Supercross Cup # 4 – 20th Nov 2010 – Tymon Park

Ok, I wasn’t supposed to be doing this race. I started work at 7:45am. At 11am, I though ‘mmm, I can get out for a couple of hours here’….upstairs, into the gear, chucked the bike in the car, out to Tymon…..on the bike at 11:40, deadly. Same course as # 2, but with a couple of tweeks…..much wetter though.

Off we went, straight away, Robin, Evan, Conor and I got away. On lap 2 I led through the off camber and had a huge slide and the back end went away, funny, not too much time lost (see vide blow). Conor got a gap on lap 4, and Robin jumped over. I let it go a bit as I wanted to isolate Evan. I then jumped Evan and rode up to Conor and Bob….no, hold on, I never feckin got back on…..brutal. Evans bike snapped on the next lap, so that was him out. Conor was riding REAL well, but bob got away to take the win, Conor next, then me, then Peter Mc, savage ride. 3rd was good enough to take 2nd overall in the series. Thanks to Bob and Dave!

Straight into the car and home for more work…..tapping away on the laptop covered in mud….busy busy day.

Stevens Supercross Cup from David Gill on Vimeo.

Supercross Cup # 3 – 13th Nov 2010 – Corkagh Park

Corkagh park +dry conditions = super fast racing. I was there at 9am, giving a dig out with the course marking. I was in charge of the 1st loop, and I included a couple of nice features on the humps to add to the slideryness. The course was great, corner, corner, corner….Another capacity entry, on the 2nd row again, and off we go. Again, Robin, Conor, Evan and I got away early. We stayed together until the 3rd when Robin got a flat, losing about 1 min. for the next few laps, Evan, conor and I battled it out….I tried to get away a couple of times, but no joy. Conor toe tapped the tall boards and cramped. Being the good mate that I am, I attacked, dropping Conor and bringing along Evan. With 3 to go, Bob was not too far behind, so I gave it a dig, got 10secs, but Bob and Evan got together and pulled it back. With 2 laps to go, Bob went, no response. Evan was v strong, and got a gap on the last lap. I was sure I was going to get it back, but shunted on a slippy corner, dropping the chain…aghhhhhhhh. Conor and Ryan were not too far behind, so I put the head down and came home in 3rd.

Class race, class course, great racing and savage riders….I love it!

Evan, Robin, Conor and I do battle

Taking it wide

Not sure if this was intended drifting!

Monster boards!

Ryan never got on the group to contend

On Conors wheel

Cyclocross training!

Finally, the rains came. Total deluge. the aftermate of out Tuesday night session.......'because I'm worth it!'

Jet wash the bike, 5 mins, Jet wash me, 5 mins, jetwash the clothes, 15mins.......

Supercross Cup round # 1 - Tymon Park – Dublin – Oct 16th 2010

Cyclocross! Oh god, the pain. Just back from 2 tough races at the Roc, straight into cross racing. I had just got my new Focus Mares carbon crosser racing thing and I was eager to give it a race.

Tymon park was the venue, a classic. I was gridded on the 2nd row, only because I am national champ….also on the 2nd row was UK visitor Adrian ‘winner’ Lansley. At midday, the capacity 75 riders sprinted off from the start. The course was v good, bone dry, just a bit slippy from overnight dew, perfect cross weather. I got a good start, took the lead after the 1st few corners, and started lap 2 in the lead with Bob, Ade, Evan, Aidan and Conor en-tow…savage. Then Ade launched a savage attack, stringing it out a bit. Evan punctured on lap 2, pity. I hung on to Bob and Ade for 5 laps, then more attacks and I hung off the back. I almost got back on on lap 7, but the boys started attacking again, game over!

Ade won by a couple of seconds to Bob, I was 3rd, a good bit behind. Aidan was 4th, Conor 5th and Peter 6th….go on the ol’ lads! A great race, super slick event, nice sambos, and a good family day out.

Aidan stickin it in the ribs!

