TRACKSIDE

Scarlett and Other Projects

2011-10-10T08:50:00.001+01:00

Andy and I now have a beautiful baby daughter, Scarlett Dawn Patterson. She was born a little late on 21 July, weighing 3.6kg (7lb 15oz) and is now nearly three months old. She is growing bigger each day and is already very long for her age, so no doubt she will be tall like her Daddy. She is a fit and healthy little girl and we are feeling truly blessed (and just a bit smug!).

Having a new baby changes everything, and I am quite content now to put my full-time training days behind me. She is sleeping through the night, sort of, and I can get out on my bike for a couple of hours if I express a bottle of breast milk and leave Scarlett with her Dad or her Nana. I'm now trying to claw back a bit of fitness, and am getting out on the bike a couple of times a week. I had a bit of a setback a couple of weeks ago, I ran headlong into a Pukeko (native swamp hen) that rushed out from the curb into the front wheel of my carbon Cannondale Synapse road bike at full speed down a country road. It pitched me over the bars and ripped all the spokes out of my Mavic Ksyrium. The bike is a write-off, but luckily I escaped with a sore head and some road rash. Once again, my helmet saved my life.

Andy has a number of projects, the biggest of which is the building of new MTB trails up at Pukeiti. This is a huge native forest reserve, and Andy has convinced the regional council that mountain biking is an ideal recreational use. He is now working with NPMTB club and a bunch of volunteers to cut in a DH run and an XC loop in time for MTB week from 19-27 November. This will be a huge coup for Taranaki if we can pull it off, as it will provide us the ideal platform to start building trails in neighbouring Egmont National Park. To find out more, check out Andy's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/EgmontMTBTrails

We'll have some pics and reports up from Pukeiti soon.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Next Big Endurance Event

2011-06-17T09:59:00.000+01:00

Today I pulled out my old Powerbar team bag, and packed it with electrolytes, gels and bars. I cleaned my bottles, packed clean clothes and a towel. For the first time in nearly two years I have an event to prepare for, an event I've been working towards since October last year. There are many unknowns. I don't know exactly when this event will start. I don't know how long it will last for. I know it will be tough - it might just be the longest and toughest event of my life.

Training for my latest adventure has involved more time off the bike than on. In many ways, being pregnant has a lot in common with being in training for mountain bike racing. Taking naps, watching my diet, avoiding alcohol and having plenty of quiet nights in has been no challenge at all for me. The process of gradually getting bigger, slower and clumsier has been harder to get to grips with. Now I'm finally past 37 weeks and into the final days, and I feel like I've been pregnant forever. Our baby girl has dropped into position is ready to join the world. This is our girl at 20 weeks.

I managed to keep mountain biking up to 27 weeks, until my bump got so big that my pedaling form went right out the window. Where my knees used to arc neatly over the top tube, they began to poke out at odd angles. By the time I could no longer see my top tube, I knew I had to call time on the cycling.

I've managed to keep my fitness up with plenty of walking and a bit of yoga. Of course I started out with all the best intentions of keeping up a full training agenda, but the tiredness that comes with pregnancy was something I hadn't counted on. All my good intentions of daily workouts quite often have resulted in a brisk walk followed by a nap. Now even a brisk walk is a chore, as baby has "dropped" and is sitting down low in my pelvis, making my joints creak every time I stand up.

I shouldn't complain. Everything about this pregnancy has been textbook so far, and I'm still working 8:30 - 5:00pm, and will be to the end of week 39. Andy and I are both quite excited now, and looking forward to meeting our little girl. Will she be rangy and strong like her Dad, or small and hardy like her Mum? Or something in between? The next few years will be a real adventure, but for sure she will be a cyclist of some sort!

More on our new family soon. It could be any day now!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mangamahoe Skills session No2

2010-08-01T12:12:00.005+01:00

We had a big group out with us on Saturday in clear dry weather for the second skills session focusing on climbing and descending, step ups and drop offs.

The groups abilities ranged from pretty much 16 to 60 years old and novice to expert so we split the group. Half spent the morning with Jenn to focus on Climbing and descending with line selection and trail evaluation. Whilst the other half were with myself learning step ups and drop offs. I had to adapt to the group as a couple of riders were at the novice level with flat pedals so I had to teach bunny hop with flat pedals before we could move onto step ups, something I have not done since my BMX days. They managed to hop the bike after some practice and understood the principle of loading the bike into the ground, and how to grip the bike with their feel even with the flat pedals, which was hard work as I can remember from my youth.

During the drop off practice the group progressed from a small section of wooden Vancouver style boardwalk step up and drop off I made, to a 2 foot dirt drop off I built into the trail, to correctly dropping off a 2 foot wooden drop built in the trail directly into a steep 5-6 feet down hill landing, with their front wheel level with the real wheel when it leaves the lip. They also practiced pitching the bike in the air for flat and down hill landings.

Jenn worked hard evaluating climbing styles and techniques, running through the pros and cons of each method and on different terrain. There were questions about bike set up and bike types and how this effects chosen climbing and descending styles all great valid questions which we shed some light upon.

For myself it was a great coaching day, all the group learned a significant technique that they either thought they were doing correctly and were not or learned and completed a technique that they previously thought was way out of their comfort zone. The challenge now for me as a coach is to find more interesting methods of delivery to keep both the novice and the expert riders motivated to learn and progress.

A couple of video clips here of the drop off that the group progressed to and the step up/drop off I built

Mangamahoe skills session No1

2010-07-17T07:26:00.005+01:00

I would like to thank all those who attended for being great participants and working hard in tough slippery wet condition. We had a few offs, but hey thats the nature of MTB training. Knee and elbow pads go a long way to give that exra confidence which allows riders to work a technique little bit more aggressively than they normally would, so bring em if you've got em.

We had a little time trial through 3 sweeping flat corners along the Kiwi trail as a bit of fun and to evaluate the before trainng and after training speed. My trackside maths is pants so I went through the times in detail after a shower and a brew and the results are as follows.

Graeme due to a technical hitch had to borrow a bike (Cheers Matt) so increased his time from 35 seconds to 36 seconds, but his position and cornering skills were good, I'll put the extra second on to unfamiliar hardwear.

Kathy managed to take a second off completing the trial in 43 seconds using good form with which to gradually add speed.

Wayne was our biggest improver clipping 7 seconds off his time to complete the final run in 34 seconds, well done Wayne (Think what you could do with riser bars)

Caitie also did very well knocking 4 seconds of her time to 43 seconds, noticing the speed gain when she got a corner right.

Carol matched Kathy in taking a second off but with a slightly faster second run time of 41 seconds, more practice will mean more confidence and more speed.

Jolene and Alun did not stay for the second session. Alun crashed on a drop in which left him battered and bruised and unable to complete the second half of the day. Both riders showed good learning and enthusiasm with Jolene showing a very quick grasp of body position and balance.

Here is a quick clip of the technique session on the gravel road. The aim of this part of the session was to practice body position for the turn. Lowering the upper body, steer the bike round the cones with the outside elbow up and inside arm straight increasing the lean angle of the bike keeping the centre of mass over the tyre contact patch with level cranks.

I make a rubbish film maker, the camera drops as I watch the riders. I'll remember to look through the camera next time.

The Intermontane Challenge Rip Off

2010-06-20T12:13:00.003+01:00

Just a quick reminder that the Intermontane Challenge MTB stage race in Kamloops is once again running this year to take big entry fees of us MTB racers and provide absolutely nothing in return.

Will there be adequate course marking?....Nope.

Will there be feed zones?....Nope.

Will there be accurate course maps?....Not a chance.

Will the organiser lie about the prize fund?....Absolutely

Will he make the race up each day and blame every one else but himself for the potentially dangerous incidents, such as lost riders, feed zones not being where they are supposed to be, no course sweep and the list goes on and on? Of course he will because the race is a con.

There are two other great races on in Canada at the same time The BC Bike race and the Test of Metal. Enter these races and you are guaranteed to ride some of the best trails in the world with some of the best race management you could hope for.

If you choose to ride the Intermontane Challenge you risk a very big disappointment both financially and emotionally. In the 25 years I have been travelling the world racing mountain bikes I have never seen such a shambles. And to add insult to injury the organiser, some idiot who claimed to be new to race organisation and expected us to put up with the disaster would not even return our emails requesting a refund after we pulled out after stage 3.

A quick recap of how bad it was

Course marking was so bad only about 2 percent of the field made it home without getting lost on day 1 rendering the race practically null and void on the first stage.

40 + degrees and only 1 feed zone over a marathon distance

The back markers were dropped and lost during the neutral start before they even reached the course proper.

The race organiser led the lead group the wrong way then neutralised the stage when riders who were lost on stage 1 were getting time back, there were riders literally crying at the track side.

The race got worse as it went on, a rider was hurt after a bad crash where there was no medical support and his team mates and competitors including Tinker Juarez had to go to get help. He also got lost and ended up getting a lift home in a truck.

On the final stage Tinker went fishing instead of racing.

If you have entered this bullshit excuse for a race I hope it has some better organisation and that you are not as disappointed as we were. If you are thinking about a last minute entry, please don’t. Do anything else in Canada, ride the trails of Whistler or take a trip to Squamish and pop in to the great Corsa Cycles where you can find out about the local group rides. Chuck Brennan the organiser although he comes across as a simple “I tried my best” type is a calculated con man and his actions in the race last year were dangerous and unlawful he should not have been given a second chance to run this event

Use it or lose it

2010-06-15T06:50:00.007+01:00

It’s been far too long since my last blog but that doesn't mean I have given up cycling for fishing, although I am enjoying my fly fishing. I have had an issue with my left hip for some years. I initially thought that it was due to wear and tear as a result of a life of MTB racing separated by 14 years running and jumping about with a big back pack on, then compounded by a further 10 years of bike racing.

An X ray a couple of years ago didn't show any problems, so I embarked on one of my epic training programmes. This was specifically designed for an XC skiing trip I was going on in Norway and the subsequent training routine was a hip and core, strength and stability focused plan which incorporated roller ski work around a local running track (where I did actually manage to tear most tendons in my wrist) along with a couple of hard circuit sessions each week which also helped with my hip stability.

What was noticeable during this time was that my hip pain vanished and my strength in the gym and power on the bike was huge. Now it doesn't take a genius to realise that strong core muscles and a good global fitness is essential for most sports. What was surprising this year at is the age of 38 and with a disrupted year due to our move, even riding on and off road for at least 10 hours during any week and the odd circuit session, how quickly my strength and condition reversed. It got to the point where my hip stability one again gave way to incorrect muscle firing patterns, muscle imbalance, muscle weakness and the dreaded hip pain.

I have given myself a full sports injury evaluation and had a few sessions with a physio to confirm my thoughts on the cause. After a couple of weeks getting back on top of the hip stability and core exercises I am well on the way to recovery, and now I live in a country where I can XC ski so a trip down to the South Island may be on the cards.

I managed to get out on the bike again last week and do some big rides at low intensity and my hip was fine. The picture below shows that winter has caught up with New Zealand and the Mountain is covered in snow and the ski field is open. Winter is very different here compared to Manchester, it pours down for the odd day or two then a high pressure will roll over and it’s like riding on a rare still early spring UK day. Except they come around every week and the temperature will hold around 10-15 degrees it’s just perfect for getting the miles in.

The Good Life

2010-02-24T07:41:00.007Z

Where to start? It's been so long...

It's been absolutely ages since we've posted anything on our blog, and I've no doubt that many of our regular followers will have long since given up on us. Apologies, and we will try harder.

We touched down in Auckland on December 7th, and had a great Christmas and New Year with the family, all together for the first time in five years. New Year's was spent in the classic Kiwi way - camping at the beach. We drove all the way up to Taupo Bay in the Bay of Islands (not in Taupo as I'd originally thought) with my brother Rod and sister-in-law Jess, and it was everything a beach holiday is supposed to be. New Year's eve was spent in deck chairs on the lawn at somebody's bach, playing guitar, singing (badly in my case) and eating crayfish and snapper that had been caught that day. Good friends, good times and an endless starry sky. I've never felt so profoundly happy to be home.

The Patterson Training team tent, put to good use in the Taupo Bay campground.

Rod (left) and Andy somewhere we rode out to on our bikes in the Bay of Islands.

Back home in Taranaki, Andy's also found the fishing bug. It's taken him a fair few goes at it, but he's started catching a few Kahawai, an ocean fish he's caught by surfcasting on the beach. Last week we sat down to a 100% home grown meal - sweetcorn, peas, cabbage and new potatoes from out of our garden and Kahawai from Andy's line. We had a good joke about living "The Good Life". Andy's now turned his hand to fly fishing, which hasn't been such a huge success. So far he's hooked up a hole in his Gore-Tex jacket, and last night caught the fly hook in the back of his own neck. So we spent the rest of the evening in A&E with the gout-ridden obese people and the kids with pots on their heads waiting to cut Andy free of his line. Hopefully he'll get his casting technique a bit slicker before he loses an eye.

Andy's Kahawai. Tasted good too. Still waiting for the trout.

Taranaki is one of the few places in the world with black sand beaches. The sand has a high iron content and is super fine and velvety soft. It gets really hot though.

Our biggest task since coming home has been clearing out the basement in my parent's old house, which is where Andy and I are now living. Mum and Dad have moved into their newly built home on the other side of town, and the upstairs stuff has been successfully shifted over, and our stuff moved out of the container and into what is now our new home. The basement is taking a little longer. My Dad is an engineer, car builder, bike builder and tinkerer of the highest realm, and his basement is 30 years' worth of tools, machinery, jems and junk. Getting it all shifted across into the new (much bigger) basement is a work in progress, and everything had fallen into disarry over the past year, but we have our bikes in now and it's looking a lot better than it does in this pic.

Andy and Dad spent four hours cleaning up so they could clear a path to the lathe and make a space for my Scalpel.

And what about riding bikes? We haven't been neglecting our bikes either, in fact I raced on January 31st in the Round the Mountain, which is a local race and this year was part of the Elite National Road Series. It's a bit of an odd setup, whereby the main field of non-elite riders goes out at 8am, and the Elite women go off at 10am. The Elite men then set of 15 minutes after the women, so for us it was a matter of keeping things ticking over until the men came past, and then trying to hang on for dear life. There were only about 15 women and 20 men, so it was touch and go.

I got in with the very lead men's group and hung with them for a bit, but when they started to attack I got spat out. I tried so hard to get back in with the group that when the next bunch came through, both men and women, I didn't have the legs to jump in with them. It was bad timing on my part, and I ended up having to work with a bunch of five women off the back of the bunch, who were working hard, but simply couldn't keep up the pace. I made a break from them with one other girl, and we had a two-person break working for the rest of the 175km race, but there was no chance of catching back up with the boys. I had a good ride but finished out of the podium placings, and I was kicking myself as I knew I was strong. Road racing is all about timing though, and I just didn't get it right this time.

We're also enjoying being part of the local MTB club, and took a women's skills day in the local forest, Mangamahoe, a couple of weeks ago. About 30 women turned up, which was a great turnout for a local event, and some of them were really keen and great riders. We spent the day working the trails at Mangamahoe, including some freshly dug switchbacks and berms, then had a barbeque in the middle of the forest with sausages paid for by Sport Taranaki. All good.

There's a race on this weekend with the club, it's a 3-hour team or solo event. Andy's thinking about going solo, whilst I'm planning on turning up on the day and teaming up with whoever needs an extra rider. You could say I'm taking it easy for a bit.

Jenn

2 Days to push

2009-12-06T15:14:00.007Z

The fact that I am leaving the UK to start another chapter in my life in sunny New Zealand is beginning to sink in. I changed a few simple lines on the website to state we are now a New Zealand based company, a simple task that doesn't give the full picture of how hard I will have to work to build my business in a new country.

Jenn has been getting as far away from the damp Macclesfield climate as much as she can, enjoying a break from work visiting her team mate Ruth in Brighton, and its just as well as we have had rain every day since we packed the flat up over 6 weeks ago. She did manage to get out on a short ride with Danni Rider who was up getting tested, and the rain did stay away for Jenns last ride in the Peak. She told me the other night she went to church with Ruth for what she thought was a fun carol service but turned out to be a full on sermon. As we are not religious folk she had trouble not cracking up, it is a load of nonsense that makes no sense.

I too have been staying off the bike as much as I can, running for an hour 2 times a week and have done some good gym sessions on the rower which I should have chosen as a sport instead of trying to compete against 65kg whippets in a power to weight critical sport. I always like doing power lifting exercises as they use my whole body and with a light weight I can do quite a few reps and get some high heart rates.

The next time I blog will be on my way to NZ or once I am there. Wish us luck and stay tuned to see how Patterson Training evolves.

The Marathonists

2009-11-21T19:18:00.000Z

Dave Hayward and Mike Powell are the most dedicated athletes I know
but someone is lying on their food diary.

Training Log No2

2009-11-20T09:19:00.007Z

Ok just a quick blog to keep you up to date on my training. Since last time I blogged Jenn and I have moved in with my family living out of 1 (rather large) Powerbar kit bag each. The situation is good and bad in that we have my mums cooking to look forward to most days, however that is also the bad bit as she still thinks I'm 13 years old and there is a need to feed me up. Me size portions don't mean a great deal in the Patterson household.

So moving swiftly onto the training, and body mass..... well what can I say the house is full of rich food and chocolate digestives so no change there I'm afraid 81.5 kg and my body fat using the electrical impedance is a shocking 15 %. There is a good side to over eating, yes you heard me right my body is a bit more of a carbohydrate burning furnace than It usually is albeit at the expense of my ability to burn fat for fuel but I will focus on that aspect of the training in a couple of weeks when I get to the sunnier NZ climate and I can get some big easy miles in without fear of being washed away.

So what is the benefit of this carbohydrate furnace? Well when there is a lot of glycogen in the muscle and glucose in the blood the enzymes that allow me to fuel forceful contractions are prevalent. I still need to teach my brain to fire the muscles more forcefully but when I do ask them to do contract hard I have the fuel supply working at a very high level.

The result of this is that I am able to put in some good strength work on the bike as you can see from strength section of my training session below my seated over geared efforts are creeping up to the 600 watt mark for 1 minute and I hope to be able to hold 1 minute at over 600 watts before I leave for NZ in a couple of weeks.

I have also seen a couple of new 5 second mean maximal values as I have got my body used to high velocity muscle contractions but these have been done away from the force work after a period of recovery, as I'm sure you are aware trying to co-ordinate your legs at high speed in sprint drills is a no go when force reps are a large part of the training. If sprinting is your thing, make sure you do the speed work first so you are building power onto good form and high leg speed not the other way around.

Apart from working on strength I have been doing the easy rides but not staying on the Cheshire plain, I have been cruising around the peaks just taking it easy and trying not to stray into zone 3 unless I'm doing specific tempo intervals. I am well aware of how efficiency is such a key component of endurance racing (2-6 hours) and I have a set pattern of aerobic training that can shift my aerobic threshold (not my OBLA (LT2) to some quite high power outputs, although it is sometimes hard to hold back during the long aerobic rides and focus on cadence rather than power and doing it in bad weather doesn't help so the lions share of that training can wait a few weeks.

Jenn is enjoying some down time although she has been commuting most days keeping the miles in. And down time in another form as she was knocked off the scooter the other day which we had just fixed up. She is not badly injured as the impact was low speed (get well gifts of chocolate and Campagnolo ergo 11 spd shifters can be sent to me and ill pass them on... honest!) It highlights the problems of commuting in this country where drivers seem to have forgotten that you look right, left then right again before pulling out, not right then left then pull out still looking left. Its all very well delivering bike ability courses to get people out of cars and onto bikes but its damn dangerous at rush hour times. Drivers need educating as much as cyclists, perhaps a week commuting on a bike should be part of the driving licence that would make drivers be more aware.

The End is Nigh...

2009-10-22T12:54:00.005+01:00

Or at least I hope it is. Andy and I have been living in a half-packed state for weeks now, and tonight is the last night in our flat before we move in with Andy's parents for a few weeks. The Patterson Training team bus and all our furniture and possessions will be loaded into a container bound for New Zealand on Monday.

The Rush, the Scalpel and my winter training bike are being packed away as I write this, so it will just be the Little White Bike for a while. Part of me thinks it would have been nice to get out for one last blast around Macclesfield Forest before we leave, but I've never been the sentimental type. I know I'll be back to ride around the Peak District hills that I've called home for the past 10 years. Right now I'm thinking about Mt Taranaki and the start of summer.

It's an all new start for Patterson Training. We've invested in an exciting new software system called Training Peaks, that will allow our clients to log in to their training plans from anywhere in the world. Andy will post up more details about Training Peaks once we've got this moving business out of the way.

By moving our permanent base to New Zealand we can drop a lot of our overheads and invest more time and money into providing the best service for our clients, both here in the UK and in New Zealand. So our clients need not worry - it won't be business as usual, it will be better than usual. The Patterson Training website, Trackside blog and our email addresses won't change either.

For me, I've got a new set of goals to look forward to. The New Zealand National Road Race Champs are on 10 January 2010 in Christchurch, and I'd like to have a go. Aside from that, I'll be riding the Round The Mountain road sportive in Taranaki on 30 January, and the NZ National XC Champs and Oceania Champs in February and March. It's a short season, to be followed by my first NZ winter since 1998.

I might even dust off the old snowboard.

End of Season Sale

2009-10-15T11:38:00.004+01:00

PINK Hope Team Edition Mono Mini Pro Brakeset
One of only two sets in the world.

It's that time of year again, and we are selling off some of our kit to make way for new stuff. I've had a great deal of interest in my special edition pink Hope gear this year, which is hardly surprising as it is a bit special. I was the only female XC racer on the Hope Factory Team this year, so my custom pink kit is unique. There are only two sets of these brakes in the world - I'm keeping one and selling the other.

For pics and a rundown of the Hope kit take a look at my original review.

These are 2009 Mono Mini Pros (not the standard Mono Minis, which are available to the public in pink), and they come with a set of matching pink 6-bolt floating rotors. The Moni Mini Pro is being phased out for 2010, so there will never be another set in this colour. As I've had so much interest during the year for these, I'm offering them here before auctioning them off to the Giro-mad Italians. Email me at jenn@pattersontraining.com if you are interested. £300 for the set.

Minoura RDA 850 Turbo Trainer

This is about three years old but is in really good order. I've been using it for warming up before races, but otherwise it hasn't had much use (I'd rather ride in the rain than train on a turbo). Can be used for MTB or road bikes. These retail for about £175 new. We're selling ours for £75.

Training Log No1

2009-10-08T22:01:00.011+01:00

I said I would put my training for the New Zealand Round the Mountain road race up on the blog so here it is. Why you may ask? Well I spend so much time mulling over hundreds of files and feedback reports from my clients that I find it hard to spend the time to fully plan my own training. A couple of good results in my last two MTB races has revived my enthusiasm for hard training, but that doesn't mean I am in any good shape or form. I'm not - in fact it was only my technical skills and my ability to suffer that has allowed me to be competitive in the last couple of races. I have a lot of work to do if I am to get good road speed in time for the New Zealand race at the end of January.

