The course is quite simple, it climbs for just over 2 km, with extremely steep sections and then a super fast, technical, steep descent (also used in downhill races) with the course rounding out at 4km.

This course doesn’t suit me overly well and with 6 laps ahead of me it was going to be a long day.  Coming from World Cup races in Under 23 the race length that I have been training for is about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes.  Sometimes even less like the World Cup in Houffalize which was only 55 minutes!

I started the race quite fast to avoid traffic and about halfway up the climb I settled into my own rhythm and was riding alone.  I was riding the descent really well after having a few practice laps (and 2 shuttled runs) on the Friday.  By the time I reached the bottom I had caught a couple of riders and had a group to ride with on the climb.

Over the 6 laps I didn’t see too many riders, I had been passed by a couple of Swedish riders and also passed some others but in 1 hour 45 minutes of racing it almost seemed like I was the only one out there suffering.

It was a super tough race and I was really put to the test on the last lap.  I had barely begun the climb and another Swedish rider was catching me, this one was an Under 23 so it was important for me to know that I have some fight in me to hold position.

She caught up to me but didn’t make any moves.  She just sat there.  So with still about a kilometer of climbing left I started to wind the pace up.  She continued to sit behind me so I just went faster and faster (although I was hurting ALOT by this time) and sprinted into the single track descent.  I had held her off.

I worked really hard to ride fast and smooth over the whole descent and crossed the finish line as the 4th Under 23 and 18th Elite rider in a World Class field.

The weekend was predicted to be horrible conditions (freezing temperatures with snow…) so we were sure to pack every item of warm clothing that we owned.  We arrived on Friday at lunchtime so prior to checking into our accommodation we decided to grab a pizza for lunch.

Dan and I were both starving and this pizza did not disappoint.  Seeing as we were both so hungry we decided to get a large pizza each and when they came out they did not fit on the plate!  The things were massive.  (My arm span into a circle did not cover the circumference of the pizza!)

So after only half a pizza each and the rest into the doggy bag it was time to kit up to check out the race track and then later in the evening Dan was to race the Eliminator.  I had also signed up to race but with only 1 other entrant they decided to cancel the Women’s race.

I had a few practice laps on the Friday afternoon.  The track held up really well for the amount of rain that had fallen over the last week but there was certainly no shortage of roots!!!  It was a very technically demanding track and if you lost focus at any point you could easily lose contact with other riders and lose chunks of time.

I spent the evening being a spectator of the Eliminator and was really happy to see Dan finish 5^th (1^st in the small final) and Paul Vandy win.

Saturday was spent chilling in amazing sunshine that was only going to last for the day.  So we went for a short walk around the small town we were staying in and a recovery ride before the race.

I woke up Sunday morning to see that it had rained pretty heavily overnight.  Dan and I put the Rubena Kratos tyres on and sealed them up tubeless easily with a hand pump.

I kitted up with all the warm clothes I had and begun my warm up.  I was called up 2^nd row of the start grid and had a really good start.  I came through the start loop in the top 5 and held position over the first couple of kilometres.  It was when we hit the first main climb that the energy tanks already seemed like they were running on empty.

Over the race I just couldn’t find my rhythm.  The climbing was difficult including a running section and the descending was daunting with slippery roots absolutely everywhere.  I had a pretty big crash about mid race where I face planted the ground and my bike landed right on top of me but I wasn’t hurt.  (At the time I was searching for excuses to pull out.)  But I just couldn’t come up with any that were good enough to record my first DNF of the season…

The rain came down hard over the second half of the race so the track continued to get slipperier.  On the very last section of track on the last lap I decided I would take the B line into the finish straight as I had a few sketchy moments down the A line in the earlier laps.  This proved not to be the best decision as I had another big crash down the B line, which was still extremely steep.

So I finished the race pretty knocked around but still in 9^th place in a HC ranked race.  The time gaps over the field were big and mine was no exception but before I even finished lap 1 of 5 it was clear that my days mission was just to complete the race.  The positive news was that I was still the 3^rd Under 23 behind the girls who placed 1^st and 3^rd in the South African World Cup.

