Oh yes - I got 7th at the Marathon Champs and I think was the only nutter to do all 5 laps on Saturday and finish the Marathon on the Sunday!

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Southern Champs and Marathon Champs

It's been a while since my last post, partly because of being bad and not posting and partly because the last month has been more riding and less racing. It's been great riding with friends again rather than having to focus on racing for a change.

The calm was broken this last weekend with the double header of the Southern XC Champs on Saturday 11th and the National Marathon Champs on Sunday 12th September. Both races were held at the awesome venue of Pippingford Park, near Gatwick. The course features a load of excellent singletrack, some technical decents and the fabulous 1 mile bermed DH the venue is known for. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to race there for 7.5hrs in 2 days so pre-entered both races weeks in advance. With the weekend approaching, the weather turned and Saturday began with fog and rain. Fearing a Death March (tm) I arrived and thought it better to keep clean and dry than do a practice lap - especially as the course was the same as the Nat Champs in July. Phil came back after his practice with a flat - a fate that would repeat itself come the race, sadly. The race was a frustrating one for me as I could see Billy 30secs ahead for 3 of the 5 laps but, try as I might, I just couldn't bridge the gap. I ended up 4th, only a couple of mins down on Tim in 2nd so was pretty happy, especially after my Friday ride ended early as I just wanted to go to sleep.

After a great night in a local spa hotel (well, it was half price) I was back at Pippingford in the sunshine for the 100km Marathon Champs. Although the field was only some 30 or 40 riders, the quality was high and I knew it would be a hard race as I was feeling Saturday's effort. I led through the first section of trails but just didn't have the legs going up the long climb and dropped back to ride with 4 other riders. Unfortunately, all these riders dropped out and I ended up riding on my own for 3 of the laps. On lap 4, Matt Page caught me up. I was really running out of gas at this point, so I couldn't keep with him and lost 10 mins on the final lap.

I had a brilliant weekend. It was a fantastic course with brilliant facilities and organisation. The entries were lower than usual - the marathon champs don't seem to be attracting the mass market entries it one did. Admittedly I was the week after the Kielder, but even so you could have expected more entries. Events like the Kielder are that much more of a one off challenge for regular riders and so attract more entries. Perhaps the Marathon Champs needs to reflect these one lap enduros - maybe then it would go back to the big event it one was.

GB


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Sister Act!

Anna and Imogen Buick take the senior and youth female titles at the Eastern Region MTB championships at Codham Park, Essex. Dad, Phil, finishes fourth vet and 1st 50+ and Mum, Sara Flatt, takes third in the vet women category.

This picture: Imogen's first lap effort (just 10 seconds off the leading two elite/expert women) is beginning to show but she powers on towards the end of the final lap.

Sleepless in the Saddle 2010 - 3 teams, 3 wins!

On a dry and dusty course at Catton Park, Team Salsa managed to take the top step of the podium in the Expert Men (Phil Buick, Nick Owen, James Dalton and Christian Aucote), Expert Women (Sara Flatt, Anna Buick, Helen Findley and Rebecca Cunnell) and Male Pairs (George Budd and Phil Lenney) categories.

Despite a serious lack of competition and thus a slightly more releaxed approach, both expert teams ploughed on for the full 24 hours and racked up some pretty fast and impressively consistant lap times.

George and Phil did have competition in their cayegory but soon blew it away, opting thereafter to challenge the top teams for overall position! Phil was constantly convinced that he would bonk on the next lap, and George was frustrated at times that he was going more slowly than usual (well, der!), yet they managed to lap below 40 minutes for the full 24 hours, significantly quicker than most, and finish third overall. VERY impressive.

We were all thankfull for the dry and warm weather (the only addition to kit for the night laps being an under-jersey), and the support of our pit crew who make these type of events so much easier for us. Also thanks to Rebecca and Christian for stepping in to replace other team members, and to Phil for being the Activ half of the Budd/'Plenney' dream team!

Phil chasing 3rd place at Dalby round of national series

Imogen riding to 4th place at round 4 of the British MTB series at Dalby.

MTB Tour de France stage 7

Today's final stage in Monmartre was what all the teams had been
looking forward to for the past 8 days. On arrival, the sun was
shining and the crowds were well and truly out - the place was heaving
with tourists and touts sellling tat. I went out to pre-ride the
course and found the streets unmarshalled and full of people! It was
certainly an interesting course reccie, calling to people and
descending the steps with people climbing up the other side. The
course wiggled its way around the Montmartre area, up and down 500
steps and many road climbs. Unlike previous venues, the steps were
all straight down, making descending them more straightforward and a
matter of guts as to how fast to take them.

All too soon it was time to start racing. With a local youth marching
band announcing the arrival of each rider on the start steps as if at
an execution it was certainly a dramatic affair. The course has been
fully taped and barriered off, with huge numbers of marshalls and
police present to control the thousands of tourists lining the route.
Billy was the first of our team to go off. He looked fast as he
headed down the first set of steps and faster still as the cam around
the back of the start steps nearing the finish. Luke was next off and
I? followed soon after. The course was a heart in the mouth affair
the entire way round but having that many people cheering you on and
racing on closed roads and steps in the middle of Paris just felt
awesome. It is without doubt the best thing I have ever done on a
bike. Running up 500 steps and going at full tilt for 13 minutes
absolutely killed me with the continuing cold, and after finishing I
needed 30 mins in the ambulance to get my heart rate and breathing
back under control. By this point, it was becoming clear that Billy
had set a very fast time indeed. After nearly 1.5hrs of nail-biting
waiting as rider after rider came down the course we were left with
one conclusion - he might actually win this thing! As the top 10
riders set off at 2 minute intervals, we counted down the challengers
to Billy's 11mins 34secs time. rider after rider failed to beat it.
It came down to Sergio Mantecon, of Trek Lorca, who, as the current
leader, went off last. We wondered how much he would attack the
course, given his 4min lead over second place, but half way round his
lap it was clear he was really trying. He crossed the line in....
11mins 36secs! Billy had one in Paris! This was the most
unbelievable end to a fantastic day's racing. The standard of the
field was so impressive that this must stand as Billy's biggest ever
win. Lee had finished in 23rd 1min down on Billy, me in 39th 2 mins
down and Luke in 41st, 10 seconds behind me.

