BCXC Round 1

You know the MTB season's really kicked off when the first NPS round rolls around....

This year things began in Essex, and the Naked Bikes Haibike Impsport team were well represented, with Matt, Nick P, Josh and Ross in action.

Star of the weekend was Matt, who decided to prove exactly what he could do on his new Haibike Greed!

Matt storming to 2nd in Masters

Matt:

"The first round of the national mountain bike series was in Braintree Essex. I hadn't raced at national level for 2 years and I was quite nervous. My category for the day was masters so that's 30-39 year olds, being 38 there was a lot of younger riders in my category.
I was gridded near the back because I hadn't raced for a while so I had a lot of work to do. The race started on a grassy climb, so my idea was to ride on the outer rough edge where no one else was riding and hope to get past them all, luckily this paid off and I was in first place a minute into the race.
The first lap in I had one other rider for company but I decided to attack on a long climb on the back end of the course and got a good gap, over the next few laps I was out on my own riding my own race but on the last lap another rider caught me up and we just spent the last lap upping the pace trying to gap each other. In the end it came down to a sprint and I was on his rear wheel and became boxed in between him and the barriers. I took 2nd place but that's bike racing anything can happen and I had a great day out.
My new 29er Haibike Greed rode really well on a fast course I am surprised by how well a big wheel bike handled through the technical sections "

Josh (looking at his stem? :))

Josh:

"First round of the national points series this weekend was a lightning fast course, tough transitions with semi technical aspects. Race as a whole was definitely an eye-opener to the series. Top three riders rode off from the beginning with me grovelling, stem chewing behind. Crashed hard on the second lap and lost roughly 9 places and only went backwards. Not the ideal start to a season but a start none the less. Looking forward to the technical round 2 at Wheal Maid."

Nick P outsprints the tree

Nick P:

"No problems on pre laps, but race wheels with Thunder Burts  proved too slippy on the BMX trail so I changed to Ralph rear and Ron 2.1 front.  Schwalbe said I needed a Ralph 2.25 which was faster on the front so they gave me some new tyres which worked better.Warm up went well watching elites start  - that was so fast!!
Then my go -  got gridded 19th so happy with that on the third row.  Tried to follow someone fast in front of me but that did not work as he wasn't the best choice, so when we hit the climb I went past him. First lap was good 17.45 - 1 min 14 down on the leader, the pace was high (it's the nationals!) 2nd lap went and I was able to overtake on the BMX course. 3rd lap I eased back to push on last 2 but on lap 3 climb I could not stand as cramps were working into my legs so I ended dropping back with a 19 min last lap. Glad I finished and did not cramp up.
21st in the end out of the 60"

Ross

A new addition....

Whilst the Naked Bikes team has riders from a wide range of age categories, there's been a suggestion that Paul's latest signing might be taking things too far....

Joking aside, Paul's just had a bouncing baby boy! Congratulations from the rest of the team.

We're thinking Haibike Greed as a name?

We're not sure if Paul wore team kit at the birth as well?

Avoiding the 'that's the end of my racing career' stereotype, Paul was back on the bike within 15 minutes of the birth. Maybe :)

Spring is here....

Another weekend closer to Summer, and more racing action from the team.

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'.

 

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!

 

 

Mr Greed-y

A number of the team are lucky enough to be racing on the excellent Haibike Greed bikes this season, and over at UKXC News, team rider Ross has taken some time to profile the new bike, and the measurable improvement it's already made to his results!

The Team!

Although we officially launched the 'new' Haibike and Impsport-supported team a little while back, it's only now as we move towards the MTB season that things are starting to roll a little faster.

Most of the team are now rolling on their new Haibike Greed bikes, and there's even been some racing (see story of Ben's triumph/disaster below!)

The team almost managed to all be in the same place at one time a week or so ago as well, for a visit to the Raleigh head office at Eastwood. The results of the visit can be seen below, and there's also some great team profiles over at the Haibike site - thanks for the support guys!

Team for 2014 (minus Mark P!)

We're also really proud to have been chosen as featured team for March over at UKXC news. Beginning on Twitter, UKXC news has now gone gone into the blog world too, establishing themselves as a one-stop-shop for all UKXC news - check them out here (and see what makes Naked Bikes mastermind Paul tick!)

Victory / Defeat

Some of the readers of this blog may remember the last feature we had on our rider Ben, recuperating in a hospital bed.

We're pleased to say Ben has managed to get back on his bike and get the miles in over the winter, getting himself race-fit to the point where he managed to take first place in Sport in the first round of the Welsh XC!

Sadly, the attraction to hospitals appears to have been a little too strong, as Ben also managed to break his wrist on lap two of the race. We're pleased to see it was only his wrist though(!), and he should be back on the bike in 6-8 weeks.

Ben's still typing up his race report - apparently it's slow going with one hand..... ;)

While we wait for that, here's a photo story of Ben's race....

There's a Leicester Mercury feature here too...

