Crankworx done...

So my third race in Crankworx was the Air DH, down A-Line.  I love riding this trail but it's pretty hard to race at 100%.  I had a decent run but over braked a little and made a couple of small mistakes.  I ended up in 22nd which I was really happy with.
At the end of the week I went in an Industry Giant Dual race for GBB which is the bike shop I hang out in over here.  Our team consisted of Berend and Trevwah who are mechanics at the shop, and myself.  It was a relay type set up, first rider leaves the gate, once they cross the line at the bottom the next rider can go. There were 7 teams I think made up from local bike shops, bike importers and event sponsors.  We managed to put down the fastest collective time and our prize was a $500 bar tab, pretty sweet prize for a couple minutes work.
I was pretty happy with how Crankworx went this year, I came out of it injury free and definitely bettered my results from last season.  I'll be in Whistler for a bit longer now to do some more local races but should be back in Australia in September.

GARBANZO DH

Yesterday I raced the gruelling Garbanzo DH race, this is know as one of the longest and toughest DH races in the world.  I decided to tackle it a bit differently this year and only did 4 practice runs, in previous years I've spent at least a week on it practicing.  I decided to just keep it simple up top in the wet rocky and rooty sections and then as I got lower I would ramp it up and pedal hard.
I was nice and relaxed before the race, it wasn't freezing cold at the top of the mountain like usual so that was a bonus.  Due to the record winter there was still snow on the top section surrounding the track so the already technical track covered with roots and rock faces was soaking wet.  I managed to keep it up right in the upper technical sections, I wouldn't call it a clean run but I stayed on the bike.  Once I got around half way down I began to ramp it up a bit and push a little harder, my hands and lower back were starting to hurt but I kept pedalling where I could.  I went into the final drop to the finish line a bit too quick and landed past the landing which was a bit harsh.  I crossed the line in 14:41, 30 seconds quicker than my time last year.  I ended up in 16th place which I was really happy with.  After the race when I went to wheel my bike to the shop I noticed the rear end had a bit of play in it, I looked down and some bearings in the linkage had collapsed from the constant punishment the brutal track does to your bike.  Luckily the local Commencal lads helped me out and we put in a new linkage last night.  Really stoked that they helped me out so I can race again today.
The Air DH is on today, down the infamous A-Line trail, I love riding this trail so it will be fun to race.  The live webcast will be from 3:30-5:30 CANADIAN TIME which will be 8:30am-10:30am AUSTRALIAN TIME, my race run should be around 9:20am AUS time.

Canadian Open DH

Yesterday was day 3 of Crankworx and the 1st of three DH races i'm competing in.  The Canadian Open DH is definitely the most challenging course i've had to race and I was pretty nervous about it.  I love riding the track but trying to go at race pace gets pretty scary and the track is very unforgiving.  A good friend broke his hand in practice so after seeing that my goal was to just get down safe and save myself for the next two races.  The conditions in practice were horribly, some of the wettest and muddiest conditions i've ridden in, the course is super technical and steep also which mad it really tricky to stay in control.  

I was really nervous in the start gate but managed to get focused and have a really good top section, I held speed and kept it smooth.  Coming into the infamous Heckle Fest where there are at least 100 drunken fans screaming anything they can think of at you I decided to throw a big whip over the jump to keep them happy.  Shortly after Heckle rock I washed out in a rutted section, i'd been having trouble with it in practice also, I lost a few seconds but got back on and decided it was all or nothing now.  After my little off I had nothing to loose, I pushed it to the limit and rode faster than ever through the technical roots and rocky shoots, I was close to loosing it a couple of times and then slipped off line and stalled next to a tree which slowed me up a bit.  As i was coming into the finishing area I backed off a bit and tried to style it up for the crowd, I whipped it out a bit too big on a jump between some trees and clipped a tree mid air with my rear wheel which nearly sent me off the bike.  I held it together and cruised into the finish jump and through out another big whip for the crowd and rolled across the line.  My time was 3:19 which I was really happy with, a couple of seconds quicker would have pushed me up 10 or so positions.  Apart from a couple of mistakes I was still really happy with my time and finishing unharmed.

Tomorrow is the Garbanzo DH, the most brutal DH race out there, 15 minutes of pain but the satisfaction of finishing makes it all worth while.  Then on Wednesday I'm competing in the Air DH down A-Line, i'm hoping to be up there with the big guys after my Phat Wednesday race win a couple of weeks back.

CRANKWORX

Crankworx has snuck up on me a bit and it's only 4 days until I race the Canadian Open DH on Sunday, the first of the 3 DH events I entered.  I'm looking forward to racing and seeing if I can better my times from last year, i'm keen to do well in the Air DH race down A-Line after my win in the Phat Wednesday race last week.  I'm trying to get my bike spruced up at the moment, just gave my Fox 40's some love with new seals, I also got onto some new Schwalbe tires that will be here in time for my first race which is perfect.
I was contacted by Go Pro a few weeks back about helping them during Crankworx for a feature they're doing for Pinkbike.com, it isn't finalised yet but i'll hopefully be getting a lot of good footage for them which will be really fun.
The only downer at the moment is that I tweaked my back yesterday so I'm staying off the bike for a few days so it's as good as it can be for racing.  I've been to the physio today and it helped a lot but it's still a bit sore.  I'll be riding again on Friday and hopefully it will be all good and won't hold me back.


All races will be streamed online,

Live Webcast for the races:

AUS TIME:  Monday July 18th from 8am - 10am

                   Wednesday July 20th, 8:30am-11am

                   Thursday July 21st from 8:30am-10:30am

I hope I worked out the time difference right...

Phat Wednesday

Yesterday was the weekly Whistler Phat Wednesday Race.  The course was announced Tuesday evening and it was Dirt Merchant to Lower A-Line, nothing tech just jumps and berms all the way.  This course got me keen to race because I have fun riding these trails but trying to go fast down these trails isn't easy.  In my race run I scrubbed everything I could and peddled really hard in the top section and by half way I was pretty tired, it's easy to hold speed down lower A-Line so I just kept pushing it and tried to stay low over every jump and get as many pedals in as I could.  I crossed the line and felt like I couldn't have gone much faster, I was hoping for a top 10 finish.  I didn't bother sneaking a look at the time and just rolled down to the bike shop to grab a drink. My lungs were burning, it was the first time I've pushed hard in a race run for a while so my body wasn't use to it.  I made my way to GLC for the presentations and got my free beer for entering the race and caught up with all my buddies who'd raced, I had to work at 7am the next day so I didn't plan on partying.  Presentation time came around and as Seb announced 3rd I was quietly wishing my name would be called, nope, 2nd place nope. Then as first place was getting announced Seb mentioned something about a nickname, Muffin, I can't even really remember my name being called all my buddies just jumped on me and I made my way up to the podium.  It felt good to be on that top step and I never imagined I would even get a podium in a Wednesday race because of all the amazing riders here in Whistler.  It didn't really sink in for a while what had happened.  I put the winnings on the bar and gave beers away to all the boys and a jug to Billinghurst who flatted and still came 5th.  I still can't believe i won.  Thanks to my sous chef too for covering the morning shift.