64

Grand Raid Cristalp

Grand Raid Cristalp

The weeks leading up to my trip to Switzerland were disappointing in terms of training. For reasons out of my control I wasn’t able to train as much or as hard as I wanted, so when the time came to leave for Switzerland with nothing to do except for ride a bike all week I couldn’t wait to unpack the bike and climb some mountains! After a few days with a set of Vittoria Rubino slicks fitted to the Focus Raven MTB I was able to sample the best of the Swiss roads as well as the trails. The first few days were spent on the asphalt, with all the big mountain passes around Verbier done, including a massive day with 4200m of vertical climbing. The rest of the week was spent on the MTB on the trails around Verbier and checking out the first section of the Grand Raid course.

Saturday came around far too quickly and I was up at 4.30am ready for a 6am start where over 3000 riders would start from 4 different villages along the route. The start from Verbier was the long route over 137km and has over 5600m of vertical ascent. My Focus Raven was in perfect condition and weighing in at under 20lbs, so I knew it would flew up the long climbs! A few changes were made to what I normally carry compared to a UK marathon, with a few extra tools and plenty of gels in the back pockets and some even held in my shorts. I had been granted a priority race start, which meant I was able to start near the front of the pack, a big bonus with such a large field. With typical Swiss precision the race started at exactly 6am and the pace was rather quick to say the least! A lead group of 20 or so riders had formed and were motoring up the first climb which went from Verbier at an altitude to 2200m. It was probably the easiest climb of the race, but it was by no means an easy climb! 7Km and 35 minutes later I was at the top, just 2 minutes behind the lead group, including some world class marathon racers. A quick traverse followed with a fantastic view over towards Mont Blanc where the rising sun was bouncing off the snow capped peaks. Then we dropped off the top down a lightning fast descent back down to 1400m, through a mountain village before starting the second climb of the day. This climb was altogether more difficult, with a more varied gradient and rougher surface, the very top was extremely steep and had me breathing hard. As I was only carrying a 750ml bottle I would have to reply on the feed stations along the way to keep hydrated so I grabbed a bottle at the top, but it was a real lottery as to the contents.

There was no chance to rest as the course immediately pointed downhill, with a rather ominous triple down arrow sign. Maybe I was a little eager to get back down or too confident in my abilities, but I had rolled off the edge of what was very nearly a vertical grassy bank, still wet with the morning dew carrying far too much speed. I grabbed the brakes, trying my best to feather them and prevent them locking up, then tried switched lines in the hope it would help; big mistake, I just went faster! I could see a pretty deep drainage ditch approaching and my only hope was to try and hop over it, but my back wheel hit the far edge and threw me into the air. I landed hard and watched the bike bounce down the hill in front of me. I seemed unhurt and to my amazement when I reached the bike it was totally unscathed! I walked the remainder of the slope, loosing a place in the process.

After quickly checking myself and the bike over I started riding again, although I had lost a bit of confidence and riders behind were catching me. I tried to follow one of them, but his skills were more honed than mine on the marble like gravel surface and I knew that I would end up crashing again if I tried to stick with him. The remainder of the descent was a mixture between lightning fast gravel roads, technical woodland singletrack and slippery grassy trails and I made it down at my own pace. As soon as I was able I tried the random drink I had picked up at the previous feed stop, the taste was strange but I realised after a while that it was Iced Tea… I quite liked it, in fact it was very refreshing.

I was relived to reach the next village and start climbing again as it gave me a chance to compose myself. It was on the next climb that I looked down and saw blood on my legs and arms from where I fell. It looked bad, but I wasn’t in pain so carried on regardless. The next few climbs were shorter, each with only 400-500m of height gain and they seemed to pass by fairly quickly. After 3.5hrs, 68km and 2400m climbing done I had reached a village called Héremence, roughly halfway although from what I had heard the second half would be far tougher. The climb out of the village was fantastic, by now it was approaching mid-morning and the locals from all the villages and towns were out to support all the riders; “allez, allez, hop, hop hop!!” I must have heard that cheer hundreds of times over the day but it spurred me on each time. I could not believe the amount of people out to watch the race and the level of support we were getting, it was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Part of the climb through a small village was particularly memorable, as we were riding on steep, narrow paved trails which were lined with people.

