Altura Whinlatter Challenge

Whinlatter Forest Park, Sunday 29th March 2009


Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

After a week of hailstorms and freezing Northerlies, we couldn’t believe our luck on Sunday morning, waking up in Keswick to a crisp, clear, still spring day. The first Altura Whinlatter Mountain Bike Challenge drew a crowd of 450 enthusiastic mountain bikers up to The Lakes, rubbing their eyes and hunting for long-discarded sunglasses.

More than 450 riders lining up for this stunning season-opener.

The Whinlatter Challenge was billed as a 30 mile, mass start, timed event, run over two 15 mile laps incorporating sections of the new Altura Trail, along with various fireroads and linking sections. Annie, Nadine and I managed to muscle in to the front row of the grid just before the start, and I took off fast, hoping to keep ahead of any bottlenecks in the singletrack. I had Sue Clarke right on my wheel, and I knew it would be a big challenge for me to stay ahead of her. Sue is always a strong competitor, and is enjoying good early season form, posting top-5 results in the Turkish Riviera Cup rounds earlier in the month.

Altura Patterson Training racers Annabel Simpson (left) and Jenn O'Connor get off to a flying start.

The first half of the loop set the tone for the day, with long leg-sapping climbs. Some sections of the course had frozen in the hard frost the night before, and were fast becoming spongy in the morning sunshine. I managed to stick with the leading group for the first 20 minutes or so and got into a good rhythm. Apart from the odd slip on a rock or root, our group sped through the switchbacks and singletrack without drama, and I was glad I’d made the effort to get clear from the bulk of the field in the opening stages.

Team rider Nadine Spearing tackles the singletrack.

Chris Hope, a Patterson Training client and riding for Keswick Bikes, caught and overtook me, in what was to be a storming ride for him as he went on to pick off the rest of the leaders and take the honours as first rider home. Dave Hayward, another Patterson Training client, was also in our lead group, but took a wrong turn and sped off up a fire road, oblivious to our shouts.

The group gradually strung out, and I picked up a few places on the steeper climbs. This was my first proper ride on my new custom Scalpel Petite, a super-light little race bike that eats steep shale climbs for breakfast. Sue was never more than about a minute behind me, and I knew she’d be pacing herself and racing smart, so I kept a steady effort and concentrated on riding smoothly.

The course looped back to the start / finish area, then back out along a road section, and I found myself alone on a blustery stretch of tarmac. Sue was tucked in behind one of the men chasing me, and I could see it would be a waste of energy to try and stay ahead, so I let them catch me and took a rest on Sue’s wheel, appreciating the chance to munch some RideShots and down some energy drink. The final section of the loop was another killer climb, but I kept it steady and saved my energy, as I could see at that point that it was going to be a long day. The last descent was singletrack, and I recognised it as part of the Altura trail. I made sure I was first into the singletrack, which was the right move as I heard Sue falter on the rock slabs behind me. I kept my focus on the trail, and practised the techniques that I’d gone through with Craig from Cyclewise in our skills session the day before. It made a huge difference, and I flew down the singletrack feeling confident and barely touching the brakes.

Jenn rides through one of many switchback sections.

Through the feedzone and out for the second lap, and I was riding on my own. Although it was warm in the sunshine, it was chilly in the shade and my feet were numb and my legs starting to wrap up. I kept my focus on smooth riding and good technique, and geared down a bit for the climbs as my cold knees started to creak. It was another hour before I finally made it back around to the finish line, first woman home and seventh overall - a good effort and a pleasing result, as I felt I’d really pushed myself and ridden pretty well.

Meanwhile, Annie suffered three punctures on the sharp Cumbrian rocks, and finally had to pull out, despite begging tubes and patches off fellow competitors. This was a real disappointment for her as she is on good form and was holding up well, staying within touch of the lead group through the opening climbs. Sue recovered from her tumble and held on to second place, a few minutes behind me. Nadine struggled to get into a rhythm and lost time on the leaders in the first lap. She managed to finish, albeit well down the finishing order. Suffice it to say it was a very tough event, and the course certainly lived up to its Challenge title.

We owe a big debt of thanks to Craig and the team at Cyclewise. Craig took our team out for a skills session on Saturday afternoon – no silly trackstands, jumps or wheelies, just good core trail techniques. He helped us to recognise our bad habits (mostly mine!), and took us through some simple drills. He then videoed us each riding a section of trail using a helmet cam, so that we could sit down over a coffee after the session and analyse what we’d learned. It was a real eye-opener. I didn’t realise how stale my riding style had become over the years, and how a few bad habits were causing me to be thrown about on the bike, and ultimately slowing me down. Practising a few simple techniques has helped me to relax and ride faster and with greater confidence. I’ve gained a fresh enthusiasm for mountain biking and I can’t wait to get my Scalpel out on the trails again. The guys at Cyclewise really know their stuff, and I can’t recommend them highly enough. And they can even help with trackstands, jumps and wheelies too, it that’s your thing!