It all started today, with my power profile to establish strengths of each energy system. Maximal values are taken for 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes and for power at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA). These values give a reasonably valid, but more importantly, an easily repeatable indication of the strength of the neuromuscular system, anaerobic ability, aerobic capacity and muscular endurance. The results of the power profile are as follows.

5 seconds. 1400 watts
1 minute. 615 watts
5 minutes. 410 watts
OBLA. 320 watts

These values are divided by my body mass (80 kg), giving a power to weight value in watts per kilo (w/kg) which are then plotted on the power profile shown below.

Click on the image for larger view

As you can see, I'm not in good shape. To maintain a good all round cycling ability I need to raise my anaerobic power (1 minute mean maximal power) as this is clearly lacking behind the other energy systems and is a key component in road racing and mountain bike racing.

As this table is relative to my body mass one of the key areas I need to improve is my body composition, dropping some unwanted body fat will push all the power profile values up, improving my speed on climbs, my ability to accelerate and reduce my frontal area for flat terrain speed.

Click on image for lager view

The body composition values are taken three times from each skinfold site then the average is noted. The values don't look that bad on paper, but I am 6 feet 4 inches tall and 12mm of fat spread over quite a sizable abdomen adds a fair amount of dead weight and the same goes for the rest of my body. I know I am overweight by about 3-4 kg and am very healthy at this weight, but the speed increase on climbs is very noticeable at 76 kg, so that has to be my target.

That's some of the initial and very basic testing done, there is much more that I need to test, such as my efficiency, core strength and flexibility, but that can be done later. Field testing using the SRM power meter during longer training rides can be very valid and there is nothing stopping me conducting a full blood lactate profile after each training phase. The next phase is to evaluate the demands of the Round the Mountain race against the strength of each of my energy systems and set some goals, but that's a job for tomorrow.

2009-10-06T07:46:00.003+01:00

British Mountain Bike Series - Round 5 Plymouth
Saturday, September 26th 2009

By Ruth Mordaunt

I have waited purposely to post my brief race report as not only did I enjoy reading Andy’s report below but more importantly his last paragraph expressing his adoration towards Jenn. It needed to be framed in the limelight for awhile before I rattled on about me!

To keep it brief, I had an excellent result for the last race of my season. The usual suspects were on the start line for a four lap race. However, Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers) – whom was leading the British Series was nowhere to be seen and then Alli Northcott (Shred Racing) appeared in stealth like action on the start line, not having raced against her before, but knowing how strong she was when she helped our team at the Bedford 2-day road race. Due to a delay to the start, they set the Master Women off with the Junior Females, Expert Females and Veterans Female. It was a fast and frantic start but the opening climb sorted us all out and entering into the first section of singletrack I had no major hold up problems.

Alli, Kim Hamer-Hurst (Owens Cycles-Scott), Emma Bradley (Torq) and Malin Tindberg (West Drayton MBC) were all spaced out in front. So it was head down and start working hard. Andy’s motivational words during my warm up was “power on the climbs you southern softie!” It helped! I passed Emma and Malin on the second climb on the first lap. I could see Kim up in front, but I had lost sight of Alli within the first 5 minutes of the race. I could also see Maxine Filby (A5 Rangers) leading Expert rider just seconds in front, but she was looking strong. I used Maxine to help pace me and by the second lap I had passed her, but she was always hot on my tail. This helped me to remain focused on keeping the power on and track down the leaders. The course was super fast with two river crossings per lap and some short sharp climbs that zapped the power out of your legs before the super fast flowing single track, which I enjoyed with lots of smiles.

Unfortunately I was unable to catch Alli or Kim, whom finished respectively and I took bronze. I was really pleased with how strong I rode.

With the results all toted up from the series I finished second in the British Mountain Bike Series 2009. Excellent, considering I was not going to race much this year due to the traumatic loss of my father back in April and the lack of any kind of consistent training.

So this leads me nicely on to sending a huge thank you to Jenn and Andy whom have given me consistent support and belief in me as a racer especially when the chips were down. I feel proud to be part of the Altura Patterson Training Race Team. A huge Thank You and I wish you much love and happiness in New Zealand.

Thank you to all other sponsors too, for if it was not for the brilliant superlight Cannodale Scapel and other bike components and products, I could not have raced so well without the support given to me. Thank you all.

As with the look on the picture, it is time to recover (what a state!), reflect and refocus on next year’s goals.

Happy pedalling

Ruth

British Mountain Bike Series Round 5 - 26 September 2009 Plymouth

2009-09-28T10:39:00.006+01:00

Race Report by Andrew Patterson

After last weeks glimmer of form I was psychologically in a good place. I had found my mojo and riding and racing the Rush was a joy. This weekend was the final National series race down in Plymouth, now two things I don't like about the course at Plymouth are; 1. It's miles away. 2. It's hilly.

As Jenn was working until 3pm on Friday we had to endure the long slog down from Manchester to Plymouth in heavy traffic, set up camp in the dark and ride a practice lap in the morning before the race. From experience I know this doesn't help Jenn, myself or any rider looking for peak performance for that matter, but it's what we have to do, as even with Jenn's palmares, full time work is still required to fund the year's racing program. I'll let Jenn comment one her race and focus on my race.

Climbing well past the feed zone

I had a good grid on the second row so I could get a comfortable position up the feed zone climb into the singletrack. But once the gun sounded a rider who was sat to the left of me made a crazy sprint across my wheel forcing me to back off and lean heavily on Adrian Scott (Corley), losing a few places. On the feed zone climb most riders sat behind the wheels of other riders in one line almost afraid to put a wheel off the smooth track and gain places into the singletrack, which is just what I did using up all of my anaerobic capacity and found myself in around 10th spot in the singletrack where I could recover.

The first lap is always fast and furious and I came out of it in around 9th spot with Paul Hopkins (Offcamber of Blandford). Paul sat on my wheel up the first climb and then jumped in front on into the singletrack where I felt a little held up having to use the brakes far to much behind him. We stick together on lap 2 until I think I pulled away somewhere at the start of lap 3 having a 10 second gap into the second tough loose climb out of the clay shooting range.

The drop in that burped my tyre

By this stage I had a problem in that I had burped the front tyre on the short drop in at the end of the first piece of singletrack, so on the second singletrack section just as I was catching 4th, 5th and 6th spot I thought I had to act fast and get some air into the tyre or risk rolling it off the rim. In doing so 3 riders including Paul Hopkins passed me but I was fired up and way faster on the singletrack. I caught them back easily then made a move on Paul on a short earthy very steep climb where I saw Paul drop into the granny so I battered the middle ring in a contorted effort to power away and keep good traction. As I passed him at the bottom of the climb I said "I'll pay for this later" acknowledging that efforts like that don't always pay off in endurance events.

One of 2 river crossings that I'm sure were getting deeper each lap

I was obviously reaping the rewards of the power and strength endurance training I have been doing in my facilitative (Suck it and see) style training rides as I felt strong for the rest of the race. I had two laps to catch those in front who I could see every lap just in front of me on the loose climb out of the clay shooting range, but I lacked the pace to bridge the gap.

My feeding was shocking throughout the race, drinking only about 1 litre and eating 3 PowerBar gels but I was riding right on the nail and above it for the whole race and I found it hard to breath slow enough to drink. I know, I know I don't always practice what I preach but I was very happy with my drive and I had to push all the way round as I thought the efforts of attacking hard on steep climbs would need paying back in the latter laps, and if there is one thing I can do its hurt myself.

I stayed clear claiming 6th spot in the end 4minutes 53seconds behind race winner Phil Morris (XC Racer) my best National series result yet. Now I just keep asking myself what could have been if I were 76kg? Full results can be found here from Timelaps.co.uk It was a great event, well done to Martyn Salt and team for a great day out racing. The band and night cross race added a great atmosphere to the event.

We are off to New Zealand at the end of the year so this was the last National series event Jenn and I will race. I would like to show my adoration to my Partner Jenn O'Connor. The range of Jenn's success over the past years in 24 hour racing, MTB Marathon and MTB XC has never been bettered, all whilst working full time. Many female athletes will benefit from her campaign for equal prize funds in 24 hour racing and have benefited from her help and support in the MTB scene, spending tireless hours chasing up sponsorship deals for others with no personal reward. I'm sure this won't be the last time Jenn puts a number on, but for now we have some different challenges. I am privileged to share my life with Jenn and be part of her optimism, drive and love of life. I look forward to our life together in NZ and love you lots Jenn.

Midlands XC Round 4

2009-09-24T00:12:00.009+01:00

I have recently changed my bike from the Scalpel to the Carbon Rush. Having never ridden a Rush Carbon I thought the Rush would be a more laid back bike that was difficult to achieve that always fast feel that the Scalpel has. From the time I received the Rush I have been doing all my riding and training on it. This is because when changing from bikes of different geometry it takes some time to get my 6 feet 4 inch frame to an optimal position. After a couple of rides it was evident that the Rush actually fits me better than the Scalpel did. A slacker seat/head angle and lower bottom bracket along with a pro pedal suspension system that I can ride well into the travel without wallowing around led to a feeling of being in the bike rather than on and over it as I did on the Scalpel. But did it inspire speed as the Scalpel did?

Now I know you are thinking, sponsor supplies new bike, rider must big up the product. Well that should always happen, without sponsors many athletes could not compete with such great equipment. However, getting the right bike for myself has always been problematic and custom builds have always been the preferred option. At the final round of the Midlands MTB Series in Sherwood Pines I was about to get a shock. I took my bike but was in no real mood to race as I had ridden a marathon around the peaks in my usual 39 x 11-34 gear constraint and had even succumbed to the hunger shakes that evening before the race. But as the sun was out on race day I put my number on and lined up at the back of the grid. The gun went and I stamped hard on the 180 cranks. I didn’t lock the front forks as I usually do, I’d set them up firm with a lot of rebound damping and left the rear traction control down to the pro pedal on the Fox shock. After the initial sprint I found myself feeling very strong, the lactate was not as apparent as it sometimes is and I managed to slot into the single track in about 6th spot feeling very comfortable.

Ripin the Rush hard towards the podium

The singletrack was split by very fast sections of forest trail and I kicked again managing to pass my nemesis Darren Alexander (Mini Adventure) with surprising ease. By this stage I was thinking I have put zero pressure on myself for this race and the goal was to just get round, focus on skills, have fun and hope that yesterdays 100 Peak District kilometres and the 3 kilograms of extra weight I am carrying don’t make me look too bad. An extra bit of luck found me as Matt Barrett (Raleigh) pulled up in front of me half way into the first lap with a snapped chain and I found myself riding in 3rd spot with Chris Rathbone (Websters Cycles). So from that point on my goal was a podium. Chris and I both had some problems as his rear tyre had lost some air and was in great danger of rolling off on the bomb hole whereas my Tune cranks, which had come loose in the English Marathon Champs were obviously permanently damaged from that race and began to unwind themselves. I had to stop after lap 2 and tighten them up but easily caught back up with Chris. I followed Chris for a lap and still felt comfortable making notes on the sections he was stronger on and where he was not so strong or where his tyre may cause him to slow, then Chris followed me for a lap not giving me any distance. Im not that sure where I pulled away from Chris it may have been through one of the Star Wars style fast tree dodging sections or on a sandy drag, but I soon found myself out in second place. At the start of the final lap I was caught by Lloyd Bettles who was pacing his laps well. I followed his wheel and started to plan my finish strategy, which in brief came down to unleashing the 1600 watts I can muster in a sprint as soon as I get round the last bend. If all else fails at least it will give the crowd some entertainment.

I took the lead into the second to last section of singletrack but somehow jumped my chain off the sprocket loosing a couple of pedal strokes and Lloyd nipped by but sportingly eased the pace for me to get back on, he was also keen for The good fight. He was now in front and I was holding his wheel looking forward to a sprint finish. The last singletrack section came and I was just a fraction too close to his back wheel, so when Lloyd got his line slightly wrong I had no time to evaluate my position and over corrected hitting a lone pine cone and hitting the deck. Lloyd put the hammer down, the crowd had no sprint finish and I settled for 3rd. Stephen James (Torq) won the race 1 minute 30 seconds ahead of us.

Apart from my after market cranks (I use them as no one makes a BB30 180 crank) the Rush was truly faultless around Sherwood. Planted, smooth, nimble, comfortable all those superlatives that you hear now and then in a MTB review, and it felt very fast. I had no pressure for that race and the effect of that psychological state was very useful. It shows the power of how process goals can reduce stress and allow performance and enjoyment to shine through the often stressful outcome oriented world of bike racing. I’m still way over my target race weight, my season was badly disrupted by swine flu and one particular rubbish event but im loving racing and riding again thanks to our sponsors, Cheers.

Myself in 3rd, Lloyd Bettles 2nd, Stephen James 1st

Warwick Cycle Races

2009-09-09T12:39:00.013+01:00

Sunday 6 September 2009
Warwick

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor
Images by Richard Robotham

After nearly five hours of alpine mountain bike racing at the World Champs, I was in the mood for something completely different. The Warwick Cycle Races (aka the Warwick Crits) is a day of town centre street racing, whereby the roads around the centre of Warwick are closed, barriers erected, and cyclists of various ages and specialities get to tear around the streets with impunity. It sounded like fun, so I signed myself up.

Andy was down in London for the weekend doing Coach Education work for British Cycling, so it was just me and Little White Bike (a carbon Cannondale Synapse), with a packed lunch and a train ticket. I put a seat pack with a C02 pump on the bike, put a spare tube and tyre levers in my back pocket for the race, and rode out to Macclesfield train station with a rucksack.

Catching the train with my bike was easy. It took just 1hr45mins to get from Macclesfield to Leamington Spa, then a gentle ride over to Warwick. I got there in plenty of time, and even got to see some of the kids' and club races. The town was heaving, and not just with cyclists. Plenty of local folk were lining the barriers, cheering and shouting, or chilling out at outside tables at the numerous coffee shops lining the track. I was having fun already, it felt like a festival.

The elite women's event was off at 2:30pm, and we got a couple of practice laps to warm up before lining up on the grid. I really had no idea what to expect, as I'd only ever done one circuit race before, which was at Milton Keynes Bowl, and it was nothing like this. There were about 20 of us lined up, and I stayed at the back of the grid, as this was a National Series race, and I had no series points for circuit racing.

We eased off the line in the manner of a road race, but then a couple of girls took off, and the race was on! I moved up to the front of the bunch, not wanting to be left behind in the tight turns, and started chasing the leaders out the front. It took a couple of laps at race speed to get used to the tight corners, and I knocked my cranks a couple of times trying to accelerate out of the corners too soon. I soon got used to it though, and Little White Bike handled beautifully. After about five laps, Nicola Juniper (PCA Ciclos Uno) escaped off the front, and no-one had the legs to chase her down. I stayed with the main bunch, and although there were plenty of strong and willing riders, we weren't really working together - more like taking turns trying to ride away.

About halfway into the race the group started to break apart, and more and more riders were getting dropped, as we started to overtake lapped riders. The gap to Nicola out front hovered between 20 and 25 seconds, but on such a tight circuit we couldn't see her. With just 10 minutes to go, we had formed a small break at the front of the main bunch - myself, Anna Fischer (Max Gear R.T.) and Natalie Creswick (Twickenham CC), but Natalie crashed on a corner with only a few laps to go, which left myself and Anna.

We were both working hard, and we had 2nd and 3rd place in the bag between us, but we knew we'd have to sprint for 2nd. The last couple of laps were ridden at a steady pace, as we both saved our legs for the sprint. Anna led up the last climb and we sprinted for the line. Unfortunately I had to get around a lapped rider in front of me, although she did her best to get out of the way. I nipped around her and up to Anna's elbow on the line, but it wasn't enough and I was beaten into 3rd place. Meanwhile, Nicola had stretched her lead from 25 seconds to nearly a minute during the last two laps while we'd eased the pace, and she lapped the entire field apart from myself and Anna.

It was lung-busting work and much more intense than my slow-cooker body is used to, but it was tremendous fun and great racing. For my third place I won £42, which was precisely the combined cost of my entry fee and train ticket, so I broke even on a day's racing, which is almost impossible in mountain bike racing!

The women's podium (from left) Jenn O'Connor (Altura Patterson Training), Nicola Juniper (PCA Ciclos Uno), Anna Fischer (Max Gear R.T.)

I was even able to secure a large skinny latte and a table with a view to watch the start of the elite men's race, before catching my train home. Warwick and Leamington Spa are lovely little towns, and the races are a wonderful day out. I hope I get the chance to go back.

A full report, results and picture gallery for the Warwick Cycle Races can be found here.

Information about Warwick Cycle Races can be found here.

UCI World Mountain Bike Marathon Championships

2009-08-27T13:08:00.015+01:00

Graz, Austria
23 August 2009

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

Representing your country is a special feeling, but it's a difficult thing to explain. I never lay awake as a kid dreaming about it. As an athlete, I never used to give it much thought. Getting my first set of National Uniform through the post back in 2006 gave me a glow of pride that I never knew existed.

Wearing the Silver Fern means, for a given place in time, I am New Zealand. Officials call me into the start box; "this way, New Zealand" as though it were my name. Spectators, strangers, shout "go New Zealand" and "go Kiwi" as I ride past because they are cheering for a country, not just a person. I even heard "go All Blacks" one year, which really made me smile. Being New Zealand makes me want to polish my shoes and scrub the mud out of my tyres. It makes me self-consciously polite. It makes me push the pedals that little bit harder, chase down that extra place. For five tough hours I can be something bigger than just me. In every other respect, a World Championship is just another race.

This year the Marathon World Championship race was held in Graz, Austria, which was perfect for me as my brother Rodney and sister-in-law Jessie live in Austria (or did - they moved back to NZ last week). Not only did I have a great family get-together, I had full complement of feed zone supporters. The women's course was 84 km with 3061 metres of climbing and steep rocky descending. It was a real mountain biker's course and I was looking forward to riding it.

My preparation this year had been less than ideal - Andy and I had planned to use the Intermontane Challenge in Canada as a week-long overload session at the beginning of the month, but unfortunately that race turned out to be a scam, and we left after just three days of somewhat patchy racing*. I've been stringing together some big training rides on the weekends since then, in an effort to get the big miles and high intensity needed for marathon racing into my legs. I arrived in Graz in pretty good shape nonetheless, happy to be with my family, wearing my national kit, and being part of the action.

Family photo - me with my brother Rod, sister-in-law Jess and my beloved Cannodale Scalpel.

Arriving with just one day to spare before the race, I was only able to pre-ride the first big road climb, a 28% lung buster. I met up briefly with Sally Bigham of Great Britain, who had been there a few days earlier, and had been able to pre-ride some of the descents. Sal seemed pretty daunted by some of the steep, rocky sections, but I wasn't too worried - not because I'm a brilliant technical rider, but because I know I can handle most terrain well enough, and being so small I can keep my balance on steep sections pretty well. In fact, I was hoping for rain to raise the challenge a bit!

I got my wish - it rained solidly all of Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night. I decided to leave the semi-slick Panaracer Razer XC on the back to keep things rolling on the long tarmac and fire road sections, but swapped to a Panaracer MACH SK up front, for a bit more bite around the edges.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. Rod and Jess were up early, along with their German friend Marcus, who was racing in one of the support races early in the day. They left our apartment about 8am, leaving Andy and I to have a leisurely breakfast before I rode up to the venue on my bike, while Andy drove straight to the first feed zone.

There are always three main races at the Marathon Worlds - the men, the women and the feed zone race. Supporters have to drive at crazy speed through winding back roads to get to the next feed zone before the riders come through, battling for parking spaces and toting wheels and bottles up hill and down dale. Andy is an elite competitor at this discipline, and he skipped the chaos at the startline to get head start on the other team cars.

In the start box, waiting to be called up to the start grid.

I had bib number 40, which put me pretty much at the back of the grid, but I was not at all concerned about that. The first road climb would take a good 20 minutes and I knew that an honest pecking order would quickly be established before there would be any need to fight over the singletrack. The gun went, and the start up the 2km flat section was a gentle warm-up before the climb. I worked my way steadily up through the pack as the road wound uphill, and found my rhythm, not wanted to tear my legs up when I knew the really big climbs were still to come.

The first descent went from muddy and rooty to fast forest track, and I made up a few more places. We then had to negotiate a fairly flat section through country roads and villages, and it was on a long road section that my friend Mel Spath, riding for Germany, came blasting past. "Go on Mel" I shouted. "Come on then Jenn" she shouted back, and I accelerated onto her wheel. We worked together and picked up the pace.

Feed Zone 1 was chaos. Riding up, it looked like a big unruly mob, arms waving and bottles flying, with no obvious route through, other than simply plunging into the middle of it all. Luckily I had Andy, standing 6'4" with the longest arms in NATO, and I spotted him easily and grabbed my bottle and Powergel.

We soon started climbing again, gently up the tarmac at first, then on to steep mud and slipperly roots. I felt good and climbed well, picking my front wheel easily over the roots. I even felt like I was floating, which was nice, but I realised it probably wasn't a good thing and had another gel. I then got my first taste of the proper descents, a very steep, slippery and rocky section, that was partly washed away down the bank. I picked through it pretty quickly and popped back out onto the road, not too far from Feed Zone 3 (FZ2 was on a men-only section). FZ3 was much more civilised, as the men's race was still out on the extra loop and those support crews were still out at FZ2. Rodney was there with my bottle and gel, and I grabbed some extra water as well. It was hot, and I was starting to rue my decision to use small, 500ml bottles.

I'd pulled away from Mel up the steep climbs, but she appeared behind me again as I rode up the rolling tarmac section out of FZ3. It was as though she had attached a rubber band to my saddle, she just kept bouncing back. I turned in the saddle and accused her of as much. She smiled and said; "you're my target. There's a bullseye on your back!" I replied that I was glad of the company, and I was. Marathon racing is much easier, both physically and mentally, if you can stick with a group.

More fire road climbing, steadier this time, up and up to FZ4. The men finally caught us just before FZ4, and we were once more plunged into chaos as we rode up what I knew to be a tarmac path, although I couldn't see anything but a sea of people. The crowd was at least 50 metres long, and most the people were looking over my head for the approaching men - they simply didn't see me, and I had to shout myself hoarse to get through. An excited teenager ran straight into me, and I had to jam on the brakes to keep from knocking him down.