Dan had a good race and placed 7^th in the Elite Men in much nicer, sunnier conditions only hours later.  A really positive result which kept the car trip smiles on the way home!

Next weekend we will be racing BIKE THE ROCK in Heubach, Germany.  One of our favourite races to attend each year.   www.biketherock.de

View from the bedroom…

No photo can do justice to the view, and area we stayed in…

Dan was all smiles after the finish

My preparation for the race had been going super smoothly since arriving in Germany after the first World Cup in South Africa.  Training had been going great apart from a few cold and wet days and I was keen and excited to head to Houffalize on Tuesday.  It was about a week or so out that I started to hit a bumpy patch.

I had a few days in the week leading into the World Cup where I was feeling a little down and not as motivated as the weeks earlier.  I didn’t have a super smooth run into the World Cup with lots of little things not quite falling into place and only managed to get a few practice laps in.  All of my practice laps were solo too as Dan was racing a day later our programs didn’t allow for any time on course together.

On Friday morning I woke got out on course for one last look.  I regained total focus towards that race and had a good lap and was not happy and confident with the lines I had chosen.

On Friday night as I was nodding off to sleep I thought to myself… I AM going to get an Under 23 World Cup podium…  It’s just whether it’s 2012 or 2013…

On Saturday morning (race day) Dan and I headed out early so Dan could get his practice laps in before my race.  I sat in the car for an hour before beginning my warm up.  It was FREEZING!  1 degree as we drove out to the track from our accommodation.  It wasn’t actually until the last lap of the race that I started to have feeling again in my feet.  They were numb.

I started my warm up at 10:15am for an 11:30am start.  Unfortunately my warm up was cut quite a bit short when they forced us into our start boxes not long after 11am.  Unlike most of the girls I didn’t have a wind trainer to keep the legs turning while in the start box so after waiting nearly half an hour just standing still it was almost pointless warming up at all…

I was called to the front row which is always a privilege.  The goal today was a top 5 position but with the preparation I had I certainly didn’t have the confidence backing me.

Easter was last weekend and Dan and I fought hard to have discipline against chocolate so Dan and I made a bet…If I got a top 5 at the World Cup then he would buy me 30 Euro worth of chocolate…

The start gun went off and I was quick off the line but missed my pedal to clip in and started to get boxed in a little bit.  The start loop was one big steep climb and then continued onto the course about a third of the way in.

Halfway up the start climb (commonly referred to as a wall) I started to lose positions.  I was desperate to get a top 5 position but I was unable to hold any of the wheels that were riding past me.  As we crested the top of the climb I thought to myself ‘well, there goes my top 5…’ but kept on pushing hard.

I can’t actually recall a whole lot of what happened in the race.  I thought I was having a shocker early on but I seemed to be passing riders without even realising it.  Before we even finished the start loop I was on a descent following four riders and all together they managed to crash… off the track, so I rode straight through them with a clear track ahead.

It was about halfway through the last lap that one of the Elite Kiwi riders yelled out to me “you’re in 5^th’ and that’s when I realised I was having a good day…  I could see fourth place just ahead of me and by the time I got to the top of the climb I had caught her.  There was a roaring headwind so I thought I would tuck in behind her for a minute but I was on a mission by now and wanted to go faster.

I made the pass on our last time through the duel feed zone and heard Dan say that I was in 4^th only 25 seconds from the leaders.  I kept my head down and pushed on, but the only thought that was really going through my head was disbelief that I had ridden into the top 5.  I didn’t even care if one more rider passed me, so long as I kept my top 5 position.

With about a quarter of a lap go I gained sight of the third place rider.  I had seen all race that she was quite a bit in front of me and she had led the race for quite a while.  Obviously suffering from pushing the pace at the front I saw the opportunity and put all my energy into the pedals.  I caught her quickly without too much effort and seemed to be gaining on second place.  I rode as quick as I could and on the very last climb had her so close, but the climb wasn’t quite long enough and as I descended into the finish I couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face if I tried!  The feeling was unbelievable, like no other!  The very last thing I was expecting that morning was to be standing on the podium of a World Cup only hours later and to be only 24 seconds behind the winner is an enormous improvement!

