since we got here although the afternoons are almost to hot and it feels like you are going to get fried by the sun every time you step outside. So the pool has come in very handy and offers welcome relief from the intense heat. I guess they don't call it Valley of the Sun for nothing.

Shuttle runs.

We have been doing a lot of riding this week and its perfect training if you want to improve your climbing, it's very hard to get a flat ride in around here. We have even been doing some downhill shuttle runs in the afternoons as skill training making use of some of the great single track descents in the area.

We are all still suffering the effects of the flu which is a bit annoying. But I think I have solved part of the problem. Today I decided to try using some nose strips to improve my breathing while riding and I was surprised to find that they actually worked pretty well. Should be just the thing for the race tomorrow.

New secret weapon.

We have checked out the course a couple of times this week and it will be a good one. Its almost the same as when I rode this same race back in 2008 as a junior before World champs that year.

Its got a couple of short but very steep climbs and the main single track descent is quite tricky, steep rocky and some steps chucked in for good measure.

I will let you know how we get on in the race. Look out for another update soon.

Cheers,

Dirk.

Racer Bikes Cup - Champery, Switzerland

2010-06-08T06:36:00.006+12:00

After a enjoyable 3 days stay in Schaffhausen we started our race campaign properly, kicking off in Champery with a round of the Swiss Racer Bikes Cup International Mountainbike Series.

Our accommodation for the race was a Swiss Youth Hostel in the beautiful town of Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. The Youth Hostel was right down by the lake which was good but unfortunately two railway tracks passed right by and at night it sounded like the trains were going to come crashing through the wall.

The weather which up until Friday had been very average decided it was time for summer and the temperature rocked up to 27 degrees with bright sunshine till 10 at night. It felt good to be riding with out jackets and thermals on. We had plenty of time to get a few laps in of the Champery track that afternoon and we were very impressed. Its only short at 4.5km but it is very technical and has a couple of nasty climbs that really test the legs especially later on in the race. Heaps of exposed roots and rocks litter the course and in particular the flatter parts where there are a couple of tricky sections that are very hard to ride with out losing traction. Not to be out done the descents are steep, literately chutes straight down the hill side with their share of treacherous roots and rocks and tight off chamber corners. Its a true test, you've got to have the skills as well as the legs to do well at Champery.

The build up for the race wasn't the best. We had all been sick, probably caught a bug on the plane and jet lag had made it hard to get a decent nights sleep. But come Sunday we were into it. 6 full laps plus a start lap was the order of the day.

It was very exciting to be lining up in the same race as riders like double Olympic and multi World Champion Julian Absalon and I was more nervous than I have been before a race in a long time as I warmed up. Call up to the start line was a bit tricky, my german isn't very flash so I had to suss out rider number 45 (I was number 46 ) and follow him up to the line. The gun went off and I suddenly found out whats its like racing against the best riders in the World in the Elite Men. It was easily the most intense race I have ever done. I moved up through the field into the top 30 after the first 3 laps but didn't advance much further from there finishing in 28th place. I found the pace very tough and dropped off losing a lot of time on the last couple of laps. At the finish I was absolutely shattered but pleased to have got the first race under my belt.
A weeks rest and I'll be ready to go for the next one.

First Days in Switzerland

2010-06-03T05:10:00.003+12:00

After our super long trip from NZ it was good to finally arrive here in Switzerland. For the first few days we are staying right at the top of Switzerland in Schaffhausen with the Homberger family who have kindly given us a place to stay and have been a great help.

Day one was pretty tough with the Jet lag taking its toll but we got a nice easy ride in and today I felt a lot better. We've spent a bit of time having a look a round Schaffhausen and had a good ride in the forests behind town which are full of small forest roads and trails, great places to ride bikes.

Being in Switzerland we have had to try the Swiss Chocolate and its fair to say it more than lives up to its reputation, I will definitely be bringing some home at the end of the trip.

More soon,

Catch you later.

Honk Kong In Transit

2010-06-02T23:38:00.009+12:00

Heres a few photos from our trip to Switzerland. 12 hours from Auckland to Hong kong, 16 hours waiting for our next flight and then 13 hours to Switzerland. One of the longest days in my life, good times. Yeah right. With 16 hours in Hong Kong we had plenty of time to kill. So we took a train from the airport into Hong Kong City and had a bit of a look at the sights and sounds.

Breakfast

Down Town Hong,

Mixing with the locals in the streets.

Lunch?

Down at the water front we watched some of the local fishermen doing there best to diminish the local fish population. They were getting plenty and it was action packed stuff.

It was good to see a really big City in action, some of the high rise buildings were impressive, they were so tall that you couldn't see there tops because of the smoggy cloud and although we were there early in the morning the number of people around the place gave an idea of how small New Zealand really is.

There was litter every where especially in the sea, we watched boats drive round so that people with long nets could scoop up the rubbish floating in the water. It wasn't a good look and didn't give us a good impression of the place. Then high humidity levels and the air pollution were also pretty unpleasant and after half a day walking around we go a bit sick of the concrete jungle and were glad to escape back to the air conditioned airport to wait out our next flight.

New Beginning

2010-05-29T20:17:00.000+12:00

I have decided to start this blog so that people can keep up to date with my 2010 overseas race campaign.
Regular comments from people asking how they can keep track of my progress while I am away has finally pushed me into action. So here goes, a blog. I will do my best to keep regular up dates sharing my experiences.

Cheers.

2010-05-28T22:00:00.000+12:00