Passing the next feed station I took the chance to grab another bottle – more Iced Tea, Fantastic! Then it was only the long climb to the Mandelon, which started on the road before turning to dirt and zig-zagged its way upwards to the highest point of the course so far. I had been riding alongside one particular Swiss rider for some time and although we didn’t exchange a single word, mainly due to level of exertion we seemed to understand each other and were working well together and caught some of racers ahead. Towards the top of the climb, at about 2300m the trail turned rougher and steeper and my silent partner slowly drifted away. Once we reached the peak at 2400m I thought it would turn downhill immediately, as most of the other climbs had done but what followed was an undulating section with large rocks which needed precision and short sharp bursts of power to clear. Unfortunately I was starting to feel the effects of the efforts required so far and I was finding the section really hard and had to keep stopping to overcome obstacles that I would probably have cleared if I was fresh. At the same time I was catching riders who had set off on the shorter routes and although most were literally jumping out of the way it still slowed me down at times. There was a big sigh of relief as the descent became a gravelled double track and the speed picked up rapidly down to the next village of Evolène in the valley below.

By now it was getting extremely hot, near 30 degrees and I knew I needed to take on as much fluids as possible. I grabbed another bottle, hoping it was more Iced Tea, but it was some kind of energy drink which wasn’t quite as nice. I drank it quickly and also took a Torq caffeine gel that I had saved. Having completed 100km it was on to the final climb of the day, although this one was a monster! The village was at 1300m, one of the lowest points of the race. The first section was fairly slow, with a few tricky climbs up to a small village at 1700m where I stopped to refill the bottle and adding the sachet of High5 extreme that I had carried and grabbed some banana and some kind of warm and sticky cereal bar. As I left the village the course started descending and although the descent was a fantastic woodland singletrack trail I was cursing every meter of it as I knew that I would have to make it all up again. With the descent over it was back to the climbing and the caffeine was starting to take effect. I got into a good rhythm and felt strong again, catching a few riders on the same route in the process and passing a near constant stream of riders on the shorter courses, “Allez Matthew, Allez Verbier, hop, hop, hop” were the calls from people as I climbed, they knew my name as everyone had their first name on the number board – such a brilliant idea. I kept glancing at the Garmin Edge 500 and ticking off the meters as they went by. I knew the climb would top out at 2800m, but by this time the vertical meters seemed to pass by far slower.

The trail weaved its way upwards eventually reaching another feed station at 2500m, I was taking the chance to drink and eat at every station along the way as the heat was really taking its toll and with over 7 hours of riding done I was starting to run low on energy reserves. Only 300m of climbing to the top, it would be over soon I thought. The climb continued for a few minutes before turning left where I caught the first glimpse of the mountain that stood ahead of me, the ‘Pas de Lona’. As I glanced upwards my mouth dropped and then what followed from it was a long string of expletives as the trail in front of me was frightening – a steep, long zig-zagged scree slope with an endless line of ant like riders inching their way upwards far into the distance. My first response was to blast it! I motored onwards and climbed fast, passing riders constantly, all walking upwards as I cleaned section after section, cheers of “Allez, Allez, Superb!” coming from the riders I passed and spectators alike.

Eventually I had to get off the bike and I took a second to glance upwards again, it seemed like an impossible task to overhaul. I had prepared my bike for some hike-a-bike by placing a spare tube under the top tube to act as a cushion but I didn’t think I would have to carry the bike for 4km of evil ascent. At first I was taking normal sized steps as it was less steep but this soon changed to baby steps as it turned steeper and eventually I was taking micro steps and having to traverse the scree in order to keep going in an upward direction. The support from spectators was amazing with people cheering the whole time “Verbier, Verbier”, other competitors ahead would move out of the way as soon as they heard those words. My body was screaming as my legs were tired and my shoulder hurting from carrying the bike but I stayed positive and refused to stop, readjusting the bike on my shoulder every so often to relieve the pain. As the top approached the crowds grew larger and the final hundred meters or so was packed with people, all cheering and shouting, some had even carried massive cow bells up there and the noise was amazing. Somehow I managed to find enough strength to take bigger steps and then I started running upwards, spurred on by the noise of the crowd. Once I reached the top, after about 20-25 minutes of walking I let off a shriek of both pain and joy as I knew that the hardest part was now over. One last feed stop, a chance to take on board more fluids and bananas, but I declined on the “bouillon”, some sort of salty soup apparently?