I finally got through FZ4, feeling slightly battered, and the trail went suddenly quiet again. This was the big climb up to the Schöckl Bergstation at 1438 metres, and I was feeling good for it. The track was steep and rocky, and technical enough to distract from the magnitude of the climb. I was enjoying it, and now starting to make up much more time, catching riders I hadn't seen since the start line. Up, up and more up, it must have been at least 40 minutes of solid climbing. Finally I got to the top, and the trail turned sharply down, the kind of descent where hesitating isn't an option, it was just hang back over the rear wheel, look up and hold on. I knew the race was far from over, but I just needed to get to FZ5. It was hot, I was thirsty and I'd long since drained my bottle. Luckily the top section had a cool breeze, and I sucked in the fresh mountain air in lieu of water.

Click image to view the the course profile.

FZ5 was at the top of a gondola, and it was neutral service only. Luckily the event was sponsored by Powerbar, so I was able to grab the same gels and drinks from the neutral feed service that I would have had anyway. I overtook three more riders on the next rocky section. I was on a roll.

"The final descent" doesn't really describe this next section. We were on top of the world, and the way down was a rocky riverbed. Trying to walk down would have taken forever, and wouldn't have been any safer, so there was no choice but to dive in and go for it. I crashed twice, once battering myself on the rocks and again dropping my chain. I stopped to put my chain back on, and had to fend off well-meaning spectators, who obviously didn't realise their help would get me disqualified. I lost a couple of the places I'd gained on the climb, and I was cursing myself; come on Jenn, pull yourself together!

I mostly rode and partly tumbled down the riverbed, kilometre after kilometre, to FZ6 to see Andy with my last bottle of the day. Straight after the feed zone, the last climb was a long hike-a-bike scramble up a muddy bank - a dirty trick by the course designers. As we reached the top I could see two riders in front of me, Åsa Erlandsson of Sweden whom I'd been chasing for the whole race, and Arielle Van Meurs of Holland, whom I'd overtaken on the climb, but who had passed me again as I was putting my chain back on. I felt inexplicably good, so I necked another gel and started my final chase. I caught Arielle quickly on the next climb. Åsa glanced behind and saw me, and put up a good fight, but she was clearly tired and I was determined. We exchanged brief friendly greetings as I passed her (we met at the last World Champs) and I powered on for the finish. I knew I had one last, steep, rooty singletrack descent and threw myself down it with absolute abandon. It was the best I'd ridden all day. I crossed the line alone, and very happy to be finished, in a very respectable 17th place.

Mel crossed the line a few minutes and nine places later. She'd lost a lot of time trying to find her bottle in the melee at FZ4 where she'd lost sight of me, and had not caught back up. Meanwhile Sally Bigham had clearly overcome any inhibitions about the descents, as she had finished almost 10 minutes ahead of me in 10th place. Sally has had a magic season this year, and I'd expected her to do well on such a climby course. Our race was won by German rider Sabine Spitz, adding the Marathon world title to her collection, which includes an XC World Championship title, numerous World Cup wins and Olympic Gold. Swiss riders Esther Suss and Petra Henzi took the Silver and Bronze medals. Full results can be found here.

I had one final mission - to find the 2008 World Champ Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjaa and ask her to autograph my Powerbar team cap. Gunn Rita is a multi World Champ in both XC and marathon, and had a baby just five months ago. She is still breastfeeding and getting up in the night, however she defended her title, and finished 13th, a few minutes ahead of me. As those in the trade will know, Gunn Rita is a mountain biking hero. She was nowhere to be seen however, so we headed back to our apartment.

Then we found her - or at least Andy did. She was out on a recovery ride on the same road, and Andy managed to pull her over, and explained that I had been looking for her and wanted her autograph. She very graciously obliged, and even spent a few minutes chatting to Andy about the race, and about being a Mum. I didn't get to meet her, but I did get her autograph. Thank you Gunn Rita!

*We're still trying to get our money back from the defunct Intermontane Challenge, but the organiser seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth, surprise surprise.

2009-08-18T21:29:00.010+01:00

Brighton Big Dog 2009

Saturday 15th August

Stanmer Park, near Brighton

Race Report by Ruth Mordaunt

The Brighton Big Dog race was held at Stanmer Park; a wonderful parkland of trails tucked between Brighton and the South Downs.

It was a six hour endurance event around an eight mile course through predominately awesome singletrack. The rain had held off and the course was riding well on Panaracer Razer’s, which meant it was going to be a fast and furious race. I was very excited about race day and could not wait for Saturday to arrive!

We started in a grass open area for about 200 meters or so before darting left and cutting right into Stanmer Woods through the endless singletrack on offer to us. There were approximately 500 riders taking part in this event, whether they were part of a team, pair or solo riders. I opted for the women solo category. I was a little nervous as this was the longest ride I would have done all year. So my aims for the race were a) survive (!) and b) do consistent lap times.

So with a lot of riders on the start line and then a sharp left into the woods, you needed to be at the front. So I made sure I was lined up with the fast boys. Jenn you would have been proud of me!

My main competitors were Nicky Hughes (Activ) and Jenn Hopkins (The Northern Minx). I did not know any of the others on the start list in my category, and did not want to underestimate the ability of an unknown rider. So I wanted to have a good start and a fast first lap.

The course entered the woods from the main arena ready for the first climb of the day; short and sharp with several tricky tree roots, so you had to pick a good line. Then we headed right and were in a haven of singletrack woodland. It was brilliant fun to ride, but you had to be continuously focused as tree roots and logs could trip you up. The course was deceptively hilly and you definitely needed your climbing legs.

As with tradition, it would not be the same without me crashing on the first lap! Yes, approximately 20 minutes into the race I was cornering around some tree roots, lost my grip and slammed into the ground. Ouch! My elbow, knee and thigh were throbbing. I knew I had cut my elbow as the blood trickled down my arm, but the adrenalin of the race makes you jump on your bike as quickly as you can and this usually makes you forget about any pain. I thought at least I have got the crash out the way, so I won't tell you about the crashes on lap 2, 3, 6 then!

The course crossed over the A27 via bridge into another section of woodland. The volume of riders and the twisty turns in the singletrack slowed everyone down, which wasn’t great when we disturbed a wasp’s nest. The wasps were not impressed with us and proceeded to attack all riders who entered their territory. I was stung on my arm twice and later found out that many others had been stung too (including Jenn Hopkins with three or four bites across her back), so the course organisers changed the route for lap two.

The course was up a short climb back over the A27 and then up up up, which by lap 3 was the start of my cramping legs. Each lap I got my breath back and then it was back into woods for some more dips, dives and traverses across the woodland before bringing you out at the buzzing arena.

After the first lap I thought I was in the lead, as Jenn nor Nicky had passed me, but Dean (our pit bitch for the day), confirmed that I was second to a No. 23 whom was approximately 1 minute and 30 secs in front. “Really. Who is she?” I later found out that No.23 was Cait Elliot, Elite rider and National Champion for Ireland (UCD), whom has just returned from living in the French Alpes. So the next two laps I put in a big effort to try and claw back some time but also trying to keep in a steady rhythm as it was a long race and it was achievable to make up this time difference. Laps two and three were quicker lap times than Cait and I could see her just in front of me. However, come climbing on lap four, my legs started cramping to the extent I had to stop and stretch out my legs. I could see Cait push on and I just had to drink lots and ride steady for the next 5 minutes whilst the cramping eased.

When I went past the feed zone on lap five the time difference was approximately 4 minutes. I knew then that I just had to ride this next lap again within my pace as I was on the edge of cramping on every hill and hope that I could push on the last lap. I made sure I drank lots of PowerBar Energise drink which contained the magic isotonic formula. It worked as I rode a faster lap on my last lap, but still ended up 4 minutes 40 down on the winner Cait Elliot.

However, I surprised myself how well I did. I not only completed a 6 hour enduro, but with fairly consistent lap times and a podium position. Nicky Hughes taking third position whilst Jenn Hopkins was fourth.

The Brighton Big Dog was a huge success; amazing singletrack, awesome atmosphere, excellent organisation and good weather. Also, they definitely know how to create a party atmosphere with presenting you with a pint of Sussex beer as you cross the finish line and the profits of the race go behind a bar in Brighton for you to go and enjoy yourself.

I will be sure to mark this race in my calendar for next year.

A huge thank you to some lovely friends whom came to support me, especially Janet Gardner (who has the loudest cheer!), Jane and Huw Powell, and Colin Holt. Also, thank you to Karl whom took some great shots and used in this report. Finally, a massive thank you to Dean (Mountain Trax) whom fed and shouted at me to eat and drink more.

Ruth

BC Photo Gallery

2009-08-05T20:33:00.014+01:00

We have nothing more to say about the slapstick comedy event in Kamloops, but apart from the race we had a great trip, got in plenty of riding and enjoyed fantastic hospitality. After leaving the race in Kamloops and arriving back in Squamish we were invited to stay with Dave and Sandy, the owners of Corsa bike shop. Dave took us out on his after-dinner blast loop - starting with a slick rock in the back yard and singletrack on the doorstep. We've been lucky to meet fantastic people at every turn. If you ever get a chance to visit Squamish, call in to Corsa. Great shop and really great people.

Those who have been following the blog will know that we had a pretty rotten time at the race in Kamloops and left early. Our only regret is that we didn't get a chance to say goodbye to all the great people we met. Hopefully we'll get the chance to return to Kamloops some time - not to race and not in the middle of July, but to enjoy the trails with some of the mountain biking locals, whom I have no doubt are wonderful people. Canadians are some of the most hospitable people on earth and BC is still one of our favourite places.

Driving to the trailhead in a redneck pickup truck is how we rip in BC. Dude.

Kitting up to ride - it's 33 degrees and warming up.

Squamish trails are packed dirt, lots of trees, lots of roots, lots of fast riding, technical as you like. There are more trails here in Squamish and Whistler than in all the 7 Stanes combined. And, surprisingly, very few people out on them, even on the weekend.
Lunch at the new Quest University cafe overlooking Squamish. We had salad here, but we had sushi almost every night. The sushi in Squamish is awesome. Go to Sushi San for a night out or Sushi Gourman in town for a cheap and cheerful fix.

Secret trail heads back into the trees.

Andy is standing uphill of me in this picture. No, really.

Secret trail - we had to hike for 15 minutes through uncut scrub to find it. Luckily Craig didn't have to kill us afterwards...

Secret trail is a bit overgrown at the top.

The view from a roadside rest stop on the road to Kamloops. Just a bit prettier than the view from the M6.

The Big Rock. Climbers come from around the world to Squamish to have a go on the Stawamus Chief. See that car in the middle distance? It's about 200 metres from the base of the rock.

Rubbing shoulders with racing legend Tinker Juarez in Kamloops before the race. Unfortunately neither of us finished as we both lost the course (although not together).

Product testing part three - our gorgeous nephew Sam puts the Adidas Eyewear Thrusters through some extreme testing. We got to spend a night in Seattle with my cousin Vicki and her husband Chris and baby Sam. Looks like Uncle Andy has a new best friend.

We're back in the UK now, recovering from jetlag and preparing for the World Marathon Champs in Austria in a couple of weeks. While we were away, Annabel has been road racing in Belgium and Ruth bagged second place in the Southern XC champs. We'll have more race reports up soon.

Happy Trails

Jenn

The Intermontane Challenge - Part 1

2009-07-26T22:50:00.002+01:00

We've finally arrived in Kamloops and it's HOT. We signed up for this event in the hope that we would get some sunshine and now the gods are having fun with us. It is 33 degrees celcius today, and forecast to get hotter over the next week - up to 38 degrees. I'm not going to complain, I just hope there will be plenty of feedzones. We'll find out about all of that tonight at the rider briefing. Race starts tomorrow at 10am.

Bad news is, Andy's come down with a stinking cold and can barely breath. He's not sure he will be able to race, but we're holding off making any kind of decision yet. He could always start the stage tomorrow and just take it easy for the first day, but that will mean at least five hours out in the heat and he is going to suffer. We'll wait and see how he feels in the morning.

I've got some pics but the computer in the lobby here doesn't have an SD drive so they will have to wait. Tinker Juarez and the Monavie Cannondale team are here, and Tinker has a new Flash carbon 29er to try out. It is crazy light! We'll see if he can tough it out on a hardtail though, I think I'd be back on my full sus Scalpel after a day, but Tinker might just be tougher than me :-)

Jenn

BC Part One - Squamish

2009-07-24T06:20:00.009+01:00

We've been here in BC for a couple of days now and everything is just as it should be - big sky, big mountains and some real mountain biking. We're staying with our good friend Craig Bullen, who was the former UK Marketing Manager for Powerbar before he packed up and moved to Canada a couple of years ago. Craig is into his DH and that's pretty much the scene around here.

For the past two days Craig has gone out of his way to find the tamest, most flowing XC type trails for us. Most of it is stuff that, for me, is rideable but only on a good day with plenty of mojo. Lots of roots, a few drops and some really steep terrain, along the the signature BC boardwalks.

The trails here are built, but not in the same way as UK built trails. It's mostly done by locals armed with chainsaws and shovels, just heading out into the woods. It's also pretty clandestine - the trails are not designed to be permanent or weatherproof and the locals guard their favourite trails and keep them secret as much as possible. Today Craig took us to one of the secret gems, which required a 15 minute hike through rough scrub with bikes on shoulders in order to find the trailhead. Not quite the intended use for my white Mavic race shoes, but definitely worth the effort. We were rewarded with a full 20 minutes of fast, flowing dirt singletrack weaving through the woods and popping out here and there onto open cliff face with stunning views of the valley some 1,000 metres below.

This took us over to a different section of forest and some more established trails, including the Credit Line, which is marked up as a Black (expert only) trail. This always makes me a bit nervous, as "expert" in BC means serious mountain biking. For Craig, this counted as an XC trail, but for me it was on the very limit of my ability, and I'll be honest and admit I walked some parts. The parts I rode found the limits of my 80mm SID WC forks and 2.1 Panaracer Razer tyres pretty quickly. Squamish scene is hard core, and we didn't go near any of the 20 foot gap jumps or super-skinny plank rides that people associate with this place. The regular trails here are more than enough for us!

Tomorrow (Friday) is our last day here in Squamish before we head over to Kamloops to prepare for our race. We're told the trails in Kamloops will be something else again - not so rooty and technical, but fast and dusty. It's also looking like being hot. Temperatures here by the sea are comfortable enough (below 30 degrees C) but Kamloops will be 30+ each day. It's a proper adventure, and there's plenty still to come.

2009-07-22T21:39:00.004+01:00

British Cross Country Championships 2009
July 19 - Innerleithen, Scotland
Report by Ruth Mordaunt

The British XC Championships took place in Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders not far from the famous 7Stanes Glentress mountain biking centre. The Championship course was a hilly seven kilometre lap, where you needed your climbing legs and the ability to descend well; a worthy championship course which separated the best from the rest over the weekend.

Leading up to race day the weather had been changeable from bright blue skies to the heaven’s opening, which defined a sketchy terrain on the descent. The course had approximately 500 metres of climbing followed by a challenging and technical descent. I needed to choose my tyres carefully to give me confidence whilst descending whilst not dragging on the climb. A Panaracer Rampage on the front and Panaracer Fire XC Pro on the rear seemed to be a good combination for these conditions. The practise lap went perfectly and myself and my super light Cannodale Scapel were ready for action on Sunday. I loved the course and could not wait until race day.

For the Masters Woman category the expected contenders lined themselves up for a three lap race. My main rivals on the start line were defending Master XC Woman Champion Nina Davies (Orgmore Valley Wheelers), Kim Hurst (Owen Cycles), Caroline Goward (Scott) and Emma Bradley (Torq Kona).

On the gun I was already at a disadvantage, with slipping gears through the opening stretch of heavy grass field which made me slip back to near-last position (I must point out that my amazing Cannodale Scapel was perfect during warm up.) I watched as the Master Woman category rode away whilst I attempted to solve the slipping gears, which 5 minutes into the long 500m climb decided to jump between the rear cassette and rear spokes. With little success of sorting the jumping gears I rode in a much harder gear than I wanted to, placing great stress on my quads and hip flexors.

So first 5 minutes I was at the back of the bunch and working my way slowly forward. This was hard work and I had to dig deep and dip into the red a few times to make up time lost. My legs were on fire and I was not feeling great at this point, I felt like I was going so slow, but I am not a quitter and I was going to finish and finish with a medal.

During the practise lap I prayed I would not get some ‘numpty’ who could not ride the descent in front of me, especially one that would crash and ruin my line. Well, as luck would have it, I overtook Emma Bradley on the first part of sketchy descent and proceeded to crash in front of her ruining her line (sorry Emma). So I suppose that makes me the ‘numpty’ on this occasion! I passed Nina on the descent as well, who later pulled out of the race.

By the end of lap one I had made my way from the back of the bunch to third position and was wondering how far in front Kim and Caroline were. During laps two and three I struggled with the jumping gears and the fact the race was physically demanding. My hip flexors and calves were cramping which was extremely painful and slowed me down. I have never experienced cramping at all especially in a race. This was showed in my lap times for lap 2 and 3. I put it down to pushing a harder gear up all the climbs and then whilst descending I was stretching over the rear wheel (almost like a squat position) which fired up my hip flexors and quads even more. By lap three I was crawling up the climbs and not really able to put any power on the pedals without cramping. I was going at a snail’s pace and just hoped I would not be overtaken.

Kim was well out in front of the chase by Caroline and myself and proved unbeatable and claimed the jersey comfortably. Kim was the best on the day and that my mechanical difficulties may have made little difference to the winning result. Who knows and that's racing!

Back in January, with all my personal problems, I never thought I would be racing at the British Cross Country Championships 2009 and receive a bronze medal. Of course I would have liked the National Championship title, but this takes consistent training and dedication to the sport and some ‘fire in your belly’. I have the latter two and an amazing bike, so if I can get some consistent training in for next year’s championship, you never know I might just win that jersey....just for you dad!

New Stuff Part Two

2009-07-17T13:14:00.007+01:00

Catlike Vacuum 2009 Helmet

£79.95 from Prendas Ciclismo (limited sizes and colours on sale for £69.95)

Catlike are known for their distinctive and somewhat funky looking helmets, which is one of the things that first attracted us to the brand. For the past couple of years we have been using the Whisper and Whisper Plus helmets supplied by Prendas Ciclismo, and we’ve been pleased with the fit and comfort of these helmets. This season, Prendas have sent me one of the new Vacuum helmets to try out.

A name badge and a couple of Fast Kiwis make this super-cool helmet my own.

First thing to note is that it looks nothing at all like the Whisper Plus, it has a funky look all of its own. The Orange Monkey team have been using the Vacuum this season, and it has certainly turned a few heads. From the front it looks a bit like something out of Alien v. Predator and from the back it looks like a space ship. Love it or hate it… it’s a look that is kind of growing on me.

The concept behind the Vacuum is that it is designed to provide maximum airflow at lower speeds, i.e. on a mountain bike rather than on a road bike. There is no weight difference between the Vacuum and the Whisper, and no reason not to use it on the road, but it is marketed as a mountain bikers’ helmet and thus comes standard with a peak (although this is removable).

The fit for the 2009 helmets seems to have been upsized since 2008, and the first issue I had with both the new Whisper Plus and the new Vacuum was that the size small was not quite small enough. The helmet shells were fine, however the adjustable plastic retainer piece was bigger than in previous years. Luckily this is a replaceable part and I was able to take the retainer piece out of an old Whisper and swap it into the new Vacuum.

With the smaller retainer in place, the new Vacuum is a perfect fit. Helmet fit is very much a personal thing, depending on the head shape of the individual, but for me the Vacuum is by far the most comfortable and secure helmet I’ve ever owned. It fits snugly without leaving red marks from tight spots or pressure points. Adjusting the straps is easy, fitting perfectly around the ears and under the chin.

As for the ventilation aspect of the helmet, I can honestly say it’s not yet been hot enough here in the UK for me to worry about a sweaty head. However, I do get a rather odd sensation of my hair blowing about between the vents in the Vacuum, so the system is obviously working. We’ve opted for plain white for our team helmets again this year, in order to maximise the cooling benefits. I’m looking forward to the hot weather testing out in Kamloops in a couple of weeks, which will certainly put this super-cool helmet through its paces.

The peak comes as standard, but is removeable. I like peaks, so I've left mine on.

New Stuff Part One

2009-07-16T12:07:00.008+01:00

Camelbak Racebak Hydration Vest

£84.99 from Zyro

This is the Camelbak for people who don’t do Camelbaks. It uses the same principles as a Camelbak pack, except that the reservoir sits in a pouch inside the vest instead of in a pack, and is designed to be worn underneath a regular cycling jersey.

My first mistake when trying the new Racebak was to treat it as I would a regular Camelbak and fill it up. The vest comes with a designated 2L bladder, and I filled it about ¾ full, as I would for a day trip with a regular Camelbak pack. As you can see in the pictures below, the bladder swallowed up the equivalent of a 750ml plus a 500ml bottle with room to spare. This was too much for the Racebak however, and as you can see, the heavy bladder creates a bulky hump that drags on the shoulders of the vest.

It should be noted however, that I am a small person at 159cm tall (5’1”) and it may be that a larger person with a bigger back could carry this amount of fluid in a vest more comfortably. It is also worth noting that this sample is a women’s size medium, and although it is a comfortable fit, a size small may have done a better job of holding the bladder firmly against my body. This aside, when considering the ideal application for the Racebak, filling it with no more than 500-750ml of fluids for a short race or as a backup to bottles is still the best way to use it.

Once in place and on the bike, the Racebak is comfortable, and the weight of the reservoir is barely noticeable, even with the extra fluids on board. There are no straps to adjust, and there is no shifting of the load, as can happen with a pack. Jersey pockets remain useable and easily accessed, which is a huge bonus in a race situation when you need to grab gels and bars without slowing down or stopping.

The Racebak is a bit sweaty however. The vest is supplied with a removable insulating insert (see Figure 3) that sits between the reservoir and your back. This can be removed, and if you were to chill your reservoir in the fridge overnight, then this would help to keep your back cool for a time (although eventually the fluid would warm to body temperature). I’ve not had the opportunity to test this theory here in the UK, but with the hot weather and long rides planned over in Kamloops, I will certainly be chilling all of my drinks. In any case, the reservoir inevitably creates a large sweat patch on your back, just as a pack does, but this is the only factor that serves to remind you that you are wearing it. Generally speaking the Racebak is very comfortable and easy to use.

Summary: The Racebak is not an alternative to a regular Camelbak for mountain biking, and it is not intended as such. It is perfect for roadies and racers who want to carry extra fluids without throwing aerodynamics and power to weight ratios out the window. It is, effectively, a very comfortable and convenient alternative to carrying an extra bottle in your jersey pocket. However if you want to carry enough fluids for a full day out, along with tools and spares, then a regular Camelbak pack is still the best choice.

Note: The product in the pictures is a sample colour. Racebak Vests are available to buy in white only.

