First UCI C1 race of the season. It was a great weekend of hard racing, alongside foreign pro’s and a lot of mates. There was also great support from all the spectators, which I wasn’t always able to acknowledge unfortunately. It was  boiling weekend with blazing sunshine, well on the Sunday, on the saturday you would have needed a fog horn on the bike.

Crack out the Oakleys awesome weather!

Sunday was awesome except a few minor mishaps, but you learn from your problems. We got our supply of Schwalbe tires and I decided to have Fred (Furious Fred)on the back, though I wasn’t brave enough for one on the front as well, I thought the time that you saved on the fire road I would loose tree and bush hunting on the corners. Had to have a ron on the front, go for more grip which was the perfect combo. The Zaskar was all race ready with the new carbon Crank Brothers components and it was actually flippin light for a 29er gate!

The start I was in 43rd surrounded by 80 other riders, everyone waiting for the start cannon well it sounded like someone had blown a car tyre off its rim. The start was rapid and everyone was trying to stay on their bikes after some pile ups in the morning races. It was like being a in a road race I managed to roughly hold my position then we hit the first single track. I may as well have got out my deck chair and had a cup of tea the amount of time we were sat there waiting for the riders in front to move. Next time ill attach one to the bike, I wonder if Lezyne do one that I could put in their saddlebag! The first lap flew by getting stuck in the single track sections behind slower riders and I started to move my way forwards. I didn’t manage to have any Accelerade on the first lap as you were nailing most sections, probably looked slower from the spectators perspective. The 2nd lap was my quickest lap with a few sections getting stuck behind other riders but mostly it wasn’t too bad. The GT Zaskar was gliding over the bumps and it was just so much fun to ride on, I was actually loving the race. the third lap I had managed to get into the top 30 and was progressing then I burped the front going round a tight corner. I tried riding it semi flat thinking i could get away with it, but the bike was going sideways on the corners. I was forced to stop and inject some CO2 in the tyre. I didn’t want to loose the new shiny Lezyne pump so I put it up my Endura skin suit, that was possibly a mistake, it was freezing!! I managed to overtake the riders that had overtaken me whilst I was pumping up the tyre. Then the rear partially went going round another singletrack off camber section on the forth lap, I was going to have to try and be light footed I realised,  not the easiest task for someone of my stature.

Hitting the technical section before the start of the final lap a junior rider was in front and decided to stop on a corner causing me to turn to tight and burping the front tyre again, arse! I managed to ride it to the pits and Chris (GT Racing UK Team Manager) and Ian ( Ed’s dad) Pumped up the tyre whilst Steve gave me some Energy drink, Then I set off chasing the riders that had gotten past whilst I was stopped, I didn’t manage to catch the riders in front and finished the race in 42nd, which was a bit annoying but the race was good fun and I know that I have it in me to do a lot better. Next time i’ll learn from my mistakes and i’ll be near the front of the field.

Thanks to all the sponsors, help from everyone and support from the people in the crowd that I know. Time to get the muc off out and clean of the bike, in the glorious sunshine!

Another busy weekend of racing for GT Racing UK at the opening round of the British Cross Country National series at Sherwood Pines, Nottingham. We arrived Saturday morning to a very foggy Sherwood. Set up the GT E-Zup and got started setting up the Team Zaskars with our new Schwalbe tyres which had arrived the day before. By the time we had the tyres set up with tyre sealant and valves the sun had burned through the fog and the guys managed to get a few practice laps under their belts. Saturday evening saw the first Pro Sprint Eliminator of 2012, Gareth and Ed took part but were knocked out in the 2^nd rounds. Evening meal back at the hotel was a lot of fun with team photographer Jethro providing entertainment for the rest of us by attempting to eat an ice cream sundae made for two all by himself!

After a good night sleep in Premiere Inn’s finest, we woke to glorious sunshine! Bring on the race!

With this being an Olympic qualification year, many racers had come over from abroad hungry for the early UCI points available so the start was packed in all categories. Our youngest rider Ed had a blinding start in juniors and had built up quite a lead by the second lap but a burped tyre lost him a lot of pressure. He had to stop to use his Lezyne CO2 and get some more air in quickly, dropping him down a few places. Ed settled with an awesome 5^th place! A great start to his season.