I have really been working hard in training over the last few weeks, trying to do everything right on and off the bike so a podium in a World Cup is the best reward I could have asked for.

I would like to thank each and every person for their support and helping me reach this milestone in my Mountain Biking career.  While nothing really went perfectly for me over the weekend it’s always great to know I can rely on the greatest support and best equipment!

Photo by Alfons Benz

Photo by Alfons Benz

Photo by Alfons Benz

Photo by Canadiancyclist.com

Photo by Canadiancyclist.com

Photo by Alfons Benz

Photo by Canadiancyclist.com

Photo by Alfons Benz

Photo by Dan McConnell

Tomorrow we will head out to the course to check out what the track has to offer for 2012.  Last year we raced here very early in the trip and I have fond memories of my 2nd Place.  Training has been going well lately, while it has been extremely cold and quite often raining at our base in Germany I have still been able to go out and get the efforts done so I am looking forward to putting in a solid race this weekend.

All the information on the race can be found on this website: http://www.houffalize-mtb.be/ including a video of the course.

My race is on Saturday at 11:30 am [7:30pm AEST] and On Sunday are the Elite Cross Country races which can be watched live on redbull.tv.  The Eliminator will also be showed live on the Friday at 6:20pm [2:20am AEST] but will be worth staying up for with Aussie Paul Van Der Ploeg looking to take out another Eliminator!

The weather is not looking overly promising…

Outside of MTB news Dan and I are fully settled into our place in Germany and have been riding with our Swiss mates Kathrin and Matthias Stirnemann who have showed us a few new places around town.

We have also finally successfully picked up our new car which has got us safely to Belgium.  Photos to come on picasaweb.google.com/rebeccahenderson91

Wish us luck and don’t forget to watch the Elite races on redbull.tv and check back here for a race report at the end of the weekend.

Until then….

Due to some minor setbacks with the purchase of our car it meant that we had to travel to the race in a little Toyota Yaris which was not in a good way.  The thing struggled to sit on 100km/h and the speakers were basically blown out, but it had character so we drove it with pride down to Buchs.  (which was luckily only 2 hours away).

Arriving into Buch’s we were amazed by the beautiful scenery.  There were huge mountains completely surrounding the place, most covered in snow!  We kitted up and set out for some practice laps.  The course was more challenging than anticipated and was just one big long climb for slightly over 2 kilometres.  The only thing breaking up the climb was the change in gradient.  It would go from steep, to incredibly steep and then back to steep again before reaching the top.  From the top you would then descend down a violently bumpy and rough fire road (hang on for your life and hope like hell you don’t get a flat!) and then into a couple of little technical sections before looping through the race village to head out for the next lap.

For my race we had 6 laps and I knew it was going to be important to ride conservatively and consistently.  I started well straight out of the gun and it was nice not having to play catch up to chase the leaders.  I settled into my rhythm and could already see some of the riders ahead of me starting to pop.  I caught a couple of girls by the top but they descended away from me into the finish.

Unfortunately for me super fast descents are not my strength so I found myself losing a bit too much time and being forced to work a little harder on the climb.

On the second lap I caught the two girls again and this time put a few seconds into them before the top.  I thought, there is no way they can catch me this time.  But by halfway down the descent I was sprinting to stay in contact with them.  I didn’t.

On the third lap only one of the girls was in sight now and this time I wasn’t catching up.  During the race I thought that on the third lap I lost a chunk of time but my lap times were all quite consistent so the girls ahead had obviously lifted the pace.

The fourth, fifth and sixth laps were all quite similar.  I held a good pace and pushed all the way to the top of the hill every time.  I had a pretty good idea that I was leading the Under 23 category but was not sure where I was in Elite.

At the top of the climb for the last time I thought to myself, now just be careful not to flat or do anything stupid as that is the only way I can lose positions now before the finish.  Conservative was obviously not the approach I needed to take as it was about a kilometre before the finish and I saw a rider chasing me down, I could see she was desperate and she was pushing hard.  I also saw that she was another Under 23 so I was forced to sprint the last kilometre of the race, watching my back.  I crossed the line just three seconds ahead of her to take 7^th Elite and 1^st Under 23.  My first win in Europe!!!

