Nick T was stretching his MTB legs in the Lake District at the Whinlatter Challenge, and Matt was winding his legs up into sprint mode on the road bike at Darley Moor
Matt:
Darley moor was a last minute race as I'd had a stinking cold all week and didn't want to do two hrs in the car to a race .
I got to the race late and was a little disorganised but after no warm up I went to the front and put a small dig inand got away with two chaps - that only lasted two laps as one chap took me off the tarmac and I ended up in the grass! So, I regrouped and sat on for five minutes to recover.
Soon after that a 6 man break had formed and we had 15 secs. This looked like a strong break so I hit the gas and bridged the gap on my own - now the race was on! We were 5-strong now and working well for the next 40 mins we road hard into the wind and got a good gap, so it was down to a sprint finish to the line. My legs felt ok but when I hit the gas to the finish the other lads seemed to have the edge - that jump was just missing. Still, I got 4th on the day and I rode hard in the break so I was happy with that.
Next race is the National MTB round one on the new haibike, so wish me luck;-)
Nick T:
I remember a slow but intense build up of nerves as I approached my first race of the 2013 season. It wasn't pleasant and it was fuelled by taking a complete break from any kind of racing over the winter. That in itself was a trial to see if the break would see me mentally fresh and properly rested/trained. I was rested and trained, though mentally it didn't work very well. I spent all winter feeling I was missing out (on the winter race scene) and lack of race practice had the demons come to life. Somewhat ridiculous for a mid-ranking amateur Vet, but I do treat my racing seriously.
2014 was different. I completed the Thetford Winter Series 4hr races. Finished an 'ok' 7th, but didn't let the events get in the way of any winter work either on or off the bike. In other words strip off the layers of fitness built over the previous season, lay down a good foundation of base miles and get the running and gym shoes out. What I did find from all this was quite simple really. Apart from a couple of extra recovery days, post race, I kept on training schedule, had great fun doing the odd race for fun (of sorts!), didn't get out of the race day routine and most importantly for me, didn't stress my head of its neck about 'first race of the season'.
Prologue complete, let's talk Whinlatter. Clearly not a real race, it being a challenge..........wrong! Checking out the Elite start wave entry list it seemed pretty clear that a good number of quality Vets were treating this as race 1 for the season and possibly using it as race prep for the National Marathon Champs in early May. Racers from all over the UK in fact. I knew I wouldn't be anywhere near the top 5. I try and give myself a couple of targets for each race.........Best possible (for me) and minimum to achieve. So for this I think I'm on record as 'Top 10 Vet' and off record 'just outside top 10 Vet'.
2014 was different. I completed the Thetford Winter Series 4hr races. Finished an 'ok' 7th, but didn't let the events get in the way of any winter work either on or off the bike. In other words strip off the layers of fitness built over the previous season, lay down a good foundation of base miles and get the running and gym shoes out. What I did find from all this was quite simple really. Apart from a couple of extra recovery days, post race, I kept on training schedule, had great fun doing the odd race for fun (of sorts!), didn't get out of the race day routine and most importantly for me, didn't stress my head of its neck about 'first race of the season'.
Prologue complete, let's talk Whinlatter. Clearly not a real race, it being a challenge..........wrong! Checking out the Elite start wave entry list it seemed pretty clear that a good number of quality Vets were treating this as race 1 for the season and possibly using it as race prep for the National Marathon Champs in early May. Racers from all over the UK in fact. I knew I wouldn't be anywhere near the top 5. I try and give myself a couple of targets for each race.........Best possible (for me) and minimum to achieve. So for this I think I'm on record as 'Top 10 Vet' and off record 'just outside top 10 Vet'.
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| Nick and Haibike Greed in action |
Down to business then...
I knew the course was hilly - 3 laps of 11 miles with about 600m climbing every lap, but it was a few years since I'd been up there, so wasn't 100% on the course. I'm no skinny climber when I look in the mirror. I see more chimp than gibbon I suppose? I knew it would be tough. 3 hours or so on the gas climbing or super focused on the trail centre descents. I wasn't wrong, but good winter training seemed to be paying off as the pack I was in surged forward at the gun (some bloke shouting GO!) and settled into the first lap. I rode pretty much to my HR plan each lap and to be honest, enjoyed the long steady the climbs up the fire roads as much as the swooping singletrack descents. Most unlike me. Maybe there is a gibbon just below the surface? I stayed in a small group of 5 riders for the first 2 laps, a bit of to'ing and fro'ing, but no dramatic splits to speak of. By lap 3 one guy on a single speed took off, but I knew how strong he was and didn't think I could go with him, so I didn't. Another racer dropped off the pace. Possibly playing it too safely, I stayed as a trio until the last long climb. It was here I hoped to push on. I did and it worked. One guy didn't react at all, the other started to but then sat back down. I carried on in and out of the saddle to the top and fortunately lost sight of both of them by the time I topped out. One was a vet, the other senior. One place gained at least for my efforts. The run in of about 3km was mainly trail centre descending with a 200m 25% gravel climb up to the final drop in to the finish line. Lots of fun for the final time, even the came out! At the base of the gravelly ramp I could see another elite wave starter 30m or so in front, he looked tired, but too young to be a vet. I sort of set myself the target of catching him, but being pretty sure he wasn't a vet and being tired myself I didn't go up with additional conviction. My mistake really. More hunger please! I did catch his wheel by the top, but such was the techy, steep and tight nature of the final drop in I couldn't really find the opportunity to get past. 2 seconds on the clock all done and he wasn't a Vet.......Luckily. 12th Vet. Happy? Fitness yes. Climbing ability - getting there!
Result? Push harder for longer and treat everyone as opposition!
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