I am excited to announce that I have signed an agreement with Hammer Nutrition. Endurance Fuels and Suppliments. I have used Hammer Nutrition Products for several years and found their products to provide you with long lasting, sustainable energy to get you through the long training and racing days as well as gel’s to get you going for the short races and of cours Recoverite to help you recover after the long hard days.
I am looking forward to working with such a great company. Visit http://www.hammernutrition.com.au/products.php for more information on Hammer Nutrition and the products available.
I have just finished my break and started training again in the last couple of weeks. I have entered the Dirtworks 100km mtb race for November and am looking forward to the challenge of competing in my first 100km mtb race. Unfortunately this year due to personal and financial reasons I did not make it to the World Championships in Canada but wish all the best to the rest of the Aussies competing over there.
Bec
Our 2010 Europe trip is now over and after a long and grueling trip home Dan and I have made it back to Canberra. A tough change as the weather was in the 30’s when we left. Our last race was the Swiss Bike Trophy in Bern, Switzerland. A tough and technical course they decided 6 laps for the Women and 7 for the Men. It was a HC Race, the level between a World Cup and a C1 race which meant all the big names were there. Irena Kalentieva won the race ahead of Sabine Spitz and Katrin Leumann. 2 laps down and pulled at the 80% i was 17th. In the Men’s Absalon blew the doors off World Champion Nino Shurter with Christoph Sauser coming in third. An exciting day of racing to finish off the trip.
Its now time to get back to reality and I am back to work this week. Next on the cards is Worlds in September and then Tour de Timor the week after. It’s time to get in a bit of road racing and some good training.
Congratulations to all the Aussie riders who qualified for the 2010 World Championships to be held in Mont Saint Anne, Canada 31st August – 5th September.
2010 UCI World Mountain Bike Championships – Australian Team
Cross Country
Cross Country (XCO) – Elite Men
Daniel McConnell (VIC)
Lachlan Norris (VIC)
Ben Henderson (ACT)
Andrew Blair (NSW)
Cross Country (XCO) – Under 23 Men
Paul van der Ploeg (VIC)
Cal Britten (VIC)
Cross Country (XCO) – Junior Men
Kyle Ward (NSW)
Mitchell Codner (NSW)
Trenton Day (NSW)
Cameron Ivory (NSW)
Cross Country (XCO) – Elite Women
Rowena Fry (TAS)
Heather Logie (ACT)
Kate Potter (NSW
Katherine O’Shea (VIC)
Cross Country (XCO) – Under 23 Women
Rebecca Henderson (ACT)
Therese Rhodes (SA)
Gracie Elvin (ACT)
Four Cross
4-Cross (4X) – Elite Men
Richard Levinson (QLD)
David Habicht (VIC)
Jared Graves (QLD)
Randall Huntington (QLD
4-Cross (4X) – Elite Women
Caroline Buchanan (ACT )
Sarsha Huntington (QLD)
Downhill
Downhill (DHI) – Elite Men
Shaun O’Connor (NSW)
Bryn Atkinson (NSW)
Mitchell Delfs (WA)
Michael Hannah (QLD )
Samuel Hill (WA)
Chris Kovarik (QLD)
Downhill (DHI) – Junior Men
Troy Brosnan (SA)
Ayden Wyber (VIC)
Phillip Piazza (NSW)
Antony Moore (QLD)
Downhill (DHI) – Junior Women
Holly Baarspul (WA)
Emily Hockey (SA)
- visit www.montsainteanne2010.com for more on the World Championships
- visit www.mtba.asn.au for more information on the Australian team
Another Racer Bikes Cup been and gone, the last of our trip this year. Unfortunately Engelberg didn’t manage to put on the sunny summer weather and it had rained all week with the temperature soaring at 7 degrees for the race. The course was a short 3.2 kilometres with one climb and one descent. It held up well except for the last couple of minutes which were complete bog. I had a six lap race and pulled out after four laps. It was a pretty average race on my behalf, I was riding the climb reasonably well but losing big chunks of time on the tricky and muddy descents. What seems to be a big weakness for Aussie riders. I was freezing cold on the fourth lap and a big crash in the mud was all too much so I pulled out.
