Past events. For the latest news go to the TRACKSIDE blog
Training Camp and Grand Canaria MTB Marathon
Grand Canaria March 2008
Some photos of the Training camp and race
Grizedale National Trailquest
March 2008
Report By Chris Hope
The 2008 National Trailquest series kicked off on the 9th of March with an excellent 3hr event in Grizedale Forest.A lot of work has been invested over the winter to create a permanent mountain bike orienteering course consisting of a detailed 1:20,000 orienteering map and 32 checkpoints distributed throughout the forest.As the location of the checkpoints had not yet been divulged, the event organizer, Henry Syska, made good use of the facilities by placing a Sportident timing device at all 32 checkpoints.
For some reason I always find events in Grizedale difficult – mainly because there is so much route choice and navigation can be particularly difficult considering the huge number of tracks throughout the forest.It’s certainly an area where local knowledge can be a huge advantage, which is why Brian Singleton and Neil Atkinson are very hard to beat in Grizedale.Not surprisingly both of those guys turned up for the event, no doubt eager to get some points under their belt early in the season.
A blank copy of the event area was posted at the start, which showed a really good quality and easy to read map.The area was noticeably small considering that it was a 3hr event, which meant that checkpoints would be tightly spaced but also meant that the ‘clean up’ was probably on.For some reason I had a clockwise route in mind, so when I got the map it didn’t take much time to decide where I would head first.The first few checkpoints came quickly and fairly easily.I was feeling quite strong and forcing myself to spin up the hills as much as I could.I rode past the fourth checkpoint and had to retrace my route, frantically looking for it.Eventually I found it and tried to claw back lost time.One more checkpoint bagged and then for some unknown reason on a completely flat section of forest track the sidewall on my tire blew out.I though it was game over but managed to mend it by slotting an energy gel wrapper between my inner tube and tyre.It worked a treat and I was off again.After approximately an hour and a half, I reassessed the map and my route plan.I suddenly had doubts that I would be able to get all checkpoints so made a rash decision to drop a checkpoint worth 10 points.The event progressed well despite a spectacular dismount over the handlebars, which I landed on my feet!I crossed through the event center to the east of the map with an hour to go, still thinking that I would be late back, but I still felt strong and the checkpoints came quickly.With half an hour to go I was kicking myself for dropping a checkpoint as it became obvious that I would get the remaining checkpoints and be back in time.Sure enough I finished 36seconds early with one checkpoint dropped.Would it be enough?
I downloaded my score and waited to hear talk about several people cleaning up with minutes to spare – thankfully this was not the case.In fact the best score was unsurprisingly Brian Singleton who had also dropped a 10 pointer but was a couple of minutes faster than me. That meant that we both had the same score and were both awarded 100%.A very pleasing result for the first national!!
Winter Racing
Strathpuffer, 19th January 2008
Report By Chris Hope
On Friday the 18th of January, a strong and psyched Keswick Bikes team consisting of Chris Hope, Andy Wrigley, Ben Bardsley and Paul Trott made the long journey north for an epic 24 hour MTB challenge close to Inverness.The Strathpuffer, named due to its proximity to the small village of Strathpeffer, is a 24 hour mountain bike race adopting a similar format to the ever popular events such as Mountain Mayhem and Sleepless in the Saddle.The only difference is, it’s about 400 miles further north, there’s 17 hours of darkness, the temperature is invariably below freezing and the tracks are covered in ice.The event is advertised as the toughest and only winter 24 hour MTB race in the world and is generally renowned for being ‘hard core’.
Only a mad person would do the event more than once, but funnily enough Andy Wrigley had completed the event for 2 years running and being a man who enjoys suffering he was keen to put himself through it again.He asked me if I fancied it and tried to persuade me that it would be great training for the Trans Alp, which we’ll be doing later in the year.Not wanting to appear soft I agreed and shortly after convinced Ben Bardsley and Paul Cornforth to join us.As the event grew closer, the pressure mounted and Paul dropped out (sensible chap!).Luckily a phone call to Paul Trott, another hardened Pufferite (Paul had also done the event for the last two years running), came up trumps and he agreed to join the team.
After the threat of cancellation due to the marquee blowing down, the access road not yet being built and the field too waterlogged to drive onto, the event organizers made some frantic changes and managed to sort the situation out.
The start was delayed by an hour, which enabled us to get our camp set-up sorted.Andy was given the dubious honour of first lap, which involved a 100m dash for the bike.I took the second lap and waited in anticipation for Andy at the changeover.After approximately 45 minutes the first man arrived, but it wasn’t Andy.Not to worry I thought, he’ll be here any second.The seconds ticked away, then the minutes passed by.It was hard to believe that he could be so far behind.Perhaps he’d had a mechanical?If not the leader must be an absolute flying machine!Then he appeared, 6 minutes behind the leader.A quick changeover and I was off.A minute later and I realized what the problem was.The tracks were covered in sheet ice, about 1 inch thick with no option but to run around some sections.I tried riding it but quickly ended up on my arse and then did an impression of Bambi on ice whilst desperately trying to get to my feet and make my way to the edge of the track.Numerous wipeouts ensued as I tried to push the pace and take a few risks.Whilst picking myself off the floor for the 5th time it then dawned on me why the leader from BikeVillage had been so fast – he had ice tyres!!Luckily for us his team mate didn’t and I caught him before too long.
I handed over to Ben who was dreading the prospect of running as he was suffering from a foot injury.However, the ice had melted even more and he managed to complete the lap quickly without really needing to get off his bike.Ben maintained our lead and handed over to Trotty.It was all going like clockwork for Paul until about half way round the course when he snapped his chain.Thinking he had nearly completed the lap he decided to run the remainder of the lap rather than insert a speed link.After about 4K of running I think he regretted that decision! – but, we still maintained our lead.
