BMBS Round 2 - Ruth's view from the front!

Ruth's slightly belated write up of my recent experience at the second round of the British Mountain Bike Series at Dalby Forest on 17th April 2011...

Photo by Darren Ciolli-Leach of XCPIX
 

Initially my goal for the 2011 season in the Expert Women category was to get a podium. I wasn’t too worried about which position on the podium I achieved; I just knew that after putting in some hard work after an unimpressive season for results in 2010 I really wanted to earn myself a national level podium.

At round one of the BMBS I surprised myself by not only achieving a podium, but also achieving 2nd place, just 30seconds behind 1st place! Well, never in a million years did I think I would achieve my goal for the year at the first round.

So, in the run up to the second round of the series, I was apprehensive – to say the least. I knew that I needed to prove that my result at Sherwood wasn’t a one off! So I decided to get up to Dalby nice and early and spent time getting used to the course and the way my new Cotic Soda race bike felt on the terrain. With Kate’s expert coaching and guidance behind me I had my mind in a good place and tried not to put too much pressure on myself and just practiced the lines on the course that I was comfortable with and that I knew I could ride easily during the race itself.

On the morning of the race, I worked hard to keep myself calm and focussed and keep my nerves under control. Dalby is a technically challenging and mentally demanding course and I knew I would need to stay focussed the whole way.

The race got off to a good start – I led the pack out into the first corner, with only a couple of Juniors overtaking me initially into the first bit of singletrack. At the end of lap one I was in 3rd place, with 2nd in my sights and legs feeling good.

Unfortunately by the middle of lap two my front mech, which has been on its last legs for a while, finally gave up and I was left to race the remainder of the race with no big ring, which didn’t help for those sprinty sections where time can be easily made up – or lost!

I fought hard during the 2nd lap and came through the arena in 1st place, with 2nd right on my heels and fighting all the way into the first singletrack section.

After some switching around with various overtakes on the nasty uphill sections at the end of the third lap I was back in 3rd place and hot on the heels of both 1st and 2nd place! I knew this was going to be close and I knew I couldn’t let the two riders in front of me get away.

So I gave my last lap all I had left and kept with 1st and 2nd right until the bitter end. We dropped down through Medussa’s drop and up the final big climb. When we dropped back down onto the last fire road I decided to make a go for it and sprinted past both riders into 1st place. I then led into the singletrack passed Worry Gill and up the climb to the final bit of singletrack before the arena and that last drag up to the arena felt like an age with two competitors breathing down my neck! I knew that I just had to keep them behind me through the singletrack and out into the arena and then hope for the best that I could sprint fast enough with just my middle ring to hold onto my win!

As we came into the arena we heard the shouts from our supporters and at the last corner there was nothing in it. I sprinted out of the final corner, giving it everything I could with only my middle ring for power, and could see 2nd place creeping up on me, but thankfully I just held it and took the win with 1 second between me and 2nd place, and only 3 seconds ahead of 3rd place!

I was over the moon to win the second round of the British Series, and it was such a great race – one of the best to watch for a long time according to a friend! My new race bike was amazing, and I am now treating it to some TLC with a new front mech and a fork service to make sure it’s rearing to go for the next round, I just need to make sure my legs are too – and with Kate and Ian Potter and the AQR team behind me, I’ve got all the support I need!

Post-Portugal Sodas & sunsets

Kirsty sends an update from Bristol...

What could be better then a cheeky post-work ride in the early evening sunshine? How about a cheeky post-work ride, where you find an even cheekier new downhill trail that your husband hasn't spotted first :-)

After a fab week in Portugal - full of sun, Soul (of the Cotic variety) and waist-deep river crossings - I was bursting to get back out on my bike. A quick spin around Ashton Court and the local woods on my Cotic Soda fitted the bill, and I was treated to a beautiful sunset, as well as several deer and squirrels crossing the trail. There is something about these early spring rides, when the trails are dry, the weather is warm and the air is full of anticipation.

