Continental Race King

With the likes of Jongeward and English having used these or a combination including these tyre I was keen to see what was so good about Conti Race Kings.

These sweet looking German made tyres looked the goods still packaged, the set I had were the full UST versions and weighed in at a comfortable 700g each.

The setup included a Tubeless rim front wheel and a standard rear rim converted to tubeless. Setup was easy and they both inflated with out the use of sealant, the UST sidewalls and bead sealed tight with no air leakage.

So I popped the bead and added a cup of sealant, which should seal any future punctures.

I had been keen to fit some fatter tyres after running various sizes from 1.9 to 2.1s but fitted to the rims the Race Kings they looked and measured slightly smaller than their 2.2” size. This was probably helped by the very round profile of the tyre.

The low profile tread pattern remains at a consistent height across the profile of the tyre. Both these characteristics, the low tread and round profile, should lead to a fairly fast rolling tyre.

Time to ride! Initially it took a little while to wear through the manufactured wax-like finish on the tyre but once they started to grip I found the tyres were predicable and gripped well in just about every condition.

From hard-packed dust-bowls to soft loam soil the tread is tightly enough packed to offer fast rolling through the middle and open enough through the remainder to find grip in a wide range of conditions.

Testing on the road the Race Kings surprised me by rolling quietly, comparable to my semi slick commuting tyres.

Having used the soft compound Conti tyres of old and wore through a new set during a solo 24 effort. I was happy to find the UST Race Kings, while unfortunately don’t feature the BlackChilli compound, still offer sufficient traction while not wearing through fast.

The front tyre has lost grip when pushed on a few occasions and this is probably why many riders match a Race King tyre on the rear with a more aggressive X-King or similar on the front. But overall I’ve found the Race Kings to be a very good performer for a UST 2.2, reliable through a variety of conditions. 

JetBlack Sydney 24hr

With an incredible history of the most demanding conditions in 24hr racing the 2012 JetBlack Sydney 24hr was on and off my radar leading up to the event. I didn't really want to ride it, especially solo, but the trail offers enough fun to do in a team, if you don't have to ride "to much".

And so it was, a week out from the event and Shane Taylor and I started to scrounge around for team-mates, was it to late to find some keen riders to share the burden with?

Thankfully quite a few names came to mind and we began the task of locking them in. Some had better offers, including some sort of roadie ride in Victoria, but we persisted, not so much down the list , more like across, where the riders aren't ranked, they are just outside our initial scope. Thankfully we found a couple of unsuspecting comrades and the issue of ironing out the logistics became priority, we didn't want 4 3x3 shades and no chairs. Also, what was with the weather forecast, fine and forty, this was going to be a hell of a ride.

So it was we arrived at Mt Annan Botanical Gardens already warmed up with just the task of locating team-mates and setting up a suitable camp for the next 24hrs or so. Initially it was bad new on arrival, Shane Taylor had mechanical car issues and had decided to turn back in fear of not being able to return at all. We went from a rock solid elite four man to a "do we ride as three in a four category". The great event organisers RockTrail Entertainment knew of our predicament and made it easy, a category swap to the elite three man, we were happy.

Mark got us off to a very good start and Kurt went out as second man. We were putting in some solid laps and were already leading the category. It was hot, very hot and we had a plan in place for this type of conditions with a half shell kiddies pool, 20kg ice blocks, water and cool towels. With data out of the AIS saying ice vests could make a difference, it was my aim to keep the team as cool as possible.

As we hit the night and lit up our Ay-Ups it didn't cool down much. We pressed on and were building quite a buffer to the other three man teams. It probably helped being camped next to the Onya team, their enthusiasm and consistent low twenty minute laps seemed to be infectious. 

Out the other side of the night laps Kurt had finally managed a couple of clean laps without a stack and our buffer had risen to four laps. Mark remained steady and mechanical free. I was loving the downtime  between smacking out the teams fastest laps.

We reached the final hours of the race, I headed out on what I thought was going to be my last double lap. I caught up with Nigel from Pedal 4 Pierce who was just finishing up an epic ride of his own, Jindy to Syd via Bathurst with a 24hr in a pairs team. It was a pretty fast lap for me but I had left enough in the tank for my final lap of the double. Nigel's team-mate Craig from Flow had put the hammer down catching me before the singletrack, it was on. I punched hard through the singletrack gaining distance on the downhill and Craig would pull me back in during the climbs. We duelled through to the return stretch where Craig moved into the lead, I struggled to hold his wheel. In the final section the rubber band broke, Craig stomped away, I looked back only to recognise some of the riders from the old Bernard Team, gaining. It was time to bite the handlebars, again.

