Recently being appointed MTBA Vice President I had my first
experience of seeing a National Series race from a different perspective. It’s no secret that the series was in doubt
after Cycling Australia pulled out of delivering on their agreement with MTBA
at the last minute. It was only with the
hard work of the Adelaide Club, Inside Line, volunteers and MTBA personnel that
last Sunday’s race happened at all. On
top of that we had a bushfire warning thrown in for good measure due to the 45
degree days of a heatwave.
Knowing the challenges which were being overcome behind the
scenes, as I rider I thought the race was one of the more organised and well
run. I’m not after bells-and-whistles at
these races. You want to impress
me? Make the event run on time, where it
was supposed to run and make sure there is a coffee van. All boxes ticked in Adelaide.
Although the Eagle Park course isn’t known as particularly
technical in that there are no massive drops or rock gardens, it can still come
back and bite you due to the loose surface and rocky off-camber corners
and quite a few elite riders sported bandages after the race. Sections like Sunset Boulevard with its jumps
and fast berms made the descents something I looked forward to on every one of
our 6 laps. My heart rate almost maxed
out getting through a deceptively easy looking crushed granite section at the
end of the course. Then I was soft pedalling through the feed zone to recover
before the steep gravel pinch at the start of the next lap.
Finishing just out of the medals in 4th place I
was reasonably happy after a while away from the National XC scene. I’m hoping to get these old(er) legs moving a
little faster in time for the National Championships in Bright in March.
It’s always hard leaving Adelaide with its amazing riding,
restaurants, local ciders (try the Lobo Cloudy – awesome!) and especially just
before the Tour Down Under kicked off.
Perhaps someone will have a tour guide position available for me when I
retire?
Massive thanks to my sponsors for 2014: Giant Bikes, Ride
Mechanic, For The Riders and Shotz Nutrition.