Thankfully, as riders passed over the course, areas of ice at the track edges started to melt, the lap got faster and the falls were less frequent.Ben and myself put the fastest times in on our second laps and only separated by 1 second with a 37min 23s and 37 min 22s.
After a few laps each we were building a healthy lead and we came to realize that providing we didn’t seriously bonk or have a disastrous mechanical we should be able to maintain our position.
The 1, 2, 3, 4 strategy continued until 1am, then Andy and I did a 1, 2, 1, 2, enabling Ben and Paul to get some sleep, then we swapped.The nice thing was, after waking up from a 2-3 hour kip I only had one lap to do.The mud by this time was thick and gloopy, which really sapped all energy out of my legs but with the prospect of it being a final lap, an extra bit of energy was summoned.
Paul finally completed the last of our 32 laps in a time of 24 hours 7 minutes enabling us to win by a comfortable 4 lap margin.
A good start to the year.The training is paying off and long may it continue!
Cross Training
Rondane, Norway. December 2007
Report By Andrew Patterson
Christmas and endurance training can sometimes be a little bit conflicting. The pull of a warm country pub, a blazing fire and a large cognac can be a great deal more appealing and a whole lot better for morale than a 5 hour ride in the cold and wet.
So Myself and Jenn decided to do something that would be both enjoyable and help to keep on top of the endurance training over the festive period, we flew out to the frozen mountains of Norway for a spot of XC skiing.
Being ultra competitive I had been practicing hard for this trip and had got hold of some roller skis and was determined to skate round the trails with the grace of Ole Einar Björndalen. However its not all that easy, prior to flying out to Norway I managed to badly bruse my hip put a hole in my elbow and tear goodness knows how many ligaments in my wrist... well what do you expect on a bit of kit that has no brakes. It was a steep learning curve but by the time we left I was just about beyond the cognative phase of learning the skate style and felt confident I could at least move forward with the real deal on snow.
Norway seemed cold to this temperate Cheshire lad and the trip from Oslo airport to Rondane was like something from Narnia, and we were very excited to be doing something very different for Christmas.
The first day on skis was a real eye opener, the roller skis I had been using were very different from actual skis and snow and having never done any skiing before I found myself on the floor
more times that I would have liked. Slowing down and stopping especially on the downhills was a bit of a mystery until I was passed by a number of 3 year olds who showed great skill in keeping
one foot in one groove and snow ploughing with the other.
The trails were great and the views are spectacular, we hardly saw anyone most days and were able to put in some good loops once we got used to the classic technique and were able to cover some distance at a good aerobic pace.
After a couple of days on the XC skis we gave our legs a rest and went snow shoeing up to the nearest mountain top which was a small 1213 meter peak not far from our hotel and enjoyed the much more stable method of locomotion. It was quite easy going on the modern snow shoes and much less mentally demanding than learning to master the skiing. From the top of the mountain we could see the fantastic countryside surrounding our hotel and wondered if the summer temperatures and ground conditions would be suitable for a mountain bike training camp, there was certainly a good potential there with the many kilometers of trails.
The final few days of the holiday were spent refining out technique and fitting longer routes into the short daylight. I wasn't able to try too much skate skiing as the hotel had mainly touring skis which were difficult to attempt skating on but I'm determined to go again as we both enjoyed the experience of a completely different type of cross training in a wonderfull environment.
The only down side to Norway is the huge cost of everything, from maps to beer you can expect to pay at least double what you pay in the uk so if you were planning a long XC skiing trip it may be more cost effective to go to the east cost of the US or Canada.
Its back to the grind of everyday life now and we (well... Jenn) have already been putting in some long endurance rides and are hitting the gym with renewed vigor.
To keep my competitive fire burning over the winter off season I have decided to have a go at cyclocross. Cyclocross is all about flat out effort, which is what I enjoy most. I have an in-built tendency to go off as hard as I can in a race and then try to hang on for as long as I can. Although this doesn’t work so well in cross country racing, where more intelligent riding and a certain amount of pacing is required, in cyclocross this is what it’s all about.
After 2 wins in 2 races in the West Midlands League followed by a disappointing DNF due to breathing problems I was feeling rather competitive and quite frankly wanted to win, so decided to race the Notts & Derby Round 6 at Allestree Park. I expected there to be some good strong competition present as there are some quality female riders in the area.
The start was a little frustrating as riders were gridded in 3 groups and the women were at the back. This meant that when the race started it was almost impossible to move past the 100 riders in front of me as everyone converged to get round a series of tight bends. Fatbirds CC rider Femke Van Schleven managed to nip through a gap and get past me and I tried my hardest to stay with her and not let her out of sight. However, I found myself blocked in on all sides and had no choice but to ride with the flow of people and try not to get tangled in the pile-up in front of me. I managed to reach the single file wooded section unscathed with only 2 riders separating myself and Femke.
As we came out of the singletrack Femke put the power down and started to pull away. I was already working close to maximum effort, but I wanted the win badly and was prepared to make myself hurt as much as it took to cross the line first. For the first 2 laps I was working as hard as I possibly could to stay close to Femke. She was riding very strong and pushing hard on all the draggy grassy sections, of which there were plenty. I had to work harder than I would have liked in the early stages of the race to keep my wide MTB tyres turning fast enough to stay with her. In the technical sections my MTB proved to be an advantage as I could take the rough line over roots and was able to make up some time on these sections whilst taking a bit of a breather on Femke’s rear wheel, saving some energy for the next all-out effort to stay with her on the grass.
20 minutes into the race and I was still right behind Femke and decided to make an attack to see how she would respond. I was already hanging on but my legs have always got a little extra saved for a sprint. I stood up and powered past her and entered the singletrack first. I didn’t look behind, but expected her to be right on my tail not letting me get away without a fight. I then powered as fast as I could down a grassy descent and on turning a sharp 180° bend I was able to look back up the course to see I had a gap of 20 metres. I then attacked again to make sure she couldn’t easily close on me.