The overall results placed Lee in 25th overall - a huge result and
very valuable in terms of UCI points for him. I placed 36th and Luke
37th. Given my battle with the cold all week, I was happy with this
result - fully fit I perhaps could have scraped 33rd or 34th, but
certainly no better. Billy wasn't classified in the overall due to
his DNF on stage 6 - but who cares when you win 2 huge trophies and a
good wodge of spending money in Montmartre!

Sitting here back in the UK, it feels odd not to be racing today. The
Tour de France VTT L'Hexagonal is a once in a lifetime experience that
I will never, ever forget. Having such a supportive and encouraging
team and team manager in Frank really made the event what it was. If
anyone gets an invite to race this event, don't even think twice about
it. If you need a rider, I might just know somebody...

GB

Tour VTT Stage 6 - Argenteuil

After the dullfest of stage 5, I had high hopes for a return to the
form of the previous 2 days for stage 6. Knowing it was the final XC
stage of the Tour, it was a case of all or nothing for Team
Whyte/Salsa as we looked to consolidate our 9th position in the team
standings as well as our individual positions. Things looked bleak on
the drive to Paris the day before stage 6, with the motorways signs
displaying warning messages about violent thunderstorms that evening.
Sure enough, I was awoken in the early hours by torrential rain,
thunder and lightening. On arrival at the course, which was set on a
hill in a northern suburb of Paris (the only stage not be be set in a
town centre), the damage done by the rain was self evident. We were
warned by the marshalls not to try to reach the car park in our van
due to the mud. We set out walking the course and found it be be in
fair condition given the rain and drying out quickly in the heat and
sunshine. Within a few hours, the track was dry and Schmidt gunned
the van up the muddy hill, arriving somewhat sideways in the arena
area. It's ok though - we're in a van.

Now the track was drying out - the mud was like SITS/Mayhem -
miserable to dry in a short time when it gets sunny - we went for a
practice and found yet another cyclocross style track, with wide
grassy sections, fast descents, some steep downs and steeper ups -
although only one was unridable due to a huge kerbstone at the bottom.
With laps taking around 17 minutes, we knew it was going to be more
fast group racing. From the gun, the pace was very fast. Lee
actually made it to the front of the field temporarily, before the
leaders flew round him as the course reached to top of the start hill.
I was in a group of 4 or 5 riders, including Luke, in 31-35th or so.
Billy was between us and Lee at this stage. On lap 3, we passes Billy
mending a flat but knew he'd be making every effort to catch our group
again later on. On lap 4, my cold took its toll due to the pace of
the race and, unable to really breath properly, I was forced out the
back of our group and suffered massively on the final 3 laps - I was
lapped by the leaders on lap 7 so missed out on completing all 8 laps.
I was devastated about this as, had I managed to stay with Luke (i.e.
had I not been ill!) I would have completed the distance. Luke
avoided being lapped by 20 or 30 seconds - it really was that close.
I rolled over the line in 40th, 7mins down on Luke in 31st (who
managed to outsprint the tearful "Slicks" in the final 100m to the
finish line). Billy was forced to retire on lap 6 due to yet another
puncture and a snapped chain was unable to fix. Lee was having an
awesome ride and crossed the line in 22nd - his best result of the
Tour so far.

After the final XC race of the Tour, Lee was in 25th, me 36th, Luke
37th 2 mins down and Billy, due to his DNF today, was not classified.
During the evening I met up with Nicky who had come over to watch the
last 2 days racing. It was fantastic to have her there and to get
away from the circus atmosphere for a short while, have a beer and a
double cheese, bacon and onion burger in Hippopotamus - rather
honestly named after what you look like after too many visits.

Tomorrow's stage in Montmartre is what all the teams have been looking
forward to for the entire tour - with the promise of 500 steps of
descent and 500 of climbing, not to mention thousands of spectators,
it is certain to be an awesome race.

GB

Tour de France VTT Stage 5 - Margon

We arrived in good time for once at today's race, the usual faffing
diminishing as the week progresses. Even Rabobank hadn't set up their
usually vast area when we rolled in. With heavy rain overnight, and
some glances at riders who had gone on a practice lap, it was clear
this was going to be a muddy race - real Mayhem style mud. Being
uncertain of the conditions, I grabbed the spare Marin Rock Springs
out of the van and went for a quick reccie in my trainers. The first
half of the course went through the town, then along a grassy path
before heading into some woods. Those of you who have ridden Mayhem
and SITS a few times would have been very familiar with these woods
and their zig-zag-zig-zag trails. You had to run (struggle and slide)
to the top of the woods before traversing the off camber hillslope 3
or 4 times on your way down. It was claggy, slippery and also had
some flints thrown in for no good reason. Needless to say, I hated
it. The second half of the course was... er.... rubbish. It went
round a really, really wet and boggy field before going around a
football pitch, up a couple of grassy banks, through a sand pit and
then back to the start. I got back to the van, fitted the Mud Sharks
and warned the others.

