For 2008 we have expanded the cycling team. Altura Patterson Training will consist of the following riders. To keep up with the results of the team, our clients and other general results you can follow this link to the "Trackside" blog, an up to the minute results resource for mountain bike racers.
Rider Profile – Jenn O’Connor, Team Leader
Jenn O’Connor is a 31-year-old New Zealander who has been based in Macclesfield, UK, for the past seven years. She has been racing at elite level in the UK since 2002, specialising in XC, with an emphasis on Endurance and Marathon racing. She is best known as a 24-hour solo specialist, and has won the solo event at Mountain Mayhem a record four times. Jenn has also represented New Zealand in both Marathon and XC World Championships and is a member of the NZ National Squad and current NZ National Marathon Champion.
Jenn works full-time in Manchester as Business Development Manager for Howell Wild, a firm of chartered loss adjusters. She combines training with cycle commuting and business travel, and is an expert at smuggling turbo trainers into hotel rooms.
Rider Profile – Ruth Maudaunt
Newcomer to the mountain bike race scene is 35-year-old Ruth Mordaunt. Ruth is based on Shoreham Beach, just outside Brighton on the south-coast, where she is a fully qualified and successful sports massage therapist in the area.
Specialising in XC, Ruth has just completed her first race season at Masters level (30-39 age-related category) in the UK with excellent results. For 2008, she intends to retain her ranking as No. 1 National Female XC master, to win the British Mountain Bike Series at this level and finish top 5 in the World Masters XC Championships.
Rider Profile – Simon Young
A former professional mountain bike guide and skills instructor, 37 year old Simon Young is a long term mountain biker but new to the race scene. He is one of the UK’s most well-known and respected mountain bike leaders, and holds the SMBLA trail and mountain leader award. He has led guided groups on tours in Tanzania and the Himalayas, as well as numerous UK-based trips and skills clinics, in conjunction with KE Adventures, Cycle Active and his own guiding consultancy, Trailhead. He continues to write and review mountain bikes and gear for the UK MTB mags.
With the support of Patterson Training, Simon will target the British National Series in Masters XC as well as Marathon, and as many events as he can get to from his home in Cornwall.
Rider Profile – Andrew Patterson, Team Performance Director
Andrew Patterson is one of the UK’s leading cycling coaches, and his cycle specific coaching qualifications are the highest currently available in the UK. After many years racing road and mountain bikes he turned to training cyclists and graduated in 2005 from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BSc (hons) in Sport Exercise and Coaching Science, and went on to set up Patterson Training, a sport science support consultancy.
Alongside Patterson Training, Andy works with British Cycling as a Coach Educator and Assessor, ensuring the UK’s aspiring coaches meet the high standards set by British Cycling and Sport UK. Andy lives in Macclesfield with partner Jenn, and when he’s not handing out bottles or writing up training plans, he races Masters XC, and Endurance team events. Andy is also planning his retirement from racing in order to spend more time working on his sport science business, he has been seen eyeing up bouncy trail bikes in preparation for this long overdue event.