I rode the rest of the race slightly more relaxed, knowing I had managed to break away, but every time I caught sight of Femke chasing I would stomp hard on the pedals to pull more distance form her. The course backed onto itself frequently in each lap and so I was able to assess how the gap was changing and each time it was growing slightly bigger.
Once in the lead, I used the male riders to attack and overtake in order to keep pushing myself hard. Some would attack back, as they didn’t want not just a girl, but a girl on a mountain bike overtaking, which would result in a good battle which helped me keep my pace up. After 40 minutes of all-out riding I was exhausted and hoped I would soon hear the bell ring to signal the final lap. However I didn’t hear that magic sound for a further 10 minutes and the race went on for almost an hour. I managed to find enough energy in my legs to keep going and with plenty of determination I won the race with several minutes to spare.
Marin Dusk 2 Dawn
Thetford Forest, Norfolk 6th -7th October 2007
Race Report by Andy Patterson
Patterson Training Race Team
Jenn and I have been looking forward to this event for some time, not because it was a major target for the season, more because it's such a great event. I like the atmosphere at D2D, it's a very cool event and as I used to live and train just south of that area I know it hardly ever rains (touch wood!).
Jenn has been working long hours and was getting to the point where any more high intensity training would have done more damage than good. Holding onto what form she had left was the priority for her. Saying that, she did test herself some days before D2D, and was still putting out some big power numbers, so Jenn was well motivated. The lack of stress, or rather the fact that the race stress was halved as I would be sharing half the burden, added to Jenn's enthusiasm for the event.
My own race prep was grim. I did a set of 6 x 3 minute max-paced intervals some weeks back, and managed to put out an average of 430 watts for the intervals, and felt very strong. Just under two weeks prior to D2D I repeated the session and barely reached 400 watts. I took a short ride in the final taper week to test my form, which at the time felt very good and my spirits were once again raised. The final motivating factor was that there are no hills in Thetford... there was no way Jenn was doing faster laps than me!
I was nominated to do the first lap, and lined up on the third row. I was taking a gamble using my road shoes (they set my foot to a 5 % inversion, which helps my knees), however they are a bit tricky to engage and I knew I should have used my MTB shoes for the first lap, just to get a good start. I ignored my own good advice and once the gun sounded I missed my pedal, not once but three times, and watched row after row of riders shoot past.
Luckily it's flat, and I used my good anaerobic capacity on the fire roads to catch up, laying down the challenge to Rob Lee with a slap on the arse. I wasn't held up much on the first lap and followed a lead group of about 5 riders through the singletrack sections. I found the first lap easy to ride fast with fresh legs, and whilst pumping through the whoopy sections in a huge gear I was able to close down gaps on other riders. I was stalled on the first and final bomb holes but still managed to run past stalled riders and re-engage my pedals, which was a big relief.
I was hoping Jenn would take longer for her lap so I could have a longer rest, but I saw her scoot through the stadium at 33 minutes into her lap, and knowing the remainder of the course takes about 15 minutes to complete, I knew she would be coming back in sub 50 minutes. Bugger!!
The second and third laps were learning laps where I made mental notes of my braking points, noted slippery roots and places where I needed to shift gears. The biggest benefit was with my braking - I had new brakes on that were set up UK stylee with the front on the right. As I usually run US stylee I kept grabbing handfuls of front brake, which was annoying. I couldn't learn the course, ride on the nail and switch my braking hand reaction at the same time, so I stopped using the brakes all together through the singletrack. Focusing on gripping the bars with my fingers and letting the bike flow was saving energy by coming into the bends slower and accelerating out of them. This worked a treat as I pulled out my fastest lap using this method.
It wasn't all plain sailing, as my legs fatigued I wasn't able to keep my weight on the pedals and power through the whoops as I had done in the first 3 laps, so I had to slow down slightly and work the bumps to maintain momentum. This was taking its toll on my back, and lap four was a painful experience until the Ibuprofen started to work.Jenn’s VP-4 full sus made easy work of the bumps however, and Jenn happily made it through the night on her usual race diet of Powergels and carb drink, leaving the painkillers for me.
Our main rivals Rob Lee and Fi Spotswood didn't seem to be our main rivals for too long as Rob later told me he wrapped himself around a tree halfway into the race. I must admit it was a challenge getting past his riser bars. I didn't take the time to see where we were in the overall standings, I just made sure I listened out for Jenn's shout as she passed through the stadium, which was my signal to get on the rollers and warm up before heading off into the night.
The remainder of the race was quite uneventful, and the traffic spread out around the course.The lights we used were the best money can buy. I had a Lupine Wilma on my helmet and an Edison on the bars, while Jenn ran the same setup, but with the new 1400 lumen Betty on her helmet. It may as well have been a day race. Jenn’s Betty was so bright I'm sure she was giving the spectators a suntan. The best part was that we programmed the low settings for maximum battery life, and needed just one battery change each for the whole race.
In the middle of the night the mist rolled in to certain points on the course, which made the first 5 minutes of the lap a chilling experience. Luckily enough it wasn't enough to wet the course and grip was still great. On the flip side there were patches of warm damp forest air that fogged up my glasses just before a fast technical section, which called for some quick thinking.
We managed 14 laps in 12:18:45 and won our category with a lap to spare.Jenn and I worked well as a team, doing an equal share of laps and never missing a handover.My thoughts on doing it again next year have improved from the way I was feeling during the night. The event was fantastic, from the course design to the dry ice machine and disco lights that gave the stadium an eerie glow. Congrats to Paul and the team for their organisation, we'll be back next year for sure, and a big thanks to Endorfin for building a custom super long bike for my super long body, and Altura for supplying perfect fitting race kit for any situation, and having gel pad gloves with the gel in exactly the right spot.Special thanks also to Powerbar, and to Lupine Lighting Systems for giving us an unfair advantage.
