Bluff Nationals round one

I won! Great way to start the National series. I had a bit of luck with Anton having chain trouble which meant I could take the win. I am quite happy with the way I rode considering the course was one long climb and downhill. I prefer two or three shorter climbs. I had a strong start coming from the back of the grid entering the single track in 5th spot. The pace on the 1st lap was pretty hot and I died a bit near the top of the climb, but the rest of my laps were fairly consistant which is a good sign of my form. When I finished I thought I came second. This was because the U23's were racing at the same time as the elites. But little did I know some of the U23's had decided to race in the elite category. One of them being Dirk, who I knew was U23 age so I thought he was leading. So really I was the 2nd fastest U23 rider. But I will still take the win. I was circulating in the top 3 placing in elite so that's a good result too. I even got the speak to the press after the race which is a first for me. It got published in a couple of papers and on cyclingnews.com. That may seem pretty miner to some people but everyone starts there sometime. I still feel like there is plenty of room to improve before nationals. So I have some very hard training planned before I head up to Auckland and Rotorua.

Hanmer Hammerhead

This one didn't go to plan. I ended work the day before with a slight niggle in my throat and woke up the morning of the race and it was pretty sore. I still decided I would still race because I really enjoy the course and we had already planned to stay over night in Hanmer. I knew I wouldn't be at my best but I was just going to see how I could cope. I started okay and was up with the front group. My legs didn't feel great (probably struggling from a poor nights sleep), but I was hoping they would come right by the second lap. I didn't get a chance to find out unfortunately. 3/4 of the way through the first lap a rider fell off in front of me which in turn made me come off. As I got riding again my chain kept jamming. I stopped and went to fix it. I got it untangled but the links had bent and it was unrideable. Not a great way to start my Giant xtc advanced sl's race season. But considering how I was feeling I was happy to be with the front guys on that first lap. And in the short time I rode it the bike was awesome! Very stiff, and fast.
Now the sore throat is a bad cold. I am on the better side of it but have lost my voice. Luckily there isn't anymore racing for a while so I can just recover to full health and get back into the training.

Ok, so I now have my computer back after leaving it behind when I was on holiday, haha. Time to update the race report bank. I have been racing every weekend for the last few weeks so I will try to keep them brief.

Timaru 6hr solo...
Super fun race. Never got board of the track. Kept dialing it in all race. I felt really strong in this one. It was myself and Phill Patterson setting the pace at the front for the first third of the race with Craig Tolson following close behind. I just kept the pace fast and consistent throughout the race. I was riding on my own for the second half and extended my lead right till the finish. I came in with 5mins to spare, completing 15 laps. 1 lap ahead of second. I also had the fastest average speed of the whole event including all the teams.

Hanmer Springs, Spring Crusher...
This was a brutal climbing course. I was really looking forward to this one because I had never done it before and I wanted to compare myself to the best riders in Canterbury over a hilly course. The race went straight into a tough climb and by the top a small group of myself, Anton, Kyle Wood, and the Oliver brothers had formed. We stayed together for a while. Kyle went back after getting held up on a technical section and I think his chain dropped off? So the four of us were left. I got dropped slightly on one of the longest climbs but pulled myself back just before the top. The Olivers were just too good and knew the tracks too well to keep up with on the descents. Before the flatter section they opened a 30sec gap on myself and Anton. Anton had trouble with his seat post and had to stop a couple of times. I pushed hard on the flat and got back on the Olivers wheel. Only to be dropped again on the next climb. But again I caught them back up just before the last climb. By this stage I was stuffed so I had nothing to give when we started to attack up the climb. I finished 20sec of the Olivers and won open men. I am happy with that ride and my form.

LongBeach Coastal Classic...
Had a good race at this one, finishing 2nd behind Anton. About a minute back. There was a decent group of us for the first part of the race until the first major river crossing. I pulled a good turn on the front before hitting the river crossing then rode through it (I was the only one who did) so I was puffing pretty hard after it. But just at that point Anton attacked. I tried to stay with him. But I was maxed out. Craig Oliver was there too but we couldn't hold his wheel. Things may have been different if I hadn't gone hard up to and through the river but I will never know. Brad and Ben caught up to Craig and I so we started to work together. I lead into the next technical beach section and after it I looked back and had a good 200m lead. I thought about sitting up and waiting but figured I would take the risk. I pushed on alone. I never closed the cap to Anton but it didn't open either which I am pleased with. I did open the cap back to 3rd so I finished comfortably in 2nd. 

