What a wicked weekend away!!

Got picked up by the jam packed GT wagon, consisting of Chris and the gang on friday morning. They were passing Loughborough as they wound up north on the slog to the land of Haggis!! I was dropped off at the youngest team mates Ed’s in Yorkshire with bike and bags, while the others cracked on to the Red Bull Minidrome venue. I spent the night at Ed’s and we jumped in the van in the morning with Ian (Ed’s dad) and  Jon Hopkins (Aire Valley Cycles’ resident maniac)! The conversation on the way up was wacky as we two mad Jons are good at talking rubbish.

We arrived at the venue and guess what, it was raining, well it is Scotland! We got the Zaskars out and rolled over to the sign-on tent. We met Chris, who had done a sterling effort erecting the GT gazebo single-handedly. After comparing tyre choices and agreeing on the Racing Ralphs for the trail centre based course, we put on the Oakley Jawbone eye mud protectors and commenced the course reccie. It started with some quality single track climbs, leading to some uphill rooty sections which, due to the recent buckets of rain, had turned into hiking sections. The course was great fun with sweeping curves and testing sections, mixed in with fire road points to pass people on, and grab a much needed drink. On one of the rocky drop offs halfway round, I pinched the tyre and had to practice some early running skills, to get to the main arena.  A quick blast of air and a fresh tube courtesy of Lezyne, and I jumped back on ready to get a proper lap in. DENIED! Apparently they need half an hour before the open race to stop riders from going onto the course. I decided to get the Muc-off out and clean the beast, as I didn’t want to get cold standing around waiting for practice to open again, opting to ride the second half blind on Sunday. We were staying at Castle Douglas, an interesting place, with its boy racers doing laps of the car park and Iron-bru and Jagermeister student drinks. We hit the bar for a drink and chatted in the Hotel lounge for a bit before retiring to the rooms. Unfortunately Jon who I was sharing with won the rock, paper, scissors and got the double bed… Damn you, paper!!!

Started the morning watching the London Nocturne repeat on TV. Was mildly amused by the lack of porridge in a Scottish hotel and had to settle with the Weetabix and scrambled eggs. We got back to the venue with the mosquitos deciding to come back out in force to take away more of my precious blood, as obviously the day before they didn’t get their fill. We met up with Chris and got all the gear ready, the 29ers sparkling and tuned to perfection. After watching the women’s race finish I decided to start warming up on the start hill. Though I spent most of the time chatting as normal, due to heightened nerves. We were all called over to the start line, I waited to be herded into the correct pen for number 29. I was called up to the grid opting to stay to one side as I had a plan for the start, well the same as everyone else no doubt!

Off went the start gun and the legs started churning the pedals, I got a good start going up the outside of the riders in front and working myself into the low teens according to the all the numbers on the other riders backs around me. Going into the single track I was shadowing Nick Craig (Scott Bikes) and stuck at it, running up the first muddy section – it was quicker than trying to ride it! I hopped back on the bike and found myself sinking! A loud crack later, and I was half a seatpost down…  hmmmmmm…

My heart sunk; another national and another problem,  I picked up the remnants of the post and saddle which had snapped at the clamp. I ran to the next fire road section with my my mind battling on the verge of defeat. With the post in hand I jumped back on and gingerly carried on around the course losing places at an alarming pace. By the time I had attempted the technical sections and limped back into the arena I had lost a lot of time and the leading Juniors had cruised on by. I stopped in the pits and Chris and Ian assessed the damage for a few minutes seeing if they could pull out the stuck piece of carbon and replace what was left of the post. Meanwhile  I asked the UCI Commissaries’ if I could race without a seat. Apparently you are allowed to, a sure new weight saving tip for the future! As riders were still racing by, I told Chris and Ian that I would ‘get back on it, Rule 5’. I started to catch other riders with the comments of “you’ve got no seat post” from the crowd, thanks for the support as well by the way! I completed the second lap standing up without drink as it was pretty hard when you can’t rest. We tried again in the pits to rectify the problem, though I decided that it was pointless, so I carried on with the pain. I now realize how hard it is to race an Elite XC race standing up basically the whole way. The encouragement from everyone kept me going; also it was a good laugh, as I always like a challenge. I rolled in over the finish line in 27th ( 2 places higher than I started!!) 2 hours and 15 minutes out of the saddle, all I can say is that my legs are screaming today and walking downstairs is tricky. Congratulations to my awesome team mates Dave and Gareth for finishing 3rd and 5th respectively and Ed “the Shred” for finishing 5th in the Juniors, good job shorty!

