Last of the MTB races

My last MTB race of 2017 was to be the last round of the Danish National series (SRAM Liga) in Vejle. I'd been to the venue in 2016, but didn't race due to illness, but was at least aware of the course layout. We drove over on Saturday afternoon with Sandra from Singletrack Sisters who would be racing the Elite race just after me on Sunday. It's a great venue (especially when not raining!), with lots going on around the arena.

No Albert, it's not a giant marshmallow......

Upon arrival we were buoyed by the dryness of the roads and tracks and the forecast was for dry, although cloudy weather both Saturday and Sunday. We arrived in good time to collect our number boards, pin them on and out on the track for official practice. The course was damp in some areas, but generally in very good condition, especially the areas that must be part of a permanent MTB track, which were properly prepared for all weathers.

Back to the hotel, food in the hotel restaurant and then into bed nice and early. Wow, this doesn't normally happen! Both kids in bed and asleep before 2100, in a hotel! Wii Hoo!

Sunday morning the sun was actually shining for a change as we made our way to breakfast. The clouds soon rolled in, but we had still positive feelings and looked forward to a dry race for a change! I headed out for a good warm-up with plenty of time to spare, and the weather seemed ok, albeit a little on the chilly side. The legs felt pretty good, although I did feel quite nervous for this race knowing that I went in with a slim 16 point lead over number 2 in the series! I wasn't really sure how far behind number 3 was in points, but my aim before the race was to stay ahead of numbers 502 and 503 at all costs into the finish (I was number 501, so our seeding numbers are series positions). On the start-line I had 502-505 lined up beside me, and the pulse felt high. Nobody spoke or looked at each other at this race. I wanted to get a good start today, as I knew there was a tree in the middle of the trail, with a hop down, and up a curb just before it, so I wanted to lead into there in order to avoid any problems. Then ideally I would let somebody else do the work after that tight spot. But then, thoughts changed to..... rain.... FFS. AGAIN!?!? First pretty lightly, then a little heavier. No matter I thought, focus on the start!

Nerves on edge on the start-line!

The gun went and I got away well, foot in pedal and some good powerful strokes so I lead into the first section as planned. Not at all to plan was that nobody came by after the tree, so I lead the field into the singletrack too. Already at the first downhill section with switchbacks after a couple of minutes riding I could see that only one other rider had stayed close. So I settled in to my own pace and let him sit on my wheel, all the time thinking I would stick close if he came past. By now the rain had become pretty heavy, and during the first lap it got heavier and heavier! By the end of the lap the course and me were sodden. My clothes felt heavy, and I actually felt cold despite the effort level. But, I had pulled a gap of 10-20 seconds to the rider in 2nd place without really realising it. So, now it was solo riding for the rest of the race. All the while due to the course layout I could see 2nd place and knew I had pulled a few more seconds each lap.

One of the many steep climbs - Denmark ain't flat!

The last lap was pretty mucky, and the course had become much more slippy due to all the tyres churning the mud. I managed to keep it on two wheels, and even had time to take the last couple of kms a little easier into the finish where I won with 50 seconds to spare. Race win and series win! A great feeling, and after the tough start to the season it felt good to get it done, especially with a win!

Over the line, wet and mucky!

Raceday podium

Series standings after 5 races - a late surge!

On to the CX season full-time now. No more MTB races until next spring. First CX race is already next weekend in Rävlanda (west of Gothenburg). It will be exciting to see how I fair in the Men A class against riders of all ages and levels, not just the 30-year-olds!

August - and the summer that never was summer

Bit of a dodgy summer this year. It can be summed up as, grey and lukewarm. Trails never totally dried out, never really hot. Just very 'lagom'. You English speakers will have to look up that very Swedish of words.

After the weekend of the national champs we had a break from everyday life, and from training. For me it was by choice, for Malin it was enforced due to her crash. A week on Gotland allowed us to chill and spend time with the kids. It felt like it was much needed for the motivation to return too after the challenging weekend before.

Unstructured training on the quiet roads of Gotland

Back home to Lund and time for some testing, then onto the CX training in earnest as the season begins already in September. Race dates for the national series, local series and the National champs have all been released, and so the cross season is now planned!

- 23-24/9 - Rävlanda CX trophy and cup races
- 15/10 - MusetteCross
- 28-29/10 - Malmö CX trophy and cup races
- 19/11 - MusetteCross
- 9-10/12 - Lund and Helsingborg CX trophy races
- 31/12 - MusetteCross
- 13-14/1 - National CX Champs in Gothenburg!!

As for MTB races since the National champs I've had some great results and great fun events. The inaugural Musette 6-hour took place on 12/8, and was a great success. The day after was round 4 of the Danish national series in Silkeborg. A marathon race fairly local to home called Snapphaneturen was on the 20/8, then round 6 of XCup was in Malmö on the Rainbow Track on the 27/8. So actually a fairly intense few weeks!

Musette's inaugural 6-Hour race: The smile says it all!