Lap 1, pretty much all together

Ade, Bob and I hangin it out

Head down

New team cyclocross bike – Mares CX1

There is nothing better than a good cross bike. I got the new team cross bike yesterday, Focus Mares CX1. Wow, what a bike. The tube shapes are really extreme, they would be extreme if they were on a mountain bike! BB30, 1 ½ lower headtube bearing, deep section carbons, Sram Force….all real nice. Very light and very stiff! I went straight out and put it to test on the Tuesday night cross training spin in Knocklyon.

Cross really is a great sport. 1 hour of flat out sliding and sprinting. I am not riding great at the moment, but I hope to improve a lot in time to defend my nationals title in January…..loads of time!! Cants wait to put it to test on Sunday at round 2 of the SuperCross Cup.

Thank, again, to Aidan and Ross in Eurocycles for the bike.

Yum!

Yum!

Yum!

Yum!

Yum!

Roc D’Azur – Cote D’Azur, France – 7th – 11th Oct 2010

My annual pilgrimage to the Roc, the worlds largest MTB event. 140,000 MTB nuts descend on Frejus to enjoy everything French, Sunny, Sandy and everything with wheels. This was more of a holiday then a racing trip….Ava was at home, so it was a time for Hazel and I to take it easy…….of course that was not going to happen! I did the masters race on Friday. 42kms, flat out! 1500 riders. I finished 21^st, 14^th in category. Pretty short, pretty easy going, a bit of form and a top 5 would be very easy……maybe in a couple of years.

On Saturday we spent the day cheering on the other riders. Coyner and Judy in the Tandem and Michelle in the 20km race….her first race! Both did very well.

Sunday came, and I was on the 3^rd row of the grid for the Roc. I was in incredible company, world champs, Olympic champs, national champs, they were all around me! Very exciting. Then to the start…..helicopter bussing, crouds cheering……10 seconds. I watched the starters finger, I saw the twitch before I heard the sound…..off we go, a good start, top 20 but by the road, on Burry Standers wheel (gulp). The next 5km was flat out, 42*11, on the back of the lead group….savage. Once we hit the first hill though, I backed off, right off…a long race, and I wanted to enjoy it.

The course was amazing, the best yet. Lots of nice climbs and descents, not too rough….great fun. With 20km to go, I was in a group of solid guys….we hit the fireroad kicker after the road, abut 3000 people on the hill, the noise was unreal, goosebumps all over. Amazing, I kicked and caught a few more guys, loving the singletrack into the finish.

110^th, not too bad, I enjoyed it, that was the main thing.Next irish home was Vinzer, followed closely by Sutty, very competitive. Well done to all the Irish, a great crew and some great performance. Ray stuck his head in a tree and pulled half his face off, lucky to keep his right ear, get better soon. Sign language from now on with him!Hazel and I then took off to check out Monaco for the afternoon, a coffee in Casino square, the back to the Badabing bar for mega pints and dancing until later……..Roc on!

All the Irish ready to go before the masters race

I rode the beach this year, both ways (durty)

The front boys booting it near the finish!

Paul and Judy enjoying the tandem!

Kev had a great ride.....

Eurocycles demo demo day – Ballinstoe – 12 September 2010

Today, Aidan and Ross from Eurocycles, gathered a number of Eurocycles clients for the first of (hopefully) many demo days, hence the demo demo day. Garmin were there to provide the latest sat nav units for riders who were interested. 20 riders of all abilities left Ballinastoe to do 1 lap of the circuit. It was great to chat to everyone, we talked about position, setup, gear choice, tyres, riding climbs and decents.

All in all, a great experience. We plan to do a number of these in 2011, opening them up to all riders. We also hope to have a suite of Focus bikes for riders to try out. Exciting stuff!

Cooley Thriller – Carlingford - 28th August 2010

I love the McCabes…….Gerry, Jonny and Deco. 3 brothers, crazy about all things extreme. Only someone special would take on organizing an event like this.

I was really looking forward to this race. 55km of singletracking in the Cooley mountains, deadly. Robin picked me up early on sat morning, and 1:15 later we were in Carlingford. A little later 250 riders rolled out of the village, and up the main fireroad. Robin and I were chatting in about 20^th place, while everyone in front was real serious, attacking, killing themselves….jez lads, relax, 3 hours to go!

