SEQ MTB DH Series - Rd 4 - Cedar Creek

Well, it has been 10 long months since I last raced due to breaking my hand but last weekend saw me resume at Cedar Creek (up near Kenilworth) in Queensland. Matt Dodd and I decided to race just so we could have some fun and get in a weekends riding on the big wheels without any great result expectation. We headed up early Saturday morning for practice so we could avoid the high temperatures being experienced in SE Qld recently - Fail!! Saturday was a mixed bag with high temperatures, loose steep track, flat tyre's and a big contingent of younger riders who seemed to want to commit suicide by stopping mid track just prior to or after a turn!! Anyway, after doing only 4 runs and numerous flat tyres we called it quits because we were feeling a bit crook from over heating and headed back to our luxury accommodation which fronts the Mary River. We proceeded to immerse ourselves in the cooling waters of the Mary River whilst enjoying a cool bevy or three before Mum cooked us a great meal of Steak & Chips (best ever recovery food for Downhill riders) and then a good nights sleep! Sunday morning we were up early for a good breakfast and then headed to the track to get in 3 practice runs before qualifying took place. I managed to take a 'digga' during quali's but still managed 5th place behind Chris Kovarik, Matt Dodd,Sam Fraser and Matt Tape. Race time came around and we headed up the hill when the temperature was at it's peak! I rolled over the line and gave it my best, leaving nothing in the tank at the finish and managed to take the Hot Seat. I held the Hot Seat until top qualifier, CK came scorching down the hill to knock me off - don't mind getting done by CK on any day!! The top three of Chris K, me and Matt Dodd are all NS Dynamics.com.au riders and it was great to take the clean sweep for Nigel & Aaron who always ensure our suspension is running in tip top condition - thanks Guy's! I would also like to throw out a shout of thanks to Santa Cruz Bikes, Elka Suspension (CTN Imports), Chunked.com.au, Mavic & Maxxis. Least but not last, a massive thanks to Doddy for pushing me in training and being my shuttle bitch for the time being, hahaha!! Now to get ready for the next race, not sure where but most definitely got Thredbo and Hobart on the Agenda for 2013 as lead-up for an overseas campaign!

Training

The training is ramping up as I get back to speed after sitting on the sidelines for almost 5 months with a broken hand! I have been training with Mat Dodd at various tracks here in SE Qld including Illinbah, Old Tambo and a couple of secret locations!! Last weekend Mat & I spent Saturday riding at Tambourine Mountain (Old Tambo)and punched out lots of runs in conditions which were near perfect. We went back again on Sunday with Dad (Harvey Power)as our shuttle driver however; temperatures were getting pretty hot at 32oC and it did not take long to start tiring! We managed about 6 full runs of Pinball and the track had turned dusty and loose but still a lot of fun before deciding to pull the pin after nearly crashing several times on my last run down. Next weekend we plan to hit the tracks again in an effort to regain as much fitness as possible before the racing season commences. Mat and I are working on our racing program for next season which hopefully will include an overseas season in Europe/Canada and the USA but more of that when it is all confirmed.

UPDATE

It has been awhile since I updated my Blog and that is because I have been out of action with a broken hand for the past 4-5 months! Unfortunately, I broke the 4th Metacarpal in my right hand just weeks before I was to depart for the USA and Canada with Matt Dodd which created some issues but eventually they were all resolved! Matt went ahead with his travel and competed very successfully in the Eastern States Cup - New York State picking up a number of podium finishes including a 1st which was an awesome achievement. Me, I stayed at home to mend which sucked but I have learnt some good life lessons from this incident!

I am happy to report that I finally got back on the big bike (Santa Cruz V10 - carbon) last weekend for the first time since late April. What better track to test out my mended right hand but the infamous, Illinbah!! A team of us headed up by Matt Dodd and including Chris Dalziel, Paul Dymalla and Dad (Harvey) have been working away getting Illinbah back to it's best riding/racing condition now that the rain has stopped and it is has dried out for the first time in 2 years!! A team of devoted riders headed out again last Saturday to put the finishing touch's to the track and then got to do runs for the next few hours. We headed back down on Sunday for some more runs but I was flogged out so only got in about 5 runs which was plenty. My hand held up really well and I feel as though I am getting back on the pace with the bike which is a good feeling. Have a ride day happening out at Illinbah again this weekend so more opportunity to get ride/race fit before the National season kicks off in Australia & New Zealand.

