Oceanias was my final race for NZ’s 2010 mtb season. Clocking in as my 9th race over the past 12 weeks. What a season! Through all the highs and learning experiences I was looking to finish off with a top performance.
The XC track down in ‘Sunny Dunedin’ was one of the best. It had a bit of everything going for it making for a well rounded course and super fun. The weather had even been turned on, leaving the rack in a fast, hard pac condition. Perfect.
My legs were feeling recovered and my bike was working MINT – thanks Justin. I was looking forward to having a good race amongst a strong field.
After a good warm up I was lined up on the start grid feeling confident and excited for what I was hoping would be my best race yet. Oceania’s top Elite and U23 Woman’s riders were combined making a strong field with depth.
Off the mark I had a poor start, into the single track the group compressed and a few or us were forced to push out bikes along a simple piece of track?? Unfortunately things didn’t get any better. I just couldn’t fire. I finished up 3rd Under 23 rider but well back on what I was looking to do. Rebecca Henderson took 1st place and Katie O’Neil 2nd.
Up until the start everything seamed to be perfect, then for some reason as soon as the gun went off, my top 2 inches went on holiday. Lost as. I am still trying to pin point why I couldn’t pull it together.
At least it was a cool week down south. A fun as Sunday night in town and finished up with a real worth wile mtb camp – this certainly gave us XC riders a few things to think about.
Where to from here? It is time for a break. Switch into R&R mode so by the time winter comes around I am back buzzing, ready for my over seas campaign!
Thanks to Amy, Cam, Justin, Tory and Gabby for letting me stay at their house, travel with and for all their help over the week!
I seem to be going backwards with my Karapoti attempts. This ‘adventure styled’ MTB race falls just one week after Nationals and I struggle to pull my head around it during this time – Karapoti is quite a different style compared to the UCI format of racing and to be honest I hadn’t really thought about anything past Nationals.
So yup terrible chain suck and a lost head made for a bumpy race. I was riding round at the back of the Elite Woman’s field thinking about how I was going to be ‘beer bitch’ that night (what happens if I post the slowest time out of the Wednesday night bunch) and contemplating how much fun that was going to be…
Going up ‘Dopers’- the final hill, I could see Sarah up ahead, with my competitive nature I instantly got back into the spirit of racing and I started to have more fun. From there I just rode strong picking people back off to finish 3rd place in the Elite Woman’s category. Annika took the win and was the only chick of the day to go under 3hours, Nic not to far behind was third.
One of the highlights of the day was the fact that Rob had posted a slower time than me! With his ‘handy man hat’ back in his shed, Rob thought he could fix his bike by bashing it with a stone. The only problem with this resurrection scheme was that Rob’s gear cable was in the way of his rock… bugger or him… as a result Rob earnt himself the pink apron and was the “beer bitch” for the rest of the night!
Rob did a great job though, as everyone was sitting around the fire late at night Rob was still wandering round person to person collecting their emptys and replacing with another full bottle.
Top performances of the Day came form Trevor – riding his 17th sub 3hour Karapoti while convincingly winning his old boys class. And yes, Dad too rode sub 3hours… kicking my butt. Dad sure picks the right race to have his one hit wonder on, so I have to let him have one more year of bliss.
Having the Nationals at home in Wellington was just the best ever. For the two weeks leading up to the race I got to be back at home; sleeping in my own bed, eating all mums cooking and baking, and learning the course inside out with Trevor. Then on race day my family and friends were there to cheer me on and help me race the biggest domestic race of the year. Conditions were perfect.
I had an all right start, was first Under23 into the single track with Katie just behind me. When the track widened again I started picking my way through the Elites field. Once I had made it to the top of the first climb everything just hurt and that’s how I felt until the end. I just put my head down and did what I could to hold it together for the four laps – The course was super demanding so this really required a lot of control.
As soon as I made it to the finish I was just the happiest ever. I felt smashed and sick from the heat but I had the Under23 National Champion title in my pocket and later got presented with my first ever National Champs jersey! … Along with the 3rd place Elite Woman’s medal – Not sure what that was about? Monique Avery was Second and Adrienne Hooper placed third. Katie unfortunately was ill to begin with so had to pull out.
That evening Jane took us (Waiariki’s MTB squad) out for dinner. We were all a bit messed up one way or another but it was a great way to finish of the Champs. Next up Karapoti!
