Secret Training Camp....

Despite his efforts to keep his winter training top secret, a spy shot of team rider Chris has surfaced from his 'training camp' in Spain.
He's refusing to go into detail about the actual format of the camp, but was heard to mumble the words 'Paella' and 'Red Wine'.....

"Yeah, it's ideal for my Vuelta training plans....."

Working off the Turkey...

While most people were finishing off the turkey leftovers and trying to figure out where the batteries went in another electronic device, the Naked Bikes / Haibike / Impsport team were on the road again this weekend.

Round 13 of the NDCXL was at Bakewell, a late change of venue. Preliminary course inspection on foot prompted the standard flippers / snorkel comments!

Wetter than the proverbial otter's pocket!

 

The course consisted of a large amount of flat, muddy, sports pitch type action, but was livened up with the addition of a large, steep hill to climb up then immediately blast down.

Rich: "The course looked awful but was actually great fun. I rode on my own for nearly all the race, and was pleasantly surprised to take 9th Vet overall - especially since Nick Craig was on the front row of the grid. Not getting lapped by him was a bonus!"


Grr!




He's not pushing, he's just remounting!

Josh and Ross both raced in the Juniors race at 2.30, by which point the course looked even harder. Josh claimed 2nd place, and Ross took 5th.

It's not Christmas just yet....!

Despite it being the season for office parties, mince pies and a general 'wind-down' you can rely on the Naked Bikes/Haibike/Impsport team to still be out there racing. (OK, one of us!)

Rich flew the team flag up at Sherwood Pines for Round 12 of the NDCXL season this weekend. A surprisingly dry course saw the pace high, once the confusions about the course at the start were cleared up.

Rich: "I had a good second row start, and we all took off up the fire-road. Amusingly the front row all turned the wrong way at a corner when they should have gone straight on. In the resulting confusion I ended up about 5th for a short while. A quick clash of wheels put paid to that though, and a quick slam into the mud saw me drop loads of places. I fought back through the field fairly steadily though, and was happy enough with 10th V40, 14th Vet overall."




Midlands CX Championships

Sunday saw the Midlands CX Championships at Hardwick Hall near Chesterfield, and a course that looked deceptively tame - that is until you rode it!

Flying the flag for Naked Bikes/Haibike/Impsport were Rich and Nick Popham in the Vets, and Josh Walling in the Juniors

Nick and Rich had a protracted battle for most of the race, eventually taking 16th and 17th Vet respectively (10th and 11th V40), whilst Josh was the hero of the day with a superb 2nd position in the Juniors!

There's a superb film of the race here

Josh:  Sunday race was terror on a field. Sat in a box for the entirety of the race, if you can call it a race. Pan flat power course with a short technical section didn't suit me at all but was fast and enjoyable. Race was incredibly bumpy but was enjoyable. I rode strong at the start sitting first into the bottleneck. Jack Ravenscroft powered past and wasn't seen again all race. I sat off the front of the main group for around 2 laps then sat up and recovered when I saw there were two away. Both riders passed me but I stayed strong and recovered. Last lap bell went and I attacked to get back on, carried speed past them and cracked the rider sitting 4th place. I knew that I'd made podium at this point but knew I would fight for second. The rider sat 3rd (Arthur Green) is a national level rider and I knew he was strong. I kept digging at him to test his strength. Last few corners were a group of hair pins, we both fought for position as it was the only real passing point left in the lap. Arthur took me on the second corner, I took the position back on the third an attacked to the finish.

Josh - 2nd Junior, AND he rode the tricky bits! (Photo thanks to Ian Nutt)

Rich: The course was a mixture of strength-sapping flats, with one off-camber muddy section that had a lot of people trying to make the ride / run decision. I think Nick lost his chain on that section in the first lap and I snuck past him. Just managed to hold him at bay until the last lap, when I lost my chain in the same place, and he took advantage. Great race, and good fun racing againt a team-mate!

Rich tries to escape from Nick P! - (Photo thanks to Ian Nutt)

Nick P: My last race of cross this season the Champs and I brought my whole family this time for full support, with my 3yr old shouting 'go daddy!'Being gridded 8th was a bonus and after a 'next 30 seconds' start we were off! I settled into 7th overall and started to get into pace . I had not done a pre lap this time out of choice so first lap managing the bomb hole my chain came off and it took a bit of time to get back on. Taking it high then riding straight across to the other side did the job for future laps. The pace was high - Rich joined me and we pushed each other round, I got past him on the last straight then he did the same so I went for the corner and kept pace up through the woods to the sprint finish and it was all over 10th and 11th in out cats - top job team!

Nick chases down Jason Marriot from the Bolsover!

Winter Series continues...

A break in the CX calendar for the team coincided well with more MTB action from the Thetford Winter Series, with Nick Towers, Nick Popham and Ross Marriott making the journey eastwards for some action.

Nick T took 7th in the 4hr Vet race, Nick Popham 5th in the 2hr Vet race, and Ross managed a superb 2nd place in the 2hr Junior men.

Ross: I was happy with 2nd in my first ever two hour race. It was good to get a change from the 40 minute British Cycling races I was racing as an U16 last year! I had a good start and was 1st into the first corner but I backed off going into the first bit of singletrack, and the rider that finished in first place attacked and I never saw him again during the race. For the first 3/4 of a lap I rode with another junior rider, but then he attacked on a long fire road. I then rode on my own until catching the 2nd place junior on the start of ,y 4th and final lap, and I managed to open the gap up to 5 minutes before I finished,

Is there a shutter speed fast enough for Towers!?

Nick T: 7th place in the 4hr vets to go alongside 7th for R1 last month. Yes, I started a little too hard and took longer than I'd have liked to settle in, but overall my performance was where it needed to be for this time of year. No complaints then!

Nick P: After the 3 hr drive it was great to get out the car , 9am and the atmosphere was true MTB racing. Quick nip down to sign on which is nice and easy then back to the car for warm up - a good 20min to blow the 2 dgree temp away. At 2.30 we went down and started to line up and get our gridding just behind the seniors & young lads. At 2.40 we were off with a massive sprint up a long hill. I sat 4th behind Antony White and we all sat together for the first lap. On the long stretch I pushed for the front and led the race for 1/2 a lap (nice - enjoyed that!) then backed off behind Ant again so as to not over do it. 2nd lap one of the seniors took off and that started to split us up. I missed my pit man so had to do without a bottle but a senior shared his - top man! Pushed hard on 3rd and 4th lap felt strong , we had been told last lap so I was on it pushing all the way to the finish. Great to be back on the mountain bike race circuit.