From the top the trail opened up on a fantastic flowing descent that equals anything I have ridden previously, but it didn’t last for long as there was one final climb, back up to 2800m although thankfully it was rideable this time. From the top it was downhill all the way to the finish, over 13km of non-stop descending – sounds great! It started well enough, on awesome singletrack before changing to lightning fast doubletrack with tight switchback turns, there were lots of riders ahead of me, but a quick shout “Verbier!” had the desired effect as they diverted to the side to allow me to pass. The views down below to a magnificent turquoise coloured reservoir and upwards to the glacier and high mountains were simply breathtaking. I only managed a few glimpses, making sure I was concentrating on the fast and sometimes rough sections. Such a long and rough descent was starting to hurt and when the trail became rougher, then as it went below a dam it became rougher still and more challenging as my arms were pumped and legs were hurting from taking all the weight for so long. I caught a glimpse of the village of Grimentz in the distance which I knew was the finish, but it was still several kilometres away and several hundred meters of descent lay ahead of me. The trail followed a river as it made its way downwards, crossing it several times. At times it became so steep and rocky that I had to get off and walk down – tiredness had taken over my whole body and I was risking a big crash if I tried to ride them, even the winner walked the same sections. As the finishing village approached the trail became less steep, but it was almost entirely on a rock garden which had my arms screaming and my fingers were struggling to keep hold of the brakes, desperately trying to stay in control. The trail then flattened out and went into a short wooded section before it opened up and all of a sudden the finishing line was directly ahead, far sooner than I was expecting! I flew across the line and came to a halt. My immediate thoughts were utter relief and joy that I had finished and the hurt was over but I started to feel quite sad as I realised just how special this day had been and that I would have to wait a whole year to experience it again. The Grand Raid Cristalp was over and my journey had taken 8hrs 35min which placed me 25th overall and 13th in category (under 30’s). I was also top British rider in an event that is totally dominated by the local Swiss racers.

The experience of racing abroad was amazing and it has completed changed my thoughts on racing. The Swiss people have such a positive outlook on racing that puts the UK to shame. I’ve never raced anywhere where the local people come out in such numbers and celebrate an event with a festival like atmosphere, according to the event press over 60,000 people come out to watch. It’s got me hooked and I can’t wait to do more similar races next season. Right now though its time to look ahead to my big race of the year, the race that everything is aimed towards – The 24hr World Solo Championships, in Canberra Australia. The race is now under 7 weeks away and preparation is now well under way.

Photos

Matt Page Tackles Cristalp!

Team Wiggle rider to tackle the world’s toughest single day MTB race

Team Wiggle’s Matt Page is preparing to take part in the Grand Raid Cristalp Mountain Bike Marathon in the Swiss Alps. The event, on August 21, features 5600m of climbing over the 140km course. It will form a vital part of Matt’s preparation for the Solo 24hour Mountain Bike World Championships in Australia in October.

Matt, who will be racing on his Focus Raven hardtail, said:

“The Cristalp is a really tough event and in previous years has been dubbed the hardest single day MTB race. This race comes at a crucial point in my training for the 24hr World Championships in Australia, which is just seven weeks away from this event.”

This will be Matt’s first European marathon race so he will be using it to gain valuable experience rather than challenge for a place on the podium. He said: “I think it’ll be a steep learning curve. The top racers will be very experienced and have a full support team behind them. I hope to be the top British finisher. Just finishing can be an achievement in itself due to the strict time cut-offs.”
As well as taking part in the race, Matt will be using his time in the Swiss Alps to maximise training opportunities. He said:

“I’ll be spending the week in Switzerland doing plenty of long rides in the mountains. Now is the time when getting serious training in [for Australia] will have the biggest effect.”

Preparation of the body and the bike are going well for Matt, who added:

“I am feeling strong fitness-wise and I have just about finished preparing the bike. I have swapped a few parts over from my Focus First race bikes onto the Raven so that I’ll have a race bike weighing in at under 20lb, which should help me fly up every metre of the climbs.”

After the Cristalp, Matt will return home to Wales for two solid weeks of training before racing the Kielder 100 on September 4, the Midlands XC on September 5 and then the British Marathon Championships on September 12. Ten days later he flies to Australia ahead of the World Championships in Canberra.