Racing starts in earnest for the Altura Patterson Training team next weekend at the first round of the British Mountain Bike Series at Sherwood Pines on Sunday 5th April. Check our blog for updates, and Andy's twitter posts for lap by lap reports!

Blimey it's nearly April

For a brief moment last week I thought spring had sprung in Macclesfield after a couple of days where I almost put my three quarter tights on. The Squirrels outside the apartment were getting frisky and there was a pleasant birdsong to accompany the evening sun.

That all went to pot as the squalls rolled in for our first 25 mile time trial of the year on Saturday. It was cold, real cold 7 degrees and blustery. Prior to the start I gave my usual coach's knowledge based advice to some riders on clothing choice for the conditions to bring about optimal performance, and then promptly forgot to apply those sound methods to myself.

With just an under vest, a long sleeve skin suit and a light application of foul smelling warm up embrocation for protection against the wind chill I headed for the start line. In the 2 miles to the start I applied my final high intensity effort to get the oxygen delivery up to race pace and allow the tired synovial fluid in my joints to reach the desired viscosity. Even with these high intensity efforts the cold wind was very obvious. I watched Jenn set off 2 minutes in front of me in a short sleeve skin suit and wondered how her Antipodean blood would cope in these conditions.

My start was good and I ran through my mental drills checking pacing and keeping my new aerodynamic position as tight as possible. It was tough to get the pacing spot on as my SRM power control display is missing a couple of lines of LCD after loaning it to a local youth superstar to cure a bout of over training, which I did to great effect. The lad won 3 elite races back to back off my advice before returning the knackered power meter.

I felt OK for the first third of the race, I had negotiated the infamous Chelford roundabout without being cut up by a horse box or a Cheshire wives 4x4 and was homing in on Jenn. As I passed Jenn with a cheerful and pehaps a little smug Ay Up I pushed on a little harder to make the most of a brief tail wind. It was then I started to notice the lack of force being produced during each pedal stroke. It was as though I was loosing the feeling in my thighs, as though I couldnt contract the muscle as forcefully as my brain was telling it to. When I looked down at my thighs thumping away on the 180 cranks as us cyclists do as if to say "come on what are you playing at " as if we are talking to a training buddy who isn't keeping up, I noticed the tell take blue shade around my knees, shins and quads. As I cursed myself for not following my own good advice (Not for the first time I might add) I was caught for 4 minutes by a strong looking fellow in leg warmers.

Not being over familiar with the J29 course I was surprised how quick the finish line came and crossed it with the time of 1 hour 56 seconds. I was (as all my clients are after a performance test) disappointed that I had not pushed harder. I had without much stress averaged 350 watts for just short of 50 minutes in training and on analysis of the SRM data was surprised that I had only managed 301 watts for the hour during the race. Ill put it down to the cold in my knees and stick to the 20 degree rule in future, which will more than likely see me in leg warmers all year as 20 degrees is something special in Macclesfield.

Jenn riding athlete style in the drops with nothing more than a skin suit and some super light wheels clocked 1 hour 5 minutes 57 seconds, a good time in those conditions. She survived the conditions well during the race but was chilled to the bone after the 6 mile ride from the finish line to the race HQ. I can't wait to see Jenn go round the Buxton hilly in a couple of weeks time as a few more races in her legs and that super light Cannondale Synapse should be good competition for any other female entrants.

Here is my power data from the race, things can only get better.

Ruth has just returned from training in the Santa Cruz Mountains region, California, USA.

My main purpose to San Francisco was one of a family matter, but obviously with such good weather and awesome mountain biking trails outside my brother’s back yard it would be rude not to take an opportunity like this and explore such wonderful surroundings on two wheels. It also gave me a chance to get in some tough training sessions up those amazing long climbs.

My brother lives in the Santa Cruz mountain region, where his house sits on top of a mountain ridge and surrounded by Redwoods. A danger zone for the potential earthquake along the San Andreas Fault and general forest fires, but his front door opens up to a world of mountain bike trails which he was hiding from me... until now! Approximately 30 minutes easy ride is the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and Demonstration State Park, both of which offer excellent mountain biking trails. http://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=709.

At the weekend the parking lot at these State Parks are full with enthusiastic mountain bikers eagerly wanting to show off their skills on the trails. The trails incorporated speedy singletrack snaking its way through the Forest with lots of rooty sections and tricky descents. Fast and furious downhill sections acclaimed lots of smiles and racing heartbeats. Being the only female amongst the group did not deter me when it came to attacking the trails and testing my biking skills. Oh and I also had to show them girls can climb fast too!!