I've decided to take a rain-check on the first couple of rounds of the nationals, as I have some fairly major commitments away from mountain biking. As I write this, I'm pretty gutted that I won't be on the start line at Sherwood, but evenings like this serve to remind me that what I really enjoy is simply being out in the fresh air, having fun on my bike.

Here's to a summer full of cheeky new trails :-)

BMBS Round 1: Ruth takes 2nd on board her Soda!

Sunday saw Round 1 of the 2011 British Mountain Bike Series at Sherwood Pines with just Ruth racing due to other members being tied up elsewhere around the country.

What a great race it was though, with Ruth coming in 2nd just 30 seconds or so down on the winner in the women's Expert race.  The first race of the year for her on board her new Cotic Soda and a podium too, so a huge well done from the team!



A week of riding in the Portugal spring sunshine? Count me in!

That was the view of 20 riders ready to expose themselves to AQR Holiday’s inaugural training week in the Portuguese spring sunshine. Amongst these dedicated souls were the majority of the new Cotic AQR race team keen to get to leave the cold and wet UK behind for some pre-season riding and skills alongside bike- and body- setup.

This little corner of the Algarve is somewhere the Potters know well but this was the first time that AQR had offered guiding in this area. And what a perfect setting it was us to hone our skills with a combination of fast and loose or techy descents alongside some short and sharp (and long, sharp, leg and lung busting) climbs. And river crossings….

Day one started with a bike-set up session led by Ian Potter. After running through some of the basics in the ‘classroom’ we headed out onto the trails to see the importance of this in action with the first of many ‘climbing challenges’. It was amazing to experience how much a change in stem length or height of the front end changed how well many of us climbed up this steep loose section of trail. I for one have really benefited from Ian’s expertise here; I’ve spent 3 years convinced that the front end of my bike is too low trying longer forks, higher stems and bars to little avail. And now I’m riding flat bars, a flipped stem and minimal stack headset and what a difference it makes both up and down hill. (I won’t dwell on my reaction when Ian first suggested this to be but it’s safe to say that I’ve since retracted my comments!)

We were also introduced to a local café and there range of cakes including the infamous figaloo. A cake, as the name suggests, made of figs, and figs, and more figs. My excuse is that it wasn’t really cake but a natural source of vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates which I required after a day’s riding to ensure my body was in tip-top condition for the next day.

For those of us keen / stupid enough day 2 started with a morning run and dip in the pool with Kate Potter. This all sounds rather idyllic until you realise the gradient of the hills and the temperature of the pool! But it was a lovely way to start the day – fresh air, perfect temperatures and a smug feeling of having achieved something when everyone else is lounging in bed. The other plus is that it helped us all justify extra helpings of breakfast, ideal!

The day then properly started with a ‘bikers’-bodies’ session led by Anne Dickins, not only a Cotic AQR racer and 24hr national champion, but also a physiotherapist specialising in core control and how we can use this to improve how our bodies work on the bike. It’s amazing how much time and money we spend looking at how our bike can improve our performance but ignoring how we use our muscles to control ourselves on the bike. Again this session continued out on the trails with Ian and Anne videoing us all on another one of those ‘climbing challenges’. Both Anne and Ian used these videos to help them and us identify what tweaks to bikes and bodies that we might benefit from.

On day 3 the much awaited sunshine appeared and it was definitely worth the wait. The skies were a glorious blue and the trails quickly changed from their fast gritty damp state to super-fast dry and dusty. The overnight rainfall meant for some additional challenges in riding across streams that suddenly appeared on the trails. Apparently this crossing is ride-able…

On our rest day most of us took the opportunity to have a 1 on 1 assessment with Anne who identified which bits of us were working well and which bits not as well (or in my case not at all!) on the bike. By using those videos taken earlier in the week and simple demonstrations on the bike Anne even managed to convinced the most cynical of us (I’d love to mention names here but in the interests of team harmony I won’t, well for now anyway….). Later in the day we headed out with Ian and Kate for more skills practise – skidding, cornering and switch-backs.