Our all ADF team, we had a representative from each service, called it at 22:59:59 well clear of the other teams in our category, happy in the knowledge this might be our only chance to finish early and still take the top step.

It was a great way to round out the year, thanks to RockyTrail Entertainment for putting on such a great event and all the other competitors for making the event such fun.

ADCC Team - First Elite Team of Three

Team-mate Mark Astley's 24hr blog.

It is Christmas, let it rain carbon

It is starting to feel a lot like Christmas!

Dibbity-dibbity-do,

Every where I roll.

Conti's Race King wraps a wide carbon rim.

STM Awaba Event Wrap

The final round of Chocolate Foot's Singletrack Mind (STM) Series 2012 was hosted by the Hunter MTB Association on everyone’s favourite trail,Awaba. The Awaba MTB Park is well know for its smooth lines and flowing sections, attracting riders from around the state to experience its fun.

The STM Series draws a large following and this round was no different, with over 300 riders registered making up 177 teams, included the solo riders. A quick crunch of numbers proved that this Awaba round was the biggest STM round this year.

The event hub was tightly packed with event sponsors and team marquees, in some places they were two and three deep. The car park was even more packed with cars parked half way back to the park entrance gate.

It was again a battle between the Canberra locals, Ed McDonald and Andy Hall, in the Solo Male category, with Andy having the upper hand in the series points thus far. The Ed and Andy show began from the offset with Andrew Lloyd kept them company. It was on their 7^th lap, in the 4^th hour where Ed and Andy began to ride away from Lloyd. Late in the 6^th hour Ed continued to push, breaking away from Andy and cementing well over a five minute lead for the remainder of the event.

While the morning’s temperature did start out at fairly comfortable it didn’t take long before it became a hard slog in +35 degree temperatures. But it was the coolness of the rainforest section that offered brief relief before being cooked on the Camel Back Climb.

In the Masters Solo category Radical Lights’ Gary James lead from GO, a little further back his team mate Jason McAvoy was plugging away with Phil Welch remaining consistent just few minutes further back. Jason started to have trouble in the 5^th hour with the heat and began slipping time to Phil, who eventually moved into 2nd. This battle of attrition was evident across all the categories especially the solos with a bulk of riders calling it a day some where between three to seven laps.

There may have been wine tastings from Jimmy Jack but it was the local DHers with the smell of their bacon and egg BBQ sangers that would have most riders mouths watering, that and the sweet hammock setup would have been inviting. They also kept the cool friendly STM vibe going with their hoots and calls encouraging passing riders.

It was the steady efforts that reaped the rewards in the Female Solo category. Libby Adamson started the day sitting in around 5^th and mid way through the day moved into the leading position, a well deserved win in the testing conditions. Janet Martin and Jess Simpson made the most of the morning’s cooler temperatures setting the fastest female solo laps and rounding out the podium.

Hunter MTB Club keep Awaba in great nick and over the course of the day the trail fairies continued to sweep and marshal sections of trail. There was no litter and defiantly no complaints about the brushed effect on sections of trail.

                                   

Wendy Stevenson, already the clear Female Masters Solo category series leader, was conscious of her placing against the Female Solo category but chose a conservative approach through the latter part of the day. Wendy went on to complete the eight hours while her direct competitor Nicole Lancaster called it a day early.

Even the St Johns guys were even getting into the swing of the STM vibe out on the trail. The trail conditions may have in some cases overwhelmed their pannier laden MTBs but they were seen to be giving it a go and hung out at the spectacle that is the bessa-block descent.

With the final round of the STM Series over for 2012, the full results from the round are available online, you can look forward to more excitement from the Chocolate Foot crew in 2013. It all kicks off at the end of April with Round 1 of STM 2013, visit the Chocolate Foot calendar for more details.

NSWMTB XCO Ourimbah

What more could you want than the states fastest XCO riders on one of the states best trails.

Quantum Leaps with Steve

CamelBak - WSMTB Summer Series 2012-13 4hr

This was my first race after the Croc and whilst I knew the legs were full of power, I’m not sure where my head was at.  I had my back Rocktaped up by Hana our team masseuse in preparation the night before and had finally put my Epic 29er back together after the Croc.

After overnight rain, I headed off to the race for the 6pm start.  Lights would be required after around 8pm, so there was at least 2 hours in the dark.  Numbers at the start line seemed to be down but it was still competitive with a couple of solo guys racing off into the distance with the team guys when Big Dog started proceedings.