I am really happy with how my form is progressing, I have been training hard and will be working specifically on punchy, steep climbing in preparation for the next World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium in 2 weeks time.  Since the World Cup in Pietermaritzburg we have been in a training phase so it’s a good feeling to be able to have a strong race without going into it fresh.

Thanks to Dan for his support and for taking care of my training, my family for all of their ongoing support (and especially for organizing our Trek Madone’s to be shipped over), Rich and the Peil’s from Anytime Fitness, Pete Dowse for all of his work behind the scenes, Trek, Shimano and CCS Facilities Maintenance.  Also a huge thankyou to Rubena tyres for getting us some new rubber in time for the race and TORQ Nutrition for all of the product which arrived today.

All of the support is much appreciated!

Things are going smoothly and we have settled into our new home for the upcoming months until September.  Our home is a small apartment in Bad Sackingen, just on the German side of the Rhine River bordering Switzerland.  The training is great with unlimited road climbing kilometers and we are just starting to discover some awesome single tracks.

We are currently on the Swiss Austrian border doing a BMC Racing Cup.  The first of the Swiss series in 2012.  We did a couple of practice laps today, and while the course is quite boring it is going to be incredibly tough racing.  The course is about 4 km long and starts with one long and steep climb of about 2km gaining approximately 220 vertical meters followed by a steep but boring and bumpy open fire road descent into the finish.

below are the start lists for the Elite Men and Women’s races.

I will try to post as soon as possible after the race with a report and results but with limited internet access it may not be immediately!

Apart from the racing and training we are enjoying the beautiful town that we are living in and the surrounding towns.  On Tuesday Dan and I will pick up the new Car we have purchased which is a Volkswagen Passat!  (One we couldn’t afford in Oz)…  Pictures will feature in my picasa album picasaweb.google.com/rebeccahenderson91 along with photos from Oceania’s and a couple more once we get the internet sorted.

Until then.

http://my2.raceresult.com/details/list.php?eventid=8618&lang=de&page=7&contest=0&name=ys%20your-sports%7CR01%20TN%20Buchs&search=&presort=&format=pdf

I have raced in Pietermaritzburg twice before, both last year.  The first race I did was a complete mud bath and the course did not hold up too well in the wet.  The second was last years World Cup which was dry but unfortunately I didn’t have a great day but still finished in the top 10.

Pietermaritzburg won the rights to hold the 2013 MTB World Championships so had put a lot of work into the venue over the last 12 months making plenty of course improvements.  The track had changed quite a lot with a few ‘junk miles’ taken out.  It was now either climbing or descending or negotiating intimidating technical sections.  The course was a bit less than 5km with approximately 230 meters of vertical gain per lap.

Our travel to South Africa went relatively smooth, mostly thanks to Lach Norris and his gold status at Qantas.  We arrived in the tiny Pietermaritzburg airport on Monday night and after finding our way without a map or GPS we made it to our accommodation (in the dark).   On Tuesday we rolled into Cascades MTB park intending on a big day on course to be sent home with the track closed all day.  We did a spin out on the road and headed back to our accommodation with a change of plan.  We would do a big day on course on Wednesday.

Unfortunately this didn’t go too smoothly either as there was a mix up with both Dan and my entries and we were not on the list.  Luckily we were able to get it sorted and had just enough time to do two laps of the course.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely intimidated and slightly disheartened after riding the first lap.  The course seemed unachievable to me and also very broken up as I had to stop so many times to scope out the technical sections.  It took about an hour for Dan and I to get around for the first lap.

Things did get better on the second lap and I was able to get down all of the ‘A’ lines on the technical sections.  (Thanks to Dan’s persistence and patience with me).

Race day came around really quickly and my preparation had gone well, I only felt that I could have used a few extra practice laps through the week as I only managed to get a total of 4 laps in before the race.