The rest of the week followed in a similar vein. More glorious sunshine, more great trails, more tips and tweaks to our bodies and bikes and more figaloo. We also benefited from sessions led by Kate and Ian discussing nutrition, training and race psychology and race preparation.

We all headed after a fantastic week’s riding having learnt loads with a noticeable improvement in our skills. I’ve even started working on my cyclists’ tan line, not bad for March. Now I can’t wait to keep getting back out on the trails to keep working on all those tips and tricks I picked up, even the UK sun has started to come out to help me on my way. All I need to do now is find a recipe for figaloo.

Photos courtesy of James Dymond, Kate Potter and Hannah Reynolds.

2011: Cotic - A Quick Release holidays race team

Welcome to the first blog entry for the renamed Cotic - A Quick Release Holidays mountain bike race team!

After a great 2010 season, AQR HOLIDAYS is proud to support a race team again in 2011, alongside COTIC BIKES as the team's other headline sponsor. 

The team would also like to thank the following co-sponsors for their support in 2011 –

MAGURA FORKS AND BRAKES

KCNC stems, bars, seatposts, seat clamps, chainsets, chains & jockey wheels from CLEE CYCLES

INDUSTRY NINE wheels

SUNWISE EYEWEAR

A QUALITY RIDE COACHING

SKINS COMPRESSION CLOTHING

661 GLOVES

TORQ ENERGY PRODUCTS

ALIGATOR I-LINK CABLES

CRANK BROTHERS PEDALS & HEAD SETS

FENWICKS BIKE CLEANER

SWINNERTON CYCLES

BIGFOOT BIKE BAGS

PURPLE EXTREME LUBRICATION

JOOLZE DYMOND PHOTOGRAPHY

POWER BALANCE

The 2011 team is...

IAIN COLLINS – XC & Team events.

KATIE COLLINS – XC & Team events.

ANNE DICKINS – 2010 24 Solo World Champs 4th place - 24hr solo and pairs.

JAMES DYMOND – XC & Team events.

ANTHONY JORDAN – 24hr solo and pairs.

RUTH OWEN-EVANS – National & Local XC races (Expert) & Team events.

IAN POTTER – half of AQR Holidays & AQR Coaching- XC & Team events.

KATE POTTER – half of AQR Holidays & AQR Coaching & World Cup XC racer - 12 & 24hr solo events.

KIRSTY EASTWOOD – National & Local XC (Masters) & Team events.

MATT PRIOR – XC & Team events.

ROBBIE RICKMAN – 4X & Endurance downhill events.

RACHEL SOKAL – 12hr solo & Team events.

TEAM SUPPORT – JAMES DYMOND, IAN POTTER, KATE POTTER, SIMON USHER

Iain Collins

Anne Dickins

Ian & Kate Potter

Kate Collins

Kirsty Eastwood

Matt Prior

Rachel Sokal

Ruth Owen-Evans

Robbie Rickman

See you on the race course soon!

Dusk till Dawn 12 Hr - Perth Australia

A few months back when Paul suggested that Adrian and I would go pretty well at the local Perth 12 hour race, it sounded like a fun idea. Especially as Paul had offered to be our trusty team manager.

Adrian Middleton is a fellow Canberran who has moved to Perth and regularly rips my legs off in our afternoon training rides. And whilst he's not technically an AQR rider, there really aren't that many of us around down under so I was prepared to mix the team up a little...

It wasn't until a couple of weeks out that Adrian realised the 12 Hr was actually a dusk till dawn. But he took it in his stride and when the weekend arrived and temperatures in the high 30's were forecasted, riding all night suddenly seemed like a good idea.

Team Delta-AQR. Please note: Paul's moustache was for fundraising purposes only and it has thankfully, now gone.

