This month, our Wiggle Triathlete Carolyn Hewett has been featured in the Nov/Dec edition of Triathlete’s World.

The feature tells Carolyn’s remarkable story on how she recovered from a life threatening bout of Viral Meningitis to becoming a sponsored triathlete. Read the full story on page 22 of the Nov/Dec Edition of Triathlete’s World on sale now!

Next up is Matthew Page Sponsored Pro MTB’er who is shown in October’s edition of Singletrack Mountain bike magazine.

Matthew takes Staff Writer, Reviews Editor and Web Reporter Benji Haworth on a guided tour of the sunny Brecon Beacons.

You can read the full route guide on Page 116 of Octobers edition of Singletrack Magazine on sale now.

Catch up on their blog updates below.

Carolyn Hewett

Matthew Page

Photos

43

Crud Roadracer Review

I’ve been a fan of Crud products for many years and use the Crud Front Mudguard on my Focus First, so when Crud released the Roadracer version I was eager to try it out on my Kiron. Like most people I would rather stay dry if possible, so I use mudguards most of the year and tend to keep them on unless there is a prolonged dry spell.

Fitting is fairly straight forward, but even so I would set aside up to an hour to get them right and wouldn’t attempt to fit them if you are in a hurry. The instructions provided are good, but as every bike is different a few tweaks might be needed. Crud suggest that they will fit 700×23c or 700×25c tyres, although fitting them to the Kiron with the 25c Schwalbe Ultremo DD tyres I have is very tight and I had to remove the small extension piece on the rear guard, but this does not affect how they work in the wet. Once fitted the mudguards look great and far nicer to look at than anything else available.

In use the mudguards are stable and work very well. They offer more coverage and fit better than other add-on mudguard kits but fall short of fully fitted guards, but that is to be expected. They also stay put you you don’t have to keep moving them back in place. They are not quite flawless as any flex in the wheels or frame can lead to the guards rubbing on the tyre. With a bit more tweaking I am sure they will work without rubbing at all. Even so it is only very slight and only under power and this could be just because of my particular frame/wheel/tyre combo. If you were using a 23c tyre I think it would be fine.

The roadracers are a definite improvement on other add-on mudguards and I would certainly recommend them, but buy with caution if you have 25c tyres as depending on your particular combination you may experience a small amount of rubbing against the tyre.

42

Dusk ’til Dawn

For the previous 3 years Dusk ’til Dawn has been my final race of the season and each year I’ve had a good result: 2nd in a mixed team in 2006 and solo winner in 2007 and 2008. Yet again it was set to be my final race and I was hoping to end the season on a high. After racing the Maxx Exposure last weekend I had no idea how well I had recovered during the week. I did a few easy rides and a few harder but short session, but nothing that would give me an indication of recovery.

Arriving on site on Friday evening after a horribly slow journey across the country I did a practice lap of the course. It was typical Thetford, having no big climbs but it was bumpy and undulating with very fast tree-lined singletrack. Due to the dry weather recently it was incredibly dusty and several of the corners and bomb-holes were like riding through a sand pit. I knew it was going to be far from easy.

Returning the next day to a far busier arena we made all our final preparations and I tried to relax a bit before the start. Looking at the competition it was clear that this was going to be the toughest year yet for me with a few very fast Elite XC riders who have previously ridden longer events plus Steve Webb, who won the Torq 12hr just over a month ago. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to match the speed of the XC racers, but my plan was just to go as fast as I could and claw back time as the race went on.

Night racing is never easy simply because it goes against your bodies natural rhythm and even before the start I was feeling tired, but I’ve had this before and I was sure it would go as soon as I started racing. At 8pm the race started with a 2.2km controlled loop before starting the full 10 mile lap. On the controlled loop I pushed hard and stayed within the top 20 or so and had some of my main competition around me, Andrew Cockburn was just ahead and Steve Webb settled in just behind me. The pace was high, but I was fine with that at such an early stage. Andrew Cockburn was slowly pulling ahead and I’d see him at the end of longer straights but was happy to leave him go. I knew I couldn’t match the speed. Halfway around the lap I took a wrong turn on a corner that was poorly signposted, Steve Webb was just behind me and did the same. We only lost a minute or so, but it was very frustrating. Steve then moved ahead and I was able to watch him ride and follow his lines. Normally I hate following people, but this guy was one hell of a rider. His line choice was great and he really carried speed well through the fast corners, but I was able to stick on his wheel.