Dan left the accommodation at about midday for a 2pm start so I was left to relax by myself for a couple of hours as I had a late start at 4:30pm.  I stayed pretty chilled and watched an NCIS while enjoying my pre race pasta meal and headed out to the course in time to see Dan’s last couple of laps before beginning my warm up.

The atmosphere was unbelievable.  The South African’s were out in force to cheer Burry Stander on and Dan was riding in the top 30!  Trying not to get too excited I cheered him on and was excited to see Dan cross the line in 24^th position.  His best ever world Cup result and 28 spots in front of the next Aussie so a huge confidence booster and a foot in the Olympic Village door!!

No more than 5 minutes after Dan crossed the line and the clouds that had been hanging around for the afternoon decided it was time to pour rain all over us.  It thunder stormed for the hour before my race while I was warming up and the whole time I was racing.

UCI decided to close all the A lines on course adding minutes to the laps times but definitely a safety precaution I supported.  With one of the main A lines being a log feature it would be almost impossible to ride and all of the rock gardens would be extremely slippery.

Our race distance was also shortened to three laps rather than four as they were predicting long lap times with such conditions.

I started the race quite hard and was surprised when I was sitting in the front group and apart from one girl who had ridden ahead I was feeling comfortable with the speed at the front of the race.  As the race split up I always had a couple of riders in sight and continued to chase them for the whole race.  The descents were scary and super slippery, it was like riding on wet tiles and I was struggling to go fast enough.  I was climbing well and wished there was more climbing included but am quite hopeless at descending once the tracks get muddy.  (Possibly something to do with coming from dry Australia).

I was super happy to cross the finish line in 6^th place after making a possibly hilarious over taking manoeuvre with only a few hundred meters to go.  I had been chasing a Swiss girl for the whole race and had worked so hard on the descent into the finish and on the last part of it we all had to run because it was so steep and slippery to ride.  I decided it was all or nothing and somehow managed to run past her, jump on my bike and sprint into the finish.

6^th is my best result in a World Cup so far but I feel that I can improve on that result at the next round in Houffalize in four weeks time.  Between now and then I will be training hard working on maintaining my strength and will also be doing one Swiss race in Buchs.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me to be able to travel the World racing my bike.  It really would be impossible without my amazing support network!!!  Next stop is our base in Germany where we will hopefully be able to settle, and maybe even unpack our bags for a little while.  I can’t wait!

The Kiwi’s put on a great course with some really fun and flowing single tracks and a tricky rock garden which was popular among the spectators.

I had good preparation before the race practicing plenty of laps and getting the course pretty dialled.  Again I chose to ride my Trek Superfly with my new Terralogic FOX Forks which was the best possible set up for the course.  With the big wheels more forgiving than the 26” wheels the technical rock garden was made just that bit easier to ride and the Terralogic forks were incredibly efficient over the constantly changing gradient.

We started the race in a small field and my main competition was always going to be New Zealand rider Samara Sheppard who has challenged me over the last couple of years in both Oceanias and World Cups.

She put the pressure on straight away up the first climb up towards the first single track and I just managed to sneak in front as it narrowed.  I tried to ride fast but efficient and not waste any energy.  Samara held my wheel and wouldn’t drop off at all.  I surged a little and she held the wheel, I felt threatened and like I was going to be in for a very tough day.

As we neared towards the end of the lap I entered into the rock garden and Samara took the ‘B’ line so I opened up a small margin.  Up the open climb I tried to ride within my limits and not go into the red zone.  I knew Samara may catch me again but would spend a lot more energy than me.

I came around a U turn to see Samara only a couple of seconds behind.  I stayed focused and opened up a good margin over the rest of the lap.  I kept it smooth and pushed hard throughout the last couple of laps and by the finish won by over 3 minutes.  I couldn’t be happier and to top off the weekend not only were my times comparable to the Aussie Elite girls but Dan took out the Elite Men’s race.

Straight after the race on Saturday Dan and I had to pack up our bike, grab dinner and be up by 3:30am to drive to Auckland airport to be on our way to South Africa for Round 1 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

Thanks to Dad, Dan and all of the boys for their support – particularly vocally over the weekend and all of my awesome sponsors who make sure I am always on the best and most reliable equipment!