Next Weekend we have our last race, The Swiss Bike Trophy in Bern. The weather is looking just as average so a few overnight mud and root skills wouldn’t go astray. We will meet up with fellow Aussie Cal Britten for the race in Bern and then long drive on Sunday after to Crowne Plaza in Frankfurt to finish off our trip.
Dan and I are nearing the end of our trip. With two races left we are due to depart from Frankfurt airport on Tuesday 29th June. This week we are staying in Crowne Plaza Zurich in preparation for the Racer Bikes Cup in Engelberg. With plenty of good training as well as rest & relaxation its been great to be so well looked after. Looking forward to our next Crowne Plaza stay in Frankfurt.
Dan and I arrived in Champéry the week leading into the Racer Bikes Cup. We had the chance to get in some good practice laps and familiarise ourselves with the course. On Wednesday we had our first day on the course. At the start of our first lap we came across the technical section. After giving it a few goes, and several off’s including a face plant into a tree, I decided to move on. Feeling sore and sorry for myself I continued to check out the rest of the course. There were plenty of slippery roots and lots of windy single track with two steep climbs. A course that on a better day would probably suit me pretty well. Thursday I had a day of recovery to relax and re coup. On Friday we hit the course again and after a few goes on the techo section I had it covered and was ready to move onto the rest of the course, in a more positive manner. The whole track was pretty technical and after a few efforts on the climbs and going all out on the descents I felt I pretty much had it dialled.
Saturday came up pretty quickly and we rocked up in the morning to get in one last practice. The track was pretty busy with groups of young kids having some practice. After riding the whole lap quite well I was still feeling quite good. It wasn’t until the last descent I saw a stack of kids practicing a rooty section that I got nervous. I had done this section fine several times before but froze at the top and went straight over the handle bars. I got up and straight away thought that I had broken my middle finger. Not happy, I waited in the car while Dan cut another lap. I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon icing my finger and knee, hoping it would come good for the race.
Sunday morning we woke up to a pearler of a day, the sun was shining and the cow bells were going off. My finger was still sore but with a few more icings before the race it would be fine. I had a decent warm up with a bit of practice on the course to get into the swing of things and was ready for the start. I had a pretty good start and was in a good position through the start loop, but dropped a couple back on the big climb. At the end of the start loop I was in 8th. It was a hard course with little time to recover. I was riding well through the windy single track but seemed to be losing positions on the steep climb at the end of each lap. I had an incident free race which I was stoked about after a less than smooth run into the race. It was my best race so far on the trip as I kept at it and was completely spent by the finish. I was sitting in 3rd place in Under 23 for most of the race but was getting caught at a rapid pace and was passed with only the last steep climb to go. I finished 13th overall and 4th in Under 23’s against a strong Field. Marielle Saner-Guinchard won the race with Lene Byberg in second and Sabine Spitz in third. Top 20 in a C1 means UCI points!
The day was not over after my race though. The Elite Men started at 1:30pm and after a last minute mechanical Dan was on the start line riding my bike. With the seat post sticking out past maximum and 170mm cranks it was less than ideal. But my bike was in working order and that’s what counted. Dan had a great race and finished in 8th place with some brake fade towards the end of the race forcing him to run some descents, losing chunks of time where he didn’t need to.
Overall it was a great day for both of us and my bike definitely got a work out! This week we will be getting in a bit of training before moving camp a couple of hours to the Swiss/French border and then heading to Engelberg for another Racer Bikes Cup where we will be living it up in a Crowne Plaza Hotel!
-Visit Dan McConnell-
A big thanks to Shimano for looking after me so well over here at the World Cups. The support has been awesome and I can always rely on them having my bike in peak condition!!!