During the second lap I started to feel really bad and struggled to keep the pace as high as I wanted, I didn’t know what the problem was but it felt like I had no zip in the legs. I tried to keep in consistent and find a pace that I could sustain. Things started to improve during the 3rd lap as I settled down. Steve was still riding with me and we were changing positions from time to time. He was certainly on a mission and really pushing the pace hard. He was overtaking people really efficiently and I wasn’t always able to follow and had to work hard to get back in touch at times. Towards the end of the lap I took another wrong turn on a corner where the tape had been removed. After getting back on the course Steve pulled ahead and I wasn’t able to catch him for a few miles. Up until now I didn’t know what position I was in, but I wanted to know the gap so asked Nia as I came through to finish the lap. I was a little disappointed to find out I was 3rd as I didn’t know who was in 2nd and hadn’t seen them at all.

On the 4th lap I got ahead of Steve and pulled a small gap, from here on I was on my own and settled into a fast pace which I hoped I’d be able to sustain. I found the first third of the course the hardest as it was really loose and sapped strength. There was also one really long singletrack section which was fantastic if you had a clear run or were able to pass people quick enough, but it was incredibly frustrating if you were stuck behind other riders as there were times where overtaking was simply impossible unless the rider ahead stopped and pulled to the side. I was much more comfortable riding at my own pace and started to feel really good. At the end of lap 4 I found out that Andrew Cockburn in 1st was 10 minutes ahead. In my mind I was convinced that pulling over 2 minutes per lap was unsustainable, but I knew that I’d have to push the pace if I wanted to challenge later in the race. I had a good lap and although it wasn’t much quicker the overall effort was higher and by the end of the lap I had managed to hold the gap for the first time in the race, but I wasn’t able to keep it up and slowed and lost a few minutes on the next lap. I should have settled a pace that I could hold, but I wasn’t ready to give up the fight and just kept pushing myself as hard as possible. My lap times were consistent which I was happy with, but the gap was still creeping out. Up until now I hadn’t stopped to pit at all, just grabbing bottles and High 5 gels on the go and I wanted to keep riding but I knew I’d have to stop soon to change the light batteries.

Going into lap 7, almost 6 hours into the race we were pushing the lights burn times to the limits, but I pushed them a little too far. A few miles into the lap my main lights went out and my headlight only had enough juice to be on the lowest setting. It was just bright enough to see but I wasn’t able to push hard through the twisty singletrack. It was very frustrating because I was trying to get back to the pits as quickly as possible but making little mistakes which cost me more time. At the end of the lap I made a very efficient pitstop where I took on more food and had both batteries changed. All done in around a minute I was off again and back up to speed. In terms of energy I was feeling fine and I had been taking on drink and gels at regular intervals throughout the race but I felt my legs were starting to loose a bit of zip and I was starting to feel tired. I wasn’t pedalling smoothly and on a course where you are pedalling for almost the entire time it was causing real problems. Less than halfway into the lap it was as if someone had flicked a switch. My legs felt dead and I was pedalling in squares and I didn’t feel able to recover. My pace dropped quickly and I couldn’t hold the speed on the singletrack sections as I wasn’t going quick enough to let it all flow properly. By the end of the lap I felt that I needed to stop, still being in 3rd place but I didn’t feel I had the physical strength to continue to the end. Obviously I was disappointed and looking back on the results I wonder “what if…” but ultimately I was not fully recovered from the previous weekends racing and Dusk ’til Dawn came a week too soon for me.

Now I can put a line under the 2009 season and start looking forward to 2010. I know that I have plenty of hard work ahead of me to change my racing and performance. I am making a vow right now to come back as a stronger, faster and better rider.

More Photos
Photos by Doug MacGrain

41

MaXx Exposure

MaXx Exposure 26-27th September 2009

On the weekend I entered the Maxx Exposure, which is a different type of event for me. It was a 75 mile, off-road point to point race, at night on the South Downs Way. I’d not ridden the South Downs Way before, so to ride them for the first time in the dark would be interesting.