After the first descent, Aido, Ray, Robin, Glenn, Richi and I were together, tackling the long climb to the aerials to Ravensdale. Down the tellytubbies descent, it was just Robin, Ray, and I. Great fun, although, I was suffering on the next climb! Ray was buzzing, bootin it on the descents, and attackin on the climb. I dropped off a bit towards the end of the race, sufferin with tiredness and fatness.

I finished up 3^rd, not too far behind. A great event, open top singletrack hills and proper mountains. A credit to the McCabes and their team of helpers.

3 hours later, 4 leffes and 4 hoegdardens, we hit Carlingford for a few drinks a bit of dancing , great crack.

Next day we only managed 2 hours in Bellurgen. Aidan showed us the 12 hours course. 10km of singletrack, deadly. A fun weekend away, looking forward to next year!

NI XC # 5, Castlewellan, Co. Down - 1st August 2010

Despite post nationals total body shutdown, I made my way to this race. You just cannot turn down the opportunity to race here, defo my favourite course I have ever ridden! After recent felling, they have had to build new tracks and further improve this already incredible course.

On the way up with Robin, we both agreed that we were totally knackered and hardly able to ride the bikes, so we decided to cruise around and chat......grand stuff, little racing so! The course is incredible, approx 22 mins of singletrack, with a couple of mins of fast flat fireroad, a triumph of XC trail building. Rain the previous couple of days had made the going real slippy, and my fasttrack tyres would not be up to the job at all, but off we went.

The pace was real gingerly at the start, a good bit of chatting and laughing on the descents, at the end of lap 1, only myself, bob and super DH'er Gareth McKee were together. Gar was incredible, training for the DH nationals, he was suffering on the up bits, but bootin it on the down bits, great stuff. Robin took care of him for the rest of the race, ensuring he wasnt dropped too much. However, I was in a bad way. 2 weeks off the bike, working hard, baby not feckin sleeping and a poxy back was taking its toll, so much so that I packed with 1 lap to go. Just goes to show how bollixed I am when I was unable to finish a race riding at 80%. Also, my 1st XC DNF in, er, 6 years, approx 50 races....not a bad statistic.

Robin cruised in 1st, with gar getting an excellent 2nd and James coming in 3rd. Time for me to sort my life out before the upcoming marathons and the Roc, then the cross season....head down time!

Congrats to XMTB, amazing course, great day out....hope to be back at Castlewellan next year!

Robin, Gar and I in the singletrack

XMTB put on a great show

Ladies nationals champ Cait rides the slidery ST

Irish National XC Champs – 18th July 2010

Well, I went for a top 3, hovered around there for a while, legs went and I got 4th……bit of a disaster really, I gave it a go, I just wasn’t good enough!

The EPIC team put on a great show at Djouce woods. On the Saturday, I did a coaching session with 15 riders. It was a great experience and something I hope to do more of. Some of the riders were a little intimidated by some of steeper the descents and climbs, but a few minutes on each was enough to get most of them through it comfortably.

The venue is stunning, incredible views and mature forests with some great trails. The course, however, was a mixed bag. The descents were the straight down type, hold on a blow through all your elevation in a few seconds. This really does lend itself to a climbers course, I’d say only 15% of time was actually descending, on a normal course, it would be about 30%. Billed as a DHers course, but it was the opposite IMO ....howandever, it was still enjoyable, and definitely worthy of a champs course, just a bit of a shame.

We lined up on the field, I was on the 2nd row due to not have world ranking points, but I knew my starts are good so I wasn’t too worried. BANG, around the field, and 2nd in the first ST on Evans wheel. With robin behind. Around Evan, and Robin overtook me just before XTC…..already we were about 8secs ahead of everyone…SORT YOUR STARTS OUT LADS FFS.

About 1/3 way through the 1st lap I backed off Robins wheel and settled in. Ryan caught and passed me on sneaky line that I had missed a little later, and I finished the first lap about 10 sec off, no worries….Peter was about 30 sec back and riding ok. Robin was gone!