Those of you that have read all of these reports are probably noticing
now that this course description is a little brief - the lap was only
4km. The number of laps was originally set at 8, but on the start
line they announced that the number of laps would be set based on the
leader's first lap time. After lap 1, the lap board said 9. 10 laps!
Of this course! My head really wasn't in it from the start, plus my
cold was really bad today. I managed to stay with Luke and 3 Santos
riders for the first 3 laps, but then lost them in the slippery woods.
I pretty much resigned myself to a poor result. I endured 9 laps,
thankfully I was lapped so I didn't have to do all 10. Luke ended up
8 minutes ahead of me in 35th - his best result so far (I think). Lee
and Billy were having an awesome race and were riding in a group
covering the early 20s positions. They managed to ride all 10 laps
and ended up 23rd and 25th on the day, only 10mins behind the winner.
They had a great day. Lee is now 26th overall, with 3 other positions
only 6 mins up on him. Billy is in 33rd, with one possible place to
make up, I'm in 37th with a couple of places looking likely and Luke
is in 40th, not far at all behind me.

The race was dominated today by the 4 Rabobank team riders, all of
whom we later learned are pro cyclocross riders. That explains a few
things then! Watching those guys ride the slippery trails was really
impressive - they have a lot of skill as well as a lot of fitness.
The yellow jersey rider, Sergio Mantecon of Trek Lorca, finished in
8th today. His lead over the second place Rabobank rider cut to 1min.
I'd love to see him win the event - not only because he has led since
stage 2, but more because of the attitude of the Trek Lorca team.
They just seem so chilled out, happy and normal, living out of a hire
car and a van like us. Nice guys that deserve a win. You'd think
that after 10 years running this race, they would be able to find 7
good MTB courses in the whole of France! Today was quite easily the
worst MTB course I have ever ridden. Hopefully tomorrow's stage, the
last XC race before the TT in Montmartre, will have more fun in store.

GB

Tour VTT stage 4

Today's race took place in the Medieval town of Sainte-Suzanne. The
weather forecast was dreadful. We awoke in our chalets to the sound
of heavy rain, so began changing tyres once again. With the Rocket
Rons fitted, we went for a practice nice and early, 2hrs before the
race. The course started by going through the town, through the
courtyard of the old castle, down some steps (quelle surprise) and
then down a nice off camber grassy slope with some added rock slabs
for good measure. After the drop onto the road at the bottom, the
course wound its way up the other side of the valley. The climb was
in 3 stages and was 2km in total. Stage 1 was on steep, rocky, loose
ground - it seemed like an old sunken cobbled road - and was very hard
to ride as the rocks were slippery. As the race went on, this section
became easier to ride as a line appeared in the bushes to the left.
Section 2 was big ring and very ridable, a nice double track (kind of)
up through the woods. Section 3 was up a narrow, steep, muddy and
rocky chute and was a mix of running and cycling - although again by
the end of the race only 10-20m wasn't ridable. From the top, you got
an amazing view of the chateau before descending down a very steep,
rocky, wet and rooty downhill. The bottom section was very technical
and steep. The final drop onto the cobbled road you began the climb
on was unrideable due to the steep, twisty steps that had been built
on it - it appeared the race went down what was usually a footpath.
After negotiating this section, the course climbed once again for a
short while before dropping back down to the river and running
alongside it for a while. The final climb back up to the chateau was
very steep and only the middle section was ridable. The lower section
was on loose rocks and traction was largely impossible, the top
section was so steep it was a struggle to push up it. At the top, the
course went through an old door in the Medieval wall of the castle,
then through the village streets and back to the start.

The race started with a short 1km start loop before heading out onto
the course. An enormous bottleneck formed at the first set of
downhill steps, with riders barging their way through. After this,
the field was very dispersed and it was a case of head down and get on
with it. Thankfully, the rain had gone and the course was drying up.
Lines started to appear and the laps turned out to be quite fun. I
rode with Luke for the first 2 laps, then dropped him on the long hill
and set off on my own. I passed a few other riders and, apart from
one little bike-ditching moment at the bottom of the technical
downhill, was happy with the way the race went, especially as I had a
really gungy cough beforehand. I turned out to be the last rider
through not to get lapped and finished 18 mins behind the leader in
40th. Being soaked by a thunderstorm was my penance for being so far
behind. Lee had a fantastic race once again and finshed only 9
minutes behind the winner in 23rd place, our team's best result so far
and much more indicative of Lee's true ability. Billy finished in
33rd, 8 mins behind Lee and 10 mins ahead of me. Luke was 47th, one
lap down.

The continuous racing is starting to take its toll on bodies and bikes
- today's race was very hilly and the mud certainly helped to destroy
our small selection of brake pads. Usually when racing, you will pick
up a knock of some description but then have a week to recover from
it. I now have blisters from all the running, a sore left calf and a
bashed right shoulder. It all adds up... Tonight's accommodation in
the Hotel du Stade is a bit interesting. It feels like they've just
kicked the prostitutes out for the night...

Tomorrow's race is less hilly than today in terms of altitude, but
seems to make a lot of use of the same hill. The course zig-zags
through the same woods 6 times. Wonderful.