Tomorrow: The Catlike Vacuum helmet

The English Summertime

2009-07-08T10:43:00.003+01:00

Well, our attempt to get to Blackpool last Friday for the Grand Prix des Dames was a bit of a washout. Both Nadine and I got stuck in a monster traffic jam on the M6 and didn't make it to Blackpool in time to sign on. Annabel flew the flag for the team by herself, and put in a solid effort to finish in the bunch. No doubt she was wondering where on earth her team mates had disappeared to.

Instead, the weekend was spent clocking up the big miles, with five hours on the road bike through the Peak on Saturday, and four hours on the mountain bike on Sunday. Training in the sunshine on a mountain bike is not too much of a hardship when the weather is as lovely as it has been. Here's a pic of my beautiful Scalpel in the heart of Goyt Valley near Erwood Hall (sshh don't tell the Ramblers Association - I was walking with it, honest).

This week we are testing out some new equipment in preparation for our stage race in Canada, including a Camelbak Racerback vest (those with sharp eyes will have spotted me in it during the marathon at Crow Hill), some new Panaracer MACH tyres, and the Catlike Vacuum helmet. We're also experimenting with a carb/protein drink mix for using during competition, using different Powerbar products. Full reviews and photographs will be posted up here soon.

BMBS XC Round Four Masters and English Marathon Champs

2009-07-01T10:31:00.003+01:00

Race Report by Ruth Mordaunt

Having raced at Crow Hill a handful of times over the past couple of years, including the 2008 National Championships, it all felt familiar to be back on that start line in the New Forest. However, much of the course used previously was now in reverse for this race, which played havoc with my slight autistic traits!

As Jenn mentioned below, this weekend was an important part of the training program: two hard days of racing – the final overload, before I begin to taper off towards the National XC Champs in Innerleithen on July 19th. So with fatigued legs from Mountain Mayhem last weekend followed by a further week of training, I really was not expecting to do well this weekend, just do the best I could and finish.

The usual suspects lined themselves up on the start line for a four lap race. This year another strong Master Woman’s field, including Emma Bradley (Torq Kona), Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers), Kim Hurst (Owen Cycles) and newcomer Malin Tindberg (WDBMC/Beyond MTB).

From the gun, Kim, Emma and Nina shot in front on the grassy opening track and I tucked in behind for the first section of single track through the forest. Both Nina and I overtook Emma about half way around lap one, but then my right shoulder connected with a tree, as I lost tractio on some slippery tree roots. I panicked because I lost sight of the leading girls, and a few minutes later lost my front wheel again on another tree root and hit the ground exceptionally hard, and proceeded to swear - a lot! I know it is not race etiquette but it hurt.

At this stage Emma and, I think, Malin and Natalie Wase (Dirt Divas) had overtaken me. So 20 minutes into the race and I was back in about 6th place. I was not happy. My shoulder and leg were throbbing, but the adrenalin started to pump and a switch went in my head, and I had to have a word with myself! I climbed back on my super light carbon Cannodale Scapel and set off determined to claw back time from the disastrous first lap.

The course was relentless and deceptively hard work, but during laps 2 and 3 I made up some places and overtook Kim, who later retired from the race. Entering the final lap I realised I was in the running for a podium position so long as I kept my cool. I had Emma in sight and overtook her at the beginning of lap 4 and remained in front. Unfortunately I never managed to catch up with Nina who took the win just over a minute in front. Well done Nina.

I was really pleased with this result, especially considering the fatigue in my legs from Mountain Mayhem and the attraction I had to tree roots on lap one. It helps that I have such a superb bike. It flew around that course, even though my legs might not have been up to scratch. I also got a lot of lovely support around the course to be grateful for - there is nothing more motivating than your mother shouting “pedal faster” from the side lines!

Above: Ruth gets her first podium of the weekend, along with Nina Davies (centre) and Emma Bradley.

Then it was all about recovery for Sunday’s English 50km Marathon Championship. Now if I thought my legs felt fatigued on Saturday, they really really felt fatigued on Sunday morning. How was I going to finish a 50km race with legs like these? There were only 4 contenders in the 50km Senior Women category, including Annie Simpson (my team mate) Malin Tindberg and Hannah Minter (Pedalon). However, all 50km women started together, including Junior and Vet categories, making it 11 women in total.

From the gun, Annie and Bethany Crumpton (Junior) took off at such a fast pace that there was no way I was going to be able to maintain 4 x 12.5km laps with them. During the first steady climb I was overtaken by Carla Haines (Junior) and Malin. I had nothing left in my legs. I kept turning the pedals, but there was no power. “Oh, this was not looking good” I thought. So I decided to play to my strengths and push on through the singletrack sections and keep a steady pace on all climbs. During lap one I overtook Carla and Malin and had Annie and Beth in sight. However, Annie looked in a lot of pain going over the bumpy field. I was gutted for her that she had to pull out, but understood. It was relentless, and without a full suspension bike her back must have been hurting big time.

During lap 2, Beth and I kept each other company. Beth would speed on up the climbs and I would catch and overtake her through the singletrack. Knowing that this was Beth’s first 50km race, I knew she would have trouble judging the pace. As I expected, during lap 3, she wasn’t speeding past me on the climbs anymore and in fact I continued ahead by myself, taking the win for the 50km Senior Women English Marathon Championship approximately 7 minutes in front of Malin in 2nd place.

I was in a world of pain for the majority of that race, but kept telling myself “this is brilliant training for the National Championships, keep going girlie.” Giving up was not an option and strength of mind and determination is a powerful tool when the going gets tough.

Above: Podium number two and an English Champion's jersey. Malin Tindberg is the runner up.

BMBS XC Round Four

2009-06-30T15:08:00.004+01:00

New Forest, 27 June 2009

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

This weekend in Crow Hill was an important part of the training programme for the Altura Patterson Training Team. For Annabel and Ruth, this was the final overload before they begin to taper off towards the National XC Champs in Innerleithen on July 19th, while for myself and Andy it was the mid part of our overload in preparation for the Intermontane Challenge in Canada at the end of the month. The goal was two hard days of racing, and we got what we came for.

As I'd decided to treat this race as training, I ramped up my training in the days prior to the race instead of tapering off. I completed a four-hour hill session on Wednesday afternoon and even beat my PB up Long Hill (by 6 seconds), then followed this up with a couple of hours of minute on, minute off intervals on Thursday. On Friday I was off the bike, which is not ideal but with work from 8am-5pm then a five-hour drive straight to the venue, I had little choice. Despite all this, I felt surprisingly good on Saturday morning, which confirmed my long-held belief that my body responds well to a good battering! Up to a point, that is.

The women were first off, and I lost a few places off the start (got everything right, just wasn't quick enough) but managed to take the places back pretty quickly and established myself in third spot less than a minute behind Kate Potter (Cotic Bontrager) and Jenny Copnall (Look RT) in the first lap. The course was a relentless singletrack affair with a lot of exposed roots, and soft sections that got loamier and sandier as the race went on. Not much climbing, other than a few short power climbs, but it was a really tough course that required constant braking then accelerating. Kate and Jenny were tormenting each other in a close battle up front, and that pushed the pace right up. I had my own battle with Mel Spath (Cycleways Torq) only about 30 seconds behind me, but I held it together and maintained my third sport, keeping my lap times consistent for the full five laps. Given the strength of the competition and my own approach to the race, I was happy with my performance and my spot on the podium.

Nadine and Annabel finished in 7th and 8th respectively, despite a very strong start from both. The training overload, which started with six hours of racing apiece at Mountain Mayhem last weekend, had obviously hit them harder than it hit me. Annabel, our youngest rider, was completely exhausted after five hard laps around the Crow Hill course. Ruth held up pretty well, and even picked up the pace in the third of her four laps in the Master Women's race, moving from fifth up to second, behind Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers). Andy also had a good race, finishing 12th in the Master Men's race.

The English Marathon Champs on Sunday was the second installment in our hard weekend, and Andy and I had signed up for the full 100km, while Annabel and Ruth entered the 50km event. Nadine took the day off racing to work in the feed zone for the team for the day.

Our 100km event went off first, and I went straight to the front of the group so I could set a steady pace. My fellow competitors, including Elite racers Mel Spath and Maddie Horton (Certini) seemed content to stay with me and keep to the easy pace while we found our way around the first of the additional loops that had been added to the course for this eight lap race.

I was dismayed with the new course. Whilst the XC sections from Saturday had been left in, they had become the easy part. The new sections comprised a couple of trips back and forth across a rutted, bumpy field with no discernable track, a mucky river crossing followed by bog, and rough fire road strewn with broken up concrete. It was a nightmare. Mel and I battled over the bumps together at a steady pace, and soon had a gap on the rest of the group. Mel dropped back a couple of times but was never more than about 30 seconds behind, and soon caught back up. I was happy to sit on her wheel for a bit as we made our way together into the third of the eight laps.

It was in the middle of the third lap, through the singletrack section, that the ground started to sway and I couldn't see straight. I recognised the tell-tale signs of a migraine and pulled off the track to pull myself together. Mel disappeared, and I made my way slowly back to the feed zone, thinking I could sit down for a spell and get some more fluids down, then carry on. But by that point I couldn't open my eyes to the sunlight, even with my Adidas Evil Eyes on, and the screaming of young children in the feed zone was making me squirm. I headed back to our car and took a Zomig (migraine medication) and sat behind the tinted windows for a bit. The Zomig seemed to work and kept the worst of the headache at bay, but by that point I'd completely lost the will to race and decided to call it a day. As I mentioned, my body responds well to a battering, but only up to a point, and it knows how to tell me when it's had enough.

Mel went on to win the women's 100km, whilst Maddie Horton in second took the English Champion's title and jersey, which she was chuffed with. Annabel pulled out of her 50km race after only one lap, but I couldn't fault her for it. Whilst Andy, Ruth and I have full-suspension Scalpels, Annabel rides a full carbon Taurine hardtail, and the bumpy field would have crippled the poor lass. Ruth finished, and won, the 50km, getting us the best result of the day, although she was ill afterwards. Andy went on to complete the full eight laps and finish eighth in the 100km, to everyone's suprise including his own, although he suffered through it and is still complaining of his various pains now.

And for all of this, we will be strong, we will be fast, and we will be on peak form in a few weeks' time. It will all be worth it!

This week it's back on the road bike for another battering in the hills tomorrow, then our team heads to Blackpool for the Grand Prix Des Dames nocturne crit on Friday evening. Stay tuned for some fast racing by the seaside!

Above: The Elite Women's podium from left Jenny Copnall, Kate Potter and Jenn O'Connor

Below: The Master Women's podium from left Ruth Mordaunt, Nina Davies and Emma Bradley

Winning a Marathon Championship a Coaching view

2009-06-25T11:54:00.005+01:00

Andrew R Patterson. Patterson Training, Sport Science Support

By the time Dave Hayward and Michael Powell gridded up on the start line for the Veteran’s National MTB Marathon Championship at Margam Park, they had amassed some 800 hours of training between them, in six months of preparation. Michael was the defending champion, and Dave wanted the title.

These two athletes would ride out of their skins in this race, outclassing their competitors and stretching out a 20 minute gap to third place. The race on the day was one of the closest and most exciting marathon events ever, but the race tells only part of the story.

My challenge as coach to both of these athletes was to help each fulfil their potential, and although they shared a common goal in wanting to win the marathon jersey, each took a very different journey to the start line, and ultimately to the finish line.

To see these two in training was like a scene from Rocky III. Mike was training like Rocky – he was following my training prescription, but using a more natural and facilitative approach, relying on his own bio feedback and heart rate response. Dave was training like the Russian - using very scientific methods. Both were getting great results, Mike even managed to drop his local chain gang on his mountain bike in a show of great early form.

Each athlete knew that I was coaching the other and that I would be giving them an equal amount of input and coaching advice. What I underestimated was the extent to which this would motivate both athletes. Each knew the level of commitment and, to some extent, the strengths and weaknesses of the other. There was no question of there being an easy race, or an easy win, for either athlete.

On race day Mike went from the gun taking Dave and Pete Turnbull (the eventual Bronze medallist) with him. However, Dave’s superior power to weight ratio soon gave him the advantage, and Dave pulled ahead on the gruelling opening climb under a beating sun. Mike didn’t panic. He knew his limits and knows his body well, something that the facilitative style of coaching he has followed has given him.

I coached Mike last year to his Marathon win, where my main input was to hold back his training after ultra-endurance races. I was monitoring his nervous system fatigue and resting him until he reached the training sweet spot, when an athlete is recovered from an overload period. From that point I could add the training load again. The result was an athlete who was in top form, and able to go hard from the gun. Mike won the 2008 Marathon title by a clear 12 minutes. He would not enjoy such a clear run in this race however.

Mike is a very competent rider who has been racing for many years and is not easily fazed, even by very technical courses. He has the ability to suffer and can read a race well, allowing him to pace and time his efforts to great effect. However, he is a bit of a slave to his heart rate monitor, and its indication ruled his psychology during training.

Dave on the other hand was a very raw rider. He was fit and light, but his lack of knowledge about nutrition during races, technical skills, pacing and racing psychology were lagging well behind his physical ability. He was, however, a clean slate and was willing to undertake a very autocratic routine. We were using power meters fitted to both on and off road bikes, along with tools to monitor his nervous system. With Dave I had power, speed, cadence, heart rate, torque, temperature and altitude data for every single ride he did over the 6 month period up to the Championship race. We lab tested, field tested, pre-rode the course to build his physiology to the course demands, over geared, sprinted, core stabilised, mobilized and stretched. Then we re-tested and did it all again, only more focused this time on the weaker areas of his physiology.

Dave is only human and there is a limit of every athlete’s motivation, especially during such a demanding autocratic plan when the body and the mind say enough is enough. For Dave this came during a particularly tough carbohydrate depleted training session where a low calorie intake and demanding interval protocol led him to be training outside in a torrential rain storm on the rollers. Thunder and lightning, very tired legs and motivation pushed to the very limit was almost enough to see the bikes going in the skip. If I could have seen this coming I would have had an easy period scheduled in a day earlier, but even with good communication and coaching processes these days can and will happen with athletes. A good motivational talk, evaluation of goals and a rest week and Dave was back on track.

As spring approached the emphasis for Dave shifted to technical skills. This is a good tip for any mountain biker whose performance output has reached a plateau - don’t batter yourself with more and more intervals in an attempt to pull that extra 20 watts. Instead, get your skills tuned. It will take a good minute off your lap times during an XC race and it’s a great deal more fun than doing nose-bleed intervals up a hill. I also made some changes to David’s bike, as his original set-up was very, very wrong. Too low at the front, too narrow and the seat height was way out - so much so that it was causing an injury to the back of his knee.

The skills training paid dividends for Dave, as by the end of lap two he had managed to get through the steep, rocky descents without incident and had pulled out a 3.5 minute lead over Mike. However, the three-hour mark is a turning point in any endurance race, and this is where Mike’s experience gave him the edge. He was able to maintain the high pace and pull minutes back on the third lap from his less experienced rival. As the pair started their fourth and final lap, Dave’s lead had been whittled down to just two minutes.

There had been a turning point much earlier in the season that had not gone in Mike’s favour. He caught a virus just before spring, and it set his training back by weeks. His body took so long to recover that it was a challenge to bring him into racing form in time for the race. As well as this, he was in the middle of a house-building project over spring, which caused a fair share of disruption and distracted him from some of the key areas where marginal gains can be made. Good nutrition, recovery and regular sleep can make up the winning margin between two closely-matched athletes.

By mid-May the fitness of both athletes was as good as it could be, and the final race tuning was underway. The performance testing results for both athletes are shown below.

(AT= Aerobic threshold. OBLA= Onset of blood Lactic accumulation. MAP= Maximum aerobic power)

On paper Mike has always lagged behind Dave, but we don’t race on paper and Mike’s far superior technical skills had always enabled him to get the better of Dave in races, by quite some margin. The final test results were encouraging for Mike, as even after a disrupted winter and illness in early spring he had still increased his performance. Dave’s performance gains however were quite remarkable, and this huge increase in performance along with the skills training, may have tipped the balance in his favour. I knew it was going to be close and it was too close to call on race day.

The final preparation the athletes still had to cope with was the pre-competition anxiety that can drain the energy out of a rider before a race. I spoke to both Mike and Dave the day before the event, and reiterated the need to focus on process, pacing, feeding, gear and line selection, and when to switch from internal to external focus. Keeping all these process drills working in the athlete’s mind prevents the mind from backing up with negative thoughts or losing focus.

Mike had unfortunately lost a bottle on the first lap, and with the threat of dehydration hanging over him, decided to stop at one of the feed zones for 30 seconds, to take on extra fluid that he couldn’t carry. With temperatures reaching 28 degrees under a cloudless sky, riding without fluids was simply not an option. Mike was chipping away at Dave’s lead, pacing himself hoping that Dave would pay for the fast start.

It wasn’t to be. Dave crossed the line just 120 seconds in front, a tiny margin in a race lasting over four hours. Mike was a full 18 minutes ahead of Pete Turnbull in third. Between them they had ridden away from the field, and ridden themselves to the limit.

Dave was emotional with the joy of the win. The stress of training his weaknesses and aggregating marginal gains had taken a huge toll on him and his family. His family had given their complete support to the project and were there on the day, passing bottles and cheering him on. The win was a family achievement for the Haywards.

For Mike, juggling training with illness and outside commitments provided a different set of challenges. He had also worked very hard towards his goal, and had made significant improvements in his fitness, despite the setbacks. Stringing together blocks of unhindered training, and being able to say to yourself that you have achieved 100% in every aspect of your preparation goals is difficult to achieve, even for full-time professional athletes. External circumstances will affect the training focus, and ultimately the end performance. With structured training, Mike was able to make the most of his circumstances and produce an impressive performance on the day.

For a coach, understanding the science of human physiology is fairly straightforward. Understanding the unique learning patterns and motivations of individual athletes, and managing a training programme that incorporates an infinite range of circumstances, is a far greater challenge. It has been a pleasure to coach two such dedicated athletes, who I know will go on to consolidate their success in the future.

Andrew Patterson is a Sport Scientist and coach, owner of Patterson Training a Sport science consultancy in Macclesfield, Cheshire. He has over 10 years of experience in professional coaching and also tutors and assesses coaches for British Cycling.

OS Mountain Mayhem 2009- First Attempt

2009-06-23T21:20:00.002+01:00

Race Report By Annabel Simpson

For a few weeks before, the thought of Mountain Mayhem had been occupying my mind. It seemed such a daunting prospect for me to race for 24 hours, even if it was in a team. My main worry was that I didn’t want to let my team down, as I knew we were capable of winning.

I left home Thursday morning, all packed up and ready for a busy four days. I had a photo shoot in Harrogate for the Altura winter range on the Thursday with team mate Jenn O’Connor and coach Andy Patterson, then on Friday we were on our way down to Mayhem. I just hoped I had packed enough food and kit to get me through the weekend. I had always associated Mountain Mayhem with rain and mud, but the weather forecast was surprisingly showing sun. I didn’t want to fall for it, and so packed my wellies just in case.

We set up camp and got to do a lap around the course in sunshine on the Friday evening. It was a really fun course. A mixture of fire roads, fast single track and strength sapping climbs were definitely going to make for a hard yet enjoyable race. The race didn’t start ‘til 2pm the following day, so we had plenty of time to chill and prepare. A nice thing about being there early was that Jenn could take me round the trade area and I got to meet a lot of our sponsors. So thank you to the guys from Adidas Eyewear, SRAM, Crank brothers, Cannondale and Hope for all your encouragement over the weekend.

We returned to the tents for lots of pasta, and because there were no parties going on we retired to bed, where I was kept awake a lot of the night by a huge amount of rain. Joy! All I could think about was how the lovely bone dry course was now going to be so muddy, and I was dreaming about which Panaracer tyres would be most suitable.

The next morning we were joined by our team mates Ruth Mordaunt and Nadine Spearing, and 2pm was fast approaching. All tyre selections had been debated and set up, and we were ready to rock, and I was stupidly excited about getting started.

The claxon went and Nadine was off running, while I stood there watching thinking ‘Man I’m glad I didn’t have to do that!’ Nadine finished her lap and passed the baton on to me. We were in second place at this point behind the Beyond girls, so I knew I had to chase. I was getting quite frustrated on my first lap as there was so much traffic out on the course, but I did a 50 minute lap which I was pleased with. I then passed over to Jenn, who dished out some real pain to the Beyond girls, by passing and leaving them. Ruth then went in and did another quick lap, so by the end of the first rotation spirits were very high!

My second lap was my favourite. I’d topped up on Powergels and I wanted to put in a fast lap. Five minutes into the lap a guy overtook me at a decent pace, and I saw my chance there and then. I jumped on his wheel and we proceeded to blast around the course together. On the muddy back section of the course I had a few sneaky lines which allowed me to get the better of him few times, but we eventually arrived over the line together doing a 46 minute lap. I was very happy and also feeling rather sick after the effort, but it was definitely worth it.

Night was coming and this was the bit I was most nervous about. Jenn and Ruth did the first night shift from around 10.30pm ‘til 2am and during this period I was meant to be grabbing a bit of sleep but I was far too excitable and barely slept a wink.

Then it was my and Nadine’s turn. I downed a can of Red Bull ready for my lap, and went out into drizzly rain, equipped for the darkness with two Lupine Wilmas, on helmet and bars. The drizzle managed to destroy parts of the course, making loads of sections really slippery, especially the grass. I was getting stuck in long queues of people dragging their bikes through the mud, and I was finding it really hard to overtake safely.

Night soon passed though, and with all the team back awake it felt like we were on the home straight. All the team were still doing solid times, and we’d had no mechanicals or bad crashes (apart from Ruth’s pedal falling off and me giving myself a dead leg). The Beyond team in second were also riding a solid race and were only 30 minute behind, so we had to keep pushing to make this gap grow.

I hit a bit of bad point in my second to last lap when I kept getting cramp, and it was really making me suffer up the Kenda climb. I finished the lap feeling exhausted, demoralised and I thought I had let everyone down by doing a slow lap, but to my surprise I was only a little over 50 minutes. Coach and Ruth got me to drink as much salts as possible, and assured me I only had one lap left. The end was in sight and it felt good.

I crossed the line after my last lap with a smile from ear to ear. I had survived it and we were winning! With just Jenn and Ruth to go, I was confident that we had it in the bag. And we did! We even got an extra lap in on the Beyond team in second. I’m just so proud of us all for sticking at it all the way and I feel that I have definitely achieved something and I’m sure the other girls do too! We stood on the podium and received our winner’s jerseys and prizes and after that I feel like I’ve done nothing but sleep up until this point.

I’d like to say a big Well Done to everyone who took part, and especially to the Beyond girls for keeping us on our toes. I’d like to say I will do it again in the future, but we will wait and see.

Now I’m more that up for my next race at Crow Hill, which is another round of the National series. We will all be there and I’m even going to have a go at the 100k English Marathon Champs on the Sunday.