The form left from the Nationals meant that I've had some good results too. First came a closely fought win as a team of 3 with my good friends Tobias Olsson and Phille Nilsson in the Musette 6-hour. When I say close, I mean close.... 5 seconds after 6 hours of racing! Tobias and I did the early work as both needed to leave early due to other commitments, meaning Phille would be riding the last hour on his own! So as it was, Tobbe and I missed all the excitement of the last few laps where the Musette team hauled us in to finish within spitting distance at the line. The race was a fairly small affair for the first test of the event which Musette hope will grow, but the atmosphere was superb, friendly and fun racing on an ever changing course as the weather went from rain to sun several times. I rode my new training bike in this race, a BMC TeamElite 01, which is new for me as I've been riding fully suspended for the last 2 1/2 years. The softtail is a great comprimise of weight, comfort and speed. I really enjoyed riding this bike, with it's sharp handling and quick response. It's nice to be back on a hardtail too, feels like you have to work for your speed a little more. But I also think you become a better rider when training on a hardtail.

The new TeamElite - a rather nice 'Training' bike

The same day we drove to Silkeborg with Sandra from Malins team in order to test the course for SRAMLiga (Danish National Series) the following day. We had read all the forecasts and were prepared for a nice warm, dry Denmark. How wrong we were! On arrival we realised that the area has received a lot of rain both in the days leading up to the weekend, and also on Saturday. When Sandra and I finally arrived at the venue (after some sightseeing in Silkeborg courtesy of her phone GPS! ;-) ) we were greeted with a mud bath! Even the start/finish area was tricky to move around in. The lap was tough to say the least. I counted at least two places where I'd probably be off and running if the ground didn't dry out by Sunday. This would be the first outing for my new 2018 race bike. A BMC FourStroke 01 One, and boy what a debut for that bike!

As it turned out, the course did improve. But only slightly! More rain overnight had not helped, but sun in the morning had helped to make a small difference. I decided to go out fairly easy and see how the legs felt after the previous day's efforts and settled in to 2nd place with the series leader just behind. Onto the second lap I caught the leader and had pulled away from third place, then with some good old British mud riding I pulled a gap for the rest of the race in the slippy conditions as the others struggled to find grip. On race day there was only one climb that wasn't rideable, and the CX training helped me to gain time even there. The legs were shot by the end of the race, but I was relieved to take the win, and also move into the series lead with one round left to go! The new bike felt pretty similar to the 2017 one (good for me having not ridden it before this weekend!) apart from the small changes in suspension, brakes and gears. But I have to say the biggest difference to the hardtail ridden on Saturday was the wheels. I had my Amaton race wheels on the fully, and boy what a difference to the original DT Swiss wheels. So light, stiff and sharp. They really helps to make the bike feel fast and responsive, even if it is a fully!

A win in Silkeborg, and now the series lead with one race left

The following weekend I hadn't really planned to race, but after some persuasion by Magnus I agreed to accompany him to Snapphaneturen, but decided to only ride the open class instead of senior men racing category. The race organised by Hässleholms Cykelklubb is a tough one, and although ONLY 60km, is mainly singletrack, and pretty tough trails. Not a high average speed, and not so many spots to rest on. We took an easy start and I had agreed with Magnus that he would try to stay with me as long as he was comfortable. The start loop was pretty hectic, with riders taking lines all over the place, and lots of traffic and stopping, so already there we lost sight of each other. From there out I just rode to have fun and enjoy the trails. The legs felt good, and the new TeamElite and I had become good friends so I really enjoyed chucking it about on the tough singletrack. With about 15km to go I still felt pretty fresh so decided to push on to the finish at a higher pace. I'd already been passing a lot of riders, but in those last 15km the pace of those being passed had increased and I'd also caught a lot of the race classes. The last 1km was pretty cool as I caught and then out-sprinted 2 riders in to the finish, not realising at all that I'd actually worked my way up to 3rd place in open! My time was ok too, and would have given me a top 30 in the race category. I almost wished I'd raced and tried a bit harder. But still, I had a great time, and I can highly recommend this fantastic event.

Some of the Musette MTB crew after Snapphaneturen

The last of 3 weekends in a row was XCup, again on the Rainbow track in Malmö. This time we had some pretty bad weather, and during the race the race the course went from wet, to wetter, to bog! Luckily for me I love those conditions, so I took the win from my Musette team-mate Philip after taking the lead early on the start loop. It was a really tough race due to the conditions, and during the last lap I had a minimum of 4 fairly heavy crashes into thorn bushes or trees. The bruises, scratches and masses of mud in my eyes took a good few days to get over! Contact lenses and muddy races are never easy going!

The glasses lasted about a lap, then it was 'safety-squint' time. Mud-fest!

BMC and Musette were also at the XCup race showing the new 2018 bikes and in particular the new Agonist that I had a go on round the now drying track. First impressions were very positive, and I especially liked the new geometry of this bike and the stable feeling it gave. The suspension wasn't set up for my weight, but initial feelings were good with good small bump response and a plush feeling. I look forward to trying one in anger at a later date! Could be the XC race weapon of choice if XC courses keep developing the way they have over the last few years with technical sections, jumps and rock-gardens. Thanks to Musette for the 'proper' coffee after the race to warm my hands. A great addition to have those guys there at an already great XCup event.

Me and Philip with our espressos after the finish at XCup in Malmö

The new Agonist that I tried on the Rainbow track. Really loving the smooth lines and clean finish

The last MTB race of the year for me is the SRAMLiga in Vejle on 17/9. Then it's full-speed-ahead for the CX season!