World XC Championships, FortWilliam, September 8th
BMBS National XC Series Round 5, Coed Y Brenin, September 22nd
Race Report by Jenn O’Connor
Patterson Training Race Team
The final round of the BMBS National Series at Coed y Brenin in Wales marked the end of the 2007 XC season for the Patterson Training team.I finished third in the race on Saturday, and third in the series overall, behind ODP rider Amy Hunt (Trek VW) and current British XC Champ Jenny Copnall (Subaru Gary Fisher). Andy finished 11th in the Masters race his best result in a National race this year.
This season has been a learning curve on so many levels for Andy and myself, beginning with the launching of our own team in January, and culminating with my selection to the New Zealand team for the World XC Champs for the first time.It has also been a lesson in organisation and motivation, as I returned to full-time work in September last year, and have had to juggle training with commuting, office hours and business travel.
The World Champs is not like an ordinary XC race.You can’t just turn up, sign on and race, and although I have raced World Cup events at FortWilliam before, the World Champs was another league.To be honest, I didn’t expect to be selected for the NZ National Team, as being based in the UK I missed the NZ National Champs and Oceania Champs earlier this year.Making the team was both a surprise and an honour, and in retrospect there are so many things we should have done differently in preparation for this race.
Andy and I drove up as far as Loch Lomond on the Thursday before the race, then made the final leg to FortBill on Friday morning.It simply wasn’t enough time.The rest of the NZ squad had been on site for a week, and had already done a number of practice laps.The Team Managers Greg Leov and Suzy Pryde were brilliant, taking care of what seemed like an endless paper trail of administration and accreditation, and getting us up and down from the venue with minimal stress.
I managed one practice lap on Friday before we had to come back down, and it was enough as I was exhausted from 10 hours in the car and really just wanted to sleep.I was nervous about the descent, not because it was difficult to ride, but because it was the kind of descent that needs practice to get the lines right, and I knew that my competitors, who had done several practice runs, would have an advantage over me.
Nonetheless, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling good, and we got to the track early.I left my jersey number behind at the hotel – I don’t normally have one and totally forgot – but Greg came to my rescue again and fetched it up for me.I even had time to practice the rock climb out of the Start/Finish arena, and I’m pleased I did as I managed to ride it cleanly in the race.
There are a couple of things you can count on in a big world-class race.The first is that I’ll be on the back row of the grid.Because I spend most my season racing Endurance and Marathon instead of chasing the World Cup XC circuit, I’ve never accumulated enough UCI points to get me further forward than the back row when it comes to XC.For the Worlds, I had plate #70, out of 73.The second thing you can count on is that there will be a pile-up off the start.It’s not uncommon for riders to shove, punch and head butt their way through the pack, and ride over the top of each other if needs be, especially off the start line (I’ve heard the men’s racing is almost as bad).
True to form, the whole bunch ploughed into the narrow fireroad, in a mass attempt to defy the laws of physics and fit 60 bikes side by side in a 3m wide space.I could see a toppling mass moving sideways towards me as riders hit the railings and crashed back into the pack, and I almost managed to swerve around the side as the tangle of bikes and bodies, including race favourite Petra Henzi, sprawled across the track.I jumped off, shouted and swore (getting into the spirit of the event) and stomped over a tangle of wheels to finally get clear and pedalling into the first climb, by which time the front row were halfway up the hill.
The third thing you can count on is that there will be a handful of riders in any pack who baulk at anything more technical than a smooth fireroad, and make a point of holding everyone else up.Being forced down to walking pace by a queue of women who couldn’t seem to ride a simple switchback climb was infuriating.I could hear British rider Jenny Copnall right behind me, heckling me to push past the dithering Euros (Jenny was also getting into the spirit of the event), but of course it was impossible, as the queue stretched out into the woods.
I finally got to the top of the climb in good form, but my progress through the descent was admittedly pathetic.I was sure I could hear “go Jenn” roaring from the sidelines, but with Jenny C bearing down on me in the Union Jack, I figured it wasn’t me they were cheering for (although I did hear “go All Blacks” once or twice, which made me smile)!My descending got better with each lap, but my climbing got slower, as the stress of the past week caught up with me, along with most the field.My fourth lap felt like the final lap of a 24 hour solo.I finished the race unfathomably exhausted, and gutted with myself.I finished 52nd, and I’d so much wanted to do better than that.I’d given it my best on the day, but I still felt as though I’d let myself and my team down.
With two weeks of rest, I was not sure how to feel about the final NPS round at Coed Y Brenin.I was looking forward to a final chance to race with my friends, and I’d entered the marathon on the Sunday for a full weekend of racing, despite still feeling a bit stale.Andy and I had decided to save a bit of money and camp out for the weekend, and we were fervently hoping for sunshine and dry trails, but it wasn’t to be.It didn’t actually rain too much, but there was so much water on the course that we couldn’t have gotten wetter had it poured with rain.
Coed y Brenin is a great place for mountain biking, but the event arena was cramped, to say the least.We were unable to get our car in, and ended up parking at the top of the trail centre car park across the road, a long way from the start.Andy nearly missed the start of my race after walking for half an hour loaded up with wheels and bottles, and later nearly missed the start of his own race after having to run back up the hill to get his bike, while I shivered in the start/finish area, waiting for the prize giving with no towel or dry clothes.
The race itself went much the same way as the World Champs for me.I felt great off the start line (no pile-up this time), but faded quickly and even felt a bit ill by the end of the first lap.I dropped back to fourth, but finished third by default, as Kate Potter (Cotic/Bontrager) punctured out on the last lap from the front of the field, a real disappointment for her as she was fighting fit and on great form.
