National Series - Round three.
Team PNP Report
At last! a fine race, Rotorua greeted us with an awesome day, however heavy rain earlier in the week and a short burst of steady rain the day before made some sections slippery, but thankfully the track remained mainly dry.
Rotorua is quite different from the other venues because of it's lack of big hills. In some ways this makes it more intensive, as this also means there is no big downhills to rest. In addition, drinking and eating is difficult because of the tight single tracks that makes up most of the circuit. This is certainly one track that having an intimate knowledge of it makes a huge difference.
Once again Trevor Woodward gave us all a display of smooth and consistent racing. Never really threatened all race, he showed us what many years of racing experience can do. I feel sorry for his competitors. Well done Trevor 1st again!
Samara Sheppard continues to battle Monique Avery. This was always going to be a tough ask for Samara as this is Monique's "home turf". I don't think I have ever seen Samara so focused during a race but unfortunately this was not enough to catch Monique. A well deserved 2nd - great stuff!
Auckland and Wellington are going to be interesting as I feel Samara has an edge on the hills - watch this space!
Peter Arkwright - what can I say, he is a real bloke! Breaking a collar bone and dislocating something with a very long name, and still managed to finish the race - in 2nd place!!! what an effort!!! - what a man!!!!
I would love to be able to explain how he came off doing 80km, taking out a half grown pine tree and a small stand of blue gum in the process, but unfortunately the truth is not quite as exciting. Seems Arkie had a senior moment and lost concentration for a second as he was riding past some submerged tyres on the BMX track. He recons the fall itself was quite graceful over the handlebars, but the landing was not quite so delicate.
The PNP club now has it's own Colin Meads - Get well soon Arkie!
U19 Men is a very competitive class, and Rotorua had all of the "big guns" there. A number of the top riders are based in Rotorua, which was always going to make it an extra challenge for Jordan Blake. A faulty start horn caused a bit of confusion for a number of riders, so once again Jordan found himself playing catch up early on. Jordan battled all race and managed a credible 4th place.
Stu Houltham was up against some very stiff competition in the Pro Elite Class. Clinton Avery was always going to be the man to beat, especially on his home track. Stu found himself in 3rd place after the first lap, he then managed to jump up to 2nd on the next lap and that is where he finished - awesome result Stu!! well done!!!
We are all looking forward to go to Auckland (I don't believe I just said that) keeping our fingers crossed for another dry race!
Monday, 12 February 2007
Monday, 5 February 2007
Dunedin Round 2 National Series - Team Report
The Dunedin Mountain Bike Club made an awesome job of preparing the track. A good mix of technical descents, flowing single track, and testing switchbacks, made this track potentially the best of the series.
Unfortunately Dunedin greeted us with very wet conditions. Bike NZ made matters far worse by reducing some of the races. (Some to only a couple of laps). This made some races so pathetically short, they would have been suitable for your average twelve year old. Anyway, I will try not to let my disappointment in BikeNZ spoil what was an awesome effort by all.
Expert Master 40+: Trevor Woodward - What can I say, he's a machine! These were truly testing conditions, with extremely slippery technical descents, off cambered corners, and bike wrecking mud. He showed us all what a superb rider he is. His lap times were around the same as the top Pro Elite men. Another first - well done Trevor!
Expert Master 50+: Peter Arkwright - This was Arkie's first race for the series, and what a baptism of fire. As with all races today, Peter was faced with conditions that were far less than ideal. At one stage he was leading (quite comfortably I understand) when for some reason he thought he was trailing the leaders. This made him step up the pace which made him make a simple mistake over a fairly simple man made crossing.
The front tyre "burped" and lost most of its air. Arkie pulled out the trusty old Co2 inflation device which didn't turn out to be so trusty. The tyre didn't really inflate properly which of course led to another "burp" further down the track. Not to be put off, Arkie decided to run the rest of the course, finishing a credible fifth place.
This was one occasion where a shortened race was a good thing.
Expert U19 Women: Samara Sheppard - Samara knew that Monique Avery was not going to give up without a fight after last week at Coronet Peak. Samara started strong, maybe too strong. She crashed very early on in the race which knocked her about a bit. Uninjured she hopped back on and got straight back into it. The wet conditions suited Monique who pulled away from Samara. The shortened race also did not suit Samara who prefers the longer races. Always a strong finisher, Samara was able to make time on Monique on the last lap but unfortunately run out of time finishing second. I for one am looking forward to see Samara at Nelson.