I had prepared well before hand, trying to get as much information about the area and terrain as possible to make decisions on things like tyres and what kit to carry. The organisers provided a GPS version of the route, which I was able to put into my Garmin Edge 705. This allowed me to follow the route on-screen which would be very useful riding on unknown grounds. I also used the “Virtual Partner” feature to set an average speed (equal to the course record) which would give me an idea of how well I was doing. I even printed out an elevation chart using Memory Map and marked on the checkpoints so I would know where I was and when the big climbs/descents were coming.

One of the hardest factors about the event is that you have to carry everything you might need with you and not rely on a pit area. Riders were able to send a bag to the halfway point where you could put extra clothes, food and light batteries or anything else you might need. I made the decision to take all the fluid I would need with me from the start in my new Salomon XA hydration pack with a 3 litre Hydrapak bladder. The benefit being that I had my High5 4:1 mixed to the concentration I like and didn’t have to worry about topping up. The downside was that it was heavy! In total, including 3 litres of fluid and all the tools and spares I felt I might need I was carrying an extra 5-6kg. When your small and quite light like I am this extra makes a real difference, but at least it would get lighter as time went on.

We arrived on site early Saturday afternoon and had to get everything ready by 3.30 when the bus departed to the start point at Beachy Head, near Eastbourne. With everything set I headed to get the bus but realised I had a problem. Somehow between leaving the house and arriving the rear tyre had gone flat! I didn’t have much time to get it sorted and couldn’t find where it was leaking from. I pumped it back up and hoped it would stay up, but decided that if it was flat at the other end I would put a tube in.

Arriving at the site I was anxious to see if the tyre was still inflated and to my surprise it was, Panic over. Now I could concentrate on the race which was about to start. I got under way just behind a few other top riders such as Anthony White and James D’Arcy. At the beginning I felt rubbish and didn’t seem to be able to catch a small front group that had formed. After about 15 minutes hard work I managed to catch the small group and stuck with them for a while. I took to the front of the group after a long and frustratingly slow descent towards where I was at the back of the group. I upped the pace to see who would follow; everyone.

I was still struggling on the climbs to stick with the group, but able to claw it back on the flatter sections and when the group came to one of the many, many gates on the route. The group was now 5 strong and we all seemed well matched and going along quite nicely. On one section I saw James D’Arcy who was at the front of the group crash as a badger ran into his wheel and then a few seconds later I also hit a badger but I was lucky as I was going slowly and it glanced my foot and ran between my wheels.

I kept pushing the pace whenever I felt able and tried to break up the group, but whenever I got a small gap I’d come to a gate (or a level crossing with a train approaching!) and everyone would catch back up. Around 18 miles in I had a disaster as I punctured my front wheel going down a short descent. “Game over” I thought to myself. The air came out very quickly, so I knew that the sidewall had been cut and I’d have to put a tube in. I watched the group disappear into the darkness as I went about fixing it.

Another 2 riders came past before I was able to resume. The puncture cost me 8 minutes in total and when I restarted I didn’t think I’d have any hope of catching the leaders. Anything could happen to those ahead and I was only just starting to feel good on the bike, so I decided to give it everything and chase as hard as possible. The first feed station came at 22 miles, but there was no sign of the riders ahead. It took another few miles before I caught my first glimpse of a flashing red light in the distance. It spurred me on and I kept pushing as hard as I could. It seemed to take forever, but I eventually caught a single rider ahead after a fast descent.

Soon after, on the next long climb I passed another 2 riders; things were starting to look better as I was now in 5th place. Not everything was going well though. I heard a hiss coming from the rear wheel on a bumpy descent and realised I’d picked up another puncture. Fortunately the Stans no-tubes tubeless sealant did its job and I was able to keep riding, all be it on a very soft tyre! I knew the halfway checkpoint was coming up so I kept riding and decided I would stop there to add air.