My brother also hooked me up with a couple of locals whom regularly ride the Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz. Again these trails offer fast flowing trails through the trees.
http://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=95

Unfortunately whilst attacking a technical downhill section I lost the grip on my front wheel and flew into a bush of which I was later told it was 'tick' season and you had to watch out for 'Poison Oak' too. When I showed off my red spotted rash on my leg to the bike shop guys they confirmed Poison Oak. My brother went into panic mode as it is highly contagious, but I was just pleased to have enjoyed such an awesome mountain biking adventure.

The movie clip was a return road climb from Santa Cruz up to Loma Preita point which is approximately 3,700ft. Here I did some over-geared sessions.

Also, my lovely nephews enjoyed the spirit of training too and when it was possible I collected them from school to enjoy a testing bike ride home via the Christmas Tree Farm. Watch out I think we might have another team member joining Patterson Training!

Crit Racing at Milton Keynes Bowl

Saturday 14 March 2009

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor


Our first team road race of the season didn’t exactly go as we’d planned, but then it’s difficult to plan a road race as you just don’t know what’s going to happen. Nadine had already raced the first two of this three-race series, so we based our plan on her experience. Basically, it was to stick with the bunch, cover any attacks and get our sprinter (Nadine) to the finish line.

The race was a handicap, which meant riders were divided into three groups based on licence categories. We’re all 3rd cats on the road, which should have put us in the middle group, however the two slower groups had to wear coloured lycra covers over their helmets so they could be identified in the bunch. These covers were a style abomination and we refused to wear them on principle. So we upgraded ourselves to the scratch (fast) group where we wouldn’t have to cover our new Catlike Whisper Plus helmets with ugly helmet covers. In the two previous events, the handicap between the groups was only 15 and 30 seconds, so we anticipated no problems.

Altura Patterson Training: From left, Nadine Spearing, Annabel Simpson and Jenn O'Connor in their Altura kit with Catlike helmets, Adidas Eyewear and new Cannondale Synapse bikes.

The first curveball came from the race organisers. With such a robust-looking scratch group, they decided (on the start line, five minutes before the gun) to change the handicap rules. Our group would go off first, and we would have to catch and lap the slow group, and catch the second group around the 1km circuit in order to get on equal terms. This meant our scratch group would have to go like hell from the start in order to get clear around the circuit, or the second group would catch us and we’d never shake them.

Nadine (left) and Annie warming up before the start - turns out we should have brought the turbo trainers.

Sure enough, it went off like a mountain bike race. We’d done a pretty gentle warm up, as we’d anticipated a gradual start, this being the case for the first two events. Annie managed to get on the wheel of one of the faster girls and I got on Annie’s wheel. There was a bit of shouting and catcalling as most the bunch refused to come to the front whilst a core group of four or five of us, including me and Annie, did the work. We tried to keep a steady pace, but the bunch surged and attacked, and it was all we could do to hang on and not crash into anyone. Next thing, Andy was shouting from the sidelines that Nadine was off the back. Shit.

I told Annie to stick at the front of the bunch while I dropped back to help Nadine. Nadine was well off the back and suffering, as the fast start and lack of proper warm-up had brought on an asthma attack. I finally got Nadine on my wheel, but my shouting, swearing and frantic gesturing didn’t seem to ease her breathing and pretty soon it was obvious we were never going to catch the front group. Nadine pulled off, and I tried to time-trial myself back on, but the group were still attacking and I had no choice but to sit up and let them lap me. I figured I could still help Annie, who was well settled amongst the leaders.

I was happy to do the work on the front of the group to save Annie’s legs, but it seemed that, as is often the case in women’s road racing, everyone else in the bunch had a race plan that involved sitting in and waiting for the sprint. No-one would come through. I shouted at them and called them all lazy bastards, which resulted in a bit of a surge, but no real change in work ethic. I figured at least I was getting a good workout at the front of the group, and I was less likely to crash and scuff my new carbon Cannondale.

My lead-out on the last lap was perfect. I wound it up from two laps out to stop any last-minute attacks, and with Annie glued to my wheel I strung the bunch out into a long line. Annie came around me with about 50 metres to go – she’s not a pure sprinter, but she has a good kick. The rest of the bunch came around me as well, and Annie gave it her best shot, but cramped up in the last few metres and got pipped back to about sixth.



Jenn (front) and Annie string out the field in the closing laps.

Annie gave it her best shot, but cramped up in the final few metres.

Had we worn the helmet covers, taken the handicap and gone off in the second group, we could easily have kept our team together, controlled the group, stayed away from the scratch group and possibly have won the race. But to be fair, as Elite XC racers, the scratch group was the right group for us, regardless of whether or not we would have looked like dorks with covers on our helmets. As it happened, we didn’t win anything, but we worked hard and still looked fantastic.

Proper warm-up next time.