We will keep you posted
Annie

Annabel Simpson is 19 years old, and a former Junior National XC Champion. This is her first season as an Elite racer, and she rides for the Altura Patterson Training race team. Mayhem ’09 was her first attempt at 24 hour racing, and one of the biggest challenges for her this year.

Mountain Mayhem 2009 Photo Gallery

2009-06-23T13:32:00.019+01:00

The Altura Patterson Training team of Jenn O'Connor, Annabel Simpson, Ruth Mordaunt and Nadine Spearing won the Open Women category in the Original Source Mountain Mayhem 2009. We fought off strong competition from the Beyond Babes and Salsa Factory Racing, but in the end we clocked up 27 laps, a lap up on second place.

We'll have a full race report up soon, but in the meantime, please take a look at this wonderful collection of images from event photographer Rob Crayton.

Above: The start grid stretched out for about 100 metres as riders lined up for the run. Nadine is a former top 400m runner and did the honours for our team.

Below: Team Leader and 4x Mayhem Solo Champion Jenn O'Connor has competed in every Mountain Mayhem event since 2001, making this her 9th Mayhem.

Below: 19-year-old Annabel Simpson was the youngest team member, riding at Mayhem for the first time. She had never even ridden a bike at night before, let alone raced in the dark, and says Mayhem was "the hardest thing she's ever done". Nonetheless she did a full share of the laps, including night laps, and clocked some of the fastest lap times for the team.

Below: Masters racer Ruth Mordaunt has had a tough time this year, losing her Dad to cancer. She was understandably behind with her training coming into this race, but rose to the occasion, putting in impressive lap times and smiling for the full 24 hours. Ruth did the "glory lap" and picked up the medals for the team.

Below: Elite racer Nadine Spearing was fighting off a cold in the week leading up to Mayhem and wasn't sure if she would even be able to ride, but stuck it out for the full duration, as well as doing the run to start the race for the team. Here she is givin' it some up the notorious Kenda Climb.

Below: Coach Andrew Patterson got a place on the Adidas Eyewear 10-person fun team, and got to take his Scalpel out for a rip around the course for three laps.

Above: Ruth crosses the line to shake Pat's hand and take the finishing honours for the team.

Below: On the top step of the podium, in our fantastic Altura kit, and in our Champions' jerseys.

Another great event, thanks to Pat Adams and his team. A bit of sun, a bit of mud, a couple of crashes, a box of Honey Loops, three bags of pasta, a kilo of rice, a box of Jaffa Cakes, one missed handover, six low-fat sausages, a jar of Nutella, a box of Powergels, no end of RideShots, calf cramp, two hours of sleep, 27 laps, and a hell of a lot of fun. It can only be Mayhem!

Mountain Mayhem 24hr

2009-06-22T08:38:00.001+01:00

We won the Open Women category. Horray! Our girls were little stars, we all rode our legs to bits. Full report and pics up soon.

Too ... tired ... to blog ... zzz

Powerbar Midlands Series and Midlands Championships

2009-06-16T13:24:00.011+01:00

Race Report by Jenn O’Connor
Pics by Rob Crayton & Steve Sayers

The Powerbar Midlands Champs and round two of the series was a cracking day out at Hanchurch Woods, near Stoke-On-Trent, on Sunday. Local lad Martyn Brookes (who races for Yeti Cycles UK) put the course together, and did a fantastic job. The course had a bit of everything – a couple of big gravelly climbs, twisty singletrack descents, a huge high-speed bombhole, and lots of tricky obstacles like rock piles, logs, step-ups and drops. The atmosphere on the start line for Race 1 was a buzz of happy excitement, and it stayed that way all day.

The Midlands Championship titles were up for grabs, and Dave Collins (SiS) had a storming ride in the afternoon race to take the Elite men’s title. Unfortunately the only eligible rider in the Elite women’s race, Annie Last (Halfords), did not finish, so we didn’t award an Elite female champion. However Rachel Fenton had a great ride to win the Expert Champion’s title, and as such took top honours as the leading female Midlands racer.

Our race was set for five laps, and at about 25 minutes per lap it was a long race by modern standards, more in line with classic XC distance. I was line up against my young team mate Annabel Simpson, as well as Annie Last. These young riders are very quick, and brilliant on the technical stuff, and I knew I would have my work cut out taking the race to them on this course.

Annie took to the front of the group on the first climb, and I was happy to let her set the pace and see how things would unfold. Sure enough, she got away from me in the middle section of the course through the singletrack descents, but I caught her back up towards the end of the lap. Lap 2 was the same again, and we set out on Lap 3 still together. I managed to hold her wheel a bit better through the singletrack this time, but unfortunately she broke her chain near the end of the lap. I rode easy for a few minutes through to the feedzone, to give her a chance to fix her chain, then set off at race pace again.

Annie managed to fix her chain pretty quickly, and was only about three minutes behind, but decided to call it a day after four laps, as it was her first race back after being ill, and she felt she’d had enough. Meanwhile, our Annabel damaged a pedal on her third lap, but managed to limp around mostly one-legged to finish the full five laps and take second place.

The afternoon race saw Dave Collins take the win, but he didn’t have things all his own way. He had Robert Friel (KTM-Pod) for company for the first two of six laps, but Robert lost about three minutes in the third lap, and despite a strong performance in the second half of the race, was unable to take back the time and missed the podium. Oli Cox (Pedal Power) put in a strong showing to take second with Andrew Cockburn (Cambridge CC) in third.

The Master mens’ race, also in the afternoon, was another close-fought race with just five minutes separating the top 10 places. Matt Barrett (KTM-Pod) led from the start but was chased hard all the way by Phil Morris (XCracer 29ers), and finished with a lead of just 26 seconds. Glenn Stanford (Extreme Sports Therapy) took third, another 12 seconds back. The chasing bunch included Altura Patterson Training Coach Andrew Patterson, who had a great battle with Darren Alexander (Mini Adventure) and Chris Rathbone (Websters Specialized), but was outsprinted by Darren on the line and finished seventh, with Matthew Dennis (Yeti Cycles UK) ahead in fourth place.

The Junior female title went to Danielle Rider (Sherwood Pines), in the race by herself but nonetheless putting in some quick laps to earn her medal. Ben Roff (Orange Monkey) took the Junior men’s win ahead of Lewis Burke (Macclesfield Wheelers) and Aron Marshall (Sherwood Pines).

Verity Appleyard beat Gill Hilton by 57 seconds to take the Master women’s win. Patterson Training client Michael Powell (Sherwood Pines) had a fairly comfortable win over Mark James (Bad Ass Bikes) in the Vet men’s race, with John Smith (Numplumz) in third. The Vet women’s race saw an impressive ride by World Masters Champ Belinda Tarling (Cheltenham & County), finishing 14 minutes ahead of nearest rival Karen Summers (Paramount) and third placed Lorna Rider (Sherwood Pines).

In the morning Youth race, Matt Sumpton (Matlock CC) won by over two minuntes from Alex Baker (Orange Monkey) and James Hyde (Numplumz). Bethany Crumpton made the most of her front-row starting position to win the Youth girls’ race by eight minutes ahead of Hollie Bettles (XCracer.com/Trek).

For a full list of results and lap times in all the categories please go to http://www.timelaps.co.uk/.

For a full gallery of pics by Rob Crayton please go to http://www.robcrayton.co.uk/.

For news on the Midlands Championship titles and series standings please go to http://www.xcracer.com/.

Big thanks to organisers Nadine Spearing (another Altura Patterson Training team rider) and James Hampshire for putting on an awesome event. You can see the Altura Patterson Training team in action at the Original Source Mountain Mayhem 24 hour race next weekend.

Elite Women on the start line

Jenn O'Connor

Annabel Simpson

Lost the fight but the battle will continue

2009-06-16T13:10:00.003+01:00

On Sunday I raced the Midlands Championship mountain bike race and had one of the best fights In my 20 years of mountain bike racing. The result was ok, 7th place, my legs were good and I was riding the Scalpel to its very limit and beyond on a couple of occasions. Crashes were causing position changes every lap and it was a race I had no intention of settling in to.

Loamy sections were proving difficult for the weight weenies who were running semi slick tyres, giving me and my Panaracer Rampage a very big advantage. I did get my suspension set up slightly wrong with too much air in both the front and rear, but that firmness allowed the Scalpel to zip away from my competition when the course opened out. On the last lap I was clear in 6th spot but a root rolled the tyre and I had the dilemma of riding it to the finish and risking rolling the tyre off completely on the big bomb hole section or quickly stopping to put some air in, I chose the latter and was passed by my nemesis, Darren Alexander (Mini Adventure).

I rode hard to catch him back up waiting for my time to attack, which came on the final steep loamy climb where I hit the 180 cranks hard and powered away to a 20 metre gap. As the finish line approached my chase and attack was being paid back and I looked round to see Darren closing me down. He put in a good finishing effort and beat me to the line, a fight I will continue in the next round.

The race was an experience I will recall to lift my spirits in future races. On reflection It wasn’t the result that mattered to me, it was the way the race unfolded and how I managed to focus on gaining places rather than holding position and fight hard to the end.

One For The Road

2009-06-12T20:44:00.012+01:00

Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod Carbon finished with FSA K-Force and SRAM Red

Those who have been following the blog will know that this is the first season the Altura Patterson Training team has made an appearance on the UK road racing scene. We have been lucky enough to secure the support of Cannondale, along with our various co-sponsors in this venture, and I've made the most of the opportunity to build myself a really special road bike.

This lovely white machine is a Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod, which is Cannondale's lightest and stiffest carbon layup. The bike started life as an Ultegra SL compact, but with help from FSA and SRAM, I've upgraded it to a no-compromise dream bike. It's a 48cm, which is not the smallest frame that Cannondale build, but it is a very small bike.

I started by replacing the shifters, and front and rear mechs with SRAM Red. I've been using SRAM Rival on my training bike for two years now, and I have been really impressed with the smoothness and reliability of the system. SRAM Red was the obvious choice for this bike. Not only do I have a super light setup and crisp shifting, I have a perfect colour match!

Cannondales are built with BB30 bottom bracket cups as standard, and the FSA SLK-Light BB30 carbon crankset in 170mm was part of the original specification, so I left it on. Crank Brothers supply pedals for all of our team bikes, and our road bikes are sporting these Quattro Ti pedals. The Fast Kiwi (above centre) is our team mascot, and appears on all of my bikes.

The original Ultegra SL brakes have been replaced with FSA K-Force front and rear. The original FSA 420mm alloy bars have also been upgraded to this 400mm FSA K-Force carbon compact set. I can now ride in the drops and reach my levers comfortably, even with my very small hands.

This Lizard Skins bar tape is lovely stuff, and it's unlike anything else on the market. It is grippy without being sticky and has a tactile feel and shiny finish. Everyone who touches it responds by saying "oooh" and putting both hands on the bars. Lizard Skins supplied us with a choice of white or red, and I have a psycho-sematic response to the colour red - I see it and it makes me go faster. I swear I get an extra 20 watts out of this red bar tape. I'm also certain that anyone who has a SRAM Red system on their bike will want this red bar tape, as it compiments the shifters beautifully. Red is the new white. You heard it here first.

The original spec Fizik Tundra saddle had to go, and I managed to procure this white Specialized Ruby Pro 143, which fits the look of the bike and, most importantly, fits my backside. I also have a Prologo Nago PAS, which I use on my mountain bike and I swap between the two. The Prologo neoprene pod seatpack keeps essential C02 cannisters and allen keys handy without scuffing up the aero carbon seatpost.

The finishing touch is a set of Panaracer Extreme Lite tyres, which stick to the road in all conditions, and are actually pretty durable, despite their light weight.

So, how does it ride? It's unlike any other bike I've ever ridden, in fact it's another species altogether. My last carbon bike was a Specialized Ruby Pro, which was lovely to ride, but not in the same league as the Synapse for sheer raceability. I ride two gears up on this bike. I took 11 seconds out of my PB on Long Hill, from 16:29 down to 16:18, riding straight from work with a rucksack on. The BB30 bottom bracket is so stiff, if I turn the pedals in anger I have to hold on tight to the bars. I've developed an ability to sprint that simply didn't exist before.

Despite its small size, the bike has a reasonable wheelbase, and feels stable and planted on the descents. I can descend the bottom section of Buxton Road in the drops, barely touching the brakes, with total confidence, whereas I'd always felt nervous on my old training bike.

I'm really enjoying racing my new road bike, and if I didn't enjoy mountain biking so much, I'd happily ride this bike every day.

Jenn

It wasn't an excuse to get out of bike washing..Honest

2009-06-03T21:34:00.007+01:00

With reference to Jenns comments on my cunning plan to get out of bike washing, I have added below the heart rate data from my flutter.
As Jenn mentioned its not a problem, my Father has it, my Grandfather had it (And lived to nearly 100) and I am stuck with it, along with the big lungs gene and the ability to build upper body muscle when passing within 10 yards of a bar bell, which kind of cancels out the huge lungs... unless I switch to rowing which suits my 6 feet 4 frame build.

As it happens I hate water and have only ever used a gym rower so for now it's back to the bike training.

As you can see this resting HR value kind of messes up my training zone calculation. The dip is where it all went back to normal if not slightly elevated from normal resting HR values due to the fact I had done 3 laps of Margham on the nail in high temperatures. The raised 90 bpm is the oxygen debt which takes into account the residual effects of thermogenic hormones, temperature regulation, blood return to the lungs from the working muscle and the like.

BMBS XC Round Three

2009-06-01T13:17:00.005+01:00

Margam Park, Wales

30-31 May 2009

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

It was a bag of 4th places for Altura Patterson Training this weekend, along with a few DNFs. It was also the most glorious weather we've had for years, and a real taste of summer. No complaints from me, but there were a fair few people panting by the end of the day on Sunday, and more than a few smiling sunburned faces.

Our elite women's race was the first off on Saturday morning, and I was lined up with all the usual suspects. As in all our races this year, there was no way to pick a winner, and everyone was eagar to get a good result. My legs felt strong, and I was feeling pretty good. My concussion at Round Two in Dalby three weeks ago had left me feeling wiped out, and the bruising in my knee still comes and goes, but in the days leading up to this race I was finally starting to feel strong again, and I'd been really looking forward to the weekend.

The Elite Women's race gets underway, beneath a cloudless blue sky.

I got a pretty good start too (yes, I have been practising), and rode hard to stay on the wheel of Kate Potter (Cotic Bontrager) as we rode into the first climbs. Kate has spent the best part of this season getting battered about in the elbow-to-elbow throng of the World Cup circuit, and it has clearly done her confidence the world of good. She tapped up the climbs and rode off the front of the bunch without a backward glance. Behind her I settled into a rhythm and was soon trading places with Sue Clarke (SiS) and National Champ Jenny Copnall (Look RT). By the third lap we'd settled into our positions - Sue 2nd, Jenny 3rd and me in 4th, which was how the race finished. I was tiring over the last two laps and losing minutes, which was a bit disappointing as I usually have much better stamina than that. But 4th is a fair result in such a strong field, and I know I can train my stamina back. I was also quietly pleased to see all the old favourites back on the podium, showing the young guns we're not ready to roll over just yet!

The Master Women's race started a few minutes after ours, and Ruth managed to but her troubles behind her and put in a solid effort to secure 4th place in her race behind Masters Champ Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers), Kim Hurst and Emma Bradley (Torq).

Andy raced in the Master Men's event in the afternoon, but was forced to pull out after three laps, as his atrial flutter came on and wouldn't calm down. It's not a serious condition, but causes his heart to beat fast and shallow, so he has to lie down and wait for it to stop. It was still tapping away at 210bpm two hours later, and we were about to have him carted off to the cardiac unit when it finally dropped back to a normal rhythm (just as I finishing cleaning his bike).

Sunday was the British Marathon Champs, and everyone on our team was having a crack at it, apart from me (the Kiwi). I was designated pit helper for six people - Andy, Nadine, Annabel, Ruth, James Hampshire (Nadine's partner) and Ross Creber (Annabel's partner). I did a lap of the 22km course in the morning before the race and nearly didn't get back in time for the start. Carting water, food, chairs, tools, buckets etc up into the Feed Zone was exhausting enough, and I certainly have new respect for those who do this chore at every race.

Ross was first through, in the lead bunch with Oli Beckinsale (Giant RT) and Paul Oldham (Hope). James (XCracer.com) was next, riding well and cheerful as always. Then came Annabel, sitting mid-pack in the women's field. Annabel had never attempted a marathon before and was pacing herself well. Nadine was not far behind, also racing the miles into her legs and riding well. Ruth came through looking very determined in the 50km half marathon race.

Andy eventually came in on foot, having shredded his semi-slick Panaracer on a rocky descent, and then puncturing again after repairing it with a tube. He fixed his tyre again in the pits, and while I was busy with the track pump, I missed Ross coming through for his second lap, still up with the leaders. Sorry Ross! Luckily Andy caught him when he missed a gear at the top of the feed zone, and gave him a bottle.

Oli eventully won the men's title, with Paul second and Ian Bibby (Halfords) taking the bronze. Ross finished fifth, a great result. The women's championship was won in convincing style by defending champion Sally Bigham (Topeak Ergon), who etched out a 10 minute lead over Jenny Copnall. Jenny showed her class as the only rider to finish in the top three after racing the XC the day before. Jane Nuessli overtook Gemma Collins in the last lap to take the final medal position. Nadine rode a steady race to finish 11th, while Annabel had a bad crash on her third lap, and was bitterly disappointed not to finish.

Ruth finished 4th in the 50km event, while Andy finished three laps, but had lost so much time with his punctures that he didn't go out for the fourth, and so also didn't finish. As for me, I'm so exhausted after five hours running about in the sun passing bottles that I'm taking a rest day to recover!

Something Special...

2009-05-27T12:48:00.006+01:00

Hope Technologies are a wonderfully innovative company in Barnoldswick here in the UK, and anyone who knows anything about mountain bikes will have heard of Hope. Their flagship product line is their range of hydraulic disc brake systems, and Hope have been sponsoring me with their wonderful Mono Minis since 2004.

My sponsorship with Hope is part of their Factory Sponsored Riders programme, providing selected athletes in the UK and abroad with a full range of their fantastic kit. Hope Factory Sponsored riders get their kit custom anodised - bright green for the men and pink for the women. This custom kit is done as a special run and is available to the team riders only. This year there is just one Hope Factory Sponsored female XC racer in the world - lucky old me!

This means my new 3-bolt Pro3 SP pink hub wheels in their Stans 355 hoops are the only ones of their kind in the world.

The 355 rims are not quite as light as the Stans Race 7000 versions, but the integrated hub and rotor system takes some of that weight back, making these wheels competitively light (1450gm per set, including rotors) and very strong and durable. Durability in wheels is especially important in marathon and stage racing, when you don't always know what's around the next corner. They have a rider weight limit of 85kg, but for me at 50kg they are pretty much bombproof.

The matching pink Mono Mini Pro brakeset is also unique (although you can buy a standard Mono Mini in pink).

To find out more about Hope kit go to http://www.hopetech.com/. You can't get these wheels in pink, but you can get the same technology in black.

A Long Weekend

2009-05-26T09:55:00.003+01:00

Recovering from my crash at Dalby has taken a bit longer than expected, but I'm finally starting to feel like I'm back on top of things. We've been making the most of having a couple of weeks off racing to rest and polish up on the mountain biking, with long rides on our local trails here in the Peak, and a day trip to Llandegla in North Wales on Sunday.

On a warm summer evening, there's no place better than Macc Forest on a mountain bike.

Straiton Road Race

2009-05-12T15:26:00.011+01:00

Report by Nadine Spearing

This weekend I decided to leave my knobbly tyres at home, missing Round 2 of the British XC Series, and take my Synapse race machine on a 700 mile round trip to the scenic Ayrshire town of Straiton in Scotland for Round 2 of the National Women's Road Race Series.

The race was 71km and after a very slow neutralised start, we climbed out of the town to the very quiet country lanes and the race was on. I tucked in near the front of a reasonably small bunch of 26 women and descended down the roughest roads I've ever ridden, dodging potholes and sailing round sweeping bends that went on for several miles.

The course then took 3 laps round a rolling course, before finally heading back towards Straiton via a 5 mile climb. It felt like there was a lot more descending than climbing during the 3 laps, as the hills were short and the descents very gradual. In the back of my mind during the whole race was the final climb to the finish and I made an effort to ensure I had enough left in the tank to make it up the final climb fast.

From the start there was a constant flow of attacks, particularly from the Max Gear RT team, who were kitted up with team radios and one after another the 4 of them would attack, get reeled in by the bunch, then the next one would go. Other attacks came from Lynn Hamel who made more of an effort to get away than anyone, but the bunch stayed together until the final climb.

There was one steep hill in the lap where inevitably, attacks were made every time, and it came straight after a very fast descent into a right hand bend covered with loose gravel. A lot of my competitors were hesitant descending here, and so I made sure I was at the front of the bunch before the descent to avoid any crashes or get held up. The bunch spread out a lot down this descent so the riders at the back had a lot of work to do to catch back up, and I could see it was taking it's toll on some of them, while I preserved as much energy as possible.

The final 5 mile climb wasn't as severe as I'd anticipated, with my mountain biking legs quite used to climbing. At about the halfway mark an attack went, was chased down, and then the bunch split in two. I felt comfortable up the climb and sat in the front bunch of 12 waiting for the sprint finish which was drawing ever closer.

I knew the finish was along this climb, but it all looked the same to me and I wasn't actually sure where exactly the finish line was. I had assumed we had a couple more minutes climbing to do when the front riders started sprinting. I reacted quickly, picked up the pace and then I saw the chequered flag. I sprinted into 3rd position but let myself down with a poor gear choice; I was under-geared and couldn't accelerate past Ella Sadler-Andrews in 1st and Claire Thomas in 2nd. All too quickly the line rushed under our wheels and I finished in 3rd position. It was frustrating, because my legs had a lot left in them, but I am pleased with the improvements that I've made and the lessons I'm learning in only a handful of races that I've done so far on the road.

Shiny Side Up, Rubber Side Down

2009-05-11T12:12:00.006+01:00

Pics courtesy of Rob Crayton www.robcrayton.co.uk

It's one of the core prinicples of effective bike racing, but sometimes we get it wrong. It's been a while since I had a crash I couldn't get up from, but I made it a classic over-the-bars-flying-through-the-air head stack down the Medusa Drop at the second round of the British Mountain Bike Series in Dalby on Sunday.

I'm mad with myself for crashing, as up until that point on the final lap, everything had been going pretty well. I had another poor start after missing my pedal on the startline (must practice start drills!) but was steadily working my way through the field and had made it to third place with one lap to go. I had second placed Mel Spath (Cycleways Torq) in my sights and I was feeling strong, and working hard to reel her in on the final lap.

The new Dalby course was one of the most technically challenging XC courses I've ridden, and I was confident after practice that I could do well on it, as I'm (usually) pretty good with drops and steep stuff. However, I remember thinking it was the sort of course that would catch people out in the final laps when fatigue set in and concentration started to lapse a bit, and I must have jinxed myself because that's exactly what happened to me.