As I arrived at the checkpoint James D’Arcy was also there so I did everything needed as quickly as possible: Check-in with the electronic timing, grab a few extra High5 Isotonic gels, change the light battery and pump up the rear up with a Innovations big-air canister I was carrying. I set off again around 30 seconds behind James and caught him soon after. He gave me some encouragement which spurred me on further. I was feeling really strong at this point and didn’t feel the need to ease up at all. It wasn’t long before I caught a glimpse of the 2nd place rider. I didn’t know if it would be Ant or the other rider, but I was catching up going uphill so I didn’t think it was Ant as he climbs like a goat!

On the descent near the town of Washington, just as the route crossed the dual carriageway I passed the rider to take 2nd place. “How can this be happening?” I thought to myself. I didn’t think I stood a chance after the puncture, but now I had just a single rider ahead of me; Anthony White. Between the second and third checkpoints there was a big climb and lots of open high ground, so if there was someone ahead of me I should be able to spot them easily, but I couldn’t see anyone for miles. I could also feel that my rear tyre was losing pressure slowly and getting a bit soft again, but hoped it would hold out. After another 30 minutes or so I finally caught sight of a tiny red spec in the distance, well over a mile away. “If I can see him, I can catch him” I thought, but I knew I had a real struggle ahead of me. We were over 40 miles into the race and although I felt great I wasn’t gaining any time.

On one long hill where I could see Ant right at the top I timed the gap to 5 minutes, which was then confirmed by the marshals at the third checkpoint, 52 miles in. I used the checkpoint to add more air to the rear tyre which was really soft again. I now had 23 miles to close the gap, which might sounds like plenty but when your chasing someone as good as Ant, it is not an easy task. We have had many a close battle over the years and this looked set to be another.

I would occasionally catch a glimpse of his rear light, but it always seemed to be at the top of a long climb when I was at the bottom and I started to give up hope. I timed the gap on every opportunity and although the gap was coming down slowly it wasn’t happening quickly enough. The miles were ticking by and I knew by looking at the elevation profile that I had printed out that I was close to the final checkpoint, which was a the bottom of a long descent near the village/town of Cocking. Just as the track started to head in a downward direction I could see a white light ahead of me, which was without a doubt a bike light, but I had passed several riders coming towards me along the route, so I was expecting this to be another.

As I grew closer I realised that it was someone stopped on the edge of the trail… It was Ant and he was fixing a puncture. I felt a little disappointed for him, but now we were kind of even on the puncture front, so I pushed on down the descent. “Make this stick” I told myself. I picked the best lines I could, to try and avoid any further punctures or mechanicals and arrived at the final checkpoint, just 12 miles from the finish. I stopped very briefly, just to check the tyre which was still going down, but not as quickly. A quick blast of air into the tyre and I was off again, up another long climb.

Now that I was winning I also checked to see how I was doing on the Garmin Edge compared to the record time, set in 2006 by Mike Cotty (6hrs 31min). I was up… and by a fair bit! I was pushing as hard as possible and kept checking the Edge to see how far was left. I was ticking the miles down, 7.. 6.. 5 “come on Matt”. I’d look back occasionally, just in case Ant was closing but each time I only saw darkness. Up until now the distance and time had flown by, but the final few miles really dragged! I came into QE park with just 2 miles to go and pushed myself to the top of the final climb. From here it was all downhill which couldn’t come soon enough! I came into the campsite and checked in with the timing. I knew that I finished first, but then also checked my finishing time. 6 hours, 21 minutes. A full 10 minutes inside the previous best time and that was with 2 punctures! James D’Arcy finished 2nd about 13 minutes after me and Ant finished 3rd.

This race and the result has given me great confidence going into my final race next weekend, Dusk ’til Dawn. Looking at the riders entered it looks like it will be the toughest year yet for me, with several seriously quick people entered.

40

Season Finales.

Over the next few weeks I will be competing in my final few races of the 2009 season. Both have an element of night time riding in them, so I will be getting plenty of use out of my Lupine Betty lights which I reviewed recently.