Expert U19 Men: Jordan Blake - Jordan started the race as badly as you can start a race. Jordan had trouble clipping in from the gun. This caused him to fall onto the cross bar. That was ok, until he tried to sit back on the saddle.
You guessed it, his shorts caught on the front of his seat, and down they came (I hate it when that happens) thankfully, all of the riders that were behind him are now receiving counselling.
Dead last at the start of the single track, he had some serious catching up to do. This didn't take him long, and when he came out at the BMX track he had made it to third place. This took its toll on the lungs. A slippery technical descent and a fairly compact bunch lead to several crashes of multiple riders which made the race a bit of a lottery early on.
Jordan made it to second place at the top of the climb on the second lap, but an incorrect choice of shoes made running downhill impossible and he slipped back to, and finished at fourth place.
Elite Men: Stuart Houltham - Stuart on the other hand had an awesome start! First into the single track and looking strong. The elite men's race was the only race that was not shortened by BikeNZ. The light rain had stopped and the track was starting to dry in some places. Things were looking good until in lap three, Stu's rear derailleur must have caught on something and the hanger snapped like a carrot. That was the end of Stuart's race. I talked to Stuart after the race who said he was feeling strong - bugger!
Never mind, I'm sure if BikeNZ don't stuff it up, Nelson will be better for all!
Unfortunately Dunedin greeted us with very wet conditions. Bike NZ made matters far worse by reducing some of the races. (Some to only a couple of laps). This made some races so pathetically short, they would have been suitable for your average twelve year old. Anyway, I will try not to let my disappointment in BikeNZ spoil what was an awesome effort by all.
Expert Master 40+: Trevor Woodward - What can I say, he's a machine! These were truly testing conditions, with extremely slippery technical descents, off cambered corners, and bike wrecking mud. He showed us all what a superb rider he is. His lap times were around the same as the top Pro Elite men. Another first - well done Trevor!
Expert Master 50+: Peter Arkwright - This was Arkie's first race for the series, and what a baptism of fire. As with all races today, Peter was faced with conditions that were far less than ideal. At one stage he was leading (quite comfortably I understand) when for some reason he thought he was trailing the leaders. This made him step up the pace which made him make a simple mistake over a fairly simple man made crossing.
The front tyre "burped" and lost most of its air. Arkie pulled out the trusty old Co2 inflation device which didn't turn out to be so trusty. The tyre didn't really inflate properly which of course led to another "burp" further down the track. Not to be put off, Arkie decided to run the rest of the course, finishing a credible fifth place.
This was one occasion where a shortened race was a good thing.
Expert U19 Women: Samara Sheppard - Samara knew that Monique Avery was not going to give up without a fight after last week at Coronet Peak. Samara started strong, maybe too strong. She crashed very early on in the race which knocked her about a bit. Uninjured she hopped back on and got straight back into it. The wet conditions suited Monique who pulled away from Samara. The shortened race also did not suit Samara who prefers the longer races. Always a strong finisher, Samara was able to make time on Monique on the last lap but unfortunately run out of time finishing second. I for one am looking forward to see Samara at Nelson.
Expert U19 Men: Jordan Blake - Jordan started the race as badly as you can start a race. Jordan had trouble clipping in from the gun. This caused him to fall onto the cross bar. That was ok, until he tried to sit back on the saddle.
You guessed it, his shorts caught on the front of his seat, and down they came (I hate it when that happens) thankfully, all of the riders that were behind him are now receiving counselling.
Dead last at the start of the single track, he had some serious catching up to do. This didn't take him long, and when he came out at the BMX track he had made it to third place. This took its toll on the lungs. A slippery technical descent and a fairly compact bunch lead to several crashes of multiple riders which made the race a bit of a lottery early on.
Jordan made it to second place at the top of the climb on the second lap, but an incorrect choice of shoes made running downhill impossible and he slipped back to, and finished at fourth place.
Elite Men: Stuart Houltham - Stuart on the other hand had an awesome start! First into the single track and looking strong. The elite men's race was the only race that was not shortened by BikeNZ. The light rain had stopped and the track was starting to dry in some places. Things were looking good until in lap three, Stu's rear derailleur must have caught on something and the hanger snapped like a carrot. That was the end of Stuart's race. I talked to Stuart after the race who said he was feeling strong - bugger!
Never mind, I'm sure if BikeNZ don't stuff it up, Nelson will be better for all!
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