There were 400 entries in the race, many in teams of 4, 3 and 2 and the standard die hard soloists as well. The course was perfect. Plenty of fantastic singletrack, fast flowing descents and just a few climbs but nothing that ripped our lungs out. And straight away, Adrian managed to get us in a fairly decent position. In fact he entered the first section of single track in 5th and finished his first lap of the 17km track in about the same place.

The race leader heading into the singletrack on lap 1 in the late dusk.

When Adrian came sprinting into transition, I grabbed his CO2 canister (yup I'd forgotten mine) whilst Paul transferred the timing chip and velcro strap from one ankle to the other. I think I got out about 20 seconds after Adrian had arrived so Paul was proving his management skills already.

Out on course it was pitch black and at the pointy end of the field, it was actually pretty lonely - I wan't about to catch anyone and strangely, it wasn't until 20 minutes into the lap that someone turned up behind me. I hadn't ridden the trail and felt like I was breaking in all the wrong places and generally riding slowly. But with some reassurance from Paul when I returned and a check of my lap time, I felt better.

Come on, come and eat some dinner!

As the night wore on, Adrian and I settled into pretty consistent lapping. Adrian continued to ride strongly doing laps of around 56 minutes and I was coming in after an hour flat.

A chill out whilst Adrian was out smashing another lap.

Attempting not to blind people whilst looking around in transition

Consulting the official team timing book.... Nobody but Paul was allowed near the pen.

Good times

As the night wore on, our cheer squad of James and Jason hit the road, with Jas taking his camera with him. But the fun out on the trail kept going. The wildlife was out (plenty of spiders, a few possums and at one point, even a family of kangaroos). We managed to get Paul to go to bed at about 1am but when I came in from my double at 4, he was up and back helping by preparing food, drink bottles, timing checks etc. If anyone is looking for a great team manager, his rates are quite competitive...

Anyway, to cut a 12 hour story short, Adrian went very hard when the sun came up and I tried to do the same. We had had the mixed pairs competition sewn up fairly early but it wasn't until the presentation that we knew how we'd done overall. So, out of 164 teams entered, we ended up 7th overall and managed to take out not only the mixed pairs but the pairs in general (27 teams raced). The guys who 'won' the men's pairs didn't look so happy when the presenter reminded them that they'd actually been beaten by team Delta-AQR....

But saying that, I have to put in a special mention for our mate Chris Fisher (said with a kiwi accent). Chris raced and won solo, did the same number of laps as Adrian and I and came in 4 minutes before us. Top effort from a top class rider.

And huge thanks to the race organisers for putting on a brilliant event, our trusty team manager Paul and our photographer Jason Chua.

Tour De Timor - We Made It

The Tour De Timor has been run and won. Well in fact, it was completed a good few weeks ago. But since the AQR girls from down under put in such an amazing effort, we'll just ignore my laziness....

Saturday - Arrived in Dili from Darwin.

For those of you who may be a little in the dark about the race and why on earth we went there.... East Timor is the world's youngest nation. A Portugeuse outpost for a few centuries, when they withdrew in 1975, East Timor's closest neighbours the Indonesians arrived. With guns. It wasn't until 1999 that the Indonesians relinquished control following a UN sponsored act of self-determination. But their razed earth policy meant that 75% of all buildings in East Timor were destroyed as a result.

The nation is incredibly poor but is attempting to re-build with a very strong focus on peace. The Tour de Timor is aimed at celebrating the country, its culture, and showcasing it as a fabulous adventure travel destination. And it certainly is that....

So anyway.... were welcomed to Timor Leste via the VIP Lounge. The AQR team, left to right was Sue, Libby, Claire and Rachel. I'm the one taking the picture.

Sunset in Dili on Saturday night. We had a relaxing day cruising round Dili and had dinner with our local guide and friend Martin.

Sunday - Dili. We chilled out and waited for our bikes to arrive. Lets just say getting 300 cyclists and bikes from Darwin to Dili wasn't easy for the small regional airline....