First up is the Maxx Exposure, a new event for me and a different format to what I am used to. It is a 75 mile, point to point event along the South Downs Way. The trail will be well known to many Mountain Bikers, especially those living in the South East, but for me it will be the first time I have ridden in the area. Add to this the fact that I will be riding it largely in the dark and it will certainly be a new challenge for me having to navigate unknown terrain. I have no real expectations, but hope to be one of the first to finish and be close to previous best times for the event. The nature of the event means that it will be mostly unsupported, unlike 24hr races where I have a pit crew able to give me food/drink and deal with any problems that arise.

To deal with the new challenge I have some new kit to help me through, including a new hydration pack and bladder. I needed a lightweight pack which was large enough to carry everything I for the duration of the event. After lots of thought and recommendations I settled on the Salomon XA 10+3, which although is in the Run section on Wiggle suits my needs perfectly for Mountain Biking. It is one of the lightest packs available and has a 10 litre cargo space, but can be reduced to a smaller size if you don’t need all the space. The Salomon pack comes with a 2 litre bladder, but in order to minimise my stops during the event I have a hydrapak 3 litre bladder to fit inside. I will be fueling myself with High5 Isotonic gels and High5 4:1 energy drink.

I won’t have much time to recover after the Maxx Exposure as the following weekend I will be entering Dusk ’til Dawn where I hope to win the solo category for a 3rd time (having won in 2007 and 2008). When I originally entered these events there was a 2 week gap between them, but since then Dusk ’til Dawn has been moved forward a week, which will make things a little more interesting.

39

Lupine Light Review

Lupine Light Review

Now that summer is saying its final goodbye for the year and the nights are drawing in most people will be thinking about bringing the lights out of the cupboard or possibly investing in a new set to keep the wheel rolling all year round. From the beginning of the year I have had the pleasure to be running Lupine lights for my training rides and racing. I have been provided with Lupine Betty 7 main lights and a Lupine Tesla headlight.

When choosing lights there were a few important features that I require as a racer. First and most important is the brightness and light quality. The Betty is simply amazing as it can put out 1500 lumens, which is basic terms is very, VERY bright! The light spread of the Betty is quite wide with a very even coverage. The Tesla can throw out 700 lumens from its single LED and is more of a spotlight, which suits its use as a headlight perfectly. When used together they provide a tremendous amount of light which makes racing in the dark so much easier.

Burn time is the next most important for me, as the events I do can have as much as 12hrs of darkness. Although any system would work with enough spare batteries, the ability to ride for a long period of time without having to change the battery is a big bonus. During longer races I will use a middle setting on the Lupine lights, which give a burn time of over 4hrs from the frame mounted battery pack. If mega-long burn time is most important to you, then Lupine do the Betty 14, which uses a bottle cage mounted battery pack.

Another consideration for me is the overall system weight, which I obviously like to be as low as possible. The Tesla is very comfortable when used on the head because of it’s low weight and you can even put the micro battery on the back of the helmet as its so light. Personally I use a slightly larger battery pack and put it in either my jersey pocket or camelbak to give a longer burn time.

There are always compromises to be made when choosing lights. The Lupine lights offer the best mix of the above 3 features which make them a superb choice for racing, or just for night riding. On top of the main features the Lupines are renowned for superior quality. Despite many, many hours of use I have not had a single problem with any of the systems I currently use, or the Lupine Wilma 5 I had last season. Another neat feature is the ability to program the lights to give different light outputs, dimming settings and various other things. I have set my lights up to have a 3-stage dimming, which gives a full power main beam, 60% setting used for longer races and power saving mode for when a little less light is needed, or when trying to extend the battery life.

Overall these are easily the best lights that I have had the pleasure of using and give me a real advantage when racing at night. I would happily recommend these lights to anyone who is looking for a high performance light set!

View the Lupine Light range

38

Gorrick 12hr Enduro.

Gorrick 12 hour enduro

Being a solo racer I’ve done several 12hr races, but this weekend I entered the Gorrick 12hr as a pair with fellow Wiggle sponsored rider Lee Williams. The style of racing in a pairs event is much different to a solo race and not something I train for as the pace is much faster with just a small time gap between laps to recover. It was the first time I’ve raced in a team or pair for several years. For Lee it was the longest race he has entered, so we were both a little unsure of how we would get on but were obviously hoping for a good result.