I landed on my head and left shoulder, but luckily my Catlike Whisper Pro helmet did its job and took the worst of the hit. No broken bones, just a dead left arm, and no major head trauma, just a few dizzy spells and a cracking headache that I'm holding off with an industrial dose of Ibuprofen.

The race was won by visiting Australian Katherine O'Shea (Torq Aus), who went off from the gun and got a clean run right through to the end. Sue Clarke (SiS) was also putting in some very fast laps, but a puncture on lap 3 put her out of contention for the podium. Mel held on to her 2nd place, and Lily Matthews (100% Me) inherited the final podium spot, after very nearly mowing me down and finishing me off I was being attended by medics at the side of the track.

Coach Andy Patterson raced in the Sport category at lunchtime, after missing a spot in the oversubscibed Masters race later in the afternoon. He finished 8th in a field of 50 starters, after working his way up from the back of the start grid, railing all the berms on the big Scalpel (Andy loves berms) and holding off some of the smaller racers with his condor-like elbows!

Oli Beckinsale (Giant) managed to hold off the other visiting Aussie Daniel McConnell (Torq Aus), with Brit rider David Fletcher taking third in the Elite men's race.

For full results from Round 2 of the BMBS please visit http://www.timelaps.co.uk/.

Our team mates were not with us this weekend - Annabel has had a fever for the past couple of days and decided not to race, while Ruth has had a family bereavement to deal with. Nadine opted for a road race up in Straiton, Scotland, and finished third, which is her first podium in a national series road race. We'll have a race report from Nadine up soon.

Our next event is Round 3 of the BMBS down at Margam Park in South Wales, which means we have three weeks in which to recover and rebuild. We will all be there, and hopefully staying upright!

Jenn

Two Days of Bedford

2009-05-05T12:07:00.007+01:00

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

This was one of our big road races of the season, and we've all been looking forward to it. As this was a team event, we'd bolstered our team with the addition of Paula Moseley and Alli Northcott, and both proved themselves great choices time and again over the course of the weekend.

Day 1 - Sunday 3rd May 2009
Stage 1 - Team Time Trial 9.7km

The whole team had to start but only the top four times counted towards the team score. Apart from Annabel, none of us had ever done a TTT before, and we'd never ridden together as a team. I start off on the front, and took off fairly steady to ensure we all got clipped in and moving together. Alli (who had never done any kind of TT) took the next turn and went off at a hell of a pace, then missed the last wheel and disappeared, so we were a rider down within the first 500m. We couldn't afford to lose another rider, so we rode carefully. Nadine struggles with TTs and Annie and I jollied her along, while Paula with her bar extensions did the extra share on the front. We finished in 15:12, which put us in 5th place and 38 seconds down on the leaders going into Stage 2.

Stage 2 - Keysoe Road Race 80km

Our rough plan was for Nadine to try for the sprint primes, while Annie and I would try for the hill primes, and Alli and Paula would cover the breaks and look after Nadine. It all went out the window. The bunch of 80 riders were crammed into one side of the road around tight country lanes and it look two of the five laps for me to work my way to the front, and that was only because I had fearless Alli working for me, making gaps where there were none.

Things were settling down a bit, when the crash happened. I didn't see it start, but I saw riders go down on my left, then a rider hit the deck right in front of me. I don't know how I didn't crash. Eight riders went down in all, with one broken ankle and a set of snapped handlebars. The race carried on, albeit a bit shaken up.

The hill sprint was not really a hill so much as a short rise, so it favoured the sprinters over the pure climbers in any case. Nonetheless, I managed to line myself up for the second hill prime and crossed the line third, for a few bonus points. I then chanced a second place in one of the sprint primes, as I happened to be one of three riders who had gotten away from the bunch back up the road.

The group inevitably came back together, and it was Paula who got a break with Julie Cook (Squadra Donne) and got away on the last lap. They were chased and caught by Natalie Cresswick (Twickenham CC), who eventually won, with Julie second and Paula third. Meanwhile, Alli and I managed to keep the rest of the bunch together, and I went for the bunch sprint up the hill to the finish securing the fourth spot. Result! This put Paula second on GC as she'd clawed back some of the lost time from the TTT by finishing in the break. I was 12th on GC thanks to my sprint efforts, and Alli lost no time finishing in the bunch behind me. Annie had bad stomach cramps and struggled through to finish, while Nadine finished behind the main bunch.

Day Two - Monday 4th May 2009

Stage 3 - Individual Time Trial 3.37km

A really short TT, with a gradual descent, a gradual climb and a flat. I think the organisers kept the time trials deliberately short so that the advantage gained by those with proper TT bikes and aero kit would not dictate the outcome of the whole event. We rode the TTs on standard road bikes, although Paula had a set of tri-bars and clocked about 10 seconds faster than me and Annie (on the same time to the second) with Alli and Nadine about 10 seconds slower again. The result dropped Paula dropped back to third on GC and we knew we'd have to race tactics in the afternoon road race if we wanted to keep or better that place. There was a "Combative" prize to be awarded, and we were gunning for it.

Stage 4 - Cranfield Road Race 71km

Now we were looking after Paula. Our team stayed on the front and marked Julie Cook and Danni King, the other two GC contenders. The only way for Paula to improve her position was to get in a break with one of the other two, or break away on her own, but there were just seconds in it, and we couldn't afford to let any breaks go without Paula. Annie started things off with attacks off the front in the first lap, and I followed it up with a long attack that saw me off the front for about 10 minutes. Then Alli went. We kept attacking and chasing everything that moved. I even got another sprint prime, securing 3rd place in the sprint competition, which is a bit of an outrage as I'm not a sprinter at all.

Then the next disaster happened. I'd allowed myself to drop back into the bunch after my sprint, when a group of three horseriders decided to take their chances and ride down the road into the peloton. We were trying to keep left but there were 80 of us on a narrow country lane. Sure enough, one of the horses spooked and bolted straight into the bunch, scattering riders and bikes in all directions. The front half of the race carried on, while the rest of us were left stranded, unable to get past the panicking horse. The marshalls pulled out the red flag and stopped the race. Thankfully no-one was hurt this time, despite the apparent carnage.

We were re-gridded at the top of the hill to re-start the final lap. A lot of riders were visibly shaken and there were plenty of trembling hands on bars, including mine. We set off for the final lap, but the fight seemed to have gone out of the bunch, like we all just wanted it to be over. It was raining but this stage and the roads were wet. I felt like I was riding just to survive, and I was happy to let my team mates fight it out at the front, as it was clear no breaks would go. Paula made a few last attempts to get away, but the bunch just strung out behind her. In the end she tired herself out and didn't have anything for the final sprint, which was won by Laura Trott (Impsport A). Paula finished in the bunch and held her 3rd place on GC. It was the result we'd been working for.

The team event was won by Squadra Donne, the composite team that included both Julie Cook and Danni King. MaxGear finished second, largely on the strength of a good TTT at the start, while Altura Patterson Training finished third. Three third places! Not bad at all!

No Combative prize was awarded in the end. Maybe it went to the horse.

Big thanks to Alli and Paula - you guys were awesome, and we hope to have you on our team again!

Cheshire Classic

2009-04-27T12:47:00.005+01:00

Sunday 26th April, 2009
Hosted by Weaverham CC
Pics by Andrew Patterson

Some say road racing is a lottery. Others argue that you make your own luck. The Cheshire Classic was another frustrating day for our Altura Patterson Training team, with no results to show for our work, but nonetheless it was an exciting race.

It was a group of about 50 women, ranging from Elites through to 4th cats, who rolled out onto the 10km Weaverham circuit for the first of 8 laps. Our team comprised me (Jenn O’Connor), Annabel Simpson and Nadine Spearing. With just three of us we didn’t have much of a game plan, except that Annabel and I would stay up front, chase breaks and try to get away, whilst Nadine would sit in the bunch and wait to see if it came together for a sprint at the end.

The action started on the first lap, when Paralympic Champion Sarah Storey MBE jumped off the front and headed up the road whilst most the peloton were still clipping into their pedals. No-one else wanted to try for a break this early in proceedings, and we half expected Sarah to ride up the road a bit, then sit up. She didn’t. We had to pull ourselves together and get composed for a bunch chase as Sarah powered on ahead.

A group of about six of us started the work, with another six to ten doing the occasional turn. The rest of the bunch were along for the ride. As such, it took about three laps to bring Sarah back, during which time she stretched her lead out to 29 seconds, the biggest gap of the day. The bunch continued to splinter, and the slower riders were shelled out the back, but the main group stayed together as we moved into the second half of the race.

Weaverham is a difficult circuit for breaks. There is one short, steep climb, Acton Hill, and the only natural point for a break is at the top of the climb when the bunch is strung out and the weaker and heavier riders are puffing. However, the circuit then rolls down steadily for about 3km, and inevitably the bunch comes together, gathers momentum, and usually sucks up any plucky riders trying to open a gap. The next section is a draggy and exposed dual carriageway, where the peloton effect is at its greatest, and any lone riders still out in front can be easily brought back by a working bunch.

So it was on Sunday. There were plenty of plucky riders in the bunch, including our Annabel, Annie Last, Dani King, Hannah Mayo, my good friend Paula Mosely (another mountain biker) and a number of others I didn’t recognise. We all had a few digs, especially Annabel and Annie Last, who for one lap attacked repeatedly. The biggest gap was never more than about five seconds however, as the main group was strong and determined. On the last lap it looked like a bunch sprint was looming.

It was Sarah Storey again who made the final attack on the last run up the dual carriageway, but this time there was no getting away. I made point of sitting on her wheel and the bunch stretched out behind us. We tossed away our drink bottles in preparation for the sprint up to the finish line, halfway up Acton Hill. I was in the perfect position, which made me a bit uneasy as I have no sprint to speak of, and I would much rather have had Nadine or Annabel in my place at that point.

Sure enough we rounded the bend at the bottom and I pulled out around Sarah, hoping my team mates were not boxed in behind me. Annie Last pulled up beside me and I could feel the rest of the bunch breathing down my neck. Then I saw a blue and white flash as Nadine, who had managed to get around the bunch, unleashed her sprint and came flying past. Get in! She and the rest of the bunch, including our Annabel, streamed past me in the rush to the line.

But it wasn’t to be. To my dismay I saw Nadine start to labour in the pedals and she seemed to almost grind to a halt. I thought she must have gone too early and blown, but it turns out that, in the heat of the moment, she had started her final sprint with her hands on the brake hoods instead of in the drops. The force of the sprint had pulled the brake hood over, and jammed the front brake on just 30 meters from the line. Our Annabel, who had been battling a nagging calf cramp throughout the race, was unable to muster her usual turn of speed and was not in a position to challenge for the line. We all finished in the bunch.

It was young rider Annie Last, also a mountain biker, who took the win a good couple of bike lengths ahead of Dani King in second. I have to give Annie full credit for her win, as she worked hard throughout the race and timed her sprint to the line perfectly. Credit must also go to Sarah Storey, who livened up the race and did more work than anyone, albeit to no avail on the line.

It is apparent that road racing is a trade that must be learned through experience, as well as training. The “she who pedals fastest wins” approach of XC MTB racing simply doesn’t work on the road. This is a whole other sport. The Cheshire Classic was our second race in our first season as a road team, and so far it has been a lot of frustration with little fruition. But we are fit, and we will get it right! Next week is the Bedford 2-Day, which is a stage race with two time trials and two road races. Our team will be more fired up than ever!

Paralympic Champion Sarah Storey MBE made the only real break of the race but was brought back by the chasing bunch

Altura Patterston Training riders Jenn O'Connor (left) and Annabel Simpson lead the bunch up Acton Hill

Annie Last wins the sprint for the line

PowerBar Midland Series Round 1

2009-04-21T15:28:00.006+01:00

Cosford Park, nr Rugby
Sunday, 19th April 2009

Pics by Rob Crayton
www.robcrayton.co.uk

The first round of the Powerbar Midland Series kicked off in style down in Rugby last Sunday, with a warm sunshine and fast, dry trails (with the notable exception of one enormous puddle, hence the muddy bikes).

The Midlands is organised by Altura Patterson Training team rider Nadine Spearing and her partner James Hampshire, and is sponsored by our team sponsor Powerbar, so we were all there for the opening round. Annie and I flew the team flag in the Elite Women’s race while Nadine took care of the signing on and race admin, and coach Andy Patterson had his first MTB race of the season in the Master Men’s race in the afternoon. Full credit goes to Nadine and James, as the whole day ran smoothly. Charlie Wigfall kept us entertained with commentary and 30 years of Hip Hop, and we even had a great bunch of hecklers with cow bells in the feed zone.

Annie and I had our work cut out on the racing side, as we were lined up against top Kiwi racer Rosara Joseph, the rider who pipped me into second place at the first round of the NPS. Rosara set the pace from the gun, and soon opened a gap on us both. The course comprised short power climbs, sweeping off-camber descents and twisty, rooty singletrack. It was a tough and tiring course as there was little chance to rest or drink, but it made for fast, fun racing. Rosara won, with myself second and Annie third. Andy raced in the afternoon and finished 11th in his race.
Lee Williams (Wiggle) had a great race in the Elite Men’s event, winning ahead of Paul Robertson (MSC/Sportstest) and Andrew Cockburn (Ticket2Ride). For a full list of results and lap times, including kids’ races, go to www.timelaps.co.uk.

The Elite Women gridding up for the first race of the day (from left) Rosara Joseph (no. 192), Annabel Simpson (no. 190) and Jenn O'Connor (no. 191)

Buxton Mountain Time Trial

2009-04-14T10:50:00.006+01:00

Good Friday, 10 April 2009
Photographs by Chris Lees

Known by locals as the "Buxton Hilly" this is one of the toughest TTs on the circuit, being as it is, as the name suggests, a bit hilly. Starting and finishing in Longnor in the heart of the Peak District, it comprises three laps of an 11 mile loop, up a savage climb, along a blustery ridge (the Leek Buxton Road) and down a hair-raising descent back into Longnor.

The Altura Patterson Training women swept the board with the three fastest women's times. Conditions were cold, turning to rain for the latter part of the race. The fastest overall time was posted by M Bottrill for De Rosa TT (who also took the team prize). Times below are from my own memory and not official!

M Bottrill: 1hr 26mins (fastest man)
A Patterson: 1hr 36mins (he reckons 1hr 33mins but we'll see)
J O'Connor: 1hr 45mins (fastest woman)
A Simpson: 1hr 55mins
N Spearing: 1hr 57mins

Andy Patterson (what's with that face, coach?)

Nadine Spearing

Annie Simpson

Jenn O'Connor

British Mountain Bike Series Round One

2009-04-06T12:07:00.010+01:00

Sherwood Pines Forest Park
Sunday 5 April 2009

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor

Pics by Rob Crayton

I rode my heart out yesterday.

My race started in near disaster when riders from the second row of the grid barged into both me and German rider Mel Spath on the front row, causing us to run into each other and tangle up our bars. Mel got away again OK, but I dropped my chain and had to fight to get back up to speed. The rest of the field streamed past me, and I had to jostle for a place amongst the backmarkers, as we hit the first corners and out onto the fire road straight.

But there was a little voice in my head telling me I had the legs to win this race, and I refused to believe it wasn't going to happen, even as the lead bunch disappeared into the distance.

I buried myself in the chase. I soon caught up with a chasing group including my team mates Annabel Simpson and Nadine Spearing. Both had had great starts, but Annie had collided with a tree early in the lap and taken a bad fall, hurting her back. She was battling on, but later pulled out.

I got away from that group and started reeling in the other chasers. I could occasionally glimpse the lead bunch, headed up by Rosara Joseph, an Olympian and NZ National Champ, with British National Champ Jenny Copnall, Australian Kate Potter, Mel Spath and newcomer Annie Last in a tight bunch. They were nearly a minute ahead of me, and it seemed like a huge gap.

Further back was another newcomer, Lily Mathews, who I quickly caught. She stayed on my wheel for a while but seemed unwilling to work with me in the chase, so I was happy to drop her and close in on Sharon Laws. Sharon had been dropped from the leading bunch and I thought she would be a good bet for a chasing partner, but she was either unwilling or unable and soon disappeared behind me. No doubt she was still recovering from her stage racing effort in the Cape Epic.

On the second of five laps I started to pull back the lead bunch. I was on my own in the chase but managed to close the gap to just 25 seconds. Their pace was surging, as a bunch does, and they seemed to yo-yo away from me at every turn. I nailed every piece of singletrack and hammered every fire road, and whittled away at the gap. I’ve never chased so hard in my life.

Onto lap three and the gap was just 10 seconds. It sounds like nothing, but 10 seconds is still a big gap to cross, and the leaders were getting edgy and starting to push the pace. Finally, on a long sweeping section of singletrack, I got back onto Mel’s wheel with a shout of “got you, you bastards!”. What a great buzz it was to finally catch the bunch after an hour of hard chasing. It must have seemed to them that I had appeared from nowhere as I worked through to the front of the group.

It seemed to me that Rosara was doing most the work at the front, while the others were biding their time, waiting for something to happen. Sure enough, we caught up with some lapped riders, and that’s where I got a bit lucky. Rosara and I both slipped past just before a couple of tight turns, while the rest of the bunch got caught up behind.

I stayed with Rosara and we opened up a small gap, just a few seconds. I was ecstatic. I came around her shouting “come on, we’ve got a gap, let’s go go go!!!!” Rosara didn’t need pushing. The two of us started working together in earnest and opened the gap. Through the twisty sections I could see the rest of the bunch – the tables had turned, and now they were having to chase hard to try and catch me. As we passed through the arena for the final lap I heard the commenter say “this race is now an all-Kiwi affair…” Now that’s a feeling money can’t buy!

The last lap went like clockwork in our little two-person break. We gave each other space in the corners and singletrack, and shared the work on the front - a refreshing contrast with the early part of my race. At every turn I could see the chasers, but they weren’t gaining on us – if anything we were gaining on them. I couldn’t believe how strong I felt, and stayed glued to Rosara through the last few turns.

Now I’m no kind of a sprinter. My sprint is a bit of a running joke amongst our team. On this occasion however, I locked out my forks (something I very rarely do), pulled out around Rosara and gave it hell for the line. I nearly got it. I’d love to say I won the sprint and won the race, as it would have been the fairy tale ending that I’d worked so hard for, but unfortunately I didn’t morph into Tom Boonan just because the situation called for it. I lost the sprint by half a wheel and finished second.

But I’m very proud to be able to say, in all honesty, that it was close.

Mel Spath outsprinted Kate Potter and Jenny Copnall to take third, and I was pleased for her, as she’d done a lot of chasing herself during the race. Nadine finished further back, in another chasing group. Meanwhile, our Masters racer Ruth Mordaunt won her first race in convincing style, which was a delight, as Ruth has been hampered in her training over winter and genuinely didn’t expect to win.

With a field of 20 Elite women, including a big international contingent and some top racers, this was always going to be a big weekend and a tough race. It looks like British XC racing is back with a vengeance. Round two in Dalby Forest (May 10th) will give us some hills to play with, which will certainly sort the women from the girls. The Altura Patterson Training team will be ready.

The front row (from left) Maddie Horton, Nadine Spearing, Jenn O'Connor, Mel Spath, Rosara Joseph

Jenn in chase mode

Jenn's little Cannondale Scalpel in full flight

Kiwis Rosara Joseph (left) and Jenn O'Connor drop the field in the last lap

Rosara wins out in the sprint to the line

Masters racer Ruth Mordaunt was delighted with a win in her first race on her new Scalpel

The Elite Women's podium (from left) Mel Spath (GER), Rosara Joseph (NZL) and Jenn O'Connor (NZL)

For full results please visit: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/mtb/EventReports2009/20090405_british_mtb_series_rd1.asp

For a full gallery of Rob Crayton's great images from the weekend please visit:
www.robcrayton.co.uk

Altura Whinlatter Challenge

2009-03-31T11:01:00.008+01:00

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

2009-03-24T18:23:00.006Z

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.

2009-03-22T21:00:00.003Z

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

2009-03-16T12:02:00.008Z

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

2009-03-10T08:24:00.001Z

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

2009-03-07T14:02:00.003Z

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

2009-03-02T12:14:00.007Z

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!

Painful Hill Sprints

2009-02-22T22:25:00.004Z

When the team riders and clients take the time to come up to Macclesfield to train I always take the opportunity to show the athletes how to train. This weekend Nadine and James were up to pick up Nadine's Cannondales that were becoming a fixture in our front room, so I took the opportunity to run through the finer points of anaerobic power intervals.

As far as the UK goes, Macclesfield is as good as it gets for training terrain. The Cheshire plain allows you to complete big steady rides with only small variations in altitude, or you can head for the Peak District and find a good supply of long steady alpine gradient hills and short "chin strap on the bars" steep hills.

For those of you who have ever completed a Wingate maximal sprint test you know the pain and nausea associated with anaerobic power efforts. In order to replicate the same sort of loading that is achieved during a Wingate test where a given mass per kg body mass is loaded instantly to a cycle ergo meter as the rider initiates the sprint I get the athletes to do anaerobic efforts on a steep hill.

Nadine stated during the intervals she didn't feel fast as the hill prevented her gaining momentum and getting on top of the gear, but the power output is very good. Nadine will compliment this with high leg speed maximal intervals and the combination of the high force production from the hill reps and the high motor control from the fast cadence drills will enhance her sprint.

I won't post what happened after the 6th interval, lets just say Nadine pushed to the limit and perhaps a little beyond it. Good work Baby Belly ;-)

More snow pics

2009-02-06T22:28:00.000Z

It's beautiful when the sun comes out but it can be a grim place when
it's wet and dull. Whatever the weather it's home and I love it.

It's still cold out!

2009-02-06T22:22:00.000Z

I was having a good few weeks around Chrismas when the weather was
very cold, the trails were dry and I was getting a good ride in most
days. I was working on specific skills at set points along my route
and felt that I had made some real progress.

The steep hills through the forest and around the Peak District were
great for transferring my gym strength to longer muscular endurance
sessions, so I was on track to reach my preparation period goals.

That was until I found myself stuck in the apartment dealing with a
high coaching workload, writing plans and analysing power data. Not
only that I had to sort out the new team bikes, and wait for the mail
man.

On top of all that it's been snowing on and off for quite a few days
now, and the trails have become like a ski piste with deep snow that
makes pedalling real hard work, if you can get any traction at all.

The picture attached is the turn of to Charity Lane at the opposite
end to Forest Chapel. The whole lane is a 6 feet tall drift, I haven't
seen this sort of snow up here since the late eighties.