Things are looking good for me this season. I'm feeling stronger than I ever have and training is going well. My new race bike has just arrived today so that will give me an advantage, plus a hole in my wallet! Next up is the Festival of cycling Crit. Riding the road scene for a day should be fun. Then It's the Hanmer Hammer Head.

Update

So I have had a few things going on lately. I recently went up to Auckland and passed the Shimano mechanics course so I am now qualified to work on bikes which is pretty cool. Also I have just moved into central Chch with my lovely partner, Shannon. For those of you who don't know her yet I'm sure you will meet her at some of the races this season.

Just over a week ago I was hit by a car while riding to work. I got hit on my left going through a roundabout. Luckily I came out with no major damage but my bike was destroyed. Snapped through the frame in 4 places! The driver's insurance is covering it so should be all good and I will have a new bike soon. I obviously had some time off the bike to recover and let the bruising go down. But today I went out to the short track racing. It was only my second time on the bike since the accident so I planned just to see how my injuries held up first, then decide to ride or watch. I felt good and had no pain so I started the race. The first few laps went well and I was up in the front group and finding the pace fast but comfortable. Until Phil made an attack. I stayed with the others up the hill on that lap but the lungs couldn't keep up with the legs. So I settled into my own pace and rode home in forth. I felt like my legs were strong but it was just the fact that I pretty much hadn't riden for over a week so the tank was empty. Also eating donuts and sticky steamed buns at the Riccarton markets that morning wouldn't have helped either.

I'm looking forward to getting back into the training mode and after a week of solid riding I should be up the front at next weeks short track.

CHCH CX round 5 Steam Scene

We had a last minute change of venue for our final round. Living Springs, our planed course destination was flooded from the recent rain. So it was a fast and flat course out at steam scene. The ground drained a little too well but there was one section of mud which proved quite tricky in the latter laps. I had a good hard first lap and increased my lead from there. Until I pinch flated riding over some railway lines. Getting a little too cocky and riding them too fast. I tried my puncture repair gas foam thingy but that didn't work. Luckily (If you can say that after getting a puncture) my dad was right there and he was looking after my keys. So I grabbed them off him, run to my car and put a new tube in. By this time my race was over but I wasn't too worried because I already had the series won overall. I got another couple of laps in but not sure where I finished up in the end. It was a great series and I won an awesome trophy, a medal and a pair of TRP brakes! Can't think of a better way to spend the winter. Thanks to all the guys behind the scenes. Great effort. Hopefully next year I can find some time to give your guys a hand.

CX national series round 5 Christchurch

For this round we were racing in Hagley park in the centre of my home city. We had a bit of rain over the week so the ground was very soggy and the course went through some nice wet bogs. Also had some stream crossing so it turned into a very nice muddy feast, which was welcomed seeing we hadn't experienced the true elements of cross racing. Our newly crowned national champs, Gary Hall and Kim Hammer-Hurst made the trip down. I was hoping to hang onto Gary for at least a few laps but he just had too much gas for me and I lost his wheel before the end of the first lap. So I stayed in 2nd for the rest of the race just pushing myself as hard a I could. That's where I finished up. Conceding just over 2 minutes. I am pretty pleased with that but would have liked that time cap to be a little smaller. Looking to close that cap at the final round in Blenheim.

CHCH CX round 4 Halswell Quarry

I'm going to make this short because I'm so tired after the race today. Dayle made a burtily fun course. I was on the limit form the gun. I rode well and felt strong but never managed to run the whole hill. My legs were screaming at the top begging me to stop but all they were getting was walking pace. I lead from start to finish and held a good cap the whole race. Looking forward to next weekend for the Christchurch round of the national series. Hope I can continue with my form and get some good points towards the series lead so I can finish on the podium after the final race in Blenheim.

                                                         Suffering at the top of the climb