We both arrived on site on Saturday afternoon and headed out for a practice lap just before it got dark. The course was quite typical of Gorrick courses, being very tight and twisty with lots of tree lined singletrack which was also bumpy and loose in places. It seemed like it would be fun and a good course to hold as there were enough passing opportunities. I had taken my Focus First Extreme and Raven Pro, but decided it would be best to use the First as I didn’t want to aggravate my back injury.

After a pretty good nights sleep I woke up ready and raring to go, but as the morning progressed I became very apprehensive and far more nervous than I ever get before a solo race. I really didn’t want to let Lee down, as I knew he was flying this season and I didn’t want to be the weak link. We agreed that it would be best for Lee to start, as he is faster so would hopefully give us a good position and is better at mass starts. We also decided that we would do double laps in order to get enough recovery between stints.

Lee made a flying start and at the end of the first two laps we were not only leading the pairs, but were leading the whole race, which also had teams of 4 and solo racers. I started my first two laps and tried to be as quick as possible, which was strange for me as I normally pace a race rather than go flat out. 2 miles into the first lap I was caught and passed by the leading team, but as we were not racing them I was happy to let him go. No one else passed me during my two laps, so when I handed back over to Lee we were still winning the pairs by a couple of minutes and 2nd overall! During the hour or so break between stints I had just enough time to do a short cool down, get some food down me and sit down for a bit and recover before doing a 5 minute warm up to get the muscles working again.

My lap times were OK, but slowing slightly as each lap went by, but as other teams were doing the same I was not too concerned. At the end of my 4th lap, just before handing over to Lee I punctured, but I was very lucky as it was on the final corner, just a few meters from the handover area. I changed the tyre while Lee was on course as I had put a cut into the sidewall, but with limited time I wasn’t able to properly check the tubeless seal. We were still holding the lead in the pairs and the lead was starting to grow slightly over second and were comfortably ahead of 3rd. Starting my 3rd double lap I was still feeling OK and hoping to get into a steady pace that I could hold to the end, but I had more tyre problems as the new tyre was leaking air and I had to stop twice on each lap to add air. Luckily I had an Innovations Big Air canister, which was quick and easy to use and held enough to keep the tyre inflated until I handed over to Lee again. Luckily for us the problems I had didn’t cost us any time over 2nd place.

It started to get dark around 7pm in the trees and this was the time that lights were made compulsory. We were both running Lupine Betty 7 main lights, which made the night laps a breeze as the amount of light on offer is simply amazing and we could both keeping attacking the singletrack without fear despite it being Lee’s first time racing at in the dark. After 4 sets of double laps each around 9 hours into the race we decided to switch to single laps, as we were both starting to slow during the second lap and as we were nearing the end of the race we didn’t need to eat as much. My lap times became quite stable around 39-40 minutes which I was really pleased about, as it showed my endurance was still good even if my climbing wasn’t particularly strong. On one my laps towards the end of the race I was passed by the team in second place and as hard as I tried I wasn’t able to stick with them, but they were understandably fresher than us having three times the rest we have between laps. We were pulling out a sizeable lead over 2nd place in the pairs, which was obviously much more important.

Into the final few laps we knew that baring a major problem that the race was ours, but neither of us eased up at all as we wanted to get in as many laps as possible. We finished the race with a total of 20 laps, split equally between us and won the men’s pairs by over 20 minutes, lapping the rest of the field. We would also have finished 3rd in the men’s team, only a few minutes behind the second men’s team so finished 3rd overall. Not bad for our first outing as a team! I’m sure we will team up again future races, as we both really enjoyed a change to our normal racing style.

I’ve got a few weeks break now, then I have 2 final races to end the season, the Maxx Exposure at the end of September then Dusk ’til Dawn in October where I will be aiming to defend my solo title again.

37

Brechfa Enduro

17th August – Brechfa Enduro

The last few weeks since Twentyfour12 have been really difficult for me as I have struggled with my back injury and motivation. My back didn’t improve in the week after, and whenever I got on the bike I was in pain after an hour or 2 at the most, which made training as I normally do almost impossible. I also found myself in a strange situation, having worked so hard to win Mountain Mayhem and to finally have achieved that I was now half way through the season without another major event to really motivate myself. I had good days when I’d go out for a really hard interval session, but follow it with 2 or 3 bad days with little or no riding.