Steve (Quantum Racing) blurs by during the 4hr

The track was in super nick.  The last time I had rode it around a year ago after the floods it was destroyed, but some extensive work by the WSMTB guys has made it all good and I was having great fun on the singletrack 6.7km course.  I was smashing the climbs with the croc legs, but initially had some trouble with the loose sand on the descents.  A few laps in and the sand had been compacted and my Rubena Scylla tyres really came into their own.  I could rail those corners like nothing else and I never lost traction on the climbs – awesome!!  I was running low pressures (25psi Front and 28psi Back) as I knew the course was technical and I needed the grip, not the rolling speed.  I was trying to set a steady pace not knowing how far ahead the couple of leading solo guys were.

I knew I had a chance of reeling those solo guys in, I just had to keep plugging away with consistent lap times.  I turned the lights on just after 8pm and dropped about 1+min per lap as I backed off a little on the descents.  The track was starting to dry out as well and come 9pm, my mind was starting to wander and I had some ‘oh crap’ moments where the front end let go or I almost endo’d.  This race had an extra edge for me as I had broken my hand and knocked myself out in the exact same race 3 years ago on the last lap, so I was determined to not loose concentration.

Well past the 3 hour mark I felt I was reeling in a lot of guys and I decided to lift my pace, I might be a chance to catch the leading guys.  As you can appreciate at night, you have no idea where you are coming and whether the light ahead of you is a competitor or a back marker.

On the last lap, I caught sight of a set of lights that was refusing to come in as quickly as all the others, so I put the sprint on.  As luck would have it, on my MP3 player, Mews – Invincible queued up so I had no excuse.  I couldn’t catch whoever it was in the time remaining and dammit; it was 1^st place in solo.  He beat me by 30secs after 4hrs and 11 laps.

I placed 2^nd in Solo, 5^th overall.  A great result, but having a crew callout splits for me would have been a great assistance in a race like this.

PS - Best thing I have discovered in a long time – Rocktape.  If you have lower back pain from mtbing, get some of this stuff, amazing how good it is.  You will need someone who knows what they are doing to put it on.  Previously after these 4hr races, I could hardly move for the pain, but now it is just an ache at the end – way better.

Thankfully Thursday

Thursday was scheduled for XC and this was much more down my ally. We always have some great XC riders turn up and this year was no exception. The main question on everyones lips though was, which trails were we going to ride? In the dying hours of the Scott 24, only 4 days ago, there were a few trails that had been turned into muddy messes.

Thankfully for the last four days the weather had been fine and sunny, drying all the muddy sections and the trails were dry and fast. Race organisers had created a shortened loop using mostly sections from the Scott 24's Blue Lap. The Elite Men category would complete five 7km laps.



Jarrod Hughes, recent winner of the Rocky Trail GP 4hr at Ourimbah, lead out the pack at an unbelievable pace. No one could match his speed and it was a fight for the minor placings.

I had a great ride, although still fatigued from the recent racing, managing to slot myself in a decent position before the singletrack on the first lap. This ment less overtaking and less time to make up mid race. While the faster XC guys had made a good gap there was still a few of us further back making a race of in in our own little way.

Crummy - (ITT)00:33:17 (DH)00:03:01 (XC)1:48:20 - 2:24:38
Roger - (ITT)00:33:24 (DH)00:03:14 (XC)1:54:26 - 2:31:04

Project 9er

More little goodies have arrived for Project 9er. This just about completes the front end. No imagination  needed, it is a 9er Slider.

Wednesday Crit

Before the afternoons Crits and while still in Canberra, we had the chance to visit the AIS. It was an opportunity to receive their athlete recovery briefing and get our recovery questions answered by the AIS recovery staff. It was an informative session and re-enforced the basic principals of recovery.

While we had a large group there it was a chance to participate in a study. This group was randomly divided into two separate groups, one being monitored during a cold pool immersion and subsequent period after the immersion, the other group had a warm pool immersion. You can probably guess which random group I was selected for.

After standing in the sun for half an hour in an attempt to warm up, we headed off on a quick tour of some of the facilities with one of the AIS athletes. 

The afternoons Crit had not only involved ADCC members but also those from the local clubs. This stepped it up a notch as we weren't just competing against our own ADCC members, it was most likely the other clubs rode Crit regularly and this was their home turf. From the outset the tempo was high and there was no shelter from the wind on the open track.