With Haibike, ready to roll

Top step - hiding the pain

Brave Soldier :)

Not a happy Benny

We're back!

It's true. Despite a multi-disciplinary race squad with a variety of goals and targets, there are actually some weekends in the year where the Naked Bikes / Haibike / Impsport team don't actually race!

Sorry if you missed us...

Anyway, with the nights getting that little bit lighter, we're obviously moving closer to the MTB season proper.

Before that though, there was the small matter of closing off the Thetford Winter Series racing for the team this weekend, and they did it in some style!

Both Nick T and Nick P were in action, both taking home 6th in the 4hr race and 2.5hr races respectively.

Hero of the day (and series) was Ross, who managed a podium appearance both in terms of the race itself and the overall series. With this level of success early on in the year, we're expecting huge things from Ross as the season develops. He certainly seems to be getting the most out of his new Haibike Greed Team!

Ross: My race at Thetford couldn't have gone any better. There was no chance of me getting 1st in the series because Paddy Atkinson already had his 3 wins. I went with the aim of 2nd in the series which meant I had to beat Michael Shuldham. We were on equal points going into the final round so whoever crossed the line first out of the two of us was guaranteed 2nd in the series. For the first lap Michael sat behind me in 2nd and 3rd, Paddy had a got away in the first 10 minutes and nobody tried to stick with him, the rest of the field was out of sight behind us after the first half an hour of racing. From round 2, I knew Michael had a good sprint because I couldn't stay with him when he attacked in that round but I passed him later on in the race so I knew his endurance wasn't as good as mine. I knew I had to keep the pace high to stop him from attacking so I aimed to tire him so he dropped back and it didn't come to a sprint finish. After a lap and a half, I managed to pull away and opened the gap by about 2 minutes a lap to finish about 5 minutes ahead in 2nd place in both the race and the series. The course really suited me because it was dry and fast so I could keep it fast and flowing and the training I have been doing on the road really paid off! "

Ross takes home 2nd for the race AND the series

Nick T - The final round of the ever popular Thetford Winter Series is my marker for the eve of the new season. It only seems like a couple of months since the end of last season...........oh, it was!
My winter base/build training seems to be coming on reasonably well, still a lot of prep. work to do, but this race gave a good idea of how it's all progressing. Thetford courses, though relatively flat have a great habit of being pretty relentless for endurance racing - all pedalling, few sections to recover, but great indicators for where your threshold sits. Like I said, progress reasonable, still a lot to do!
The race itself was straightforward (other than the 20mph headwind on 2 of the longest fire road sections), intense first 2-3 laps, pushing maybe a little too hard, before settling into a sustainable pace. No delays as we caught and lapped the 'Fun' cat racers. Good race manners both ways and a bit of forward planning = no back marker hold-ups. It's not so hard I think?
I was pleased to ride laps 5, 6 and 7 at identical splits, 33:42. Maybe no jet engine, but consistent diesel at least! By lap 6 I'd managed to close in on the 6th place rider and figured he was tiring a little. Without warning he pulled up with a cramped glute and a painful yelp. Not pleasant, but my gain. I started to spot the 5th place vet up front on the long sections, but he looked to be holding the gap. I really put down what I had left on the last lap in the hope of snatching his place. On this occasion it wasn't to be, but 11 seconds gap was a good gain. The 5th place vet admitting he was rather spent and was lucky to hang on to it with me breathing down his neck. A compliment like that goes 1000 miles for me. Chapeau to him for holding out! 6th place for me, no cigar, but satisfied smile on face.
Attention now on improving that functional threshold - turbo, pain, sweat, gurning + miles hopefully = gain (if only marginal!)


Nick P: Last race of the series so hoping to be a good one. The sun was out and the it was the first round that was warm. Race prep went well , then on to the turbo warm up, but after a great pre lap with my bike working perfectly and swapping the wheel for turbo warm up, on one of the descents on the pre laps it knocked my wheel out, so gears were out the rest of the race. I had a great start on the front and led the race for the first lap then settled back but the bike was playing up so just did the best I could. There was no pit crew on the 2nd lap again so missed out on feeds again (going to have to get a bottle holder stand) Last lap a 15 strong group of back makers doing the bomb hole really slowed my finishing lap.Nick P: Last race of the series so hoping to be a good one. The sun was out and the it was the first round that was warm. Race prep went well , then on to the turbo warm up, but after a great pre lap with my bike working perfectly and swapping the wheel for turbo warm up, on one of the descents on the pre laps it knocked my wheel out, so gears were out the rest of the race. I had a great start on the front and led the race for the first lap then settled back but the bike was playing up so just did the best I could. There was no pit crew on the 2nd lap again so missed out on feeds again (going to have to get a bottle holder stand) Last lap a 15 strong group of back makers doing the bomb hole really slowed my finishing lap.

Finished on 2hr 4 min that put me 6th and 4th for the series but if did another lap (and I could of) I would have got 5th n 3rd for series (but did not know that until the end)