That's it for the moment so will put up another post with pic's after the training days have been held. Cheers,

National Gravity Cup Round 4 - Awaba

Mat Dodd and I drove down to Awaba (near Newcastle NSW) for the final round (4) of the National Gravity Cup which was held last weekend. We arrived in Newcastle on Thursday afternoon and soon after the rain started which was to be the trend for the next few days!

We managed a track walk (slide)on Friday morning amid heavy rain and lots of mud. We decided to hit the track after lunch but only managed to get a couple of runs in because the shuttle uplift was having trouble getting up the track. It was going to be very difficult because we had never ridden Awaba previously and the track is a killer - steep and technical with multiple rock gardens that demand respect. Needless to say, I managed to crash but without major damage however; we decided to call it quits until Saturday & hope that the weather cleared!

Saturday arrived and it was still raining heavily but we had the advantage of not practising until after lunch so our hope was that it would clear by then! No such luck, it continued to rain during practice and the mud was chewing out brake pads faster than a keg of beer disappears at a Wharfies picnic!! I managed to get in one (1) practice run before our Seeding race late in the afternoon. I decided to go as hard as possible in Seeding in case the race was called off on Sunday due to continuing rain. I managed to qualify in 12th place but it was a slow run compared to others in front of me including Troy Brosnan, Sam Hill, Mitch Delfs and Rhys Willemse.

Race day rolled around on Sunday and the heavens cleared with the sun shining which all added up to high humidity but that was better than the rain on previous days! The mud stayed but at least we could see some race lines however; I still only managed to get one (1) practice run in before the race due to the slow uplift of shuttles. I rolled over the start line and pinned it as fast as possible which meant riding on the edge and this brought me undone a couple of times when I almost crashed! The track was notably faster but by the time I got to the last 100m muddy pedal section I was stuffed to say the least but Doddy was trackside yelling at me to 'pedal harder' - nothing left!! I finished in 9th place and improved my race time from seeding by 30 seconds which I considered to be a good result given that I only managed to ride the track 6 times including race runs! Mat came in at 16th which was a great effort after crashing heavily on Saturday and injuring his knee!

Anyway, that's it for this National Season! I will have a couple of weeks off before getting back into training and deciding where to ride/race overseas later in the year - Europe, USA or Canada. Once again, a big thanks to my supporting sponsors: Santa Cruz Bikes, ForTheRiders.com, NSDynamics.com.au, Chunked.com.au, Mavic, Straitline Components, Elka Suspension, Diverse Springs, Maxxis and FreeLap Timing - awesome products and service so get some! Finally, a big thanks to Paul Dymalla for his continued help in building my awesome wheels - I certainly test them and they stand the test of time!!

Aussie National Champs - 2012

Aussie National Downhill Champs 2012 were held at Eagle MTB Park in Adelaide South Australia. I headed to Adelaide last Wednesday along with some mates from Brisbane (Mat Dodd, Liam Piaro, Rhys Willemse and Chris Kovarik) where accommodation had been arranged for us at the Mt Lofty Railway Station (MLRS), Stirling up in the Adelaide Hills. MLRS is fantastic as it has been converted to a full-on fully self-contained house and accommodates up to 12 people. We also had Aaron Cairns (NSDynamics) and Dad (Harvey Power) staying with us plus a couple of blow-ins during the week (Brent - Mavic Melbourne) and Tracey Hannah.

We hit up Eagle Park on Wednesday afternoon and soon learnt that the track was going to be a challenge during the week. It was loose, dusty, dry and really sketchy to ride but we just did some rolling runs to get used to it. Temperatures started to soar on Thursday and Friday reaching somewhere in the early 40oC which made riding uncomfortable and the track really started to blow out and become even more challenging!

Saturday rolled around and it was time for our Seeding Race in the late afternoon. I did not push myself or the V10 and was happy to seed into 13th position for the race on Sunday. We awoke to a weather change on Sunday with cooler temperatures and some cloud cover which was a great relief. Practice went according to plan as I prepared for the race late Sunday afternoon. I rolled out of the start gate and had a good run down the mountain eventually hitting the finish line in a time of 2:07:96 which was about 4 seconds better than my seeding race. It was a 'hot' field in Elite Men with the best racers currently in Australia including Troy Brosnan, Sam Hill, Jared Graves, Chris Kovarik, Mitch Delfs, Bryn & Rhys Atkinson and Rhys Willemse contesting the Champs. I managed to place 11th overall and was a little disappointed that I missed Top 10 but on the other hand, I was beaten by 9 current World Cup racers and missed top 10 by a mere .026 seconds!!