It didn't take long, gaps were opening up and there were people falling off the back of the bunch. I just couldn't get the shelter I needed to maintain the pace and I was out the back, like a handful of others. Here we go again, I was back to TT myself around the track, through the remaining time. It seemed like my second TT in as many days.

Yeah a corner!

Looks fun doesn't it?

It's Movember!

You can link through here (Movember)

ADCC Champs Video

Croc Trophy final from Steve

Care of: Regina Stanger

It is done, finished. Woohoo!

Today was a real adventure. I started with a fair bit of anxiety as it was 146km of basically flat and made for roadies. I was still hurting from 3 days of burying myself so I couldn't wait. We were released in groups of 8, 15mins apart. I was in the 3rd last group full of very strong guys. The guy in front of me was in M2 category had 15min lead overall and the guy behind me 38min lead. As I feared the pace was nasty. I pulled a few turns and then I was struggling to hold on. I held them for 30km and then bang, my rear change cable broke. I then only had top gear with 2 chain rings on the front. One was too slow and the other I couldn't pull over corrugations into the wind. In my head I thought it was all over. Come on Steve, anything can happen, I willed myself to keep going. I wound in the high adjustment so it was in a manageable  single speed ratio. I road like that for 30km before catching a guy who had a spare cable. I had also lost the bolt that clamps the cable, so I physically tied the cable to the rear derailleur. It worked apart from the very bottom gears so i was off. The final group, with all the elite guys caught me so that meant I had lost 30mins. The elite guys were riding neutral until the end and then they put the pedal down. I had 2 team mates in this group, the race leader and a guy in 5th who helped me out. The elite guys are something else, dragging all 10 in the group into a fierce headwind on corrugations at high speed. With 15km to go we picked up another team-mate who was powerful and keeping me on the back. When the group surged to 45+ I was dropped and my team-mate and I hung together. A photo car that was watching the group kindly pulled in front of us to motor pace us back onto the group. With 5km to go the elite guys gunned it for real and we were both off of the back again, my team-mate was cooked so I was on my own to try and hang onto 3rd in M2. I punched a gel and caught another team mate with 3km to go and we did turns until 1km to go where he sat up. It was a killer
climb for the final 1km so I consumed another gel and off I sprinted. I ran out of gears on one bit, jumping off the bike and ran for a section. Jumping back on the bike I sprinted up the final bit, made it to the finish and collapsed.

Spent and broken. What a day. For me the best in terms of team work as I had ridden with 5 of the 7 other guys in my team. Turns out Rider 104 who was an ex pro roadie had smashed it, won the stage and beat me into 3rd by 4mins. Oh well I guess thats racing.

 The final ceremony they present to
5th place in each category. 2nd and 5th place were a no showed in M2 so Steve is in
the final photo in 2nd place.

What an adventure. I finished 4th in M2 and 30th overall, very happy, considering the difficulties I faced. I was 2nd
place and 25th overall 2 days ago. Top 5 tips for a race like this, in no order. 

1. Have a good support crew. 
2. Have a bike fit and a good seat. 
3. Have a nutrition plan that you have tried and tested.  
4. Ride consistently, you need to last for 9 days and everyone has things that go wrong; and,
5. Train your pants off. 

Care of: Regina Stanger

Mike Tomalaris of SBS, Cycling Central, did the presentations at the end which was cool. Felt a bit like you were on tour. In terms of the race, each day was very tough. It was only about 20% single track so not a lot of real mountain biking and lots of euro roadies come to do it, they will bury you on the flats. Only 30 aussies in the field of 130 so you definitely feel in the minority. One country was dominate in numbers and they ganged up on the aussies to get their riders up the rankings even if they were on different teams. Lots of dirty tactics, blocking etc left a nasty taste in my mouth especially towards the end.
Anyway I met some great people from all countries and we suffered together. My 8 team mates and support were awesome fun and great guys. Thanks for the support.

Regards, Steve

Later Tuesday

Later Tuesday, after the 20km on-road ITT it was time to change from skin tight lycra to baggies, full ridge to full sus and get my short VO2 Max on. After practise runs on Monday I was fairly confident with line choice and opted out of the initial practise runs, saving energy for the more important timed race runs later in the afternoon.

The top part of the course has changed from last year and you no longer have to pick your way through the old ever deepening rock-garden. Instead you head down a more southern facing slope and new rock-garden section. This leads into a fast off-camber section which dumps you back in front of the shipping container chute and the normal remainder of the track.