After packing up the van and trying to walk of the cramps, whilst munching everything in sight, Chris and I set off to the Red Bull Minidrome in Edinburgh. We had a few friends racing in it and our friends Charge Bikes were part-sponsoring the event. We arrived after 2 hours of roller coaster style country lane driving in the GT Racing UK Van. It was an amazing venue; an art school, with statues surrounding the hall where the event was held. The atmosphere was buzzing, may have been partly due to all the cans of red bull. I was chatting to one of the organizers and before I knew it I had a number on one hand, fixie in the other and a helmet on. I was entered to do qualifying for the main event, I thought “why not?”. The crowd support was amazing when i stepped into the 30ft x 20ft mini velodrome, which was surrounded by safety mats. Luckily I was allowed 6 practice laps as it’s been a while since I rode fixed. It was hilarious trying to negotiate the turns, I have never done anything like it before, though it was so much fun, one of the highlights of my year so far. I was lined up and I had to complete 10 flying laps against the clock. I thought I went well though compared to the top riders I was a snail, I managed to get 70th out of 100 odd riders not too bad, though next time ill qualify for the final head to head showdowns.  The head to head was brilliant watching the two riders trying to catch each other at high speed. I swear half the time I had my hands over my mouth due to the number of crashes and close calls. There were a few face plants as riders tyres folded even though they had 120psi in them, epic.

All in all an awesome weekend with some top quality guys and gals. I recommend doing both events, thanks to British Cycling for the amazing XC National series and Red Bull for the Madness that is Minidrome!

Thanks to the sponsors

GT Bicycles – Awesome Race and Training bike (Zaskar’s rock!) and loads of other bits and bobs.

Sram – XX Groupset, light weight performance at its best!

Schwalbe –  for their amazing array of top notch race tyres

Accelerade – Nutrition

Lezyne – the best looking and performing  Tools and pumps

Eyewear Outlet – Oakleys race and podium glasses

Muc-Off – simply the best cleaning products

Ultimate Fitness – Steve Middleton coach

Thanks Chris and Ian for the support at the race, hopefully soon I’ll get the result I crave!!! Roll on Langdon Hill in Essex for round 5!

Jon Pybus – University Mountain Bike Champs Race Report - Sunday June 10th 2012

The long awaited student mountain bike event of the year. One of my aims for this year was to win this champs, as last year I had a poor showing in 10th position. After recently finishing at Loughborough Uni doing my design course, this was my last chance at getting the title. I managed to get silver two years ago, though the gold was proving difficult to chase.

I had ridden the course a month ago in the wet, so I knew what to expect after the recent rain, it had turned into a quagmire. Last time the Racing Ralph’d did not provide enough purchase on the rutted and boggy slogs, which were supposedly climbs, you had to do it seated. I decided to use a Nic on the back to gain the extra grip, the zaskar being a 29er had the extra traction in the corners so I stuck with a ralph on the front, and choose the lines wisely, well as best as I could. Everyone knows about my lack of technical ability. As we were not allowed technical assistance I had taped the Lezyne gas pump and multi tool to the bike with a spare tube.

I warmed up on the turbo, which one other rider commented that “aren’t you taking this a bit too seriously?” well perhaps I should have sat there eating pot noodles like a stereotypical student apparently, but I stuck to my radioactive looking lime Accelerade. I got to the start line just on time to be called up onto the front row.

The starting gun went and I may have missed my pedal whoops. I dropped back into around 10th along the first flat and Dave my team mate and Bruce Dalton, were first into the first corner and started up the climb. I decided to ride it from the beginning and rode past them into the lead. The muddy climbs are still not my favorite as I have to stay seated and I always pick the lines with ruts and the wettest patches! The single track was all fairly straight forward with the clusters of supporting students, I was tempted to do the jump on the course, but I know my luck too well to risk doing one especially with a tree after the landing! Finishing the first lap I was in the lead by 20 seconds and big wheels were just absorbing the miles. Thanks to the Oakleys for keeping the majority of the mud out of my eyes, riding a course blind or one eyed could have been a lot more fun though! I was constantly getting a lap by lap update on my lead from Carla Haines’s (WXCmtb) mum, which was very helpful. By the second lap I had enough of a lead to start taking it a lot more easy (can see in my lap times) and I started to enjoy parts of the course. As I was lapping riders on the course, many of them looked more relieved that they would be able to finish, riding in our mini version of the Somme.