GB

Positions after Stage 3

I just found out our overall positions. Lee is in 31st after finishing
33rd yesterday. He isn't too far off being in the mid-20s which would
be awesome. Billy is 38th, I'm 40th and Luke is 41st.

GB

MTB Tour de France day 3

Today's stage took place in a little village called Mortagne sur Sevre
in the Vendee region. Having had little sleep the night before due to
a stinking cold I wasn't really up for the race at all. We arrived at
the race in good time, had lunch at what seemed like a truck stop
cafe, then headed to the venue to pre-ride the course and buy some
anti-cold tablets. Having been caught out by a couple of sections
ridden at race pace in stage 1, I was keen to practice the course more
before this race. After swapping the slick Furious Fred tyres Luke
and I had been using for stages 1 and 2 to more grippy and Racing
Ralphs we set off on the practice lap. The course went up a steep
path pretty much from the start, then through the town and,
unsurprisingly, down some steps. These were the longest and steepest
steps we had ridden so far. Thankfully, there was a smooth line to
the left and right hand sides of the steps down a concrete rainwater
channel, so it was a simple matter of weight back and control the
speed. After the steps, the course headed along the Sevre river, over
a bridge and into the woods. The trails on this section were
brilliant - a few sections were too steep to ride and so running made
an unwelcome return. One section in particular was even hard to carry
the bike up as the rocks were so large and jagged. The flat and
downhill sections in the woods more than made up for the running
though - they were much like a trail centre in feel, just with steeper
hairpins and steeper climbs. Eventually you came out of the woods,
crossed back over the river using a concrete dam which was covered in
moss, very slippery and had no edges to stop you ending up in the
river! After a final climbs which started out as a clamber over rocks
and ended with a good ridable section, the course headed back into the
start arena via a couple of drops and climbs over steps.

The race, which was at 6pm, started badly for Luke and myself as we
were boxed in behind someone who didn't seem to notice the race had
started. When we'd negotiated our way around him, we found ourselves
riding with the leading women for a bit. We kept attacking and trying
to bridge the gap between us and the group ahead. Unfortunately, my
chain came off on one of the runs up some steps, so I dropped back a
lot of places while I unjammed it and got back on. Luke was long gone
by this point. I was so cross as by now we were making good progress
through the field. It took me 2 laps to catch Luke again, then we
rode round together for the next 2 laps. On lap 5, I managed to drop
Luke on the final hill. All the while we were passing people who had
gone off too hard and blown - it was a tough course. At the end of
lap 5, I caught Billy who was just riding round as he didn't feel so
good today. We rode together until the leaders came past to lap us -
then Billy tore off after them leaving me to ride the last 1/2 lap
alone. His change of speed was most impressive! At the finish, Frank
said that Lee was having a great race - he was the only one of us not
to get lapped and so the only one to ride all 7 laps (we did 6). Lee
was really pleased with his ride today - even if the spectators lining
the course thought he was Italian (it's the jersey....).

Stage 3 really was a brilliant race - it was nice to finally get some
proper MTB trails to race on. Having so many people cheer you on all
the way round the lap was awesome. Now we have a rest day before 3 XC
races in a row on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

GB

Tour de France VTT Stage 2

Well today's stage was like nothing I've ever raced before. It was
very hot, again, and very, very dusty. I'm still sneezing dust out
now...

It was an 8km lap almost entirely on gravel roads and the race lasted
for 7 laps. It was pan flat apart from a couple of very gentle
gradients. There was one exception to this - a motocross style
up/down/up/down/up/down on a very steep bank which was pretty much
unridable due to the loose gravel and the gradient. It was a case of
run up, jump on, skid down with your feet hanging everywhere and then
repeat x 3 per lap.

The start was mental - 80+ riders in a huge bunch until we hit the
up/down bit. This spread the field out quite a lot and we all ended
up riding in different groups. Billy was with the first group, then
the second group, Lee was in the group ahead of me and Luke was in the
group behind me. I spent 4 laps riding with a Spanish and Japanese
rider before I lost them going through the up/down section. I spent
the whole of the next lap chasing the group down and caught them again
just before the up/down bit only to loose them again as I was running
slower than them! Give me some proper hills any day! Sadly, this
event doesn't seem to have any until Thursday. I could see Lee for
most of the race, but just couldn't make it back to the Japanese
rider's group. I rode 3 or 4 laps on my own - killer on this course.
On the last lap, Luke's group of 4 riders caught me on the up/down
section. I had hoped to be able to stay with them and contest the
sprint at the end, but crashed on one of the loose downhill bits and
cramped in my left calf. I howled, partly with pain and partly with
frustration that I'd been ahead of Luke for 6.5 laps and now he'd
overtaken me! I rode the last 1/2 lap with a group of 2 other riders,
who I beat in the final sprint.

Billy finished 31st (again), Lee 36th, Luke 39th and me 42nd, all in
around 1hr 54mins - Lee's average speed on his Garmin was 17mph!
Crazy. We were 10mins behind the winner (or vainqueur in French,
which sounded a lot like something else when he was being called to
the podium...).

Tomorrow we have been warned that the stage is very difficult - both
the commissaire and race organiser, usually very jovial, looked
genuinely worried when the were telling us about it... We shall see.
Now I best get on with stretching out my calf.

