Christmas is over for another year and
while most cyclists would be putting their feet up and enjoying a few extra
guilt free calories whilst planning their trip to Adelaide for the TDU, I was
sweating hard on a wind trainer somewhere on NSW far north coast whilst helping
out on SUFM Beach mission. Round 1 of
the XCO last month was fun, but my 6th placing provided enough
motivation to see if I could extract any more power from the old diesel.
Web site http://whats.todaysplan.com.au provided
the challenge. Some monster intervals to
improve power and strength and there were times on that trainer in 30 deg heat
with no fan where I came close to quitting.
The one thing that kept me going was the promise of a better performance
in Pemberton.
In my final week of the plan, Quantum rider
Michal Kafta was looking for a teammate to pair up in the WSMTB Stans 4 hour
Summer Series Round 2 (Twilight Edition) http://www.wsmtb.com/v2/4hr_2014.html
Michal is a very talented rider having
won the Veterans in the Fling and placing very high in the Croc trophy last
year and although I wouldn’t put myself in his league, I was privileged to join
with him for some fun and give the legs a test before tapering for WA.
Upon arriving at Yellowmundee around 4pm,
the sun was still blazing and temps were still 30+ degrees. Classic Yellowmundee, it was hot and the
track was dry, dusty and very ,very looooose.
Every track has it’s own character and this is just what I’d expect from
this favourite track at the base of the Blue Mountains. An added bonus was that
Michal had put up the marquee and we had 3 other quantum teams racing with Mark
& Ollie, Jacob & Alex, and Aaron & Steve combining to provide some
inter-team rivalry.
I volunteered Michal for the first lap and
was both cheering and cursing as he cruised through transition after the start in
2nd wheel behind young sensation Matt Dinham. Before he went out he said to me to take it
easy in the heat, conserve energy and then light it up after the sunset and
temps dropped. It was great to see
Michal taking his own advice, NOT! Michal
came back through timing in about 5th place just 20 secs behind Matt
and tagged me in. The sun was still
raging but I felt great on the track. I’d brought my racing Anthem shod with
newly renovated www.TWEBikeWheels.com.au
Arch 29er wheels. They might be over 4
years old but these wheels still feel light and stiff and the Anthem was eating
up the rocky trail.
Meanwhile the legs felt strong. I’d had a dodgy stomach for most of the week,
even succumbing to a nap before heading out to the race, but once I was riding,
all the cares and niggles just fell away and I opened up the taps. I got finished the lap in just a minute more
than Michal’s lap so I was stoked with that and we steadied into 4th
place overall.
The race continued pretty smoothly and 3rd
place was coming up on the radar. Michal
put in a scorching lap breaking the 19min barrier and then sent me out right
behind 3rd place Velocipede with Jacob leading a train of three. On the techy rock steps, the Velo rider made
a mistake and I jumped past onto Jacob’s wheel.
We stomped to the base of the fireroad climb and half way up we’d
established a good gap on Velocipede so I put my head down and recorded my
fastest lap just missing a sub 20 min lap by 2 seconds.
The rest of the evening passed by without
incident, the vibe on the track was very casual and as the 4 hour mark closed
in, the traffic thinned, the temperature dropped and the light slowly
disappeared to leave me riding in ideal conditions. It was another good test for the www.NiteLights.com.au and the bright
broad beam provided excellent illumination in the foreground, whilst the ever
faithful www.ayup-lights.com narrow beam on
the helmet lit up further down the track.
I ran Maxxis Icon EXC front and rear which
gave a good sense of grip, fast rolling and protection from the rocky terrain.
In the end we finished 3rd
overall with the Kaliba team of Glen and Fabian just 2 minutes back chasing
hard. 1st and 2nd placed
pairs were a whole lap ahead, made up of Matt Dinham (18), Luke Brame (17), Ben
Metcalfe (14!!) and long time XC champion Matt Fleming now turned 40! Look out
Masters category. And look out for these young guns, coming through the
ranks. They ride like greased lightning.
It was a well run event with some nice
prizes donated by www.BikeMinded.com.au
, www.BlackmanBicycles.com.au
and www.PantherCycles.com.au so
thank you for their support.
Thanks to the www.Quantum-Racing.com.au team for
a great fun event and to Michal for the opportunity to race with you. It was just great to feel part of a team and
chew the fat around the transition as we waited for our partners to reappear
all too soon! Thanks also to all the
riders who turned up to make it a fun event and the local RFS crew for the
great BBQ. It was great to catch up with
part of the MTB family friendly and chatty as always. Now it’s time to rest and taper and see what
comes about in Pemberton next weekend.
Keep Riding
Mike
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