The Saturday night was stormy, and we barely slept, as Andy spent most the early hours rummaging for extra tent pegs and trying to stop our eze-up from collapsing on our tent.I had been looking forward to the marathon, but when we finally got up on Sunday morning it was pouring rain, and we decided to opt out.It was the British Marathon champs and series finale, and being a Kiwi I was not in line for the title, nor was I in line for the series, having completed only one round.I had entered purely for fun, and the day just didn’t look like being any, so we headed home.
Our final race of the season is the Dusk til Dawn, a 12 hour night race on October 6th & 7th, which Andy and I are racing together as a mixed pair.Although my speed has petered out for the season, I’m confident my legs still have the endurance for the job, and Andy is very much looking forward to ripping his new Endorfin Speed SL hardtail around the flat twisty trails of Thetford.We’ll have the new Lupine Betty LED on board too, so we’ll be impossible to miss!
We are, with some trepidation, planning on posting a real-time race report up on our website in between laps, so if you are up next Saturday night, check us out on http://www.pattersontraining.com/news_reports.htm
If the technology doesn’t work for us (always likely) then you can send us a message through the contact page on the website, and we’ll do our best to answer.
Thanks to all our sponsors who have supported us this season; Altura, Endorfin Handmade Bikes, PowerBar and Rada Controls, as well as co-sponsors Lupine Lighting Systems, Panaracer, Tune, Hope, Sram, RockShox, Crank Brothers, Camelbak, Lizard Skins, Innovations and White Lightening Lubricants.
Special thanks also to Greg, Suzy and the team at BikeNZ for giving me the experience of a lifetime.
Jenn & Andy
Midland Series Round 2. Cannock, 02nd September 2007
Race Report By Andrew Patterson
More racing at the weekend, this time it was a return to the Midland Series and Jenn's final race before rubbing shoulders with the Worlds best at the Fort William World Champs (http://www.fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk/).
Jenn O'Connor lined up against Maddie Horton in the elite Female race and was started with the expert and sport women’s field. As Jenn passed me to start lap 2 at the top of the start climb there was 3 minutes of air between her and the chasers of Nadine Spearing in the expert category and Maddie. Nadine has a strong anaerobic ability from her running background, and looked very strong up the hill only to loose time on the technical loamy sections where I was horrified to hear that she was using the granny ring (Shame on you Spearing). Nadine finished 9 minutes ahead of Abby Greenaway winning the Expert category race. Jenn finished the race 10 minutes 51 seconds up on Maddie and is holding form well for the world Champs.
After my win at Drumlanrig I was getting a bit big for my Sidi's and had grand ideas of winning the Masters race at Cannock. Nadine informed me in the week that there were less long climbs and more power climbs which was all good for me. The course was slow and technical with very little chance to "speed on" as I was able to do in Scotland the week earlier. The power climb Nadine mentioned was brutal, I don't have the granny ring on the bike as I feel that on an XC race if I am using a 22 tooth chainring I may as well get off and run it will be faster, but during the practice I thought blimey, how much power an I going to put out to get 78 kg up this. And how hard will it be after 3 laps on the nail. The course had a great technical downhill section through the trees with great burms and some small jumps which took you down to a tough traverse across some loamy earth that took some strength to control the bike whilst keeping the big gears rolling to hold the momentum. It was going to be a fun race.
Some top names were missing from the start line, but they were replaced by some equally fast men Geoff Beetham, Mathew Barrett and Chris Rathbone. The sprint up the start hill was quite reasonable and I headed into the singletrack in 3rd position. Geoff Beetham was controlling the pace for the first 3 minutes and I found it a little slow having a large anaerobic ability I wanted to use it up and get a gap as early as possible then worry about paying it back later. I pushed around Geoff and dragged out the pace along the fire road into the second draggy section of singletrack where the light riders nipped by me, but by that time we were a group of 5 and I could start to think about where I would push on and drop riders. Along the loamy zig-zag traverse Mathew Barrett had a stroke of luck in that he got round some Expert back markers and the rest of us were held up to the point that I recovered fully from the start efforts which enabled me to power past the field up the two gravel power climbs and drop all but Geoff who again pulled past on the long draggy fire road. I was then sitting in 3rd place for the best part of 3 laps. I lost about 15 seconds going up the wrong track as the marker tape had been broken and was flapping across the correct trail entrance. I had a brief tussle with a rider who nipped up on me at that point but he punctured just in front of me and I was again back in 3rd spot. I was pleased with my technical ability and as I was hammering the bike harder than I have done all season and enjoying the twisting berms through the woods. I'm looking forward to getting my Endorfin with its long top tube, my long stem at the moment puts to much weight over the forks and compresses them too much, sapping momentum when they compress that much. I'll have to employ the services of people such as TF Tuned to help me on this matter.
I made the mistake of not suffering enough on certain sections of the course and cursed myself when Chris Rathbone came up behind me waiting for a chance to make a move. He did so through the single track after the long fire road climb and I should have worked hard to pull him back especially on the technical downhill sections where I was very fast, but he managed to pull out 30 seconds securing 3rd place.
It was a great event and thanks goes to James, Nadine and all the helpers for putting on a great event, I guess its up to us to put something on up North as the MTB race scene has died a death around here. Time to resurrect an old classic I think.
UCI World Masters Championships, PraLoup France. 18-19th August 2007
Race report by David Nelson
The UCI World Masters Championships moved to Europe this year this year after 6 years in Canada and North America.The French Ski resort of PraLoup 1600 in the Alps de Haut Provence was chosen this year, and will host the event for the next two years.
Over 550 XC and 400 DH competitors from around the globe registered for the event and the dry, hot and dusty conditions were going to prove a real test for everyone.
The XC course started in the main arena and basically descended along a twisty fast fire road and some technical DH single track for 2km. A section of sweet wooded singletrack traversed the hillside below the resort, the last part of the lap was the real challenge, essentially 3km of very steep technical climbing on sandy rocky terrain. This particular section, the altitude, heat and length of races were on everyone’s mind before the start.