GB

MTB Tour de France Stage 1

Good evening

So today was a 4km TT around the park and gardens in Niort. It was
nice and hot and Furious Freds were definitely the order of the day.
The course started with a very slippery (or not if you had proper
tyres...) and windy gravel path before crossing a bridge, going down
some steps and alongside the river. After avoiding a tramp, his dog
and a mallard you climbed into the gardens which were built on the
side of a 50m high steep slope. You had to run up some steps, then
down a very steep flight of steps with turns. 50% rode, 50% ran. I
ran, the rest of the team rode. Even some of the top guys we watched
later were running - although the winner was very fast and very
smooth. It looked as though he was riding a smooth piece of trail.
After that, the course wiggled up and down the hill, up and down some
more steps and then round the swimming pool back to the finish. The
course was very steep in places and the steps needed a lot of practice
to get used to them. Encouragement from Lee helped a lot here.

Out of 75 starters, Billy finished in 31st with 8.08 with Lee in 33rd
only 1 second behind. Luke was 49th in 8.29 and I was 50th, again 1
second behind! Looks like we have some good team battles going on. The
winner finished in 7.15, 2nd in 7.22 and 3rd in 7.27. 2 of the top 3
were U-23. Billy was 12th U-23.

2 valuable lessons learned - First, pre-ride everything at race pace,
even the easy looking bits. Second, duck more. I smashed my head twice
- once on a low branch and once on a low bridge. Ouch.
Tomorrow is a flat XC race also in Niort but somewhere else to today,
it looks much like Sherwood. 8 laps, 7km laps.

GB

MTB Tour de France

Hi
Team Whyte/Salsa GB of Billy Whenman & Luke Smith (Whyte), Lee
Williams (Wiggle) and myself are currently in France for the 10th
Annual Tour L'Hexagonal - the MTB Tour de France. So far we've done a
lot of being very hot in a van and a lot of sitting around being hot.
Tomorrow we start cycling and being very hot. We have a one lap, 4km
TT to open things. The course is around a pool, round a park, up a
hill and down through the town. Should be exciting racing and at least
I can't get lapped at this stage. The palmares of the other riders are
very impressive - Olympians, National Champs etc - I feel a little out
of place but let's see what happens when the gun goes...
I'll try to post updates as and when internet connections allow, which
will probably be in the evenings.
GB

Enduro 6 & BMBS R2

Following the sad news that Anna was on an enforced layoff for
Enduro6, I spent the week prior to the race trying to pull in favours
from friends so I didn't end up doing it solo! Luckily, Phil Lenney
(Activ) said that he would be up for the race. This meant that Salsa
had a very strong team, as Phil and I have been glued together in
practically every race foir the past 2 years! When we arrived, the
course was bone dry and very fast. However, with thunderstorms
forecast overnight we retired to the B&B with trepidation over what we
might face the following morning - me more than Phil as he has never
raced at Catton in the wet... However, the next day dawned and with
it came grey cloud, freezing temperatures but no rain! We checked out
the course on arrival back at Catton, fitted the Furious Freds and set
about loading up our pit area. The unique thing about Enduro 6 is
that it is a parc ferme race, where you have to have all of your kit
in the pit area before the start. Having checked out the sign on
sheets, we knew it was going to be a close race. I started and at the
end of my 2 laps we were in 3rd. Phil went out, riding my Mamasita
29er for the first time, and had a bit of a crash in the bluebell
woods - the brakes are fitted the USA way round and he forgot going
into a corner... We spent the next few laps getting back up into 4th
place, with only a few minutes separating the top 5 or 6 teams. Nicky
came up with a good tactical decision to leave Phil out for 3 laps as
he seemed to be getting into his stride and really going for it.
Also, he was racing against Chris Pedder at the time so we were jeen
to really put some time into the AW Cycles pair. I went out to do a
double and managed to catch Keith (Hope), putting us in 3rd. However,
on my return to the pits - DISASTER! Cramp set in and I couldn't run
through the pits to hand over to Phil. He came running over to me and
we handed over the baton. I went and collapsed in the massage tent
under strict instructions to rest and not ride any more laps. So,
Phil went out for the last 3 laps, pulled clear of Keith on lap 1 and
then had 2 more laps against biog Dave Collins (Hope) to try to keep
us in 3rd. The tension was unbearable, as Phil came thorugh the arena
for the final time he had over a minute on Dave. All eyes were fixed
on the final corner to see who would come in first and.... it was
Phil! We had secured 3rd place by only 20 seconds from Hope. Wiggle
generously provided a £10 prize voucher for both of us for our 6hrs of
effort. How nice of them. I used mine to buy 2/3 of a bottle of
Stans Sealant.

The following week it was BMBS R2 at Wasing Park. With the success of
Enduro 6 the previous week coupled with raced here a few weeks
previously at the Southern XC and absolutely hated it I wasn't really
up for the race. I decided to leave the Furious Freds on, more
through idleness than anything else, and went for a couple of practice
laps. What a transformation! The course had dried out, lost it's
sappyness and was very, very fast. The boys from SXC had done a lot of
work following the Southern Series race and had fillled in a lot of
the silly river crossings and taken out the unridable slippery mud
climb. Feeling a lot better, I was gridded at the back of the Elite
field (still no UCI points). This time, I was ready for the
aggressive start and managed to gain a few places off the line. After
a lap or so, I was in a group with 5 other riders, including Phil. On
lap 2, I heard a huge bang - it later transpired that Phil had
snapped his frame clean in half - luckily Trek were on hand in the
arena to patch up the damage, but Phils' race was over. The race
continued and I managed to drop the other riders in the group on the
only real bit of uphill on the course. However, Ryan Sherlock was
coming storming through the field and caught me up going into the
arena. I hadn't ever noticed where the finish was, so kind of
misjudged my sprint (I didn't, basically). Ryan got 17th, me 18th
with Paul Robertson in 19th. I was veyr happy with my first top 20 in
Elite, especially at a course I wasn't expecting to like.

