20.02.06 - Finding Form in Mt Buller:
With a few recent interruptions to training, Mt Buller wasn't on the agenda this season. But after missing 2 out of the 4 series races and needing some feedback from the
scene, it seemed like a good idea. And going by last year's course, there'd be plenty of climbing - good prep for the upcoming Oceana titles in Rotorua, NZ (this year's World Champs venue).
So the Canberra crew did some last-minute organisation and headed up for Buller for a night.
The weather was way better than last year and the course the same again - up a steep climb, through the village, down some nice singletrack, a fast firetrail descent to the base of the mountain, then a long climb back up to the top again (including a few minutes of running). We'd do this twice. With a win last year, I was confident the track suited me, but with my recent form and no tapering I avoided having any expectations. But I was disappointed to hear that series leader Chris J crashed and hurt his knee in practise and couldn't race. I always prefer to have ALL the hitters in the race, otherwise a win feels less satisfying.
Waking up feeling 'dodgy' was a bit of a turnoff, but I tried not to think about it and save my energy for the race. On the start line I noticed a thorn in my tire, but after some advice from Matt Flemming, I decided to leave it in and trust the Ritchey tyres and latex liquid to hold the air in. With the amount of thorns on the track, I doubted the one thorn would make any difference. After sussing out the field from the gun, I realised I did feel good. So I pinned it up the climb to get the hole-shot and lead the field down the descent. With such a long downhill section followed by a long climb, the aim was to make time without wasting energy. So I relaxed and rode the bike down as smoothly and efficiently as possible. I opened a big gap over Taberlay and McConnell right away, only to realise I'd end up on my own on the fast open firetrails while the others would work together. To avoid this I just cruised the middle flat section, let them work hard to catch back up, then go to the fast downhill first again. That allowed me to get the same gap up again, giving me a buffer for pacing myself up the climb.
Farley passed me up the climb, but at the pace he was going I knew he wouldn't hold it, which is typical of Al. So I maintained a 30 second gap and kept him within reach. Going into the second lap I knew I'd saved a lot of energy, so I hammered the descent, caught Farley straight away, sneaked past on a small big of steep firetrail, then rode as fast as I could to stay away and hopefully make time on the field. In the end Shaun Lewis ended up two and a half minutes behind in second. Farley faded and moved back further, and Taberlay had a disc problem and had to limp in for 12th. I was disappointed that Sid had problems too. Spink ended up third in a small but good quality field.
It was nice to get a win before the series' end. The form's come a bit late, but in time for Oceanas in two weeks. It's good to finally feel good in a race, regardless of finishing position. Hopefully Mt Buller will be in the series next year. And we just heard the good news that the national champs will be in Canberra for the next three years! The track is yet to be built, but it should be good - back to the peak of Aussie MTBing in '96-'97. Off to NZ in 3 days. Can't wait to hit up the famous Rotorua trails.
Check out full results at www.nationalseries.com.au