I was telling myself ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatched,’ I only zipped up the GT jersey and started celebrating on the finishing straight when I had a couple of 100m’s left. I had finally managed to get the title after one of my first mtb races 4 years earlier in the years student champs, coming inside the top 20.

Loughborugh managed to get the win in the Mens sport and champs race, with Dave Nichols getting third in the champs race which helped to secure team bronze along with Richard Johnson, well done lads. The girls also got team bronze which was brilliant. We had a champagne celebration and Toby I can now have a Chocolate cow! This stemmed from on the way to the Student champs in 2010 in AE forest, I saw a chocolate cow in the service station, and Toby said that if I won I could have a chocolate cow!!!! (as I also live on a farm, ‘insert stereotype’.) Time to crack out the Muc-off for a full race bike strip down.

p.s. Chis, I didn’t wear any socks which were offensive to the eyes, they looked professional.

Thanks to all the sponsors of GT Racing UK for the Help:

GT – Awesome lightweight race bikes.

SRAM – Amazing XX components which are reliable in the mud and dry.

Schwalbe – Unstoppable tires in all conditions.

Muc-off – products that make things sparkly.

Accelerade – Race Nutrition products bright green and radioactive!

Eyewear Outlet – Great Oakleys for the Sun and Mud!

Crankbrothers – Vital components at a lightweight, seatpost and bars

This weekend saw the Scottish XC Championships being hosted at Aberfoyle. Aberfoyle offers some amazing and challenging riding and never fails to deliver an excellent course. Yet again, Squadra Porcini designed a fantastic course fit for the Scottish Champs! A steep long climb including the infamously renown “heart attack hill” took us to a tricky technical descent which gave you lots to think about. This was followed by a steep fast descent and off camber single track before returning to the arena to commence the long savage climb again. The course would definitely produce a worthy Scottish Champion!

Going into the second lap, Grant Ferguson (Boardman Bikes) had managed to open up a 20 second lead with myself in pursuit followed by GT team mate Gareth and Rab Wardell (Alpine Bikes). I continued to chase Grant for the following 4 laps and at times thought I was bringing him back but it was not to be. Grant Ferguson took the win, I took 2^nd , Rab Wardell in 3^rd and Gareth in 4^th.

I am disappointed to lose the Scottish Champs title but at the same time I am happy with my own performance as I rode well on what has to be one of the best courses I’ve raced this year. Congratulations to Grant on the deserved win!

Well done Dave and Gareth on a brilliant result for team GT Racing UK!

How the pros do it I’m sure, the day before the race spent painting and earning money, now that I’m not a student or nearly not a student. Crow Hill is the closet race venue to my home on the edge of the New Forest. It’s always good fun to race on and I tend to get more support from friends and family coming along to watch, which is always nice, though added pressure.

The race day started with an early morning spin to check over the Zaskar, and get my legs moving. I got to the venue a bit early as Steve (my coach) was bored and needed entertaining. Due to the dry sandy course and dusty conditions with the threat of rain which did not show, Ralphs were the best choice for tyres. I set off for a practice lap with my Lezyne kit in tow, just in case of any unwanted problems on the practice. The lap went well, with the course flowing in the opposite direction to the standard layout of previous years. I lined up on the second row at the start, which always seems to be a lot more chilled out at the Southern races.

We launched into the start loop and I didn’t get the best beginning, which is partly due to my lack of top end speed, thanks to Uni!! I managed to squeeze into a group with George Budd (Salsa Racing) and another rider. The lead group managed to gap us before I had a chance to think about them unfortunately. After the first lap the 29er was skipping over the roots and I felt really good, leading our group in 5^th place through the arena. Though into the second lap I thought that a burm was harder than it looked, it fell like dominoes and I washed out face first into some nice and comfy dirt. I jumped back on though had to use the Lezyne multi tool to quickly straighten the bars. With the bars straight I chased after the others, though not from a lack of support, from my dad, brother and other friends, I couldn’t catch them. I rode the rest of the race alone, though I managed to catch Luke Gray and jump straight past him and carry on finishing in 8^th position, which wasn’t too bad, though I needed the Accerlerade R4, gotta love a recovery drink after a race.

So overall great fun at the race and I will get better, though I’m looking forwards to the university Champs next weekend.

Thanks to all the Guys and Gals supporting me, I tried to smile; waving could have resulted in a crash.

Thanks to our awesome sponsors;

GTBicycles

SRAM

Schwalbe Tyres

Lezynne Tools

Eyewear Outlet

Accelerade Nutrition

Crankbrothers

Fuse

Follow me on twitter @jonpybus