The next big race is the Midlands Champs on the 22nd, then Margam Park
for BMBS R3 the following week. Racing then goes a bit crazy for a
while, with my 8 day Tour L'Heagonal round France with Billy Whenman,
Luke Smith Lee Williams followed by Mountain Mayhem on the 4 man Salsa
team. For once this year, Mayhem isn't my biggest event of the year!
You never know, the new Salsa A La Carte Ti bikes might have shown up
by then too...

Happy trails

GB

UCI World Cup, Dalby

When British Cycling first e-mailed the Buick family account with news of the chance to ride in the World Cup, there was excited speculation as to which one of us the invitation was for! I rather dreaded it being me to start with, but with just a week to go before the entry closed I decided it was too much of an experience to turn down.
Indeed, being called to the grid (though I was almost last!) and being enthusiastically introduced to the crowd as "rider number 111, from Great Britain..Anna Buick!" was pretty awesome. The start was absolutely manic - as soon as '30 seconds to the start' was announced everyone started creeping forward, crossing wheels and pedals; the crash was inevitable.
I think I was the second or third to last rider back into the arena after the start loop and that is the way it stayed for much of the first lap. I have not been well of late and thus not been training so my race fitness was pretty non-existant. I managed to stay with a couple of British elite riders though and was happy to bury myself until the leaders lapped me. Unfortunatley, having avoided the crash at the start, things all got a bit squirrely at the infamous Madusa's Drop and I hit the deck hard! The crowd there were very sweet and supportive but it did little to restore my pride - I'd riden it perfectly in practice and was very frustrated to have hurt myself. Not only did I have a dead leg and very sore hip and elbow, my gears were not changing and I had to run up the steep climb that followed. By this point I had lost a lot of time and was in a lot of pain! I finished my first lap and, after some encouragement from Team Manager Paul, I determined not to pull out and just make it round another lap where the leaders overtook me and I was pulled out at the end of the lap. Those women are phenomenal athletes - though I must add that I rode Worry Gill whilst second placed Willow Koerber chose the 'chicken route'. Having said that however, I think I'd take her strength over my guts!!
I was frustrated not to have been able to give it a better shot but, on the whole, I really enjoyed the experience and the weekend as a whole. (Managing to acquire Julien Absalon's bottle certainly helped!)

Off to the Dr.'s tomorrow to see if I can get to the bottom of this illness, then off to Catton Park for Enduro 6. Fingers crossed I'll be back on form soon and that I'll get another opportunity to race the best riders in the world in the coming years.

Anna :)

BMBS R1 - no pressure, fun racing :)

Well with 3 races in 4 weeks it has been a busy period already...

The first round of the BMBS was preceded by R3 of the Gorrick Spring
Series and the Black Park XC races. Both of these races were on flat,
twisty courses and so were great preparation for Sherwood Pines. At
the Gorrick, the field was impressive - around 25 riders - with many
strong riders in attendance. I ended up 7th or 8th, I can't remember!
I got a bit isolated off the start as I slipped on a piece of
singletrack, such is the nature of the course at Crowthorne simple
mistakes like this get ruthlessly punished. At Black Park, the field
was even stronger - with Jody Crawforth, Scott Forbes and Luke Smith
all racing the event as a BMBS warm up. It is great to see the West
Drayton MBC event growing every year. This year's course was dry and
fast, with some very tight sections between the trees! With not even
a hint of gradient, it was a 2hr flat out blast. This race really
took it out of me - I tried to do some efforts the following week and
was really suffering. I decided to just ride easy for the week and a
half before BMBS R1 and try to recover and trust that my winter
training had been worth it.

My strategy at Sherwood was to hold back from the pack at the start -
I was gridded on the back row and was dead last (50th or so) going out
of the arena. My decision paid off, as one rider took a big fall
going up the first fire road. I chose this opportunity to sprint
round the outside of a number of riders and made up a lot of places.
the first singletrack section was a pile-up, with riders barging pats
one another to gain an advantage. In retrospect, I was perhaps rather
too polite here and lost a few of the places I'd just gained. I also
lost sight of Phil (Lenney)....

It took me 4 1/2 out of the 6 laps to catch Phil again - having passed
a lot of riders I'd expected to lose to in the process. I felt ok -
the legs were still fairly tired from the previous races. Catching
Phil gave me the added drive to keep going - the last lap was a game
of cat and mouse between the two of us as we continued our battle from
last season. Phil slipped out as we turned onto the final fire road
and I took full advantage, accelerating past him and sprinting the
last 1/2 mile to the line to claim 25th place by a few seconds in a
replay of the 2009 Expert finish.

I couldn't quite beleive that, after 5 months training and the
occasional ride together, Phil and I are still the inseparable couple
of MTB racing. If all the races are this close between us, we have a
great season to look forward to!

I'm sure Phil will be along in a minute with a report of his race - he
rode a very strong race pretty much on his own to get 4th place -
unfortunately the riders in 2nd and 3rd rode together and pm a cousre
like Sherwood this makes catching them very hard indeed.

George

Me sandwiched between two giants at the BUCS MTB champs!

The facial expression corresponds with the pain in my lower back!

BUCS MTB Champs

Hi folks, just a quick update....

