When the seasons meet...

This weekend was a busy race weekend for a number of the Naked Bikes / Hai Bike / Impsport team, despite it still only being January.

Rich and Josh were wrapping up their CX seasons at the final NDCXL round in Broxtowe, while over in the east, Nick T, Nick P and Ross were enjoying some MTB action in the Thetford Winter Series.

In the vets race, Rich managed to dodge the rain and take 7th place on a very muddy course, whilst Josh braved apocalyptic hail and storms in the Juniors, racing with (and through!) the Seniors to take 1st Junior, and 8th overall

Josh: "Saturdays course was a mud bath, last race of the season. A proper epic. Thunder and lightning on the start line - certainly didn't feel like lighting in my legs. 10 minutes in the hail came, pounding and punishing all riders brave enough to venture up Everest to the start line. A fast start put me into 3rd and I drifted back into a position I could hold. Slogging through the depths of mud , running up the clay climbs that felt like ice. Course was an epic, conditions next to none and never repeatable. There's something about standing in a van frozen solid after a race thawing the iced mud on my whole body that makes cyclocross the sport it is. I'll miss that in the summer!"

Swap! (Photo thanks to Ian Nutt)

(Photo thanks to Ian Nutt)

Rich, with decidedly cleaner kit than Josh!

Over at Thetford, Nick P, Nick T and Ross delivered the goods on the MTBs. Ross took 3rd Junior, Nick P took 4th in the 2hr Vet, while Nick T slipped from a top ten position in the 4hr Vets after a mechanical forced him to abandon.


Nick T: "Always a bit of a risk racing first time on a new bike without much time to break it in and tease out any issues, but I was happy to take the risk. 
Conditions were unusually wet /cold for Thetford. In all the years I've raced there, whatever the season, the weather has always been good to me! I was gridded on the second row, but with a rolling lead out start there was no stress. Everything started well, coming through lap 1 in 7th place, then lap 2 in 6th place. Lap 3 is where the problems started. At first I thought the saddle had moved on its clamp, but then it's deck dropped to right with a crunch. Never a good sign on a carbon saddle. I carried on in hope it would hold out, but with only an hour and a half on the clock I felt a little deflated. I spent as much time out if the saddle as possible to ease the stress on it, but inevitably I knew it was game over by end of lap 3.
It not like me to climb off. It's something I 'don't do'. But no seat, no choice!
Saddle back to the shop for warranty replacement and eyes down for round 4 at Thetford 23rd Feb. Enough said! "

We're happy to report that Mr Towers' softer parts stayed free of stray saddle shards!

Nick T, before saddle incident!

Ross: I had a good start and led out the 25 (ish) riders in my race. Paddy Atkinson who won last time came past me at lightning speed and I knew I couldn't go with him for the whole race because he maintained that pace at the last round. I sat in a group of 3 for most of the race in 2nd, 3rd and 4th position. On the last lap, I upped the pace to see what they had in their legs and one was dropped out the back straight away. I kept the pace going and the other one backed off too and left me riding in 2nd place on my own. By this point I had nothing at all left in my legs and was just trying get to the finish line, with 5 minutes till the finish my old team mate Ben Morris came by me looking really strong for the end of a 2 hour race and I couldn't do anything about it so I finished 3rd. My legs were aching so much after the race that I couldn't even bend down to take my cycling shoes off! I know for next time that shorts are not good for 2 hour races in January!

CX...not done yet!

Despite the fact that the CX Nationals are behind us, and some regional leagues have actually inished, Naked Bikes / Hai Bike / Impsport riders are still out there in the cold and wet, racing CX.

This weekend saw Josh and Rich in action at Chetwynd Barracks in Nottingham, for Round 14 of the NDCXL.

The course was one of the toughest of the season, with a lot of climbs and some tough muddy sections, but this was balanced out by the great descents and technical features.

Both Josh and Rich pulled good performances out of the bag.

Josh took first place junior, and despite starting a minute back on the seniors, rode through their field to take a superb 8th overall as well.

Josh: "Saturdays race was a revival of hope for me, after technical problems at the National Championships the weekend before ended my national series on a low. I carried the form I had into this weekend and it paid off, winning the junior and finishing 8th senior from a minute behind. A good day out racing. "

Rich started well in the Vets, leading the field for most of the first lap, and ended up taking 4th vet.

Rich: "I didn't think I'd have much in me today, so was rather surprised to end up leading for a while. I couldn't hold the pace required to stay away though, and slipped back to third. Riding into a back marker cost me that place, but I was pleased overall with 4th - my best result all season."

Yes, skinnier AND paler as the CX season progresses....(Photo courtesy Mr Kong)

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.