Not one to worry, Claire borrowed a bike and had a short foray into the hills. In the end the bikes arrived 15 hours before the race start...

Accommodation in Timor Lodge was basically in shipping containers with air-conditioning... Still the few shrubs came in handy for drying washing.

Monday - Stage 1: Dili to Balibo 125km

The presidential palace in Dili hosted the start.

The stage was fast and furious but long. And those two climbs were killers. But we all made it to the finish ok. It was just afterwards....

Whilst Rach was recovering in the medical tent from over hydrating, I got some local help putting her tent up.

Tuesday - Stage 2: Balibo to Suai 95km

The stage could best be described as EPIC. It took its toll physically and emotionally with the winners finishing in 4 hours but mere mortals taking up to 11 - they cancelled the 'cut off' because there wasn't enough transport to get all the stragglers home. After struggling over the mountains and taking it easy on the descents (Sue was only masquerading as a mountain biker), the AQR girls made it in just over 6.

Over looking Balibo on Tuesday morning

Wednesday - Stage 3: Suai to Ainaro 67km

After a crazy start through Suai's streets, avoiding scuttling pigs and other livestock, we headed out on 50km of pot holed dirt road with rough rocky sections for variety. It was flat and would have been lovely if we hadn't been trying to ride fast. Thankfully after 50km, the potholes ended. It's just that they were traded for a 15km climb... It's never easy in Timor!

Team AQR finished still second in teams classification despite the gap to 3rd narrowing.

Team AQR team made it before the tropical afternoon storm dumped its contents. We found a terrace to camp on which was as dry as it would ever be in a tropical downpour.

Thursday - Stage 4: Ainaro to Aileu 68km

The profile looked a lot like Stage 2 and the team lined up on the start line with trepidation. But the enormous climbs were shaded with dense rainforest on one side and intermittent, amazing views of the valley and mountains on the other. Once over the pass at 1860m it was time for some brilliant descending and even more cheering villagers as the population grew denser. The next couple of climbs were a lot smaller in comparison and the finish came not too many hours after the start.

Unfortunately, we would have like to finish slightly sooner... The AQR girls' main competitors, Trailmix made a massive effort to ride as a team for the first time and managed to take second by a whopping 8 minutes.

Not to be deterred, after the stage, Claire made friends playing football with the locals. Surely she could have had a shower first?!?

Friday - Stage 5: Aileu - Dili 57km

Very early in the stage we passed the entire Trailmix team and two Torq girls (overall leaders) fixing a flat. The race was now on. Raceday Claire arrived and she was stomping. I too was doing ok and very happy to be a good domestique. We all gave it everything to make up time and regain 2nd on the team classification.

Towards the end of the stage there was an exchange between Claire and Rach whilst I pretended I was Jens Voigt. Claire had been encouraging all day but when Rach was strugging with the pace, this is what was said...

Rach: Can I have a hug?

Claire: No, just keep pedalling. Not far now.

Rach: Pleeeease. Come on, just a little hug??

Claire: How about you try eating some cement instead...

Claire was really worried she'd gone too far because Rach was very quiet but as Rach let us know afterwards, it was just what she needed! Lucky, we could have had a mutiny on our hands!!

A few minutes later as the chase group was dwindling

Torq Rider: Its the last day, why don't you guys relax and have fun?

Rach: We are.

With 5km to go Claire rode off the front of the group to secure 7th women on the stage.

Rach and Paul at the finish. Its fair to say that he had turned himself inside out riding for team AQR but it was all worth it. Libby, Claire and Rach had found some great form to secure the women's team stage win for Team AQR. It was great to beat the Torq girls and try a put ourselves back into second.

Bronze medals in the women's team classification was a little disappointing. A "clarification" of the times led to AQR being relegated to third. At least Libby, Sue, Rach and Claire KNOW they did the impossible and clawed back 8 minutes on the last stage. Sue stood on the podium again, taking out the veteran category.