Ryan had a shunt on lap 2 and burped his tyre, and he had to stop a couple of times to give his tyre blast, so I was able to pass him and he only caught me at the end of the 3rd…..this is where it started to go wrong, the legs went, disaster. I had to switch into get home mode, Peter passed, and I keep moving slowly until the end…..pity, I would have liked a medal! Robin cruised to victory, # 16 for him. Too easy really, riding real well even though he has ‘retired’. Ryan came in a well deserved 2nd, a bit battered but a good result. Peter 3rd, mega congrats, not bad for a 47 year old!!!! Like I said earlier, good/bad day whatever, I just wasn’t good enough, but I gave it a go. Richi came in 5th, with Philip travelling from Belgium to finish a fine 6th. As always, the Focus was perfect, didnt miss a beat!

I did get on the podium though, 5 of us, 5 bottles of champagne, we all got soaked. Great day out, and well done to Richi, Luke and all the EPIC guys for a awesome show.

Round the outside at the start!


Down GC, what a descent!

Grinding up the climbs

Robin out on this own

Railing it on XTC

Followed by me :-)

Ryan and I do battle!

Aidan cruised to victory in the Vets

Ray had a solid race in the Vets

Sideways

Ryan catching me at the end of lap 3!

Sufferin!

The podium!

New team gear

Took delivery of the new team gear, finally. Very colour coordinated!

NPS # 7 – Three Rock, Dublin. 4th July 2010

The final NPS. A finish would guarantee the overall win, so I was looking forward to this one. Three rock is a classic MTB location, right in my back garden and my home race.

The course was pretty good, the MAD team spent a lot of time building and draining, back breaking stuff. However, the start/finish was frustrating, a 20min walk from the main car park field, a shame.

Off we went, along “Stradia Biancia”, the long flat fireroad. I got the holeshot in the long singletrack descent. I was brutal, the sun shining through the trees made spoting lines impossible. Onto the purple road climb and it was me and Peter, the long climb awaits. I was not feeling good, tired legs and not going as fast as I should have. I contimuned to lead for the rest of the lap, a couple more good descents, a climb, long flat dbl trail and singletrack to the finish. Lap 2, and I continued to lead back to the long fireroad, really slow again, I was just waiting for Peter to jump, and he did, with a mighty kick, I could not respond.

I struggled throught the rest of the race, coming in 2^nd. My worst performance in a long time, jez I was like a bull at the end! Congrats to Peter, flying on the day. James and Richi came in sprinting for 3^rd, with James taking the podium spot. Evan was next, good enough for 2^nd in the league.

The prizegiving was great, the field was superb. Thanks MAD!

2010 NPS champion, nice one. 2 weeks to sort myself out and get ready for the big one, the Nationals!!

Stunning views!

Booting it!

Evan and Richi chasing hard

Vinny took the win in the Vets

Ray on the tough climb

Mega roots

Multiple lines allowed overtaking

A tough day for me

Peter and I on lap 1

Evan yumping the rocks

NPS # 6 - Dromara - 27th June 2010

Up to the north again, this time to last years Nationals venue in Dromara. I didn’t race the nationals last year, so I didn’t know what to expect. The course description was a bit loose, farm land, grassy hills, would this be another repeat of the cow trodden course of Killarney? Thankfully no! I actually enjoyed the course, great staged kicker climbs, dusty trails through high ferns and bushes, wonderful flowey corners…..a real test. Oh, and sunshine too.

The Elite field was missing a couple of key riders from round 5, Robin, Evan and Ryan, but Peter was there so this was not going to be easy. I lead the first lap, then Peter put the hammer down and really made me suffer on laps 2 and 3. Just 15-20 seconds away and couldn’t get back on! Then on the 5^th lap, I rode up to him on the climb and passed him straight away. He then punctured and that was that! Win number 3 in the series, back to leading too, good stuffoooooooooo. The Raven was excellent, didn’t miss a beat, and I was able to stay in the big ring for the whole race (XX is class).

Well done to my chauffeur for the day, Vinny. He took an easy win in the Vets, should be a good nationals for him.