ALTURA PATTERSON TRAINING ANNOUNCE NEW TEAM FOR 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.