Reaction from the other UK competitors after our practise laps, we all agreed it was a great test of mountain bike skills and all a little fearful for our races, just how it should be for a World Champs.
The UCI had decreed that the races should last between 1:45 and 2hrs, a step up from my usual 1:20hr races. With my practise laps taking approximately 30min, I could be looking at racing for over two hours for our five lap race, a big step up from our usual 80-90 minutes!
So with a 05:00 alarm call to eat breakfast 3hrs before our race start at 08:00, I lined up with 75 other competitors from around the planet in the relative cool early morning sun.
The start was manic as I tried to work my way towards the front, unusual lines and a little pushing (at the top of some metal steps!) say me in about 20th. Pushing on hard for the remainder of the first lap and climbing well I managed to work my way into 12th position as we crossed the line and started the 2nd of 5 laps. I quickly realized that if I tried to sustain this pace for the remaining laps, there was the real chance of actually not finishing the race and curled up in the bushes somewhere with ‘le bonk’
Thus plan B was to make sure I finished the five laps, I tried to recover and ‘be economical’ with my energy sources on the flat and DH sections as possible saving the big efforts for the climbs at the end of the laps. By now a lot more support had appeared around the course, even some of the GB DH mob had appeared shouting encouragement. This seemed to inspired me as I my 3rd and 4th laps went really well, breaking the lap down into sections and concentrating climbing/clearing each part individually. This worked particularly well on one particular section towards the end of the lap, a really steep hairpin climb, lined with supporters that I had to run on the first two laps but managed to ride it in the middle ring (as I only had my middle ring!!) for the last laps. How come!!
So after two hours the finish line finally appeared, exhausted and pooped finished 24th, certainly one of the hardest races I have done for a long time. As I reside here in France now to be the 9th ‘Frenchman’ to finish in my category will be interesting gauge for my racing next year.
SXC Round 6 Drumlanrig, 26th August 2007
Race Report By Andrew Patterson
As a coach I dont always get the chance to race when I want to, even after a period of well structured training I can sometimes end up standing at the side of the road in some far off corner of Europe passing bottles to other people, dreaming of what could have been if I had raced in my peak state of overcompensation. So to stop me being a grumpy sod Jenn has pre entered me in a raft of races in order to keep control of my adrenaline levels. After a reasonable showing at the first round of the midland series which lifted my spirits after a very fatigued National Champs, I was motivated to do well at the SXC series at Drumlanrig.
Prepararation was good the week before the race as I had the chance to get plenty of easy recovery rides in, and my mid week blast which is usually a time trial was a fantastic hilly session on Long Hill from Whaley Bridge to Buxton. The tail wind for that session was perfect as I was able to hold the same power and cadence that I use during MTB races and get a good feeling of speed which is great for motivation, there is nothing worse than doing intervals into a head wind it makes me feel slow and tired.
I warmed up for the race by riding the course about an hour before the start, as far as courses go this one was a real blast to ride it was funn all the way round. Not to many long hills to allow the 60kg whippets to get past, plenty of big ring singletrack and short power climbs...perfect for coach. My front row position on the grid was luck more than ranking, but once the gun had sounded I comfotably sat 3rd or 4th rider into the steep and quite long drag up to the first bit of singletrack. As I watched a rider stomp a big gear out of the saddle up in front of me I realised I needed to sit down and spin like a crazy man if I were to last to the top of the climb, this tactic worked as I spun past everyone and had a small gap at the top of the hill where I unleashed the power of momentum through the single track and hoped I would not blow up 3.5 minutes into the race.
I rode the course well an even managed to miss all the trees and marker tape which I'm usually famed for riding into. Over the last couple of months and due to my tyre contact point being so far away from my centre of mass (Due to my height) I have decided to use a big volume Panaracer Fire XC Pro on the front to ensure I can stuff the front end in and not worry about it washing out even on dry courses, and this has proven to work for me even as the course began to get a little greasy in places half way into the race.
The end of the first and start of the second lap were tough as I tried to deal with the anaerobic metabolism I had used in the first 15 minutes. I could see the second placed rider behind me at the start of the second lap so I pushed on and found a rythm until I was about 2 minutes clear. I found the 3rd and 4th lap quite easy as I played it safe on the very technical sections and sharp switchbacks just talking myself through each section of the course with comments like "Nail this fire road and drag out the gap" and "Get round here safe" and my old fave "Get off that brakes and pedal faster fool".
As I dropped into the arena and pressed on to crest the hump after the drop in I managed to jump the chain and hear a resounding "OOOOH" from the crowd as I nearly snapped the chain 20 meters from the finish, but by that time I could have freewheeled over the line. I finished 3 mins 20 seconds ahead of Greig Walker (Edinburgh Road Club) and 5 minutes 30 seconds ahead of 3rd place Gary McRae (Pedal Power RT SCU).
Jenn also won her Elite female race 5.5 minutes ahead of Ruth McGavigan (Pedal Power RT SCU) and 9 minutes ahead of Nicola Dougan (VO2.co.uk) finishing once again with the comment "This bike really is great" So Jenn is happy with the Endorfin then. Patterson Training client Paul O'Brien (Pedal Power RT SCU) came in at 8 minutes 45 seconds, hampered by a late gridding and did well to deal with the traffic and get through the large Masters field to finish 6th.
Pictures to follow
UCI World Marathon Championships. Verviers, Belgium. Sunday 12th August 2007.
Race Report by Jenn O'Connor
After the grand scenery and endless climbs of Oisans last year, the 2007 World Marathon Champs in Verviers was a completely different race. Equally as tough, in fact arguably tougher than an alpine marathon, Verviers was a course of endless mud, and rocky, slippery climbs. It was also my most disappointing race of the season so far, as I missed a marker on one of the forest descents and threw away 10 minutes and several places, after a strong start and four hours of racing.