My preparation for the event had gone smoothly and the biggest challenge I would face over the weekend was the heat.  Ever since I have been racing, even when I was a cross country runner through school I have struggled with heat.

I had plenty of practice on course in the week leading up to Nationals and had decided to ride my Trek Superfly 29” bike over my Trek 9.9 Elite 26”.

Race day came around super quickly and after a good warm up and plenty of hydration I was on the start line ready to go.

Richard Peil from Anytime Fitness had set the challenge to me.  If I could finish my race ahead of the whole Elite Women’s field there would be a generous cash bonus waiting for me when I crossed the line.  Being in the Under 23’s still I had 1 lap less than the Elite Women but Rich was still keen for me to perform and compete with the best!

Our Under 23 race started a few meters behind the Elite field but on the same gun.  This meant that for me to get to the front I had to find my way through all of the Elite Women.  Feeling good I managed to weave through most of the girls and by the top of the climb I was in third wheel.  With a sneaky line I managed to duck into the first single track in front with Jenni King on my wheel.

I tried to ride quickly and efficiently without spending too much energy.  I felt I was riding well but also knew Jenni was on good form and wasn’t going to let anyone get away.  Three of us came into the start/finish line together.

As soon as it opened up Jenni decided it was time for her to put the power down and accelerated away from me on the climb.  I was already starting to feel fatigued even though I had tried to ride within my limits and decided I would ride at my own pace rather than chase.

I kept the pressure on the pedals for the rest of the race and battled my way around the course to finish the race and win my third Under 23 National Championship.

While I was a little disappointed that my race hadn’t gone perfectly I was still super happy to be presented with the Australian Champions jersey again!

After a quick drug test post race it was time to watch the Elite Men.  It was a super exciting race with team mate and boyfriend Dan McConnell taking the win!

Saturday night we went out for dinner and ice cream with the Anytime Fitness team and then jumped into bed ready for the Short Course the next day.

Short Course has always been an event I have loved racing in.  While the pain is excruciating, it is over and done with in about 20 minutes.  Short Course is the best form of racing for spectators, it is fast, full of action, and the course is generally about 1km long so you can see the whole course from any point.

I have always been competitive with the Elite Women in the short course, often even more so than the cross country as I have not had the strength and endurance to last the full cross country distance.

Once of my best Short Course results at a National Championship was in 2007 at Stromlo, I was an Under 17 and placed 4^th.  Last year I had several 2^nd places National level events but have never been able to win one.  Rowena Fry has always been there to stop me!

Today was a little cooler than yesterday and the sun was hiding behind the clouds.  We had 15 minutes + 3 laps of the fast course.  I started fast and pulled in 2^nd wheel into the single track behind the biggest threat in the race – Rowena Fry.  We were riding quick but the pace wasn’t too hot and there was a train of riders behind us.  I decided to sit in for the early part of the race and conserve energy.

After a few laps I decided I would put in an attack and see how the other girls would react.  Katherine O’Shea was straight on my wheel so after a lap I sat up a little and let her move to the front.  Row Fry was just hanging off the back of us and I knew she was still well and truly in the race.

A few laps later Row caught us and I decided I would wait patiently and follow any moves but not make any.

The race was nearing the end and the three of us were still together.  A couple of corners before the finish line with 3 laps to go I decided it was time to make my move.  Row also had a similar idea and tried to pass Katherine on the inside of the corner.  Knowing the corner was quite wide I decided that I would accelerate hard and try and pass them through the outside of the corner and hold the speed, while they would be breaking.  It worked!

I hit the front with 2 laps to go and looked behind on the open start finish straight.  They hadn’t come around the corner yet and I had a good gap.  I went hard and pushed all the way to the finish.  It’s safe to say I left everything I had on the track but had come away with my first Short Course win, at the National Championships.  I couldn’t be happier!

Overall it was a successful weekend of racing for myself and for the team.  Thanks to everyone who has supported me.  It’s now time to put the feet up for a week before getting stuck into some serious packing for the Oceania Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand followed by the first World Cup in South Africa and then beginning the 6 months of racing in Europe!