Well, as I said, the race has been run and won. Not by AQR but there's always next year right?
Mmmmmmm, maybe.

Midlands XC4: race season ends.

Warm & sunny, dry & dusty trails, what more could Sherwood Pines have delivered for the final of the 2010 Midlands Series at Sherwood Pines!

James and Nadine delivered the usual top-notch xc racing again with a Pines course full of twisty turny singletrack fun as well as some steep bursts and loose pitches thrown in for good measure.

Gridded on the front row, I got my best start of the season, leading off the line and at the joint head of the pack through the initial fire-road and singletrack sections. The group soon split before the real twisty stuff though and 4 laps of fast and furious riding in the pack ensued.

To be honest, it was my first race of the year riding in a group for the whole thing and it was ace! Being pressured by those behind as well as pushing those in front meant the pace stayed high and laps 2, 3 and 4 were all within one second of one another!

The place-swapping continued right until the line and gaining a couple more places in the last few hundred metres saw me finish in 7th after 1h37m.

A great end to the season... I'm looking forward to a few weeks of chillout rides now before winter training begins. And roll on the 2011 season!

A start to repeat in 2011!

Tour De Timor - Checklist

Claire and I are off to Timor next week for some fun and games. We are riding the Tour De Timor, a 5 day stage race in the tropics. The Team AQR ladies team has been formed, I will be joining them and trying to act as domestique.

Below is the preparation checklist

1. New Felt Carbon Hardtails x 2 - Check

2. Learning to ride hardtails in Perth pea gravel - Check

3. New scare as a result of item 2 - Check

4. New MSR light weight tent - Check

5. Procuring bar-ends, semi slicks and other stage race equipment - Check

6. Lots of training - Claire - Check, Paul - kinda

7. New toys for Paul- XX Reba with hydraulic lock out - Check

8. Installing 4 new Maxxis Worm Drive - Check

9. Sending "personal items" and new AQR kit to Darwin via internal mail - Check

10. Wheels look remarkably fast - Check

11. Purchasing excess baggage for Claire- Check

12. Exceeding excess baggage for Claire - Check

13. Paul's evil plan on how to weigh the bike box - Check

14. Executing evil plan - Check - Bike box weighs - 6kg !

15. Sending Claire to Darwin for a week of acclimatisation - Check

16. Getting worried - Check

17. Nearly forgot Passport - Check

18. Multiple trips to Jones at Cycle Bespoke - Check

Stay tuned for some Tour De Timor tales...

Torq12:12... Soda action

The final race of the year for the AQR team saw 12 hours of fast and furious racing down south at the Gorrick-run Torq12:12 event last Sunday.

[As usual, huge thanks to Joolze Dymond for the superb images]

Blue skies and sunshine for all but one lap combined with the usual classic rooty, twisty Gorrick course design to make for a fantastic event from midday to midnight on Sunday.

All in all a smooth race for the team, including hats off to Iain for getting in 3 laps before his injured back & leg - which originally suggested he wouldn't be racing at all - started to tell. Massive thanks to Kate who travelled all the way from Edinburgh for her 4 laps, whilst Rich took the fastest lap of the team award with a 39m30s sprint round early on. Finally, James racked up the most at 6 laps, including an unplanned double, the 2nd lap of which started at 11.48pm! Unfortunately his legs hadn't planned for it and the team dropped to 6th place by just 2 minutes at the end. A respectable end to the year though in a tough category.

The race itself wasn't the only highlight of the weekend though, as Kate had her freshly built new Cotic Soda out to play for the first time. Complete with Hope/Stans wheels, KCNC chainset, Magura Durin forks and Bontrager finishing kit, it truly is a work of art and she was raving about it every lap - more on her thoughts as it eats up the miles!

And finally, congrats once again to Kate for her win back in early August at Scottish XC Round 5, which she took by a convincing 6 minutes!