WSMTB Summer Series at Wylde

It had been a while in the making, with plenty of work by WSMTB and those involved in the making of Western Sydney Parkland’s Wylde MTB Trail. After Round 1 was cancelled, so many riders had been crossing their fingers to get a chance to race the first Wylde event with WSMTB and finally it was here.

Mass rego line, everyone wanting to race Wylde. Photo: Steve Billington

There was some trepidation as the patchy morning sky gradually turned grey and almost on the queue of race start it began raining. A thirty-minute delay was called, the rain cloud passed and mud splatter was guaranteed.

JetBlack MTB Racing team excited in preperation. Photo: CrummyMTB

On race start we had lined up a little further back than we should have and consequently had to put up with a bit of conga-line traffic during the first lap. While out in front and settling a pace only some team riders could manage (Jason English-esque), was teammate Andrew Finlayson.

JetBlack MTB Racing's Andrew Finlayson leads the race. Photo: CrummyMTB

We had made the right choice to ride our Pivot 429 shod with Nobbly Nics and a Michelin Wild Race’r (review tyre) from race start. The huge widely spaced knobs on the Nic were near perfect in the wet conditions and we were able to use that control to our advantage, getting within sight of our competitors by the end of lap 1.

No caption needed. Photo: Scott Reynolds

There were many mishaps, even out on Lap 2, as the trail began to slowly change but it was still very slippery in sections. The Blue Mountains duo of Ian Anderson (fast-man from last weeks Ginja Ninja 250) and Steve Tomczyk (who also pipping us by a couple of minutes last week too) went down on the trail spectacularly in front of us, sliding sideways with their bikes like pancakes along the trail. We lost our numberplate shortly after as it was heavy with mud and we had to run back along the sodden trail to find it.

Making the most of the fast conditions. Photo: Scott Reynolds

The Pivot was having some shifting issues due to ingress of mud to the segmented wire outer (a full-length outer will be the next upgrade) and now a couple of laps in the trail was definatly drying out and getting faster. Time for a bike swap, to the cleaner, leaner, orange On One Inbred.

Now it was just settling into the pain of Wylde's short pinch climbs, which we think was the cause of some back discomfort many riders were experiencing. We had plenty of riders around us to ride with particularly Steve Billington from Quantum Racing. We were often in formation as a little pair zipping along the trails, keeping it relaxed and making it easy to for multiple riders flowing in a passing situations. We were making good time and slowly pulling back any fast XC riders out in front, both solos and teams.

Riding side by side for most of the 4hrs Steve Billington and author. Photo: Steve Billington

Getting the nutrition right was a big part of the day (could be a whole blog in its self) and we had purposely consumed a gel mid Lap 6 in prep for Lap 7, we wanted to ensure Steve had no answer for what our intentions were. Within the first 3km we could see that there was a neat gap between us, but we didn't turn the screws down till the second half of the lap, scream through the final sections making every double and railing every berm.

Solo male podium, L-R, Michael Crummy 2nd, Andrew Finlayson 1st. Not present Steve Billinton 3rd.
Photo: Scott Reynolds

Unbeknownst to most out on the trail the timing computer spat the dummy and the WSMTB timing crew had been working feverishly to pull results together. There was some anticipation at presentations as the top three team and solo riders were announced in each category, and it was a great surprise to hear Steve Billington announced as third place and that we had placed second to teammate Andrew Finlayson.

Massive shout to WSMTB and all the team behind pulling the Summer Series together. Bikeminded and our other LBS for supporting each round. Stans NoTubes and JetBlack for their support of the Series. Our team JetBlack MTB Racing for great camaraderie, and all our sponsors in which we ride for. Another top event and stoked to race Wylde for its first time!

Ginja Ninja 250

We headed to Orange to compete in the Ginja Ninja 250, the first round of the highly anticipated Evocities Series. Many top rides from around NSW/ACT were expected to enter this mostly regional NSW series, as it has large cash prize pool on offer.

Arriving on Saturday gave us the chance to ride a lap of the Ginja Ninja course, but it would have been rude not to ride two laps for all the fun the course offered. There were some slight changes over previous years course, with a couple more deliberate climbs thrown in this year, but on the flip side this also provided some exciting descending from said climbs.

We found out that the Banjo Paterson Festival had been running all week in Orange and Saturday night was the annual night markets. The park opposite DG Cycles in Orange was filled full of local food and beverage stalls. It was a great opportunity to sample local produce and mix with the thousands that converged on the markets that night.

Riders barrel along the firetrail before beginning the race loop. Photo: CrummyMTB

Race morning dawned and there was plenty of time for a civilized breakfast with a start of 10am for the Ginja Ninja. We had secured a transition location with a JetBlack 3x3 shade that had been erected the previous day. All that needed to be done, was any last minute prep (don’t forget our race plate!) and a warm up before all the fun began.

Slipping out of the way on start the Ginja Ninja and the Mayor start proceedings. Photo: Jude Keogh,  Central Western Daily 

We managed to hold a steady position near the front of the lead bunch slipping into the singletrack within the top twenty riders. From there it was all just gnashing at the bar and stem for the climbs, and whoops of joy while blasting back down again. 

The fire was lit and burning hot, it seemed we were lapping consistently, sub 30 minutes, and keeping pace with the leading age-groupers. We were keeping a close eye on our nutrition, the day was expected to warm up and we were burning energy fast with the high tempo. Our nutritional transitions were helped out by James “Chops” Lamb who was also looking after team-mates Kevin (riding SS) and Sara (riding Open Women), and during the midst of the midday heat he was on hand with a water-spray bottle keeping the team just that bit cooler in our fresh 2015 JetBlack MTB Racing kit.

For this event we weren’t stuck in no-mans-land riding by ourselves, it was nice to have plenty of company, like Alex from Quantum Racing and Garry James of Canberra Super Masters fame amongst those we rode with.

The author on pace. Photo: CrummyMTB

As for our team-mates, Kev had some mechanical issues and called it quits well before the 250^th minute. Still managed a top three placing for a guy new to the joy of single-speed. Sara rode strong amongst a very competitive womens field only to slip outside the top 5 in the final few laps. Well done to both, as this was their first Ginja Ninja outing.

Team-mate Sara Mills in the mix of the action. Photo: CrummyMTB

While the fast guys were jockeying for their top 5 positions we went on to place a solid 7^th against the quality Open Mens group. Thanks to the JetBlack MTB Racing team and all our sponsors for their support. We rode Pivot’s Mach 429 on a 1x10 (32/standard) setup. First race outing back from servicing for our X-Fusion Trace by DIY MTB, working superbly. 

See you all next week! 

Prime7 video.