Andy and I met up with UK racers Jenny Copnall and Liz Scalia on the Friday before the race, and we had a truly international group with a Kiwi, three Brits, a Welshman (Jenny's partner Richard John) and a Sicilian (Liz's husband Mauro). We pre-rode the first part of the course on the Saturday before the race, and Jenny and I especially were looking forward to racing on the rolling and technical forest singletrack. The various mud-caked bikes in the pits gave us a clue as to the state of the rest of the course, be we really didn't suspect what a total mudbath it would turn out to be.
Race day dawned clear and sunny, and we were up early for our 08:15am start. I got a good start position on the second row, and the race started predictably fast, with the lead group breaking away up the first climb. Liz stayed with them easily, and Jenny and I chased them into the singletrack, where the field strung out, and I nipped around Liz and a couple of others, and caught the back of the lead group. From there the group concertinaed through the tighter sections, and I could see Swedish rider Asa Erlandsson just ahead.
I chased for the first two hours, with Asa appearing and disappearing from view, through to the second of five feedzones, when Jenny reappeared just behind me. We strung out again over the next long, dragging climb, and I again spotted Asa and a few others up the hill ahead of me. I was climbing strongly and closed up the gap, only to watch it open again on the next descent. My glasses were clouded with sweat and I was struggling to see, and I knew Jenny would be closing up the gap behind me, flying through the technical stuff.
At feedzone three Andy handed me my spare glasses and I could see perfectly again, but that didn't stop me riding into a deep puddle and having to stop and climb out! Jenny caught me again soon after and we rode together briefly before I pushed ahead up another long, dragging climb and was able to ride at full effort down the following fast descent. I could hear a rider right behind me, and I assumed it was Jenny, but in fact the bulk of the men's field were now catching us and this was a Belgian who came flying past.
By feedzone four we were four hours into the race and I knew it was going to be a long day. I could see no-one in front or behind me, which made it harder to pick out the course, marked with just small arrows and the occasional piece of tape. It was in the next section of forest singletrack that it all went wrong for me - I was riding fast down through the forest, picking out the line ahead when I came out on a tarmac road, with no markers and no marshals in sight. My heart sank, as I knew that I'd taken a wrong turn, and that I would now have to ride back up that long descent to try and find the course again. I turned and attacked the hill as hard as I could, and managed to climb it cleanly but it took me several minutes before I saw tape again, and riders going past.
I'd lost about 10 minutes and several places, but I was determined to chase them down and at least try to make up some of the lost time. I quickly caught a French woman, and a South African on the next climb, and I was sure I had at least an hour of racing left. However I discovered quickly that increasing the pace after four hours of hard racing is just not that simple, and my legs were cramping. By the fifth and final feedzone I was gagging for a drink, and I knew it was going to be a six-hour race. There was no sign of Jenny and I knew she would be somewhere up ahead, unaware of my predicament and still trying to chase me down.
The final 5km into town was a bit of a circus, with random cobbled climbs thrown in, and even a set of steps we had to run down in a cyclocross style, which was exactly what my cramping legs didn't need! I made it into the finish arena in 21st place - 6hrs 11mins, six minutes and three places behind Jenny in 18th place, and another six minutes ahead of Liz in 25th place.
I was happy that I had at least finished, and hadn't lost too much out of my mishap. My Kiwi team mates Kashi Leuchs and Justin Price both DNFed, Kashi with a bad bout of asthma and Justin after cracking his face on a rock, needing several stitches. Out of the 52 starters in our women's field, seven did not finish, as the harsh Belgian rocks and mud took their toll on both riders and bikes. Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) took the men's title from defending champion Ralf Naf (Switzerland), who DNFed, and Petra Henzi (Switzerland) took the women's title just two minutes ahead of Sabine Spitz (Germany).
(Randon Pictures of the womens race, we were to busy taking the Volvo down dirt tracks and doing general pit duties to get any good pictures of Jenny C, Jenn O and Liz. Many thanks to Richard and Mauro for their help and support especially the sharing of Richards magnificent Scooby snack and Mauro's knack of finding a top Pizza restraunt, as only a Sicilian can. The UK Mountain Bike scene has a great community and is an ideal place for people to get into competitive sport. Its good to see British Cycling allowing these riders to wear that fantastic Union Flag strip at the Fort William World Championships along side Jenn's Silver Fern. (Andy Patterson)
Salzkammergut Trophy 110km Marathon, July 14th 2007. Bad Goisern, Austria
Two weeks ago, coach Andy Patterson and I got the chance to race in the Austrian Alps at the Salzkammergut Trophy, and it has been one of the highlights of our season.The heat and the big hills came as a bit of a shock to Andy, being 6’4” and not exactly waifish, but we both made it home, and I rode surprisingly strongly, winning my age group and finishing second woman overall.
The Salzkammergut Trophy is Austria’s biggest marathon race, and it really is a huge event, with over 2,500 riders competing in four categories – from the less punishing 25km, to the truly gruelling 220km.Andy and I had both entered the classic marathon, 110km through the Alps, with 3,582m of climbing.
I had originally planned to target the Salzkammergut Trophy as an “A” race, but our last-minute decision to race solo at Mayhem put paid to any real hope of a top performance – three weeks just isn’t enough recovery from a 24hr solo.But we’d booked the flights and we were both really looking forward to a weekend away, so my goal was to ride as hard as I could, and otherwise just enjoy the scenery and the sunshine.We got plenty of both!We flew into Salzburg on Friday the 13th – we were half expecting our bikes to be lost or some other equally bad luck, especially as we were seated in row 13 as well, but everything came together OK and we even got a free upgrade on our rental car – lucky for some!