It was the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) MTB champs this weekend (20th/21st) at Ae in Scotland. I travelled up from Manchester with my fellow students on Thursday evening ready for the downhill practice on Friday ahead of the race on Saturday; the XC race was to be on the Sunday. Thankfully the weather was kind to us and I spent Friday and Saturday twiddling around the XC course and supporting/laughing at the downhillers! The XC course was not what I had expected from a 7Staines centre; it essentially consisted of the blue route (flat fire road followed by one major fire road climb) and then the first part of the red route but ridden backwards (not possible at speed due to the tight nature of the switch backs); it didn't suit my strengths at all! Still, I looked forward to racing and was of a positive frame of mind.
Unfortunatley this didn't last for long once the gun went on Sunday afternoon. I am obviously not hardy enough to race after three nights camping in the cold - my back, which I have suffered with a lot in the past, was having none of it and decided to cramp up and not let go! My race was therefore somewhat hampered and I had to settle with eighth, a position which I am disappointed with. Having said that however, the women's championship race was a top class field and it was great to see so many girls riding, even if they were wooping my bottom! Moreover, I now have an XC race under my belt this year and a hunger for racing so I am very much looking forward to the first of the national series this weekend at Sherwood Pines. I am certain my preparation will be somewhat more comfortable so fingers crossed for a better result!
TTFN :)

National Cyclo Cross championships - Imogen on her way to 6th

National Cyclo Cross Champs - Anna on her way to 10th

Half Term and Surprises

I knew Nicky had been planning something for a very long time - since
last July - but even a week before we were going wherever it was we
were going I still had no idea what the plan was. She said I'd need
my bike and plenty of kit, so it sounded like a great weekend was in
store! We set off, me driving with still no idea where we were going.
Nicky gave me directions as and when I needed them. We arrived at a
lovely farm house on the Gower in South Wales at about 7pm. Two of my
non-cycling friends were inside, hiding. SURPRISE! It was indeed, as
later that night more friends turned up and we had a great time
catching up. The next day, after a bit of a stress with a wheel, Si
Ernest arrived to drive me to Afan. We got there to find Ben, Nick
and Phil waiting to go for a ride! Fantastic. Lovely girlfriend :)
We rode all day, 40 miles. The evening was much the same as before -
dinner in the local followed by a long night. Great fun and very
interesting to see my non-cycling friends drinking loads and cycling
friends drinking nothing! Sunday was another ride - this time at
Brechfa. We did 2 laps of the black then headed back to the cottage.
The black was a great loop - really fast and flowing compared to the
rough rocks at Afan. Nicky did a yummy roast for everyone on Sunday
night. Mmmm. Monday was going home day. Nicky and I walked around
Rhosilli Bay. It was very beautiful and a very nice end to the
weekend. I'm a very lucky boyfriend.

This last week has been half term, so I've been riding with Ben a lot.
3hrs a day, up and over the Downs on the road. 3 rides so far, 2 of
them in pissing rain. Nice. Bought some decent gloves today after my
fingers stopped working again which seems to have helped a lot. The
rest of the week pans out as the Davina DVD tomorrow, then long 4hr
rides Saturday and Sunday. probably on the MTB. The weather is
forecast to be crap all of next week, so it's looking good for the
blinglespeed at Tunstall next weekend...

GB

National Cyclocross Championships - Anna's perspective

I left my university halls at 6.45 on Saturday morning (exchanging confused glances with homeward-bound ravers, presumably concerning lifestyle choice!) looking forward to spending the weekend with my family rather than racing; I had only been on my bike once in the preceding fortnight and wasn’t expecting to go very well. Indeed, I had a wonderful day cheering on Dad and Imogen and did remarkably well in forgetting about the inevitable!
Having pre-rode the course early on Sunday morning I began to prepare for the race; kit, food, number etc. Unusually I wasn’t feeling nervous, probably because I had no real expectations or goals for the race.
And so 11.30 came and the gun went. I had decided to have a relatively conservative start in order to test my legs, lungs and the competition. I settled quite quickly and soon felt strong enough to push the bigger gears and attack the short, sharp hills. I passed about five riders on my first lap and, as always seems the case, found myself in no-mans land. It wasn’t too long however before I was joined by Hannah Bowers, in much the same way as at the last round of the National Trophy at Rutland earlier in the year. Experience had taught me that I was stronger technically but lacked the advantage in power. Hannah and I tussled for at least two laps but I knew I needed to get the gap before the finish as, though my sprint is strong, I’m not sure I could have held the wheel on the long drag up to the line. I managed to eek out a small lead on the last lap and pushed hard through the technical copse section in the middle of the course and over the hurdles to create as big a gap as was physically possible. As I accelerated onto the tarmac for the last time I had a safe advantage and crossed the line to finish 11th overall.
It has been a really enjoyable first season of cyclocross for me and the National Champs was a fitting end. There is nothing quite like a fast and furious 40 minutes of racing on my sublime little Salsa green machine followed by that pleasantly exhausted feeling, a roast dinner and Larkrise to Candleford!
What am I going to fill my weekends with now? Oh, that’s right…mountain bikes! Can’t wait.

Never say never!

This time last year, Imogen was adamant that she would never ride cyclo cross  - twelve months and many muddy fields later she has won the South East & Eastern Regional Championship; was unbeaten in the Eastern League with 8 wins from 8 races and has finished 10th in the National Trophy series despite only riding 4 of the 6 counting races.