I went to see a specialist regarding my back and after a long session lots of massage and ultrasound I at least came away with some answers. Some deep muscles in my lower back had gone into spasm and were almost impossible to move. The muscles were pulling on my sacrum and parts of my spine causing all the discomfort. The good news at least was it that it was a muscular problem and should be able to fix with a few sessions and lots of lower back stretch exercises.

With my back on the mend I had to sort out my motivation. First of all I looked for what events were going on and were suitable. I found the Torq 12hr on the Bank Holiday but I didn’t fancy doing it solo as I have some big races in September and October, so I asked Lee Williams if you was interested in doing it as a pair. He was up for it, so I entered us into the pairs category. I’m really looking forward to it and having the opportunity to racing with Lee as he is flying at the moment. Hopefully we will be a good team!

With that in mind I had something to aim for, but something even sooner came up. The local enduro here at Brechfa was run this weekend and I had originally planned to be a marshal, but as they had enough to cover the course I decided to enter. It was a 50km course, which sounds short but I knew it would be far from easy with plenty of climbing and technical descents. I knew most of the route and decided to aim for a time of 3hrs.

This was the second year the event had run, and it had grown nicely with over 100 people entering and I knew plenty of them were quick. The event started with a 1 mile tarmac section and then straight up a long fire-road climb which I found really hard. I’m never good at the start of races, but it was clear that I had no top end power and I was battling up in 4th position. I wasn’t too worried as I was hoping to make up time on the downhills and later on as I warmed up. Into the first singletrack section I caught and passed 3rd and on the next climb I had 2nd place just ahead of me. Our speeds were evenly matched on the climb so I wasn’t able to catch him until the next descent. Soon into the next descent I caught 2nd and we ran/walked up the next steep climb together. We then rode together for a while, although on the next slippery descent I knocked a tree which slipped the brake lever to a vertical angle making it really hard to brake and stay in control.

After a long climb one of the marshals told me I was leading, which was news to me and at the time I had no idea what happened to the guy leading. I kept pushing on and finally managed to get a gap on 2nd. We were now onto the “Gorlech trail” which is my local route and I know it well. By now, just over 1 hour in I was feeling great so kept pushing as hard as I could. At the feed station I stopped to borrow an allen key and was finally able to sort my brake lever out. From here on it was a loop of the black graded “Raven” trail. The first few sections were downhill and I went as quickly as I could without taking any silly risks. Coming back towards the finish there were 2 big climbs. The first was steep, slippery and long. It seemed to drag for ages, but as I neared the top I heard the squealing brakes of a rider at the bottom. I hoped that this was 2nd place, as it would mean a good 3-4 minute gap. After another slippery descent came the final climb, this time it was wide but again long and almost as hard. As I got to the top I knew that I’d win as I just had a few short downhill sections followed by the final 2km long downhill of the “Gorlech” red trail, which has to be may favourite descent ever. I know it inside out as I ride it all the time as it is quite literally just behind our house. The very last section was a flat fire-road blast to the finish, where I looked down at the Garmin Edge and clocked my time, 2hrs 44min to take first place! A full 15 minutes quicker than I had hoped for and 5-6 minutes ahead of 2nd place. The guy who was originally leading missed one of the first way markers which he said lost him around 5 minutes, and finished in 5th or 6th place with a time over 3hrs.

The event and the result has given me a fresh boost, as although I know my top end isn’t as good as it should be I know my endurance is still there and my back is much better. I had a slight ache from 2hrs onwards, but no pain like before. I was able to hold a high HR for the whole race, which is a real improvement from another similar event at the start of the season. I can’t wait for the bank holiday and the chance to race with Lee at the Torq 12hr, it’s going to be painful but fun!

I captured the event using my Garmin Edge 705 and have uploaded it to Garmin connect, follow the link below to see the event data for anyone interested.

www.connect.garmin.com/activity/11379087

If your up late like I am most nights you’ll want to tune into Channel S4C this evening 22nd July at 10:05pm. Our Wiggle sponsored MTBer Matthew Page will be featured on a program called “Chwa”.