Nadine Spearing. Race 2 - Moving in the right direction

Round 2 of the Milton Keynes Starter Circuit once again race saw another big turnout of over 30 women. With my confidence boosted at round 1, where I chased down every attack and paid the price, but felt strong, I was looking forward to round 2. I also had some knowledge from the first round about who the stronger opponents were, which proved to be very useful.

This weeks race was quite different to last weeks. This week there was no through and off and less shouting, but there were lots of near crashes and at times riding in the bunch of 20+ riders was a bit on the scary side. For some reason people kept braking on the gradual descent, for which there was no reason, causing concertinas and some sharp braking maneuvers. When a couple of riders were bought down in a nasty crash it woke the group up a bit.

As with last week, I had a race plan. And this week I stuck to it. I didn't chase down every attack, and as none of them proved to be successful with such a big group chasing them down, this was a good move.

With 10 laps out of the 35 to go the race started to get interesting as the pace picked up. On the final few laps I tried to position myself on a 'good' wheel. I did a good job, finding last week's winner Linda Hubbard's wheel and did my best to hold my nerve and my line as several other riders jostled with me to do the same.

When the riders at the front kicked with half a lap to go, I found myself pushed back and boxed in. The only option if I was to get back into the race was to go wide and ride up the outside. At this point I was in 10th position. I got out of the saddle and started to sprint, around 400m from the line. With my legs burning I moved up to 4th position, but with a long gap up to 3rd. I used every ounce of energy left to carry on pushing hard on the pedals in the final 100m. With the line drawing ever closer, to finally overtook Linda Hubbard and rode into 3rd spot with about a metre to spare. Race winner was the youngster and pre-race favourite Lucy Garner and second place went to 1st Cat rider Jeanette Caldicotte, who was also runner up last week.

Hopefully I can work on some more aspects of my race next week at the third and final round of the series to produce another good result.

Nadine Spearing. Race 1 Learning Curve

There was a big turnout for round 1 of the Milton Keynes Season Starter, of around 30-35 women. Milton Keynes Bowl was the venue for the road crit race of 25miles, equating to 35 laps round the bowl. I was sure I'd get really bored going round in circles, but actually there was enough going on in the race to keep me occupied and switched on.

The startline (I'm on far left):

The race was run as a handicapped race, with the Elite/1/2/3 cat riders setting off 10 second before a large group of 4th cat riders and having to catch the 4th cat group to be on equal terms. I got a front row start in the E/1/2/3 group and the pace was high with a lot of shouting and a sense of panic in the group as we made an effort to catch the 4th cats up. We caught them pretty quickly with some good through and off, losing a few riders from the group in the process.

Somewhere in the bunch:

The pace slowed down a bit midway through the race, which was a welcome relief. No-one seemed to want to dictate the pace and the laps ticked by. Before the race I had a plan, which I largely stuck to for the first half. Then in the second half things got more interesting as people started making attacks, trying to beak free from our 12 strong leading group. At this point I forgot all about my race plan, and it was like a bull to a red rag, and every time there was a big attack I would chase it down. This was great fun, but I knew that these big efforts would take their toll before the end of the race. At one point Olympic triathlete Hollie Avil made a good attack and got a decent gap. I sprinted over to her, the only rider who managed to bridge the gap, and the 2 of us went clear. We worked together to stay away, but unfortunately she wasn't strong enough to keep the pace up and we decided to slow back down as the group was gaining on us anyway. Hollie had another attack near the end of the race and I went with her again, but this was a bad move as I should have remembered from the first time we couldn't stay away, and I would have been better off saving my energy for the closing stages.

Hollie Avil and I break away:

I was determined that if a break got away that I was going to go with it, however none of the breaks were successful and our lead group stayed together to the end. For the final 2 laps the pace really rocketed, like a spring uncoiling. This really favoured the bigger girls who could maintain a high power, but me however was left with nothing but searing pain in my legs and had nothing left for a final sprint over the line. I finished somewhere around 10th/11th position with Hollie also paying the cost for the earlier efforts.Although I lost out in the final 2 laps, I take with me great confidence in my form and have learnt some very valuable lessons in race tactics. The race was such good fun that I can't wait for the next one.

Masters NPS Champion 2008 and Scalpel 2009

2008 might seem a while ago now, but this weekend we finally got the chance to celebrate Ruth Mordaunt's NPS Series win in the Masters category. The British Cycling awards dinner was held at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton on Saturday night, and gave us all the chance to put some glam frocks on and enjoy a night out. Our Ruth scrubs up pretty well as you can see!


On Sunday the heels went back into the box, and it was back into our Altura cycling kit for a test ride on the new team Cannondales. Ruth got the chance to take her new carbon Scalpel out for a spin, and there were plenty of smiles, despite a tough interval session. Bring on '09!




Jenn O'Connor (left) and Ruth Mordaunt with Ruth's sparkling new carbon Scalpel. Even a 3-hour interval session couldn't take the shine off those smiles!