 

So, what prompted the change of heart? Maybe the fact that after 30 minutes of fun, sliding around on tree roots; negotiating off camber muddy banks; running over improbably high hurdles and wishing that someone would invent a cyclo cross brake that actually works, you get to hang out (is that what young people do these days?) with your friends, drink tea and eat home made cake. And the motivation for winning? If you don't win you have to buy the cake!

 

Imo's races have been largely uneventful - a couple of self inflicted crashes; one 'I've been taken out by a numpty on a mountain bike' resulting in a wrecked tubular and, a mechanical at the last National Trophy round which left Imo way off the back of the field. But it's been a good learning curve - the bike changeovers in the pits have been faultless, Imo has learnt that you can ride on punctured tubs although it feels awful and that a 2 or 3 minute loss on lap 1 can be turned into a tidy result if you keep focussed and keep racing.

 

With the postponed National Championships rounding off the season on 6th and 7th February and Imo's hard and lonely sessions on the turbe trainer begining to pay off it could be a great end to a very good first season!

Brass Monkey R3 1st Feb 2010

With the first two rounds being very competitive, I was looking
forward to using R3 as a good judge of form as we approach NPS R1 at
the end of March. I had assumed I'd be racing for second, with Scott
doing his usual disappearing act, but things turned out a bit
differently today. I had pre-ridden the course on the previous day
with Ben Thomas. It was a hillier lap than R1 and R2, with 700ft of
climbing per lap according to the Garmin. The decents were really
fun, nice and fast and flowing. Just the type of course I like! None
of this scary rocky nonsense.

Soon after the start, a lead group of 4 or 5 riders had formed
including Scott, Luke Smith Hoppy and myself. About 2/3 of the way
round the lap, Scott and I managed to drop the other guys on one of
the many hills and we never saw them again. Scott and I stayed nailed
together for 3 1/2 laps, which I was really pleased about as Scott had
beaten me convincingly at R1 and R2. On the last hill, Scott faded
back a bit so I went for it and beasted the last bit of the lap to win
by around 30secs or so. It later turned out that Scott had had 3
weeks off after the last race, so wasn't on top form today. Just goes
to show how fast that man is - him on a bad day is the same as me on a
good day.

I ended up with 2nd overall in the Series, behind Scott, and a
collection of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies. The series itself was
a good first go at a winter enduro series from the Gorrick / Army
team. They seemed to be learning lots as the series progressed - the
less said about the wet, muddy, miserable chaos of R1 the better - and
by the end things were going smoothly. Saying that, the cafe-in-a-van
at R3 was dreadful - queueing for 15mins to be told they'd run out of
water and that food was 15mins away wasn't good. Give me Lenney and
his burger van any day. Also, gridding the top 20 or so would be a
good plan - hanging around for 20mins to get a good spot on the front
isn't so great. The courses were a real mix - R3 was definitely the
best of the 3 with fantastic descents being a great reward for some
tough hills. R2 was fun too - and probably really good practice for
Sherwood Pines in a few weeks as it was a lot flatter and surprisingly
dry given the biblical amount of rain that had fallen previously.
Overall, I'm really happy to have done the series and it was great to
race at different venues for a change - I'll be back in 2010/2011 for
Brass Monkeys Take 2 for sure.

George

Go Team Buick!

Anna got a silver medal in the BUCS 'cross champs, Imogen won the youth girls 'cross at Mistley, 4th overall (+ won the Eastern League with 8 out of 8 wins). AND Phil won the elite vets 50+.

 

Go Team Buick - the XC version of the Athertons.

Sleepless In the Saddle 2009

Here’s the winning women’s expert team from SITS 09.

Helen Finlay, Anna Buick, Sara Flatt and Faith Addison

And Anna picked up the Queen of the Night prize for the fastest night lap – a feat that may never be repeated now she’ll be able to see where she’s going!

you

 

Mountain Mayhem 2009

The dry (ish) one.  Here's a picture from lap one.  We came 3rd in the Open Male category.

 

GB

Whyte Winter Series R3 January 24th 2010

Last Sunday was the 3rd round of the ever popular Whyte Winter Series in Thetford Forest. This round was based at Mayday Meadow. Following the recent snow and rain, I was expecting the course to be a 6.5 mile slog - but what a surprise! It was mainly dry and fast, with only 100 yards of the boggy black route being included. Before the race, I spotted that the Orange Monkey team was fielding it's strongest riders for this round - Chris Andrews, Paul Beales and Ben Roff were all down to race. As I am going to be racing Chris and Paul in Elite this season, the race was to be a good judge of how well my winter training has been going.

The start was a fast, 1 mile, fire road blast. A lead group quickly formed, made up of 5 or 6 riders. With everyone doing turns on the front, the pace was high. The final climb up to the arena was a bumpy piece of trail, and I darted to the front to dictate the pace as we climbed back up. By lap 2, the group had shrunk to 3 riders - Ben, Chris and myself. This is how it stayed, with us all trying not to get dropped in the heavy traffic, until half way round lap 4, when we got stuck behind a particularly slow backmarker. I saw the opportunity to pull away, managed to sneak past the slower rider and put in a big effort to pull out a 1 minute lead on Chris and Ben by the end of lap 4. I continued to attack on lap 5 and in the end won by nearly 4 minutes.

I am very happy with this result, as it is the firts time I have raced other elite riders this year and I came out on top. Now let's get back to the Davina DVD and keep on training - R1 of the NPS isn't that far away....

George Budd

Welcome to the Salsa Factory Race Team blog!

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally got a team blog going. We've got some great results over the years, so we thought it was about time to start shouting about them!