The key for me with my limited DH racing experience was to pedal as much as possible, where possible and hopefully be technically superior while still keeping the tyres on the ground. So it was mostly B lines over the major obstacles and hold every little bit of speed I could. At three to three and a half minutes for a run, everything counted.

My first timed race run a max first effort, I was hoping to be within the 20 seconds of the fastest time. This would better my time gap to the race leader from last year. The first run was was 3:06, I was very happy and had slipped into 3rd fastest with that time. As we headed back to the top of the hill in the bus, I wondered how much more cleanly I could make this second and final run.

Push through the start gate, accelerate till the rock-garden, point the gap in the rocks before taking the outside of the corner. Inside corner, B-line, through the tight trees, hold a high line on the off camber section, pump the rollers. Pedal, container, drop the triple step-downs, outside line, pedal, smooth-is-fast. B-line Triple, keep to the left watch the rock, pedal, fast berm. Through all mental notes I find myself at the bottom of the course with just the flat section to go, I get over the bars and pedal like crazy, my legs protest. Beside the 4x track I try to kick again, this time there is not protest, there is no kick, I slump back on the seat before the cross-over tunnel. That won't have been enough. 

Somehow I manage to find another 5 seconds on course. Knocking my best time down to 3:01 and keeping the third fastest time.

Crummy - (ITT)33:17 (DH)03:01 - 36:18

Roger - (ITT)33:24 (DH)03:14 - 36:38

Croc Trophy further more from Steve

Day 6 and I placed 23rd overall and 4th in Category.  I managed to put 10mins into rider 104 and so I jumped up to 3rd in M2.  A great result from a big day.  The guy in 2nd put some time into me though, so we are starting to settle down into place.

Day 7 - The course was shortened to 90km and 1700m of climbing as yesterday was so tough.  I had a massage last night to get rid of some of the soreness and thank goodness.  Out on course I quickly found that I had spent a lot of beans
yesterday and did not have my usual power.  The stage was basically screaming downhills with climbs out of gorges for the whole way, interspersed with flat sections. One of my team mates recorded 88kph - incredible.  As much as it hurt, this stage suited me and I soon dropped my closest competitors in the M2 Cat.  After about 20km from the start I was dropped by the lead group again and had to do all the work by myself.  Kate Major, 1st place chic and aussie pro iron woman caught me up and it was an immense relief. Kate was attacking the climbs, I sucked her wheel mentally willing myself not to be dropped.  I managed to hang on and recovered a bit before we were caught by some fast dudes around 30km, from then on we spent some time in the road train.  At about the 40km mark I had chain suck and when I had fixed it the group had ridden off into the distance.  I smashed myself and caught Kate again who had been dropped as well. We ended up working with each other taking turns with our noses in the wind until the end of the race.  I felt I repaid her the favour of the early part of the race as she died in the last 15km and I dragged her home.  Glad to have somone to work with, not just so you can work together but the mental challenge of keeping the pace on when you just want to give up. I was struggling through the whole stage with power so I resorted to punching gels every 40mins.

For those of you that have not tried gels, they are liquid carbs, sugar and caffiene.  The caffene and sugar gives you the kick.  They mess with your constitution though as it is not normal food but they are awesome for these events as your mouth is so dry, you cannot eat solid food.  My drink bottles have a carb and sugar mix in it (Hi-5 2:1) and I also put a salt tablet in each bottle.  It was very hot today and I drank 6 drink bottles in the 3hrs 40mins I was racing.  I drank 6 bottles after I finished with recovery and electrolytes mixes before I had to go to the toilet. Managing your recovery is a major factor as to how you do the next day.

So happy with the outcome today, putting some more time into my competitors, but I am fatiguing both physically and mentally.  Tomorrow is a new day and there is only 2 more to go. Yippee!

They are going to run the last stage as a scratch race which means reverse order start in the overall GC.  As of yesterday I was 25th overall, so I will start towards the back and hope to catch some of my team mates. Either way they will help me get through the last day which is 148km - I'm not looking forward to that.


Yesterday finished awesome as I ended up 3rd on the day in category and rider 102, who is in front of me, had a bad day. So I was 2nd in M2 overall by 10secs!!!