On Saturday afternoon Dan and I arrived at our new accommodation in Les Crosets. We were just settling down for the night when Dan saw on the internet there was a Swiss Racer Bike Cup on tomorrow. We plugged it into the GPS and discovered it was only a hour and a half away. Before we knew it, it was 7am Sunday morning and we were on our way.
My race was 4 laps and for the first time in my Europe racing I started on the front row which was a bit exciting. The race was pretty tough with howling winds and rain, I was feeling a little sorry for myself not having pre ridden the course before the start.
The course was a 6km lap, from the start you went up a solid tar climb that turned into single track by the top, once at the top you just had to hold on as the slippery roots and muddy corners made going extremely tough to keep speed. Once at the bottom you had to wind it up for the fast cornered fire road back to the start to do it all over again.
I was climbing ok but struggled to hold a good pace on the descents as I found myself walking many sections I probably should have ridden. I finished the race in 11th position and 4th Under 23.
Next weekend we race at another Swiss Racer Bike Cup in Champery so hopefully I can get some good training in this week.
-click the picture above for link to Racer Bikes Cup website-
We have now finished the first block of racing over here including the second and third World Cups and a German Bundesliga. Racing hasn’t quite been going to plan with a poor race in Houffalize for World Cup #2, I was pulled at the 80% with two laps to go. Heubach, the German race wasn’t much of an improvement either. With a good start on a tough course I was riding well but luck didn’t go my way. I got a rear flat halfway down the descent on lap two and a front flat at the top of the climb on lap 3. Another DNF…
I was still fairly motivated coming into the last World Cup of the trip at Offenburg. A course that should suit me with plenty of climbing and technical descending. Unfortunately during the week I managed to get a cold and spirits became low and I was feeling pretty rubbish. I got pulled at 80% with one lap remaining and came 78th.
After Offenburg the rest of the Aussies headed back home and Dan and I are now on our own. We are currently out in the sticks on the Black Forest having a bit of rest. We went to Europa Park, the biggest theme park in Germany and conquered the roller coasters. It was a great day out and a nice change from the bike.
Our next destination is Les Crosets, a 10km climb from our next race in Champery, Switzerland. Hopefully I can have a good race there as it is the location of next years World Championships.
The first World Cup of the 2010 series was held in Dalby Forest, Yorkshire, England.
Our trip was supposed to begin on Sunday 18th April but because of the Volcanic ash from Iceland flights were cancelled and we had basically ruled out racing the first World Cup and started making plans for the second in Houffalize, Belgium. On Wednesday afternoon we got a call to say we were flying out of Melbourne that night at 2am. It was a long day flying from Melbourne into London with two stop over’s and then having to find our own transport to Dalby Forest, approximately five hours from Heathrow Airport. We made it to our accommodation just before 5am on Thursday morning, had a couple of hours sleep and headed out to the course at 10am. Feeling surprisingly energetic we registered then did 3 laps of the course.
The course did not disappoint. It was one with several hard climbs, many exciting and challenging descents and not many places to recover. I was looking forward to the race although I knew it was going to be a tough one.
Sunday morning came round and I was feeling pretty good. After a warm up on the wind trainer I was at the start line ready to go, but not entirely sure what to expect. It was a five lap race so it was going to be a long one for me and I hoped to make the distance without being lapped by the leaders.
The gun went off and there was a crash within 10 seconds. I managed to avoid coming down but had to stop to get around several stopped riders. The pace was on from the start but got messy pretty quickly as we turned into the single track. After the start loop things seemed to settle a bit more and I started getting into a good rhythm. I wasn’t riding super quick but a solid pace I held for the duration of the race. The course was the type where it was very difficult to catch riders in the single track as everyone was going at a very similar pace. The only place to make up time was on the big climbs.
Throughout the race I was catching a few people every lap and was very happy not to blow up on the last two laps. I finished the race in 61st position and 17 minutes behind winner Irena Kalentieva. I am happy with my ride and it’s good to see where I am at. I’m looking forward to racing at Houffalize in Belgium next weekend and hope to make up a few more spots!
-Click the picture above for detailed results of the Elite Women’s Race-