In the Elites despite the corse not really being what he is used to up in Scotland, Dave Henderson had a consistent race finishing a solid 19th in front of some very big names. Young Jon Pybus had a good race despite tonsillitis and also losing some air from his front tyre finishing 42nd. Unfortunately Gareth Montgomerie did not have such a good race. A good start saw him near the front before a puncture stopped his race on the last lap.

Despite a few problems a good start to the National Cross Country Series. Really looking forward to Round 2 in Dalby. See you there!

This is the bike GT Racing UK will be riding for 2012. These special custom bikes are based on the 2012 GT Zaskar 9R Expert production model but feature almost a full parts upgarde. Below is a list of specification of the bikes. We hope you like them.

Frame – 29” Force Optimized Construction Ultra Carbon, Tapered Head-Tube, Post Mount Disc

Fork – Rockshox SID World Cup 29”, Dual Air, 100mm, MxleLite 15mm Axle, XLoc Remote Lock-Out, Carbon Tapered Steerer

Cranks – SRAM XX, 39/26T, Intergrated Carbon/Aluminium Construction, 175mm  Arms

BB – SRAM GXP BlackBox, Ceramic Bearing, English MTB

Pedals – N/A

Front Derailleur – SRAM XX, Bottom Pull, High Mount

Rear Derailleur – SRAM XX, Medium Cage

Shifters – SRAM XX, Trigger, Avid MatchMaker Mounts

Cassette – SRAM XX,  XG1099, 11/36T

Chain – SRAM XX, PC1091R, Hollow Pin, PowerLock

Wheelset – Crank Brothers Iodine 2 29er, 29”, 6061-t6 Aluminum Rim, Stainless Steel Spokes

Tyres – Schwalbe Furious Fred – 29″ x 2.00 TL Ready, Racing Ralph – 29 x 2.10 TL Ready, Rocket Ron – 29 x 2.25 TL Ready, Nobby Nic – 29 x 2.25 TL Ready Depending on Conditions

Brakes – Avid XX World cup, Hydraulic, 160mm XX Clean Sweep Rotors, Ti Rotor Bolts F+R

Bar – Crank Brothers Cobalt 2 Flat Bar

Stem – Crank Brothers Cobalt 2

Grips – GT Wings Waffle, Light weight Eva Foam, Lock-On

Headset – FSA No.42 ACB, Anodised Red

Saddle – WTB Silverado Race SL, Nicro Tubular Rails

Seat Post – Crank brothers Cobalt 2

Seat Clamp – All Terra Alloy Bolt-On, Anodised red

Check out GT Racing UK’s new Endura race kit! Modelled here by GT Racing UK’s very own Jon Pybus.

GT Racing UK will be using new Lezyne Tools, Pumps and Bags for 2012 courtesy of our friends at Upgrade Bikes.

For more information on Lezyne products visit www.lezyne.com or www.upgradebikes.co.uk

Dave Henderson and Gareth Montgomerie of the GT Racing UK Team represented GT Bicycles at this … The Andalucia Bike Race 2012.

The second edition of Andalucía Bike Race will took place from 26 February to 2 March 2012 in the provinces of Córdoba and Jaén. The Andalucía Bike Race is a team competition (in pairs), in which both members have to ride together.More than 17,000€ of prize money is available for the Elite Men and Women categories. The Andalucía Bike Race scores in the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) ranking with a XCS S2 status, becoming one of only 12 such mountain bike stage races in the world, and the only one in Spain with this distinction.The UCI ranking is used to determine eligibility for major events such as the Olympic Games. The Andalucía Bike race is the biggest and most prestigious mountain bike race in Spain The 6-day stage race takes place over the expanse of trail networks out there in Spain, the country was always ripe for a full stage event. It is set in the area of Andalucia (hence the name) starting in the town of Cordoba, a couple of hours from Malaga and Seville. With temperatures fast becoming warm (by British standards) in the area by the start date of the 26th February, it was a good chance for the Scott’s to test the new bikes, the legs and escape the still chilly climes of our shores. Given that it is Olympic year, the UCI points were all to play for! The race attracted a number of elite riders looking for early season races. World cross country champion Jose Hermida was be back for this second edition. This year’s race also attracted a number of top riders from the UK, Sally Bigham of the Topeak Ergon team, Rich Rothwell, his partner Anthony White, Matt Page and Josh Ibbett. The race made for challenging reading on paper with over 400km of trail riding with over 12,000m of vertical ascent over the 6 days. Distances vary from 65 to 90km a day with a hearty 2900m of climbing on the longest stage. It started with a semi urban 34km blast prologue in and around the town of Cordoba, a chance to ready the legs for the next 5 days of racing and to suss out the competition.The first 3 stages start and finish in Cordoba, then it’s onto La Carolina where the stage will finish followed by a transfer to Jaen for the final 3 stages.