Game on today.  87km, very hot conditions, rocky and sandy profile.  I launched with the front guys, burying myself to stick with them and held them for 40mins until I cracked.  Rider 102 was behind, however while I was recovering he powered past.  I wasn't overly concerned as there was still 60km to go and I expected to pull him back.  True to form, a
team mate and I who were working together were slowly catching him. At the 30km mark rider 102 flatted so we gunned it  trying to put as much time as possible between us.  My mate flatted and I powered on as best as possible, but my back tyre was starting to get washy and I was loosing air slowly.  I ended up pumping it up every 10km, instead of changing it out, I decided on a mangement strategy, relying on the sealant in the tyre to get me through.  It was very hot and I had lost a drink bottle on course so I was struggling with hydration. Thankfully I reached the 2nd depot at 55km and received my two new bottles.  The down hills were very fast and extremely rocky and instead of bombing at light speed, I tried to float and manage my flat back tyre.  The flats were tough, with long sections of deep sand that were hard work to pedal through.

I caught some guys and we were in a road train towards the finish, sitting on 35km/hr with my back tyre scatting all over the place.  At 75km, I stopped again and pumped up the tyre as I was out of C02 canisters. The tyre had a sidewall cut and it was no longer holding air.  I was down to 3/4 of one water bottle and caught onto another train, they powered past the last water depot at the 78km mark without stopping.  I decided to hang on.  I knew I was 1st in M2 for the day and was going to put some serious time into rider 102, I could sense it.  I was waiting for my mate who flatted previously to catch up and wondered why he was taking so long as he was an elite rider.  At 10km to the finish the tyre was stuffed and it was change time.  Another train came through and my mate was in it, but so was rider 102 - disaster.  My mate had flatted 3 times, hence why he had taken so long to catch up.  We had trouble getting the tubeless valve undone and were hemeraging time.  Finally sorted, we begged a c02 from a passing rider, finally we set off.  50m down the road, bang, the
valve blew out of the tube - an awesome day just went horrible.  A couple more guys in M2 passed me as was changing the tube again, hand pumping it up.  I had run out of water, it was friggin hot and there was 10km of riding to the finish.  I finally made it, pretty dissapointed about what could have been, I made a massive effort with little reward.  It would have been nice to have won the stage.  Anyway that is racing.

1 day to go and looking forward to the finish.

Regards Steve

ADCC ITT "the race of truth"

After the Scott 24 I had a small break, it was called Monday and Monday was filled with shuttle runs to the top of Stromlo. At the top of Stromlo we scootered over to the start of the DH run, with the new top section! We spent the day sessioning sections, introducing the inexperienced to the Stromlo DH course and getting tips off Kona Factory Team rider Sarah Booth. After four or five runs I had seen enough to call it a day and rest up for Tuesday's racing.

Your probably asking, "what?", why did you hear about shuttle runs at Stromlo on Monday? It was the beginning of the week long ADO Cycling Championships. The Champs is run annually by the Australian Defence Cycling Club and this year was hosted by CORC and CCC at Stromlo.


Tuesday

First up it was the test against time, the lone race against the clock. The course started from the Stromlo Crit track turned left at the main road with the turn around point some 8 or so kilometres down the road. It returned on the same road and you would complete the return journey with a 3/4 lap of the Crit track.

The stats from my Bryton tell a partial tale, it seemed like a down hill run to the turn around point then you would climb back out to Stromlo. In actual fact the sense of downhill was obstructed by the head wind that morning and climbing out the wind was an asset. All that was left was for me to leave my legs out on course and make the most of the aero-bike I had acquired.

Trying to get as low, efficient, smooth, fast as possible.

With my aim already squared away, there was a few extra criteria I wanted to for fill. One of which was not to loose time to Cuttsy. Cuttsy and I often train together and it would be nice to keep up with him, even though he had a massive advantage of riding on fresh legs. It was a long bow but I was prepared to attempt it. We were set off at 30 second intervals, Cuttsy was the next rider inline behind me.

I left the protection of the crit track and wound my way up into the headwind. Dropping my head I was clad to find the TT bike had sufficient gears to climb and descend. With the wind in my ears I couldn't hear anyone behind me, all I could do was focus on the rider I was going to catch in front of me.

At the turn around point Cuttsy hadn't caught me, things were looking good but as I turned for the return trip I saw he was so close. At least I had the wind with me on our return trip, he shouldn't be able to pull to much time from me. I kept my head down and peddled all the way back to Stromlo, Cuttsy passing me and getting a slight advantage some 15 seconds in front by the time we finished, a 40 second or so lead from me overall.

At this time I would like to introduce another character, Roger, who like me had a full week of racing planned out. Roger was one of the last to complete the ITT but this didn't stop him laying down a good time. The time was just 7 seconds slower than mine.

Cuttys - 32:36
Crummy - 33:17
Roger - 33:24

Croc Trophy more from Steve.

