Kit and race updates!

Been a while since I wrote last, busy busy busy. It's not easy being a house husband! A man's work is never done. ;-) Still, I can't complain as I get to spend so much time with my kids, which I never would have been able to do had we still lived in the UK. So I love it!

Anyway, since I last wrote a few things have changed on the kit front. First of all I received a new crash helmet and new shoes from Klas Wennersten at AG Trading, the distributors of POC and Fizik in Sweden. An Octal X in oh so shiny black, and a sleek pair of Fizik M1 shoes, also in black - but a more stealthy matt leather colour. So a huge thank you to Klas for your help!

The first thing I noticed about the Octal is how light and comfortable it is! The first time I put it on I hardly needed to adjust anything!. The strap sat perfectly, and didn't rub on my ears or cheeks at all. The easily reached adjuster at the back sat in the right place, and allowed the lid to be adjusted to sit perfectly on my noggin. The first ride was also a little bit of a revelation, the venting on this thing is amazing! The thing I really noticed is how it even works at low speeds, absolutely brilliant for MTB when you very quickly get a hot head. It even looks pretty cool I think, although I'll let you be the judge of that. ;-)

Snug fit

The Fizik M1 shoes are very Italian - ie. they look very stylish! Nice finishing, and an unbelievably stiff carbon sole, which during the first test ride shocked me at how well the power can be transferred to the pedals. Not that my old Shimano shoes were flexi, but the difference to the XC70's is still noticeable on the bike. The fit is snug, just as you want it, and the Boa lace system works well to tighten the shoe in the right places, so well in fact that I wonder a little bit what the velcro strap at the toe is really for. Seems almost redundant!

Onto a quick race update now, then back to kit (so everything is in chronological order!).
This Saturday (3/6) saw the third round of the local XCup races taking place up at Vallåsen Bike Park. I love this course as it is based on one of the DH courses at Vallåsen, with a long climb up on mixed dirt road and singletrack. The DH sections include some really nice flowing corners, jumps and some fast more open sections too. Right in the middle of a tough training phase, and this being a C-race we didn't include a proper taper, so was wondering how well the legs would respond to a race. But what with the pollen season calming down for me (my main problem is with Birch), the race went really well. I had a great race-long battle with my new team mate Philip, and we were chased to the wire by a honed Malmsten, who has lost a lot of weight with all his Tri training. Excitement in the race also came in the form of another visit from some Danish pros (as this race seems to usually attract some big names - how does Gustav Larsson of Tour de France and pro peleton fame grab you). Benjamin and Klas were on the startline with us, but we didn't see them much after that, think they had a cheap ticket on the bridge, so had to get back home in time. ;-) I came home a tight third place behind them, with Philip hot on my tail, chasing me all the way to the line. Johan was also only 20s back, but mine and Philip's last lap was our fastest due to the battling/attacking going on, so would have been tough for him seeing us just ahead all the time!
No pics from our start, so here's a couple of links to some vids instead! I'm one of the guys in the Yellow Musette jerseys.
Video from Alex Lapajne of the start and first half of the race.
Video from Sko Gen(?) from the sidelines

Lastly, another kit update!
My new BMC Fourstroke came this year with a Boost (15x110mm) fork, so my old Stan's Notubes Valor wheels from 2015 would require an adapter to fit. Not an ideal scenario for racing, so I started a hunt for a replacement wheelset. After some discussions with Sören at Sponz in Hilleröd in Denmark at a SRAM Liga race, I ended up ordering a pair of Sponz's own Amaton wheels. To be more exact, the top of the line AM-RS model.
Lovely carbon loveliness
They were ordered only last week, but were ready for pick-up already today (6/6), so now they are home and ready to be fitted and tested. I chucked them on the scales (as one does), and was pleasantly surprised to see the circa 1200-1300g figure on the site - depending on number of spokes and rim width - was in fact a good guess. 1270g with rim tape! More to follow after I've been out for a ride!