Now back home and tomorrow Mat Dodd and I leave for Awaba to attend the final round of the National Gravity Cup on a track which is rated amongst the best Australia has to offer - cannot wait to get onto it! I would like to acknowledge my Sponsors for their continued support in keeping me riding and racing - Santa Cruz Bikes, ForTheRiders.com.au, NSDynamics.com.au, Chunked.com.au, Mavic, Straitline, Elka Suspension, Maxxis, FreeLap Timing and Diverse Springs. A big shout out to Paul Dymalla for all of his skill in building my race wheels which keep me rolling!

National Gravity Cup - Round 2 - Mt Buller

Mat (Dodd) and I drove to Mt Buller for the 2nd round of the National Gravity Cup last weekend. We left Brisbane last Tuesday and headed south only to encounter flooded roads around Goondiwindi but managed to get through to Moree where we stopped and chilled out by riding BMX in the local skate bowl. We stayed overnight at Dubbo in Central Western NSW and did some more BMX riding before heading to Parkes the next day for more BMX riding and then to Mt Buller. We arrived late afternoon and after a chilly dip in the river at the bottom of Mt Buller, headed up the hill. Thursday was a well deserved sleep-in before heading out on the XC and All Mountain trails on our XC bikes - the trails at Buller are awesome and just great fun to ride. Later that day we met up with Nigel & Aaron of NSDynamics to move into our luxury accommodation for the weekend and wait for Tracey Hannah to arrive on Friday morning to complete the team!

Practice got started on Friday and everything was going pretty well but the tracks were well and truly blown out having had 350+ competitors racing them the previous weekend in a Vic DH Series round. Saturday practice came around and with it, problems!!! I smashed a new rear wheel (again) but no problem, Ty McLean of Group Sportif had just given me 6 new Mavic 721 rims and 2 pair of Straitline pedals as part of his sponsorship support program for me - thanks again, Ty! Seeding (Qualifying) race was held late Saturday afternoon and I managed to slip into 9th spot even though I had some issues in the top part of the track and really did not carry enough speed into the top forest and rock gardens. Mat put in a good run and brought home his Pivot in 25th place which was a good effort against some fast riders on the day. Tracey made short work of her opposition and qualified into 1st place as expected.

Race day (Sunday)came and I was quite chilled before heading up for my first practice run which was a slow roll down the hill to check out any track and line changes. Coming back up the hill on the chair-lift I noticed an odd shape to my rear wheel - it was smashed beyond belief but was still holding together courtesy of the excellent wheel building efforts of family friend, Paul Dymalla. I did not even remember hitting anything on the way down but the track had become really blown out and rocks were appearing where they had not been seen previously! Thankfully,the NSDynamics technicians (Nigel & Aaron) were hard at it building a new wheel from the previous day when I got back which was to become my race wheel that afternoon. Race time arrived and whilst I had a relatively smooth run I was conscious of the wheel problems I was having but did try to put it out of my mind (sort of!!). I managed to bring home the Santa Cruz v10 Carbon into 11th place Elite Men which was a bit disappointing however; the times were close so all in all - not a bad effort and I have retained 9th place overall for the Series to date! Mat had an excellent ride and came home in 15th place Elite Men which surpassed his goals and will spur him onto bigger and better things for the future. Tracey got the win with an excellent ride and is on track to contest World Cups and World Champs in 2012.

Once again I would like to acknowledge the continued support of my Sponsors, ForTheRiders.com, Santa Cruz Bikes, NSDynamics.com.au, Mavic, Straitline Components, Elka Suspension, Diverse Springs, Chunked.com.au, Maxxis and FreeLap Timing - thanks guy's!

Sponsor Update

I am stoked to welcome new Sponsors Mavic and Straitline Components on board. I have great faith in Mavic and Straitline equipment which has served me well in my riding and racing for many years and hopefully, for many more to come!! I would like to acknowledge Ty McLean of Groupe Sportif for making this sponsorship support possible - thanks Ty!

For any riders out there who are considering new wheels, cockpit and/or drive-train equipment, feel free to check out the Mavic, Straitline and other sponsor equipment on my Santa Cruz v10 Carbon at any event I am participating in - you won't be disappointed!!

FreeLap Timing provide me with support and since I commenced using their equipment for training, it has improved my racing times immensely! Every training run becomes a race run against the clock and it is unbelievable how much improvement can be gained so get on-board FreeLap Timing which can be purchased from ForTheRiders.com