Dave and Gareth wrote a blog for UK Cross country mountain bike website XCRacer.com over the 6days and it made for fantastic reading!

http://www.xcracer.com/XCRacer-Andalucia-Bike-Race-Blog-with-Team-GT.html

In the end the boys finished an amazing 10th place overall, placing them as the fastest British team and we later found out they were only 13 seconds down on 9th! A truly fantasic result to the two Scotts!!!

Seeing Pink! GT Bicycles UK Race Team continues it’s strong link to the UK’s most adrenaline fuelled care products company Muc-Off!

For more infomation on Muc-Off’s products visit www.muc-off.com

Check Out GT’s latest Zaskar advert featuring GT Racing UK’s very own Dave Henderson!

So after the Red Bull Hill Chasers on Saturday – we all headed to the first round of the Midlands XC at Hick’s lodge Cycle Centre in Leicestershire. The course was perfect for giving the bikes a good run in being mostly man made with some loose corners and some muddier natural sections. In the junior race Ed McParland managed to settle down into 2nd place, battling with Alex Baker of the Orange Monkey team. On the last lap he put a dig in and broke the elastic, managing to ride away to second. A Cracking result for young Ed in the first proper XC race of the year. In the Elites Gareth Montgomerie and Dave Henderson took up the battle. Gareth did not feel to good at the start of the, “I felt sluggish everywhere and there was no real rest on the course due to the flat nature of it. As the first couple of laps ticked by I started to feel a bit more comfortable and I was getting really annoyed with a rider who kept cutting sections out of the course and going the wrong side of the course markings, despite making it clear I wasn’t happy with him doing it he continued so it was time to get rid of him! With teammate Dave Henderson now on my wheel we pushed on opening up a gap on the one short drag of a climb. From here we rode together extending our lead over third place. With the final lap approaching things between Dave and I were twitchy, we both wanted to win the season opener! Luckily for me Dave suffered a mechanical at the end of the penultimate lap giving me an opportunity to go for the win solo. Very happy to take the win, posting the fastest lap of the race and keeping laps consistently within 15secs of each other. Dave took 2nd topping off a good weekend for GT Racing UK and the brand new GT Zaskar 29r”. Couldn’t Have said it better myself!

Midlands XC Series 2012, Round 1 Hicks Lodge from X Trail Films on Vimeo.

Ed McParland the youngest member of the GT Racing UK Team’s tells us about the Red Bull Hill Chasers Event.

16 elite level riders and 16 cycling enthusiasts, spanning BMX, mountain bike, road cycling and fixed gear disciplines, came together in an attempt to settle the fierce debate of which bike discipline is best uphill, all of them aiming to be crowned “King of the Hill’ and win one of the awesome, specially made, Charge bikes up for grabs.

The 32 riders competed in a gruelling series of head-to-head knockouts on the unforgiving incline of Park Street, in Bristol city centre. The riders were paired randomly giving amateur riders the chance to compete against the elite.

The fastest 16 riders from the open qualifiers battled against the following elite riders in the main event:

Ted King
Michal Prokop
Ed McParland
Dave Henderson
Jon Pybus
Chris Metcalfe
Jon Watson
Abi Greenaway
Juliet Elliot
Aidan Bishop
Lewis Lacey
Rob Reed
Jon Russell
Simon Truelove
Ed Trotman

“On Saturday we had the chance to ride the Red Bull Hill Chasers in Bristol.  The hydraulic start ramp provided a launch pad for the increasingly steepening hill that loomed, and gridded against a variety of bikes and riders I managed to progress to the semi-finals, unfortunately knocked out by a road bike by 0.3 of a second!

The race was a good opportunity to test the new bikes which performed brilliantly, and looked fantastic. In the end Gareth finished 3rd! The fastest mountain biker! I was top 8 and Dave top 16.