Steve Billington (R) on the Rubena Rocky Trail Team Care of: Regina Stanger

It has been the first time I've had internet access for a couple of days and Day 5 was a monster.  Two really rough single track sections with a very fast firetrail before,  in between and after.  These sections were roadie heaven and me being a hill climber, I hurt bad trying to hang onto the road trains. They were doing 40+kph on MTBs, on dirt roads.  Those euros can pull those big gears like nothing else.  I have been smashing them on the rough stuff and hills, and was hopeful of a great finish as I passed my nearest rivals in the M2 category.  At the 90km mark disaster, flat and also my c02 cannister head had broken so I had to resort to a hand pump. The last 30kph on the road I did by myself.  I buried myself on that final section but ended up losing 10mins. Gutted.

Day 6, 125km with 2400m of climbing. The profile was flat for 60km, then it turned straight up, alternting screaming downhills and steep climbs for 50km.  My plan was to cover my competitors (Riders 102 and 104) until the climb and attack.  The day didn't work out as planned as I got dropped from the front group after 20mins.  The front group always seems to smash it out for an hour in an attempt to try and drop as many people as possible.  Riders 102 and 104 held on though as they are largely roadies and I  thought i was in for a bad day.  I grabbed onto another group and we picked up rider 104 around the 30km mark. He was 30secs ahead of me in the M2 cat overall, my day immediately improved alot.  

I tried a cheeky attack on the flat but he was all over me so I knew it was game on from now on.  Coming to the 60km mark there was a drink station and then it was a climb, a barely rideable climb.  From our group of around 7 I launched an attack on the hill, everyone else cracked but rider 104 followed me.  This climb could be broken into three sections of around 100m, 50m and 25m, I attacked again on the 50m and still rider 104 followed me.  The final climb I wanted to spend all my bickies and attack for the last time and rider 104 finally cracked.  He slipped to around 50m behind
me on a downhill section and I  gunned it for the next 10km solo in an attempt to loose him.  Gradually I caught some other guys who were cooked and then finally found someone to work, I wanted to bury rider 104.  A road train was
catching us so I broke again as I thought he, rider 104, would have been in it.  I held them off for another 5km but they eventually caught me and I found thankfully rider 104 was not in the train.  

Other members of Steve's team make their way through the testing conditions Care of: Regina Stanger

It was time to recoup and I spent another 10km with these guys until the final depot at about the 90km mark. I was joined by another guy as we out-climbed the group, breaking off the front and staying together until the end.  I think I did fairly well overall and definitely put some time on rider 104, so it was a good day. Regarding the course, today was a shocker, very very hard, hot and pretty much miserable for everyone.  I spent a lot of beans today so we will see about tomorrow which is another 120km with nasty climbs.  Three days to go and doesn't my arse hurt.

Cheers, Steve.

Scott 24

This wasn’t my domain, 24 solo yes, large 24 teams sure, but never like this. I couldn’t believe I had just agreed, at the last moment before rego closed. I was to team up with one of the fastest enduro riders based out of QLD and ride the Scott 24 as a pair.

It was spring, the weather could do anything this time of year. I packed the usual riding gear, then my cold weather riding gear and then some more.  There was food, tools, spares and bikes. The forecast was ominous and as the weather passed through NSW and the ACT just shy of the weekend it laid down rain, hail and in some places snow.

Saturday morning I met up with my team mate, Trek/Anytime Fitness rider Sean Bekkers. We were in agreement for our race strategy then Sean dropped the bombshell, it was already decided, I would do the start. Ahhh, I hate to run!

The start was as chaotic as ever, but it was important not to get stuck to far back and we were away, well mostly and after a few mini track-stand comps with myself. Thankfully the figure eight configuration offers plenty of trail, and it didn’t take long for everyone to spread out on it. The first double lap was down, I tagged Sean, we were in for a long day.

While I wasn’t aware of it at the time looking back now at our laps times Sean was the workhorse of our duo. He remained consistent and dependable throughout the event, giving me updates of our progress, lapping within minutes of his previous time and waiting patiently for me to arrive at transition. I guess that’s the good thing about pairs racing, I hardly heard a complaint.

During the early stages we were having a good “battle” with the team who placed 2^nd at last years Scott 24. The team was made up of Shane Taylor and Mick Hernan, Mick was lapping with me and we were able to have a good chat along the way. It wasn’t till the descent off Stromlo where I would loose Mick, an hour and a half or so later out on another double, Mick would pull onto my wheel or pass me on a climb and we would remain together till the top of Stromlo again. Unfortunately Mick sustained an injury during those early hours and the team called it quits, there was to be more racing for these boys the following week.