The town of Bad Goisern is race HQ for the weekend, and the race literally takes over the whole town.There is a circus-sized marquee over the town square, and for the whole of the weekend there is a party going on, with racers, supporters and townsfolk alike, all guzzling pasta and swilling handles of lager, day and night.We arrived in town just before 9pm and the pre-race party was just getting started, we could hear it from 2km out of town as we drove in.
I was allocated race number B13, which turned out to be very lucky, as it meant I had been seeded at the front of the start grid with the top 50 riders in the Elite box.Andy on the other hand got number B610, which would put him at the back of the first block behind more than 500 other fit-looking hopefuls.
On Saturday morning we had enough time for extra portions of muesli, rolls and coffee courtesy of Frau Kastner at our B&B, and Andy had enough time to re-apply the granny ring he’d packed in another bag.Andy is firmly of the view that granny rings are unnecessary for a man who can stomp out 400+ watts over 10 miles, but I managed to convince him that this attribute wasn’t going to help him much in the Alps. After looking at the course profile, and from my experience at the Transalp last year, I knew exactly what to expect from the day - the kind of climbs we get at courses like Margam Park and Plymouth would not even register as bumps on this course profile - and I knew that setting out without a granny ring would be a soul-crushing mistake.
Our race started at 10.30am, and although I had the luxury of a reserved start position (next to Gary Fisher!), Andy didn’t, and had to muscle his way into the converging crowd.By the time the countdown started I could see nothing but a maddening mob behind me and a single row of bristling backs and a long stretch of tarmac in front of me. Taking it easy off the start was clearly not an option.
The race started by going straight up, which was to be the theme of the day.The tarmac rolled in a steady climb for about 5km, before hitting the steep gravely stuff, to the familiar click-thunk tune of granny gears engaging en-mass.I was climbing well, but I had no idea where I was in the women’s field, with so many long-haired Hungarian men everywhere it was difficult to tell.
I crested the first climb at 1400m and the trail tipped sharply downwards.The Salzkammergut is heavy on fireroads, and this one was rutted and very loose.The VP-4 is such a well-balanced bike it’s easy to just let it go on the fast, loose stuff, and I even got to relax a bit.I was expecting Andy to catch me up about here, as he is an absolute madman on gravel descents, but there was no sign.
The first feed zone was a welcome sight, and I filled my bottle before heading back upwards for the second, smaller climb of the day.PowerBar sponsor the feed zones in this race and they do a proper job of it – six feed zones over 110km, each one about 20m long with barrels of carb drink, dozens of helpers and tables loaded with everything from bananas to pretzels to sponge cake.
I was still feeling pretty strong and had a good rhythm going, and I before long I was heading downwards again.This time the descent was proper singletrack, steep, technical and muddy (so I guess it does rain then) and it was pretty much a straight line down, crossing the switchback road every 50m or so.The descent went on forever and I was making up loads of places – I’m not a super descender, but some people just couldn’t seem to ride the mud at all.Suddenly I was overtaken by a blue and white flash, limbs akimbo, hurtling down the side of the trail at crazy speed – Coach was back in the game, and clearly enjoying himself!I upped my pace and tried to chase him, dodging around the slower riders and the rocks rolling off the switchbacks above.
To keep my competitive fire burning over the winter off season I have decided to have a go at cyclocross. Cyclocross is all about flat out effort, which is what I enjoy most. I have an in-built tendency to go off as hard as I can in a race and then try to hang on for as long as I can. Although this doesn’t work so well in cross country racing, where more intelligent riding and a certain amount of pacing is required, in cyclocross this is what it’s all about.
Jenn and I have been looking forward to this event for some time, not because it was a major target for the season, more because it's such a great event. I like the atmosphere at D2D, it's a very cool event and as I used to live and train just south of that area I know it hardly ever rains (touch wood!).
Our main rivals Rob Lee and Fi Spotswood didn't seem to be our main rivals for too long as Rob later told me he wrapped himself around a tree halfway into the race. I must admit it was a challenge getting past his riser bars. I didn't take the time to see where we were in the overall standings, I just made sure I listened out for Jenn's shout as she passed through the stadium, which was my signal to get on the rollers and warm up before heading off into the night. 
Jenn O'Connor lined up against Maddie Horton in the elite Female race and was started with the expert and sport women’s field. As Jenn passed me to start lap 2 at the top of the start climb there was 3 minutes of air between her and the chasers of Nadine Spearing in the expert category and Maddie. Nadine has a strong anaerobic ability from her running background, and looked very strong up the hill only to loose time on the technical loamy sections where I was horrified to hear that she was using the granny ring (Shame on you Spearing). Nadine finished 9 minutes ahead of Abby Greenaway winning the Expert category race. Jenn finished the race 10 minutes 51 seconds up on Maddie and is holding form well for the world Champs. 
lined up with 75 other competitors from around the planet in the relative cool early morning sun.
Race day dawned clear and sunny, and we were up early for our 08:15am start. I got a good start position on the second row, and the race started predictably fast, with the lead group breaking away up the first climb. Liz stayed with them easily, and Jenny and I chased them into the singletrack, where the field strung out, and I nipped around Liz and a couple of others, and caught the back of the lead group. From there the group concertinaed through the tighter sections, and I could see Swedish rider Asa Erlandsson just ahead.
By feedzone four we were four hours into the race and I knew it was going to be a long day. I could see no-one in front or behind me, which made it harder to pick out the course, marked with just small arrows and the occasional piece of tape. It was in the next section of forest singletrack that it all went wrong for me - I was riding fast down through the forest, picking out the line ahead when I came out on a tarmac road, with no markers and no marshals in sight. My heart sank, as I knew that I'd taken a wrong turn, and that I would now have to ride back up that long descent to try and find the course again. I turned and attacked the hill as hard as I could, and managed to climb it cleanly but it took me several minutes before I saw tape again, and riders going past. 
