Oceania Champs Race Report

After an up and down season I have finished on the up! As the form had been so hit and miss all season I almost didnt go to the Oceania champs just out of Shepparton 2hrs drive from Melbourne. I arrived on Tuesday as Friday was race day, got a couple laps on the track and then spun (35km) from the track back to Shepparton on the flat boring road. The track had a climb that suited me and a couple sections of tec rocks with a big rock drop (that photos just dont do justice!) the other cool "NOT" part of the track was the grass climb/decent they mowed the day I arrived.

Race day was hot and sunny and with no shade on the track I knew how important it would be to keep cool and hydrated. Off the line I lost a bit of ground but put the hammer down and went around the out side on the first corner slotting in about 6th, I started trying to make my move up every chance I could but the Aussies dont give an inch so you have to fight for it. By mid race I was in 4th place with 5th on my tail and we could see the other three in places but they had a big gap on us, I was using a set of GEAX AKA 2.2 tyres and running them at 15psi which gave me all the grip I needed and meant I could ride through the rocky sections with ease. As we got to a rocky part of the climb (near the high point of the track) I opened up a gap and decided to try and make it stick as we only had a lap and a half to go. Shortly after that I was told Dan and Sid were just ahead of me, I spotted them on a couple parts soon after and started hunting them down. Starting the last lap they had about 20sec on me but that didnt take long to close down, Just before I caught them Sid attacked and got away from Dan. I had to jump past Dan just before the rocky section I had opened the gap on 5th the lap before and did the same to Dan, The rest of the lap I spent chasing Sid while keeping an eye over my shoulder on Dan. The last grass climb/decent I was sprinting chasing Sid while trying to hold off cramp and Dan to produce the 3rd fastest lap of the day and the only sub17min last lap to finish 3rd.

This was by far my best race of the year so far and my best Oceania champs race to date. Now I am having some much needed time off and looking to plan my next goals.

2011 Oceania Champs Results

The Elite and Under 23 Men were on course at 12pm. From the gun Australia’s Chris Jondewaard wound on the power to take a start to finish win over compatriot Sid Taberlay. But Tokoroa’s Mike Northcott produced his best form of the year to storm home to a third place finish, in the process producing improving lap times over the six lap feature. National Champion Carl Jones didn’t have the legs today, fading to 10th and clearly tired and dissappointed.

2011 Oceania Championships - Results
(Round 4 2010/11 Jayco Australian MTB Series, Shepparton)

1. Chris Jongewaard SA 1:43:35.2
2. Sid Taberlay TAS 1:44:17.0
3. Michael Northcot NZ 1:44:26.0
4. Daniel McConnell VIC 1:44:34.0
5. Aiden Lefmann QLD 1:45:55.5
6. Joshua Carlson NSW 1:48:52.6
7. Adrian Jackson VIC 1:49:24.2
8. Andrew Blair NSW 1:49:32.4
9. Neil Van Der Ploeg VIC 1:50:27.9
10. Carl Jones NZ 1:50:41.8

NZ National series champion 2011

Well the race didnt go so well but all I had to do was start the final to win the series (oh and show the officals how to add but I will get to that soon).

Yep it had been a busy week and a half for me. Fly to Nelson, Race and fly up to Hamilton 2hrs after the race, Spend the week at block corse (for my plumbing apprentiship) with three exams on Friday, drive to Auckland Sat morning and fly down to Christchurch landing at 10am and racing at that arvo at 2pm. I had a good start and knew I had to be at the front at the top of the hill to set the pace on the down hill (as the first time I had seen the track was during my warm up when I rode a lap) So with this in mind I decided the best way to learn the track was at the front. This worked for the first couple laps sitting 1st or 2nd and not panicking if others/locals caught up again. After a few laps I felt my legs just go flat and I knew I was going to have to call on some old school bluffing to get me through to the end. Soon after my legs went flat the young 16year old " pocket rocket" (Anton Copper) attacked and I couldnt call on any bluffing to help with that, I started to drop backwards quickly on that lap and decided to pull the pin at the end of the lap and try to save my legs for next weekends National Champs.

Although I didnt finish the race I had enough points to win the series, although the officals miss counted the points giving it to Carl Jones at first. As we steeped down off the podium I talked it over with them and we had it sorted, although by the time we had most of the people had left prize giving. Oh well at least it was sorted

Nelson NZ round #3

Raced today and finished 3rd, Full report after sleep

old meets new

They say "what goes around comes around" and that is exactly what has happened!. In 2000 I signed my first proper sponsorship deal to ride marzocchi shocks, now in 2011 I am testing a new set for the guys at YD-open. they are similar weight to the sids I have been riding and have that feeling you would expect from marzocchi. I had my first ride on them today and I have to say, they feel as smooth as my old set I have been using on my single speed only lighter, stiffer and with a lock out! I will be riding them for the rest NZ season so Im sure I will be putting more updates up about how they ride, but so far so good.

I have built the forks up on Michelles carbon JAMIS frame to race for the rest of the season, After todays ride Im sure it will turn heads and get a fair bit of attention!

Round 2 NZ national series, Napier

Yep another second this week. This week we raced in Napier, It was even hotter this week as was the field. With UCI points up for grabs I knew it was going to be a tough day out, During my warm up I was zipping along a bit of single track and as I came round a corner I hit another rider head on! Yep she was riding the track backwards!!! I wont name names though (Katie O'neil) as she felt so bad about what had happened and neither of us or our bikes were damaged in the impact. Off the line I decided to light it up to be first into the single track, this worked out and I was able to sit up a bit and control the race till the first climb. I held the lead up the climb and then slipped into second just before the first big decent, I made a few mistakes on the way down letting Dirk get a gap that he kept extending all day. My race started to suffer from that point as I started to get slower and feel like I was going to black out, I dropped back to 4th for a lap or so before starting to settle in and find my legs again. I passed Stu for third on the steep climb and made my way up to Carl as it flattened off across the top, We spent the rest of the lap swapping spots and trying to brake each other with my lift of pace (on the same place as I had caught him) proving to be the deciding move. From there on it was just keep it upright and make sure he wasnt coming back at me, So another 2nd I had to settle for. I now have enough UCI points to put me back inside the top 100 (I should be 96th when the points are credited), so not a bad way to start the year off.

This week I was wearing my flash new ADIDAS evil eye half frames during training and in the race, These are an awesome new glass and I have already had a lot of comments on them

Cycle Obsession national round

Merry Christmas.....Happy New Year.....Round 1 NZ National series, Yep thats how it is in NZ.

Had a good start, leading the race from the gun. Big crash half way through lap 3 (of 6) and destroyed my front brake! So three times down part of last years National down hill series track was kid of scary. With close to a two minute lead (so Im told) when I crashed and most of that lead going in the tec zone, I was caught with just over a lap to go. I still tried a couple times to get a gap but couldnt make enough time before the dh to the finish, I had to settle for second place.

The track was awesome and the weather was hot making for lots of dust and my tyre choice of GEAX AKA the perfect tyre for the day. Other than my brake lever the loverly JAMIS bike didnt miss a beat and the PEAK FEUL helped me fly up the hills!!