And as for the new Scalpel, I'm still sorting the steering out to get
the right reach without slowing the steering down too much. Some
aspects of the bike I like are the nibleness with which it climbs and
how well balanced the bike is on those steep climbs. I'm learning
about the lefty set up and may need to change the factory fitted
negative spring as I'm under 80 kg now and the spring fitted to my XL
Scalpel is for an 88 kg + rider. One aspect of the bike that I will
have to change is the 175 cranks, I've been on 180's for years now and
anything less feels like riding a kids bike. It's a shame as I'll have
to take the Cannondale BB30 SI cranks off which are über light, stiff
and look fantastic.

Biketastic

2009-02-02T11:10:00.009Z

Mr Cotty at Cannondale has done a great job and the bikes have been coming in thick and fast. The bikes are in a state of transition, being pimped up with finishing kit from our sponsors Hope, FSA, Crank Brothers, Panaracer and lizard skins. No prizes for guessing which one is mine. I can't wait to get out on the Scalpel, im just waiting for some stem options to get the front end set up just right. Annie Simpson is the only rider to take her new Cannondale Synapse out for a spin during our training day last weekend and apart from a very non womans saddle she was right at home on the Synapse. Good news from the Team training front is that Nadine has made great improvements in critical areas of her physiology so she is well on track for a good season. Jenn as always is hammering the miles in with her commute every day through all weather and is coping well with being an Elite racer and a full time worker however we are both in need of a warm weather training camp. I gave the Scalpel a quick blast round the apartments where we live and I can report that it is the stiffest front end of any MTB I have ever ridden. I jumped back on my old bike with Reba forks and the difference was very noticable, and Reba's are great forks. I think the system integration on the Cannondale bikes is first class and is very evident in the ride charicteristics of the bikes.

The snow is still falling here in Macclesfield so the Forest is looking good for an early evening blast after work, the question is do I get the Scalpel dirty or take the old bike out which I have polished up ready for eBay?

ALTURA PATTERSON TRAINING ANNOUNCE NEW TEAM FOR 2009

2009-01-16T16:43:00.001Z

The Altura Patterson Training cycling team has made some changes for 2009, with a new all-female line-up and a new bike sponsor in the form of Cannondale.

Team Leader Jenn O’Connor will be joined by fellow elite racer Nadine Spearing and former Junior National Champion Annabel Simpson, who will also be moving up to elite for 2009. Masters racer Ruth Mordaunt will round out the four-woman core team, with Sports Physiologist and Masters racer Andrew Patterson providing coaching and support.

The team plans to tackle both MTB XC and road races this season, with a schedule that will include the British National Series, National Championships, Mountain Mayhem and a number of team and individual road events including the Cheshire Classic and Bedford Two-Day.

Cannondale is a new team sponsor, and the girls will be racing on Scalpel and Taurine Carbon mountain bikes and Synapse Carbon road bikes. Altura clothing continue as title sponsor, and the team will receive support from Powerbar, Hope, FSA, Crank Brothers, Catlike Helmets, Panaracer, Rock Shox, SRAM and Royles bike shop.

O’Connor will once again focus on endurance and marathon racing, with a number of international events including the inaugural Intermontane Challenge, a five-day mountain stage race held in Kamloops, British Columbia. She’ll also defend her title at the Salzkammergut TT in Austria, and represent New Zealand in the World Marathon Champs, also in Austria this year. She will be riding a petite-sized custom Scalpel Feminine.

“We're really happy to have such a quality brand as Cannondale on board, with a truly world class racing pedigree. These bikes will give our girls a real advantage come race season."

Spearing will be building her profile as a road racer this season, with support from her new team mates. Simpson will be focussing on the XC side with the British National Series and National Champs, where she’ll contest the U23 National Championship title. Mordaunt will also focus on XC, having won the Masters National Series in 2008, she will this year be working towards the Masters National Championship title.

The Frozen North

2008-12-30T19:40:00.001Z

It's nice to have some time off to get out on long mountain bike rides
in the Peak District around Macclesfield, especially when it's not
raining.

There is however, a down side to this super dry riding. It's that it's
so cold my water bottles are freezing as the air temperature is
between -2 and -4 degrees C in the hills. Another more knee wrecking
aspect of the trails is that every where there is a trickle of water
running accross the trail, a super hard layer of ice is forming and
unless you have got spiked tyres you can forget about riding.

I actually like it cold and dry, it's been a wet summer and to be able
to ride in the peak without the need for a full body jet wash is a
much needed change.

Macclesfield SuperCross

2008-12-30T10:16:00.007Z

It's Christmas time so most of us are eating for Britain and watching far too much TV. Not the case for those who braved the cold but clear conditions to take part in the Macclesfield Supercross held in South Park on Sunday. Macclesfield is the hometown of Patterson Training and we always support this event, helping to put the programme together to raise money for the club, and topping up the prizemoney for the women's event.

Ian Bibby leads Nick Craig up a climb. The pair were untouchable from the start.

The main event saw a classic battle of youth versus experience, with National U23 Champ Ian Bibby (SiS Trek) flying off the startline and putting 100m into the field in the first lap. He didn't have things all his own way however, as seasoned racer and multi-time winnner of this event Nick Craig quickly closed the gap by the second lap. The pair stayed glued together for much of the race, powering up the short climbs and opening up an unassailable gap on the rest of the field. Bibby finally managed to shake Craig off his wheel as the bell rang for the last lap, and dug deep to drive his hard-earned victory home. Craig never stopped chasing but seemed happy enough to cross the line in second, behind the youngster he once coached.

Behind the leading pair, the battle for third place was equally tough, between world-class mountain biker Liam Killeen, (still in Specialized colours but riding a de-badged bike) and Stuart Wearmouth (Picasso Pulman). Wearmouth managed to pull ahead of Killeen a number of times during the race, but Killeen showed his class, timing his effort perfectly for the final lap, and reeling in a weary-looking Wearmouth to take third place.

2007 winner Liam Killeen had to settle for third.

Junior Dan McLay (Univega.co.uk) rode an impressive race, the only Junior to finish on the same lap as the Senior men. He finished fifth overall behind Wearmouth, one lap up on the second-placed Junior Tom Moses (CSS-Cyclesport). Martin Woffindin (Sport City Velo) was third Junior, also one lap down on the Senior men.

In the Senior women's race, sponsored by Patterson Training, Sue Clarke (SiS Trek) was in a class of her own, finishing two laps up on nearest rival Lisa Parsons (Welland Valley CC) in second place. Clarke looked comfortable, finishing 21st overall, catching husband and former Senior race winner Barry Clarke. Third woman home was Carolyn Wright (Horwich CC).

Women's winner Sue Clarke had the race to herself.

Bibby made his break in the later stages of the race.

The Veterans race saw another tough battle between Geoff Giddings (MI Racing) and Noel Clough (Fietsen Tempo), both finishing on the same lap as the Senior men. John Shaw (Zepnat.com RT) was third, one lap down.

The Nimrod youth scramble and U12 racing started the day, with some great riding from the youngsters on a fast and very dry (For cyclo cross events) course. Hugo Robinson (Ipswich BC) was first in ahead of Luke Grivell-Mellor (Mid Shropshire Wheelers) and third place went to Tom Young (Leicestershire RC). First girl was Lucy Garner (Leicester RC) in eighth place some way ahead of Hannah Layland (Sportcity Velo) in 17th position, who was in a close battle for 2nd with Becky Preece (Red Rose Olympic).

Charlotte Broughton (Leicester RC) won the under 12s race, ahead of Leighton Sharman (Liverpool Century) and Matthew Walls (Eastlands Velo). For full results and pics go to macclesfieldwheelers.org.uk.

Powerbar Sports Nutrition Conference 2008

2008-11-20T12:32:00.012Z

Birmingham University, 14th-15th November 2008

Andy Patterson and Jenn O'Connor last week attended the annual Sport Nutrition conference at Birmingham University, to hear the leading sports scientists from around the world speak about the latest research and findings in the field of sports nutrition.

Friday's lectures were held at the Aston Villa football stadium and topics included Protein & Weight Loss, Train Low - Compete High, Nutrition and the Immune System, Hydration - What's New? and Nutrition and Genetics. The formal sessions were followed by a tour of the stadium.

Left - Mark Tarnopolsky from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada shares his research into nutrition and genetics.

Saturday morning was an "activities session" at Cannock Chase, and the delegates divided into teams to compete in various events including biathlon, egg & spoon races, orienteering, running, mountain biking and the technical sport of "throwing stuff". Jenn and Andy were split into different teams, with Jenn winning the sprint mountain bike event for her team, and Andy winning the long lap for his.

Right - Jenn hit 4 from 5 targets in the biathlon.

The afternoon session on Saturday was held in the Sport Science faculty at Birmingham university and included the topics Nutrition to Increase Fat Burning, Nutrition and the Ageing Athlete and Are Women Different to Men? (in terms of sports nutrition that is). Jenn then took part in a Q&A panel alongside multi Iron Man Champion Chrissy Wellington, to be quizzed by the delegates on carbo-loading and feeding during competition.

The conference represented the cutting edge in sports nutrition, and touched on some important new concepts. Many popular assumptions held by athletes regarding the use of supplements, antioxidants, fat burning techniques, and fuelling during competition can no longer be held up as gospel. We've come away for the two days feeling energised and excited about sharing some of these new ideas with our team and clients.

For a full programme and list of speakers please visit http://www.nutrifit.co.uk/Conference_bham_2008/

Right - Andy was easy to spot in the crowd.

Below - Jenn (left) prepares for the mountain bike time trial while Andy (right) takes a more relaxed approach.

Endorfin VP4-SL Size Medium For Sale

2008-11-13T12:23:00.010Z

This is the bike raced by Simon Young in Masters this year. It was built new in March 08 and has been maintained in fantastic condition. Chain and cassette were replaced for Eastridge NPS (August) and the bike has not been used since then. No play in any bearings or pivots.

Offers in the region of £2,500.

Frame: Endorfin VP-4 SL (medium) full suspension in Patterson Training team white with blue decals.
Fork: SID Team, white, new since July.
Drive System: SRAM X0
Cranks: Truvativ Noir Carbon 175mm
Brakes: Hope mono-mini pro in team green
Wheels: Hope ProIII straight pull, built by Hope, converted to Tubeless and running Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1s sealed with Stans system.
Bars, Seatpin: Easton EC70

Pedals: Crank Bros 4Ti Candy (black)

The frame is handbuilt in Germany and has a 10 year warantee. This is a 100% top shelf build and is guaranteed unique. Would cost £4,500+ (and take up to four weeks) to buy new.

For more information and images please email jenn@pattersontraining.com.

The End of 2008

2008-10-24T12:34:00.002+01:00

The 2008 race season is now officially over, and what a challenge it's been. The theme this year would have to be MUD, as we have had more wet, muddy events this season than in any year previous. Ruth and Simon managed to get some sunshine for the British National XC Champs, but meanwhile Andy and I struggled through torrential rain and knee-deep mud in some of the worst conditions ever at Hit the North, on the same weekend. I enjoyed just ONE dry race in the whole season, that being the World Marathon Champs in Italy in July.

We've had some setbacks to overcome, but we've enjoyed more than our fair share of success. For me, I had a slow start to the season with persistent migraine attacks, but managed to bring it under control and get my training back on track, to produce some of my best ever results. These have included winning the Salzkammergut TT overall, finishing top-20 in one of the biggest UCI World Marathon Championship fields ever, taking my first British NPS win in three years and capping it off with a 12-hour solo win in the Dusk 'til Dawn.

Ruth has also seen a huge boost in performance this year, starting out with 5th in the Gran Canaria Open Marathon in the Open class, getting her first taste of the prizemoney. She then went on to win two out of four British NPS Masters rounds to take the overall series title, and a silver medal in the National Champs. Ruth has rarely been off the podium this year, and has built on her endurance form, winning the 75km marathon series on top of her XC.

Simon has had his share of setbacks, but has shown some shining form, winning the South West XC Champs and Newnham 90, as well as a top-3 result in the final round of the 100km marathon series in truly trying conditions.

As a team, we finished 5th at Mountain Mayhem in the Elite Mixed category, the only team to field two men and two women racing equal laps. Conditions were pretty trying there too, as they have been all season, but our team shone through with good humour and some determined racing.

Being part of a proper race team has brought a whole new aspect to the race experience for myself and Andy this year, and our team mates have been a real joy, as we've been able to share in their trials and successes, as well as our own. Big thanks must also go to our raft of fantastic sponsors, who have ensured that we have the bikes, clothing and equipment to last the distance. Our Altura React rain jackets have had a tough time this year, but they work so well we simply couldn't have managed without them!

For 2009, our team will be taking a whole new direction, with some new faces and new events on board. We hope to be able to confirm our plans in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, we have a couple of bikes for sale - details to be posted in the next couple of days.

Thanks and best wishes to all for a happy and restful winter season. Don't miss out on those crisp, cold and clear autumn days!

Jenn

Marin Dusk 'til Dawn

2008-10-06T13:03:00.009+01:00

8pm Saturday 4th October - 8am Sunday 5th October 2008

Race Report by Jenn O'Connor
Pics by Simon Ward

The Solo Women's Podium (from left) Mel Alexander, Jenn O'Connor, Fi Spotswood

We knew it was going to rain and we prepared for it as best we could, but really there is no way to make 12 hours in the mud an easy task. I managed to win the race by a fairly comfortable 30 minute margin, but the race behind me for second and third place was vigorous throughout, and there was never any question that I would be able to ease off the pace, or take too much of a break. The organisers had put up a £1,000 cash prize for the win, and with prizemoney paying down to third for women, and tenth for men, the solo competition was always going to be fierce.

The rain was forecast to start about 10am on Saturday, but apart from a few spits and squalls it stayed dry, with a brisk wind. The course was fast and clean when I rode it during the day, and we were all hoping that a miracle might happen and it would stay that way.

Andy was there to support me as always, and we had Ruth and James as our cheerleading squad, as well as Endorfin distributor Gordon Bettany, there to check out the scene. Also in our camp were Patterson Training client Nadine Spearing and partner James Hampshire, racing as a mixed pair, and our friend Simon Ward, who had ridden across from Macclesfield on his touring bike, on the promise that we would provide him with a tent for the night and a lift home the next day.

By the time darkness fell and we were getting ready to race, the weather warnings had been issued and the rain was gusting in. Those not about to ride were either staying in tents and cars or wrapped up in layers of fleece and Gore-tex. Umbrellas were turning inside out on the startline. I did my warm-up on the turbo, and took my place in the second row for the start.
The prologue lap behind the quad bike was fast and frightening, as the most nervous and twitchy riders in the pack had somehow appeared in front of me, trying to gain that extra second before the race had even started. It finally did start, and I pegged out a quick pace in order to keep out of the traffic behind me and avoid the queues in the singletrack. Each time I came through the pit area, I could see the rain blowing in under the floodlights, but out in the forest I didn’t notice it. Thetford Forest is fairly dense, and most of the course was remarkably sheltered.

The weather stayed stormy, with gales and squalls of rain, but the course held up well. By 2am, halfway through the race, I was thinking ‘well this isn’t too bad after all’. I was gaining about five minutes a lap on the rest of the field, and had a lead of about 30 minutes at that stage, so I stopped for some hot soup and a bike wash.

Clearly I had jinxed the race with my optimistic thoughts, because from then on the course began to soften up, and soon there were whole sections developing a thick layer of gloopy mud. My ideas of finishing 12 laps in 12 hours started to look unrealistic, as fast sections became slow sections and my bike started making scraping, grinding noises as it ploughed through the gritty mud.

As always, I was running Lupine lights, with a Wilma on my helmet and the 7-LED Betty on the bars. I calculated my run times using the smallest batteries I had, and the lights ran faultlessly, despite the mud and rain, requiring just one battery change.

I used my five-minute speed advantage to stop after every lap for the last six hours of the race, so that Andy could clean the bike, and I could sip at hot drinks and soup. My lap times stretched out to about 1hr20mins, and I revised my lap goal to 10 laps. The course remained largely rideable, but was very heavy going, with even the descents requiring pedalling effort to keep the bike moving.

By the time 6am rolled around, the first half of the course was a proper mud-bath, with hub-deep puddles and long stretches of deep ruts and sloppy mud. The second half of the course was not much better, but with concentration and a great deal of effort, it was still possible to stay on the bike and keep moving. This was as much as I could manage.

On my final lap, as I trudged up the final climb and clambered out of the last mucky bombhole, I saw a huge banner reading “Go Jenn”, and I could hear Ruth and James shouting and cheering. I’ve never had a banner just for me before, and I was hugely impressed. Even more impressive, according to Andy, was watching them make it using a can of spray paint and a bedsheet in a force-10 gale!

The rain continued to pour down as I rode up the finish straight and across the line. I attempted a victory salute and promptly crashed into the barriers, much to the amusement of the commentator and various spectators. It was a huge relief to finally be finished.

This was the last race of the season for the Altura Patterson Training race team, but we have some exciting plans for 2009, which we hope to let you know about soon.

Jenn

Marin Dusk till Dawn

2008-10-04T16:20:00.000+01:00

The VP4 jenn is prepped and ready for 12 hours of Thetford madness,
and yes those mudguards are on there for a reason. It's forecast for
rain, lots of rain on top of the cold wind... Great!

Merida Weekend

2008-09-15T08:41:00.002+01:00

Home and dry at last, from yet another mud fest. Despite the weather and conditions, I managed to acheive the training overload that I'd set out to acheive, in preparation for Dusk til Dawn in three weeks' time.

I decided to ride the 50km event on Sunday, as I knew the conditions would be slow, and I didn't want to be out for more than about three hours, after spending nearly six hours on the road bike the day before. As it turned out, conditions were worse than slow, they were horrendous. The sunshine on Sunday morning was lovely, but there was no way it could have dried out even the road sections. Most of the course was knee-deep bog. Without devoting too many column inches to whingeing and moaning about a disappointing weekend (cold showers, revolting food etc), the course conditions alone were bad enough that the event on Sunday should really have been cancelled. Enough said.

Next weekend will see Ruth race her last event for the season, the sixth and final round of the Southern XC series at Bordon. Fingers crossed for some sunshine and fast racing down South!

Merida Marathon

2008-09-14T09:47:00.000+01:00

Sunshine!!! At long last the clouds have moved away to give some
warmth to the riders here in Penrith.
Jenn is pictured below with Andrew Wrigley and Chris Hope of the KMB
massive who will be looking for a top 10 finish.
As for me I'm sitting this one out, I rode harder yesterday than I
have ridden in some time and my knee is suffering. If I race I will
spend 30 miles hammering with knee pain, and I'm old enough to know
that's just going to set my winter training plans back another month.
Off to put the kettle on and sit in the sun.

And the results are...

2008-09-13T18:10:00.000+01:00

Here's the damage, gutted about the wrong turn may have done a sub 5
hours. Hey! It's not a race remember.

Merida Sportive, Penrith

2008-09-13T17:53:00.000+01:00

Jenn and I have just completed the Merida Sportive in Penrith, and yes
it did rain. The course was mainly back lanes that incorporated short
sharp rises and tight twisty descents. With rain and road filth in my
eyes I took us up a wrong turn five miles from the start that perhaps
added 15 minutes to our time.

I lost Jenn on a fast descent (I didn't just leave her that was the
plan) and hit the gas. The roads were in a bad way and it was a
miracle I didn't puncture. At about 60 miles there is a euro gradient
climb between Melmerby and Renwick with a tailwind it was bliss to
climb. Jenn was having the usual bother from male riders who overtake
her just because she's a woman then get in the way. Jenn was having
none of it and gave some lads the Lance Armstrong stare and showed
them how to climb, I would have paid to see that.

I was waiting for the wall I usually hit but it didn't arrive, my legs
were strong but I had bad nausia that sapped my ability to push on. My
speedo says 88 miles at 18 mph so I'm happy with that, Jenn was about
30-40 mins back, I'll check the times and post them later.
Off road tomorrow.. Where did I put those crud catchers

UCI World Masters XC Championship

2008-09-05T13:08:00.010+01:00

Pra Loup, France, 26-31 August 2008

Race Report by Ruth Mordaunt

XC Women 35-39

After a win at Round 4 of the British NPS in Shropshire I was looking forward to the World Masters MTB Championships in Pra Loup. The day after the British NPS XC event, James (my partner) and I, started the long journey to Pra Loup, which is based in the southern French Alpes. The journey from Dunkerque is approximately 15 hours including a few stops. However, to break up this long road trip we stopped at the top of Alpe d Huez for a well earned rest and recovery ride! "Alpe d Huez" and "well-earned rest" do not usually go together, but on last year's journey we stumbled across a free campervan park with amazing views, together with good weather and various VTT routes to play on. We passed on the famous VTT route called the Avalanche (one of the world's longest downhill rides at 33km) and the famous 21 hairpin road climb, but still stopped here for a couple of nights as the skies were blue and we just wanted to do a couple of easy off-road rides.

Pic above is Ruth (right) with fellow GB rider Theresa Jackson.

On Wednesday we made a move to the race venue, Pra Loup, and arrived late afternoon. The majority of the other XC racers from GB were arriving this afternoon too, but they were staying in Pra Loup itself, whereas we opted for a quiet campsite in the valley near the town of Barcelonette.

The 8km course was similar to last year's course, but in reverse. It had a mixture of sections through open meadows, flowing single track through the forest, open fire roads and a couple of tricky climbs. The course started in the main arena and then took a sharp right turn to head down a short grassy descent, into a sketchy gravel track and then the first steady climb began. During the practice lap on Thursday, I noticed my heart rate was exceptionally high whilst climbing and figured the effects of high altitude were kicking in. Pra Loup is based at 1600m and during each lap we would climb to approximately 1850m, and total climbing per lap was approximately 800m. The technical descents were predominately down steep grassy mountain sides, which soon developed into dusty rutted tracks from the number of riders practising and braking hard before the corner. The first half of the course was down which meant only one thing, the latter half was going to be up! The climbing was through the shaded area of the forest where in places the terrain was slippery over muddy rocks. During the last 2km of steady climbing there were short, sharp climbing spurts over the slippery rocks. Finally just before the feed zone in the main arena there was a short strength zapping climb, which left you exhausted.

It was a climber's course, and my legs felt good but my heart rate on the climbs was telling me another story. Rest and keeping hydrated was needed until my race day on Saturday, August 30th.
Race day arrived with brilliant blue skies and an average temperature of approximately 30 Celsius during mid-morning. At the start line of the Women's 35-39 race, the UK and Ireland collective of myself, Caroline Goward, Theresa Jackson, Helen Findlay, and Beth McCluskey (IRL) all tried to look relaxed amongst the international field but deep down the usual race nerves were ever present. It was a small group of 14 with a strong field of ex-elite riders, especially from Italy. The start looked precarious at the first corner and I was advised that it would be good to get a fast start to miss any trouble at this point. I was on the front row and had a strong start leading the girls out and was unaware a crash occurred mid-pack with a couple of riders coming down hard. Check out the following you tube link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6-7-MV1Z9PU

During the first climb I was surprised only three riders passed me, as I thought more would come by. I kept at a steady pace aware of my heart rate and not wanting to dip into oxygen debt early on in the race. The climb split up the group further. After the descending I was placed 4th until Beth McCluskey made her move during the first section of single track in the forest. This was fine, as I stayed on her wheel until we approached a small kick of a climb mid-lap where I placed too much pressure on my gearing and the chain sprung off my rear cassette and had to get off my bike to sort out. At this point a further small pack of four riders powered on by and my small mechanical seemed to take forever to fix, although I'm sure it was only a minute or so.