As Radical Lights took a solid lead from the 7hrs mark, Sean and I slipped into 2nd just before midnight. From that time on we increased our lead over 3rd and held the 40 minute gap to Radical.

I was now in a cycle, ride, recover, eat, rest, prep and wait. The only thing that changed was it got dark, the Ay-Ups came out and this was added to the list during prep. The pre dawn lap was one of my slowest and I was glad to hand off to Sean and see him go out on the dawn lap. Now that the sun was up it was time to tighten the screws and lay down all we had left out on the trail.

I crossed the line eight minutes before midday after completing a red lap but as I had descended towards transition on the blue lap I had seen Radical Lights heading out for their next blue, we virtually a lap down. Sean motioned to me to move through transition, he wasn’t on his bike. It was at this time I found out we had a clear lead over third and didn’t need to head out for another.

I was drained, 24hrs of 1:30-1:40 doubles, the sun, the rain, the mud, the taste of food I didn’t want to see again for weeks. I slumped onto a chair in the Trek/Anytime Fitness tent, my hosts for the last day, people blurred as they moved around me, I couldn’t believe what we had just accomplished. This was just the start of a week of racing for me.

Big moment podium for the Pairs.

Just a snapshot of the battle in the Solos. It was so close for the top 5 or so over the first 8 hours. MA is Mark Astley who went on to place 9th.

Croc Trophy

While I am not participating in the Croc it is interesting to receive updates from mates who are. Steve Billington has recently join the Bernard Racing Team and has been seriously stomping on his peddles all year with excellent  results. Here is his outlook on things Tropical QLD.

Stage 1 done.  It is hot and humid up here but we have been lucky, the first stage was on single track in the trees. A classic XC race, only 1.5hrs, so the real race starts tomorrow.  I managed to get second in my category, M2, which is great, I just have to hunt down the guy in 1st, who is from Switzerland. The track was awesome, its interesting that the euros smash the fire trails but are terrible at single track.

2nd stage tomorrow starts from Cairns CBD so the TV cameras should be there.  Look out for green black and white kits.  There are 8 of us in the team so we should stand out. A guy from our team is currently 1st overall.

The updates are a bit sporadic as we drift in and out of mobile and net coverage.

Care of: Regina Stanger

Day 3 was a pretty good stage for me.  It was neutral for the first 18km and then bang, a massive hill to sort out the field.  I felt good so was catching and dropping guys all the way up.  We were in the forest for half the stage which was great as it was cooler.  We then punched out onto firetrail and it was so hot.  I was isolated and had no one to work with so was in struggle street up until the final drink station where some guys caught me so we were able to get a train going, taking
turns on the front.  I ended up finishing 25th overall and 3rd in my category so pretty happy.

For my category M2, the 1st guy is untouchable but as someone said, I am sandwiched between 2 Belgium guys who seem to tag on who is going to come 2nd for the stage.  After stage 3 Rider 102 had 7 minutes on me.

Day 4 was a 4 lap, 26km track with 600m climbing every lap.  The course was a mixture of firetrail and super rough single track.  I started poorly, very stiff and had one of team mates lead me out for the 1st 30mins until my legs came good.  3 days of racing is starting to take its toll.  I then picked up and was reeling guys up consistently.  There was a stuff up with the feed station with the organisers preventing assistance so my nutrition was all mixed up and I ended up having to do
the remaining 3 laps on water.  I was consuming 2 water bottles per lap and running out just as I came in.  I had to adjust my feeding strategy and was punching gels every 40mins instead of every hour as I usually do with a sports drink.  I caught Rider 102 on the last lap, he was frantic when he saw me coming and I managed to put a minute on him.  Not much, but least I didn't lose anymore time. Rider 104 got 2.5 mins out of me so we are getting pretty congested in 2,3 and 4th.  Today I finished 21st and 3rd in category.  Still getting podiums which is good for the team and sponsors.

My strengths compared to the euro guys are hill climbs and singletrack. They can smoke me on the flats though. I am a bit surprised, isn't there some serious hills in europe?  I guess all those session riding up and down ryde hospital hill are paying off.

4 down, 5 to go.

PS we have a couple of powerhouses in the team, but they suck on hills, so we are waiting for a stage that starts flat so we can get a 8 man train going aka HTC on the tour.

Regards, Steve.