This will be a short segment, but 2 more programs to come in the future. We’ll keep you posted.

This has now been aired, if you missed it you can catch it via the S4C website, approximatley 14m.30s in.

“On Chwa! we’ll meet Matthew Page. Matthew is a professional mountain biker who specialises in endurance racing and he’s one of the best in Britain. There will also be Cliff Diving from the historical harbour of La Rochelle in France, and snowboarding from the Burton European Open. Last but certainly not least, the time has come for the world’s best B-Boy crews to battle it out at the Sony B-Boy Championships in London”

S4C Digidol can be viewed in Wales on

Freeview – 4
Virgin TV – 167
Freesat – 104
SKY – 104
SKY (without subscribing) – 134

S4C Digidol can be viewed outside Wales on

Freeview – not available
Virgin TV – not available
Freesat – 120
SKY – 134

36

Final Preparation For Twentyfour12

Last weekend I entered my first sportive of the year, the Devil Ride. I’ve been unlucky with the sportive dates this year as they almost all clash with MTB events and another I entered was cancelled in tragic circumstances. The Devil Ride is a fairly typical welsh sportive, at 107 miles and 2600m climbing. It started near Brecon and covered lots of roads that I know well from my training rides.

I met up with a friend from a local club, Robyn Davies who happens to be the very proud owner of a Focus Izalco Team. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep up with him, but we planned to start together with a few other quick guys that Robyn knew. Right from the start my HR went sky high as the pace was very quick. The first 20 miles were quite undulating, but without any really big climbs. The pace was fairly steady, although one guy in the group was pushing the pace really hard and when he took to the front I was really struggling. We picked up a few extra riders as we rode along, growing to around 9 at one point.

The first big climb of the day came after 30 miles and I knew from the bottom that I’d struggle to stay in contact. I almost managed it, but towards the top I lost the wheel and as it was really windy I dropped back rather quickly. I knew I had no chance of catching them back up as they were really motoring, but was in two minds weather to ease up and wait for another group or push on. I decided to go alone and this is how it stayed for the next 65 miles to the finish. My reason for entering was to test the form and my goal was to get a ‘Gold’ time, nothing more. I did doubt if I’d be able to get inside the time alone, but in the end I managed to get round in 5hrs 59min which was 22 minutes inside the ‘Gold’ target time. Robyn managed to stick with what remained of the group until a few miles before the end and finished in 5hrs 38min, awesome ride!

Later that week on a day off I went to Cardiff to catch up with some friends and also to see a physio as I am struggling with a lower back problem after Mayhem. The trip to the physio was well worth it as I had a few problems, mainly surrounding my pelvis being twisted which was causing some misalignment in my spine and legs. With that all sorted I paid a visit to the Cardiff Cycle Couriers, which is the company I used to work for. They were pretty busy and a man down on the road, so I ended up working for a couple of hours in the afternoon which was really fantastic. Zipping around the city on my old courier bike it was as if I had only left yesterday, as I remembered where everywhere was and all the routes and short-cuts. It made me realise how much I miss the job, but also how much I have sacrificed over the last few years to get where I am now.

Being a cycle courier was easily the best job I had done, even when it was wet and miserable I felt lucky to be able to ride a bike and get paid to do so. It was a huge decision to leave the company and pursue my racing, but I have never regretted doing so. It was my boss in the couriers who used to tell me that I should try and pursue my racing further although at the time I didn’t believe him, looking back I am grateful to him for pushing me.

Next for me is Twentyfour12, which is the second biggest solo race in the UK (after Mountain Mayhem). The solo field is looking strong with the same racers from Mayhem plus a few others. If I am totally honest I would say that my preparation has been poor compared to Mayhem, as I have been really up and down over the last few weeks struggling with motivation. I’m not sure what will happen at the event, but I will go there with the intention of doing well and just see what happens. If the recent bout of very wet weather continues then maybe that will be an advantage to me. I don’t mind racing when its wet and muddy and I have a fantastic team behind me that will get me through any conditions the event will throw at me.