I caught the chasing group back but by then we had started climbing and I was just not recovering between efforts. I just had to ride and pace myself and by the end of lap one I could see I was losing sight of the girls in front. Being such a hot and dusty day, together with racing at altitude, my lungs felt like they were only half working, and I decided not to panic but to take on fluid and fuel to see if my stamina would kick in during lap two and three.

Despite the unforgettable cheers along the course and especially on the climbs I just felt like I was recovering during lap two from lap one's efforts. On the final lap, I felt strong and had a power surge during the last 2km of the course where I over took Maniago (ITA). Unfortunately, she then made her move just before the last strength zapping technical climb up to the feed zone. Maniago had approximately 20 seconds on me as she went through the feed zone and it was a sprint finish to the end, where she placed 8th, just one second in front of me.

Congratulations to Beth McCluskey who took bronze in this race, and Nina Davies who took silver in the Women 30-34 category. Also, congratulations to Caroline and Helen and commiserations to Theresa who had a mechanical with no rear brake and had to retire from the race.

Upon reflection, although I was initially disappointed with my 9th position I realised that the standard of the competition in the World Masters MTB Championships is another league. There were some big ex-hitters on the line up, who have ridden elite internationally in the past and still ride and compete full time, e.g. Cindy Pieters (BEL), (who is Jeannie Longo's lead out woman), Claudia Marisilo (ITA), and Jorg Margrit (SUI). Claudia Marisilo, 2008 World Champion in the 35-39 category, raced approximately three minutes per lap faster than me. This is comparable to racing against the top elite UK women. I have learnt so much during this international race and where and what I need to do to improve on my position for next year, especially with the help of my Coach Andy Patterson and team mate Jenn O'Connor. It's going to be hard work, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Cross-Country Women 35-39

1st MARSILIO Claudia ITA

2nd VERONESI Daniela SMR

3rd MCCLUSKEY Beth IRL

4th CARRER Eva SUI

5th DUSINA Cristina ITA

Other GB

9th MORDAUNT Ruth GBR

10th GOWARD Caroline GBR

12th FINDLAY Helen GBR

DNF JACKSON Theresa GBR

Finally, congratulations to the GB Master Men who raced on the Friday and the Sunday. It was so exciting to watch. All the top twenty results can be found on the British Cycling website http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/mtb/EventReports2008/20080901_mtb_masters.asp.

Full results, plus links to images etc are available on the official event website http://www.praloup.com/ete_GB_uci-world-championships.html.

Controversial Double Win for Ruth in National Points Series

2008-09-05T12:27:00.006+01:00

Altura Patterson Training Racer Ruth Mordaunt has been awarded the Master Women's series win, following the controversial canning of the final series round.

Ruth was leading the series by just one point over National Champ Nina Davies after four rounds, and the series was set for a showdown in the final round at Penmachno in North Wales, scheduled for 13th and 14th September. However, event organisers Thetford Racing, along with British Cycling, cancelled the round, claiming a lack of pre-entries meant they were unable to cover their costs.

The mountain biking community is outraged at the decision, especially following the recent announcement by British Cycling of their multi-million pound deal with Sky, boosting the National Governing Body's already overflowing coffers. Many riders and teams had pre-booked travel and accommodation for the event and will be left out-of-pocket to the tune of hundreds of pounds.

Organisers have since announced that the series standings, originally set to be decided on the best four from five results, would be decided by the best three from four results. This left Ruth and Nina tied on points, however the organisers have confirmed that Ruth will be awarded the series, on the basis of her two race wins to Nina's one. This could be viewed as a fair decision in decidedly unfair circumstances, as Nina and Ruth will now be denied the opportunity to finish what has been a close and hard-fought series. No doubt this disappointment will be echoed throughout the different race categories, and will take the shine off the acheivement of many of the eventual winners.

In the Elite women's competition, National Champ Jenny Copnall took an uncontroversial win as the ongoing series leader, with Altura Patterson Training's Jenn O'Connor jumping into second spot with just three results, one point ahead of Irish German racer Melanie Spath. In the Elite men's competition, the series leaders after round 4 were separated by just one point, with Gareth Montgomerie ahead of Ian Wilkinson. However, the decision to base the series on three results awards Montgomerie the win, and hops younster Ian Bibby into second, pushing Wilkinson into third.

In the Whyte Enduro Series, Ruth also won the 75km without controversy, as the only rider to complete three out of four rounds. Mel Spath won the 100km category, also the only rider to complete three out of four. Will Bjergfelt was the clear winner in the 100km men's category with an anassailable lead of 100 points after four rounds. In the 75km men's category, Billy Joe Whenman jumps into the lead, to take the series win with his three results.

For a full list of series points go to http://www.britishnps.co.uk/seriespoints.htm

Ruth Top Ten in World Masters

2008-09-01T12:03:00.002+01:00

Altura Patterson Training racer Ruth Mordaunt finished 9th in the World Masters Champs in Pra Loup, France, on Saturday. Ruth was competing in the 35-39 age group, the largest women's field. She had a fast start, but dropped her chain in the first lap, losing time on the lead group. The race was won by Italian Claudia Marsillio. Ruth will have her full race report up this week.

Simon Finishes Third in Toughest Marathon Yet

2008-08-25T11:27:00.004+01:00

British Enduro Series Round 4

Sunday 24th August, 2008

Altura Patterson Training racer Simon Young earned his first National Series podium on Sunday, finishing third in the 100km marathon. Torrential rain on Saturday night turned the course into a slippery, sludgy mudslide. The course was shortened slightly to just over 10km per lap, but conditions were so slow that only one rider managed to finish eight laps before the 4pm cutoff.

That rider was Felt racer Will Bjergfelt, who lapped the entire field to finish the 80km just under 6 hours. Second placed Sam Humpreys, riding for Charge Bikes, took second place with 7 laps, and Simon came in third a few minutes back, also completing 7 laps.

In the 100km women's race, Jenn lined up against Melanie Spath, but none of the other entries turned up to the start line, leaving the two leaders from Saturday's race with the 100km event to themselves. Jenn managed to carve out a lead on the first lap, but took a heavy fall on a technical section in the second lap, and pulled out with a suspected broken arm. Mel carried on alone, and completed an admirable 6 laps to secure the race and series win. Jenn was badly bruised and shaken, but after a check over by the Extreme Medics, was cleared without serious injury. She stayed on in the feedzone to help support her teammate Simon.

The 100km men's podium, from left Simon Young, Will Bjergfelt, Sam Humphreys

For full results and lap times from both events, please visit http://www.timelaps.co.uk/

Double Win For Altura Patterson Training

2008-08-23T21:05:00.002+01:00

British NPS XC Round 4

Eastridge, nr Shrewsbury, Saturday 23 August 2008

Jenn crosses the line to take her first NPS XC win since 2004

The team scored a double win today, with Jenn O'Connor taking the top spot in the Elite Women's event and Ruth Mordaunt winning the Master Women's race.

Ruth celebrates her win, which puts her back in the lead for the series

Jenn led the Elite field from the gun, battling with Irish German rider Mel Spath up the opening climb. Mel was looking strong and riding confidently, and opened a gap in the first muddy, rocky descent, but Jenn soon closed the gap and took the lead. She finished the first lap a minute ahead, and opened the gap up to over three minutes over the four lap race. Mel held her second place, with British National Champ Jenny Copnall taking third spot a further minute back.

Jenn was elated with the win, her first in a National Series XC race since 2004.

In the Master Women's race, Ruth battled with National Masters Champ Nina Davies, trading places for the first lap, until Ruth's aggressive descending earned her a gap. She continued to stretch her lead for the rest of her three lap race to take the win with two minutes to spare, and reclaim top spot in the series.

Jenn takes the last corner almost 4 minutes ahead of the field

Jenn all smiles after her win

Jenn will race again tomorrow (Sunday) in the 100km marathon, along with team mate Simon Young. Ruth is on her way to Pra Loup in France for the World Masters Championships next weekend.

The Master Women's podium (from left) Emma Bradley, Ruth Mordaunt and Nina Davies

The Elite Women's podium (from left) Jenny Copnall, Jenn O'Connor, Melanie Spath

Results

Elite Women 4 laps
1. Jenn O'Connor (Altura Patterson Training) 02.03.56
2. Mel Spath (Torq Kona) 02.07.46
3. Jenny Copnall (Subaru Gary Fisher) 02.09.15

Elite Men 5 laps
1. Ian Bibby (SiS Trek) 02.02.22
2. Gareth Montgomerie (Colnago Ergon) 02.03.49
3. Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) 02.04.45

Expert Men 4 laps
1. Tim Dunford 01.43.47
2. Paul Robertson 01.47.17
3. Ben Thomas 01.48.32

Expert Women 3 laps
1. Hilana Marais 01.36.30
2. Lucinda Insall Jones 01.50.21
3. Sally Gabriel 01.52.01

Master Men 4 laps
1. Matt Barrett (Lutterworth CC) 01.47.02
2. Scott Forbes (Pedalon.co.uk) 01.50.07
3. Ben Dale 01.52.20

Master Women 3 laps
1. Ruth Mordaunt (Altura Patterson Training) 01.44.39
2. Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers) 01.46.39
3. Emma Bradey (Torq Kona) 01.57.16

Juvenile Men 1 lap
1. Alex Baker 27.14
2. Matt Godden 28.38
3. Ryan Fenwick 28.38

Juvenile Women 1 lap
1. Bethany Crumpton (Team Chance) 33.48
2. Hannah Ferguson (Nissan Kona) 37.14
3. Imogen Buick (Salsa Factory Racing) 40.55

Youth Men 2 laps
1. Kenta Gallagher 00.50.20
2. Steven James 00.52.11
3. Ben Roff 00.54.45

Youth Women 2 laps
1. Ruby Miller 01.11.45
2. Katy Winton 01.14.35

Junior Men 3 laps
1. Joe Peake 01.22.42
2. Robert Hussan 01.25.00
3. Will Verney 01.26.10

Junior Women 3 laps
1. Annabel Simpson (Team Chance Ducati Corse) 01.52.05
2. Anna Buick (Salsa Factory Racing) 01.58.34
3. Carla Haines (Team Chance Ducati Corse) 02.06.12

Sport Men 3 laps
1. Dave Henderson 01.22.25
2. Alex Kinvig 01.24.18
3. Giles Drake 01.26.55

Veteran Men 3 laps
1. Darren Shepherd 01.22.42
2. Andy Weaving 01.23.57
3. Roland Tilley 01.24.55

Veteran Women 2 laps
1. Kate Wheeler 01.16.57
2. Gaynor Lea 01.18.11
3. Sarah Bayliss 01.33.07

Super Vet Men 2 laps
1. Victor Barnett 01.02.21
2. Steve Collen 01.34.09
3. Chris Hearn

G. Vet Men 3 laps
1. Ian Wright 01.26.00
2. Kevin Townsend 01.22.33
3. Roy Hunt 01.27.42

Midland Series Round 3 & Midland Champs

2008-08-04T08:59:00.016+01:00

A selection of podium pics and action shots from Race Two.

Midland Series Round 3 & Midland Champs

2008-08-03T21:37:00.003+01:00

Race 2

The second race of the day included all the senior men's categories, and the majority of entries. David Fletcher won the Elite men's race after a close battle with Lee Williams, also taking the Championship title. The first lap brought a surprise as Expert racer George Budd came flying through the arena ahead of the elite field, despite having started two minutes behind. It seems the entire Expert field had missed a section of course by mistake, but since everyone in the category had done the same thing, the race went on regardless.

In the Veteran race, Patterson Training client Michael Powell had a great day, taking the win from Keith Sperry by 45 seconds.

Full result and times can be found on http://www.timelaps.co.uk/

Patterson Training client Michael Powell took the Veteren Men's win.

Elite Men 5 laps
1. David Fletcher (SiS Trek) 02.14.25
2. Lee Williams 02.14.28
3. Robert Friel (TSW Cycles) 02.20.01

Expert Men 4 laps
1. Paul Robertson (Sportstest.co.uk) 01.47.09
2. Ben Thomas (Mountain Trax) 01.47.29
3. John Whittington (Bath Uni) 01.48.56

Sport Men 3 laps
1. Niall Frost (Team MK) 01.26.11
2. Giles Drake (Roy Davies Cycles) 01.27.27
3. Chris Metcalfe (Matlock CC) 01.27.29

Master Men 4 laps
1. Graham Warby (Spirit Racing) 01.49.17
2. Matthew Dennis (Yeti/Goldtec) 01.51.40
3. Luke Moseley (Climb On Bikes) 01.52.22

Veteran Men 3 laps
1. Michael Powell (Sherwood Pines Polaris) 01.27.07
2. Keith Sperry (Welland Valley CC) 01.27.50
3. Jonathan Marshall (Belper BC) 01.29.51

Grand Vet Men 3 laps
1. Ian Wright 01.27.34
2. Roy Hunt (Orbea) 01.30.17
3. Pete Harris (Pearce Cycles RT) 01.31.48

Midland Series Round 3 & Midland Champs

2008-08-03T15:51:00.001+01:00

We are enjoying sunshine and fast racing here at Sherwood Pines for the Midland Champs, sponsored by Patterson Training and Powerbar. Race 1 set off at 11am with all the junior and female categories. Jenn won the Elite Women's race ahead of National Silver Medalist Paula Moseley and Espoir National Champ Amy Hunt, with Paula taking the Championship title as the fastest local rider. Jenn also took the trophy for the series. Newcomer Hilana Marais won the Expert Women's race ahead of Abi Greenaway and the Sport race was won by Ceri Dipple. Masters Women was won by Emma Bradley. The Junior Men's race ended in a sprint finish between Calum Chamberlain and Will Verney. Chamberlain won the day, wth local rider Verney taking the Championship title and the series. The second race is now on the third lap and we'll have news on that is a couple of hours. Top 3 results from race 1 are below.

Elite Women 4 laps
1. Jenn O'Connor (Altura Patterson Training) 02.03.43
2. Paula Moseley (Climb On Bikes) 02.05.36
3. Amy Hunt (Colnago Ergon) 02.10.36

Expert Women 3 laps
1. Hilana Marais (Rock & Road) 01.42.22
2. Abi Greenaway (Charge Bikes) 01.53.46
3. Sally Gabriel (One Planet Adventure) 01.44.13

Sport Women 2 laps
1. Ceri Dipple (Team Milton Keynes) 01.10.23
2. Nicola Jackson (Macclesfield Wheelers) 01.21.46
3. Karen McBarrons (Churnet Valley Velo) 01.22.02

Master Women 3 laps
1. Emma Bradley (Torq) 01.40.26
2. Theresa Jackson (CC Luton) 01.46.51
3. Niki Humphrey (Fig Rolls Racing) 01.47.08

Veteran Women 2 laps
1. Lynne Coldray (Team Milton Keynes) 01.12.24

Junior Women 3 laps
1. Danielle Rider (Smartcar/Probikekit) 02.15.32

Junior Men 3 laps
1. Calum Chamberlain (Mountain Trax) 01.22.54
2. Will Verney (Felt) 01.22.55
3. Thomas Stewart (Doncaster Wheelers) 01.26.47

Youth Men 2 laps
1. Aron Marshall (Sherwood Pines Polaris) 00.57.23
2. Hamish Fletcher Cooney (Gill Cycles) 01.01.36
3. Bruce Dalton (Matlock CC) 01.02.40

Juvenile Men 1 lap
1. John Lomas (Matlock CC) 00.32.24
2. James Hyde (Kettering CC) 00.34.02
3. Oliver Futrell 00.34.52

Fun Men 2 laps
1. Rob Harris 01.08.37
2. Leon Rainsford 01.08.53
3. Spencer Parker 01.11.31

Fun Women 1 lap
1. Julie Watson 00.43.33
2. Louise Kirkham 00.44.21
3. Sarah Eccleshall 00.48.54

For full results and laps times go to www.timelaps.co.uk

Powerbar Provides Emergency Supplies for Midlands XC Champs

2008-08-02T12:38:00.001+01:00

Patterson Training and Powerbar have stepped up as last-minute event sponsors for the Midland XC Champs this Sunday (August 3rd), after the existing sponsor pulled out.

Organisers Nadine Spearing and James Hampshire were left with no prizes for their Championship event after the last minute decision this week, and called on Andy Patterson and Jenn O'Connor of Patterson Training to help out.

Nadine, who is a Patterson Training client, finalised the new Powerbar deal with Jenn today (Friday).

Powerbar are sponsors of the Altura Patterson Training race team, and also sponsored Hit the North, a 12 hour race in Manchester three weeks ago, giving out free Performance Sports Drink to every competitor.

Says Jenn, "when Nadine called and said they needed help with prizes, I knew Powerbar would do everything they could. It's difficult to get product delivered at such short notice, but we have pulled together everything we can."

Each competitor will receive a free bottle of Powerbar Performance Sports Drink at sign-on, with Powerbar prize packs for the winners.
The Midland Champs is the third and final round in the hugely popular Midlands Series, and has nearly 300 pre-entries. Pre-entries are now closed, but entries will be accepted on the day. The event is at Sherwood Pines, which has been host to several National Series events. For more information please visit www.xcracer.com.

British National XC Champs - Masters Women

2008-07-25T09:11:00.005+01:00

Race Report by Ruth Mordaunt

The British National Championships was just one of my goals this season, and although I had several objectives during the race, I ultimately wanted to win.

Leading up to the Nationals I had trained consistently with some tough sessions set by Andy. I felt strong and ready to race and was hoping this preparation was going to transfer to a result on the day. The event was set in the New Forest with the course designed in a clover leaf style so as to make it more exciting for the spectators in the central arena. The course was typical for the region; flowing single track through the forest. The course offered no big gradient but this was deceptive as although the hills were short they were steep, frequent and relentless, placing more emphasis on consistent effort over technical ability.

This year, the women’s Masters category had raised its standard, with huge improvements all around and especially from Emma Bradley. Also a strong contender was newcomer to mountain biking, Nina Davies who has represented Wales both at National and Commonwealth Games Road/TT racing and National Cross racing too. Furthermore, Theresa Jackson and Caroline Goward looked fighting fit with race experience on their side. We were all gunning for the National title and it was good to be finally on the start line for battle to commence.

It was me who shot off the start line on the motocross section, with Nina and Caroline following closely behind before entering the first section of single track. During this section I tried to settle into a rhythm, but then the first power kick grassy climb put me into the red. I continued to lead for the first half of lap one with Nina and Caroline tucked in just behind me and then Theresa and Emma only a few seconds chasing. It was close, and I knew I had to push on and adopt some race tactics to try and cause a break between us. However, Nina attacked first on the next short yet steep climb into the arena. We were both determined to make it first through the narrow closing but Nina just managed to squeeze past and overtake to gain a small gap. Obviously I did not want to lose sight of her so I was on the chase, but the power drag that proceeded through the woods just zapped the strength out of my legs and it was then I dropped back a little.

During the end of first lap and on one of the few parts of the course where you could grab a drink, Caroline attacked and overtook, leaving me in third position with Theresa and Emma motoring just behind. I remained calm, especially as I had been warned that other riders from earlier races in the day had blown due to not taking enough fluid and fuel on board. So at this point I made it a priority to refuel and successfully resumed a steady rhythm to power on back to Caroline. This seemed to work as it did not take too long to catch up with Caroline where I felt exceptionally strong and overtook her during the second lap. Now all I needed to do was to get to Nina and attack, but it was going to be tight as now she had gained a good 1 ½ minutes on me and I only had one lap to go. I continued to ride a strong final lap and made up some time but unfortunately I could not close the gap to Nina.

Nina rode to the finish line to take the Master Woman National Championship title and I came home not long after to take silver and with Caroline taking bronze. Well done to Nina Davies and to the Master Women category as a whole in raising the racing standard in this category this year. I am now looking forward to the next and fourth round of the British NPS in Staffordshire where the battle between us will be sure to recommence!

Full results and lap times can be found at www.timelaps.co.uk

The 2008 Masters Women podium (from left) Caroline Goward, Nina Davies and Ruth Mordaunt.

British National XC Champs & Hit The North

2008-07-21T11:06:00.004+01:00

The Altura Patterson Training team was in two places at once this weekend, with Ruth and Simon racing for the Masters titles down at Crow Hill, while Andy and I braved the rain up in Bury for Hit The North.

At the Nationals, Ruth was first up on Sunday at 10:32, and put in a fantastic ride to take the silver medal. The title went to Nina Davies with a very strong ride, and Caroline Goward claimed the bronze medal. We'll have a race report from Ruth up soon.

Simon was not so lucky, and snapped his chain in the first of his four laps, and although he managed to repair it, the weakened chain continued to break and he had to retire from the race. Sam Gardner successfully defended his Masters title, with Matt Barrett taking silver and Luke Mosely taking bronze. On a brighter note, Si did win the wheelie competition the night before and received a tray of Fosters beer for his efforts!

Big congratulations to Jenny Copnall for her fifth, well-earned title. Congratulations also to Liam, Amy, Dave, Nina, Sam, Annie, Hamish and all the other Champs on their titles. Preparing for a high-pressure event like a National Championship is really tough, and those who come through with the jerseys deserve respect.

Meanwhile, Andy and I were up in Manchester, representing event sponsors Powerbar at Hit The North. This was a 12 hour race just off the M61 near Bolton, and it was a superb event. We ran a stall for Powerbar, as well as fielding a four-person team including myself and Andy, Mark Alker from Singletrack Mag and Karl Pearson from Powerbar. Powerbar put up a free refill service with their C2Max Sports Drink, and we kept the carbs flowing for all the mud-caked riders as they shuffled through.

Unfortunately the weather spoiled things a bit and turned the singletrack and bombhole sections of the course into a muddy quagmire, and there was a lot of running and carrying of bikes required in order to get through each lap. We spent as much time washing bikes and carting barrels of water as we did riding, although we had a lot of help from Mark's boys Tom (12) and Sam (9), who did a great job as our team support. Thanks guys!

Rain aside, the event was brilliant, and the organsers did a fantastic job. The after-party in the beer tent with a proper Northern DJ was a great idea (it had stopped raining by then), and the names on our number plates were a nice touch. Well done to all those who stuck it out to the end, hopefully next year we'll get sunshine and dusty trails!

Mark turned up on a carbon hardtail... so we made him warm up on the turbo to complete the image!