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World Cup Val di Sole, Italy

Cait — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:56:09 +0000

The adventure continued after Czech when Mel and I flew from Brno to Milan for the final round of the World Cup series. We had a week to recover, acclimatise to some extreme heat and get to grips with another new course set in the spectacular alpine area of Val di Sole.

xc - downhill - 4x

The most noticeable feature of the course was the hills. They managed to fit in more incredibly steep climbs into than you would ever think possible, making it one of the toughest courses I’ve ever ridden (230m vertical climb over a 4.2km lap!). There was a mixture of fireroad, grassy meadows and greasy, rocky singletrack climbs, all of which were steep and hard. On top of this temperatures were in the mid 30s making doing anything fast feel like a chore never mind riding your bike. Luckily the climbs were interspersed with flowing alpine singltrack, fast rocky trails and rooty switchback descents so there was still a lot of fun to be had.

Jose Hermida picks his line

With 4 days to train on the course and since most people had also travelled straight there from Czech, there were opportunities to follow and learn from some of the best riders in the world, making sure we knew the best lines on the technical sections. A race pace lap on Wednesday left me wondering how a full race could be possible with the heat nearly killing me, but natural ice baths in Alpine rivers were perfect to cool off afterwards.

recovery ice bath

Race morning was slightly more stressful than I’d have liked, we somehow managed to miss the fact that the race was starting half an hour earlier than originally advertised meaning we spent a frantic 20 minutes running round sorting new feed zone support, finding timing chips and arriving on the start line having had no warmup at all (luckily less important in the ridiculous heat). In comparison the pros sat spinning on their turbos shaded by umbrellas, wearing cooling ice vests and able to focus on the actual race ahead. Some day.

Bang, off again. Within seconds I was caught at the back of a crash leaving me chasing the back of the pack as we hurtled around a flat start loop. Before long we were into a long climb and I was able to get up to a group of the same riders I was around last week. There was the usual first lap queueing and aggression with riders scrabbling to try and make up places where ever possible. Eventually things spread out a bit but the combination of heat and steep climbs was killing me. It felt like all the trail sessioning earlier in the week was going to waste, the climbs took so much energy that I was left wrecked for the first half of every descent, all over the place struggling to recover and gain some composure.

As time went on I was going backwards, loosing contact with the group I was with and eventually getting passed from behind. It was like racing in an oven and I just couldn’t push hard. The shorter laps this year are making it increasingly difficult to stay in the race and I got pulled due to the 80% rule with 2 laps to go, much sooner than I’d have liked.

Racing the world cups this year has been an amazing experience and I’ve learnt a lot. Next year I’ll know what to expect and have a huge list of things to do differently which will make racing easier. Travel arrangements will be far easier doing it for the 2nd time, I’ll know to train on the steepest climbs I can find, to train in a sauna, to go to the manager’s meeting before a race, to allow more time than you can ever imagine to get to an Italian airport, that you can’t fit 2 bike bags in a Fiat Panda, to rob a bank so I can fund some more races….

Racing aside we had a great week camping and enjoying an outdoor lifestyle, catching up with other riders from all over the world and giving the bronzed Italian posers something to stare at by revealing our cycling tan lines at the swimming pool. It took a lot of dedication not to waste energy exploring the local singletrack, or to overdose on pizza and icecream before the race but off course everything is ok in moderation!
More photos of the trip here.

world cup course

sessioning the course

team village

downhill

skillz

World Cup – Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic

Cait — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:16:10 +0000

The latest racing adventure was the 6th round of the World Cup Series, taking place in Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic. Mel Spath and I flew over from Ireland a couple of days before with time to check out the course, acclimatise to a new country and adapt to the incomprehensible language and strange money.

Set in a forested area of pretty rolling hills, the race was based around a biathlon stadium which created a great arena and starting area. The course was very similar to racing in Ireland, lots of natural forest singletrack with plenty of roots, twisty corners, kickers and a couple of rocky technical features to keep the cameras happy. It was a lot of fun and real mountain biking so I was looking forward to racing. There did seem to be more climbing than anything else though with a lot of it up very steep rooty trails, which kept things interesting but also made it a really tough course.

