27.07.08 - Sanosaka, Hakuba: Suiitenai!
After a couple of months with no racing, it was time to go to Sanosaka, a ski area in Hakuba, Nagano. This area reminded me a lot of the ski resort towns in Canada - very green, mountainous and scenic. The buildings and surrounds within the town too. I drove there in the Trek van with my guru support crew - Vince Flanagan. It's always good having him around, with plenty of knowledge and experience to draw from, especially for Japanese racing.
It seemed the course here hadn't changed in many years. But apparently the track will be different next year, moving to a cross-country ski course on the other side of the valley. All I'd heard about this course was "it's steep and hard, with a technical descent". So I made sure I freshened up for it.
Practice on Friday was a mudfest, with the singletracks being more like rivers. It was great fun! Saturday went back to being hot and humid, so our water bottles were basically surgically attached to us from then on. So the track dried up and it was looking good for Sunday's race.
It was a good turnout, with all carparks overflowing. It seemed many Japanese MTBers were willing to hurt a bit. The wall that takes you up to the top from the start is nothing but pain. The downhill from the top doesn't let you rest much either. Going straight down with enough bumps to give you arm pump. As usual, this track was really different to any Australian track. But I was feeling good and looking forward to it.
After a great traditional Japanese breakfast on Sunday morning, it was time to face the heat. All the Trek riders were looking forward to the race, feeling confident of good results. After a good warm up we lined up and looked up at the wall ahead. Due to recent DNFs and also missing the last race, I was back in the series standings. So I was relegated to the fifth row. But once the gun went off I moved up to the front within the first section of the climb. The legs were good.
My race plan was to hold back for the first half though. This track was famous for making riders blow up and go backwards fast. So I kept an eye on my heart rate and never redlined. Meanwhile, Onodera went up the road, with Takenouchi in tow. These guys always start fast, so I didn't want to cook it by going with them.
By the middle of the race I was in the top 5, with the leaders not far ahead and plenty of energy to spare. It was time to pick it up. Then suddenly a nice comfortable situationed turned bad. My rear tyre started squirming. Looks like my day was over. This was just after my team mates had both punctured too. So I was the only one left to represent. In the end I rode the flat rear wheel for a whole lap because I wanted to get the training in while I was out there. It was still fun, but disappointing. Amazingly, the Bontrager rims held up fine. They were totally straight at the end! Then just as I rolled in to the finish the sky opened up and it poured with rain. The last two laps of the race would be muddy and slippery. Tsujuira won by a few seconds, with a strong ride.
The next JCF race isn't until late October. But Canberra, Australia is the location for my next XC race. It's on the track that will host the 2009 World Championships. So I'll be heading home for that, facing the winter. Then I return for more fun in Japan.
