Patterson Training Race Team

Jenn O'Connor

Jenn O’Connor is a 32-year-old New Zealander who has been based in Macclesfield, UK, for the past nine 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 former 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. She is currently enjoying some good form during some of the early 2009 races.

Ruth Mordaunt

This is Ruths third full year riding in the Master XC category (30-39 age-related category) where she won the series in 2008. 35-year-old 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. For 2009, 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.

Andy Patterson

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 as worked 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 now lives in New Plymouth New Zealand with partner Jenn, and when he’s not handing out bottles or writing up training plans, he races Masters XC, and Marathon 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