The Czechs know how to put on a show and the crowds were out if force on race day with over 20,000 spectators and an electric atmosphere. It was into the increasingly familiar routine of riding round in circles around a tiny start area waiting to be called up, pedalling backwards in the pens to keep the legs moving, onto the grid heart starting to thump, 15 seconds to go-focused, bang we’re off. We had a 10 minute start loop straight into 2 long steep climbs which I was hoping might split things up and avoid the usual first lap queues in the singletrack for those starting at the back of the grid, but it didn’t work and we were all together at the top. I spent a frustrating amount of time stuck behind slow people on the descents but as we went into the 1st full lap I’d managed to move up into the 50s riding in a group with a lot of riders I was targeting.

The killer climbs were made easier by the noise of the enthusiastic crowds, with the deafening noise helping to ignore the pain and push hard. As things began to string out there was more chance to ride hard on the singletrack but just as I was starting to really enjoy myself disaster struck. I took an awkward line trying to overtake someone over a rocky section and caught my wheel on a sharp rock. Bang, psssstttt…! Slashed the tyre and it wouldn’t seal with a CO2. I started to run but realised I was miles from the feed zone and didn’t have spare wheels there anyway. Panic. There was nothing for it but to pull out. I stood at the edge of the course for ages trying to put off the inevitable. Stepping under the tape was the worst feeling ever, a walk of shame feeling all the spectators watching me, looking from the side of the track as the race went on without me. It was the first time I’ve ever not finished a race and not something I ever was to experience again.

The organisation, course and atmosphere were impressive, probably the best I’ve been to so far and I’m already looking forward to going back next year to do it justice. Thanks to WXC for the tech zone support. Also thanks to Czech based team sponsor Sportique who provide us with some great products, enjoyed meeting them after the race.

World Cup – Offenburg

Cait — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:27:01 +0000

After Dalby, team-mate Carla and I spent a few days sightseeing and training on beautiful flat, cold, windy roads around York before a major overnight roadtrip down to sunny Strasbourg (France) where the team would be based for the next round of the World Cup in Offenburg (Germany!).

Offenburg is a well known name for anyone involved in xc racing and has a reputation for great crowds and a technical course so to actually be there was pretty exciting. The course didn’t disappoint, it is an awesome combination of flowy fast trails, singletrack climbs and some super steep potentially head wrecking drops, all based around a small area of forest surrounded by pretty hills and vineyards. There were a few parts of the course that you role up to initially and peer gingerly over the edge thinking ‘oh god! how am I going to get down there?!’ but once I’d picked a line and got my head in gear they weren’t so bad. Then it started to rain torrentially turning the dust to greasy mud and making the roots wet and sketchy but a fast pace wet lap was a good confidence booster to know it could be done whatever the weather.

The next day we hooked up with Mel Spath and Maxine Filby for another couple of laps to get the lines dialled in, and since practice was limited to a 2 hour time window, everyone was riding at the same time and there was chance to ride behind some of the top riders in the world to see how they did it (fast!). After soaking up the atmosphere and hot sun watching the u23 men’s race it was back to the hotel to get the legs up and make some final race preparations.

Race Day
A good warm up, herded into the pens, hanging around trying to stay calm and focused, finally called to the start line as hundreds of people stand watching. 15 seconds to go, ready to snap into action. Bang, pedal hard, oh theres a crash beside me, get past them quick. Argh shit, suddenly I was sucked into the crash and on the floor, ending up watching the pack disappear in front of me as I was last out of the start field. I got back onto the last riders but stopped myself getting sucked into blowing my lights trying to get back up there, instead trying to settle straight into my own pace and pick people off gradually.

Supporters lined the course the whole way around and with beer tents, loud speakers and pumping cheesy euro music at each of the major technical sections the party atmosphere was incredible. Germans certainly know how to put on a mountain bike race. I took a while to get into the race, the bad start messed with my head, but as it went on my legs came around a bit and I had some good battles with a few girls around me. The highlight of the course is around the feedzone zone where two parts of the lap pass by each other, the ‘wolfsdrop’ a massive rooty drop on one side, and the ‘snake pit’ a technical maze of bit roots on the other. It forms a big arena area for spectators and the roars of the crowd as you come into it gave me goosepimples. It required concentration though as its a spot for lots of crashes, the first aiders had a busy weekend and hearing ambulance sirens midway through a race was a little worrying!

I felt a bit better than last week, at least I was actually racing, but still felt my legs weren’t performing up to standard. A very short lap meant the chances of getting pulled before the end were even higher so on lap 4 I put in an extra effort in an attempt to stay in. Coming towards the last steep climb I saw the evil 80% people blocking the way at the top so realising it was over got ready for one last sprint to get past a girl I’d be racing since the start. My tired brain somehow made me shift into the big ring rather than dropping a gear and I came to a standstill, loosing a place and finishing 69th about 40 seconds off staying in for the final lap – doh! (results here). I think there is still something wrong with my calf muscles and its time to get them sorted, I’m sick of not riding at full speed.

Watching the men’s race in the afternoon was impressive, the speed they hit the technical sections is incredible, Absalon especially seems to float around the course on a cushion of air making everything look so easy. That evening Mel and I joined pro American rider Krista Park and her husband for a German bbq feast up in a crazy old house in the hills surrounded by forests and vineyards. The next day after a lazy breakfast on a hot sunny terrace, a tour of the Black Forest and yummy icecream, it was time to head back to Dublin where the pro-racing bubble was quickly burst with a return to reality and a 20°C temperature drop. Its been an amazing couple of weeks not just for the racing experiences but seeing new places, catching up with friends from uk races and meeting loads of friendly like minded riders from all over the world.

A huge thank you to WXC World Racing for all the support and assistance over the weekend.

World Cup – Dalby Forest

Cait — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:33:13 +0000

Lungs, legs and head – 3 key elements to a good mountain bike race, if one of them is slightly below its par then the whole experience can change from being one of the best feelings ever to feeling like a lot of hard work and suffering.

We arrived at Dalby a few days before the race with plenty of time for training on the already familiar course and chance for some pro-style race preparation with the WXC team staying in some super comfy cottages alongside the Merida Multivan and Trek Subaru teams. The run up to the race went according to plan and I was all set for a showdown with the big guns of xc racing.

photo by Toby Rose

Race day. Good warmup, nerves starting to build up. With 15 minutes to go we get herded like cattle into the starting pens and I sat pedalling on the turbo to stay warm. Finally called up to the starting grid, surrounded by crowds and heart is pumping like mad. Loudspeaker calls 15 seconds to go, oh god its really happening now! Bang, we’re off, pedal like crazy. I got off ok until suddenly someone crashed in front of me, I saw Mel get caught in it and swerved to avoid the worst but lost a few seconds. After a bit of elbows out aggression queueing to get into the first singletrack it was just a case of following the wheel in front until the start loop was over, a flat first part of the course means there is little chance to split the field up.

photo by Danny Elliott

The first lap was really frustrating, a mixture of going really hard and stopping in queues when the course narrowed, so no chance to get into a rhythm at all. Eventually things began to string out a bit and I was able to ride. The atmosphere and crowds were pretty cool, people lining the course and huge roars at some of the more technical parts as riders went by, it really helps to motivate you as you struggle up some of the horribly steep climbs along the course.

photo by Danny Elliott

By lap 2 I was into a racing rhythm but it wasn’t the speed I wanted to be going, things just didn’t seem to click and the race felt like a real struggle. The descents at Dalby are always great fun but I didn’t feel the sort of buzz you get from a good race. I spent a lot of the race gradually closing a gap to downhill world champ Tracey Mosely and towards the end of the 4th lap I almost had her. I was psyching myself up for a real all out effort on the last lap but as I approached the start/finish area I was pulled in due to the 80% rule. Not impressed, a real anti-climax I wasn’t expecting and I felt like slamming my bike on the ground. I finished 72nd (results here).

photo by Danny Elliott

I’m not sure what was the problem but I felt like I just couldn’t reach top gear all day. Even worse is that I did a race pace lap on Thursday that was over a minute quicker than any of my laps on race day. The number of competitors and the significance of the event meant that the race felt more about learning to deal with the pressure of competing and fighting for position as I scrapped around at the back of the starting field than about going out and racing hard as you normally would. Next week will be better!

A huge thanks to WXC World Racing for all the support over the weekend, the racing didn’t go according to plan but it was a fantastic experience and it’ll make me work hard so to get more of it. Also thanks to the Elliott/Wilkinson family and Yorkshire supporters for cheering me on, always a big help!