63

Bontrager Twentyfour1

This weekend we made the journey to Plymouth to compete in Twentyfour12 in the 12hr race. This would be the final opportunity to finalise and practice a few things before the 24hr World Champs. It will be the final time that Nia, Ben and myself are altogether and able to practice pit-stops (or rather not-stops!) and also to test race pacing and test out new kit, and finalise a nutrition strategy. With all this in mind it was going to be a very important race, but one where the race result would be secondary to the lessons learnt. I had decided well before that I wanted to try a different pacing strategy and rather than go out at a steady pace and hold it I wanted to push hard from the gun and see how long I could hold it for and what would happen to my body.

I was originally entered into the Torchbearer night race, but earlier in the week I had the opportunity to change to the main race because I was able to get the Saturday off work and a space became available. Being able to do the day race would mean less effect from the lack of sleep and recovery would be far easier. We travelled down to the site on Friday and arrived quite late in the evening to find a very full camp-site with almost no space left track-side. Thanks to Sally Daw and her crew who kindly let us pitch up in their area we had a great spot just before the course enters the arena. The course looked like it was mostly dry, but after previous race there were sections that were a bit muddy, especially off the racing line.

With a Midday start there wasn’t time for a practice lap, but having raced here in the two previous events I was confident that I would know most of the sections, all be it in a different order. After a short warm up I rolled up to a very full start line 15 minutes before the start only to be told that I would have to start at the back. This is not something that I have ever seen happen before and you could guarantee that any invited riders would be able to roll up 2 minutes before the start and start from the front, just as they did last year. It was something that I personally think was quite dangerous and unfair to do as I now had over a hundred riders to pass to get to my main competitors and obviously I wanted to do it as quickly as possible. When the whistle went the red mist came down I went into full attack mode passing people wherever there was even half a chance. By the end of the 1km start loop I had made up quite a few places but I was still way behind the top riders. Going into the first proper lap I was still pushing hard and very close to the pace I would hold in a XC race and still passing plenty of riders and holding the wheels of some of the quicker pairs and teams. My first lap was in the region of 35 minutes (without the starting loop) and I had made it into first place in the solo category, closely followed by 2nd and 3rd.

I managed to hold a quick pace during the 2nd lap, although it was a much more sustainable pace. Gerald Tudor was still with me, although we had dropped Adrian Scott who was in 3rd position. I tried to keep the pace consistent, but from the 3rd lap we were catching slower riders and had to be patient as there wasn’t room to pass on all sections. By the end of lap 3 I was on my own and feeling strong. I realised pretty early into the race that if I was able to hold an average of 40 minutes then I would be able to complete 18 laps, so this became my aim and during the first 7 laps I was holding a sub 40 minute pace and I felt able to keep the average below 40 minutes if the conditions stayed the same. The gap to riders behind was growing considerably lap on lap and I was feeling great, despite riding at a higher pace than I have previously tried. I was still unsure of what would happen as I was in unknown territory. One area that was really going well was the not-stops through the pit area, as every lap I managed to take whatever I needed on the go.

After 6 hours it started to drizzle and the wetness slowed the course down slightly as the descents became a little trickier, especially where there were rooted sections. Regardless of the weather I always run a Neoguard on the bike, it is so light there is no reason not to but I was certainly glad of it when it got muddy and it kept me riding when in previous years when not using a Neoguard I have had to stop with mud in my eyes. Lap times dropped by a minute or so for an hour or so before heavier rain started after 8hrs. It was about the same time I lapped 2nd place, which gave me a big cushion in case of a disaster. The course was becoming slower and more tricky as each lap went by and as darkness started to fall I reeled in my pace, as although I still felt strong the risk of crashing became high if I maintained a similar speed on the descents.

The darkness itself was no problem at all as I was lucky enough to test the prototype 2011 Exposure Lights Maxx-D and Diablo lights. The 2010 versions that I have used this year are fantastic, but the 2011 models are a step up in terms of brightness and especially in light colour. The muddy conditions were taking their toll and I was swapping bikes every lap which kept Ben and Nia busy cleaning with the Mobi while I was riding.

After 16 laps, which was a little over 11 hours of riding I came into the pit area and stopped for the first time. I had calculated that it would be impossible for 2nd to catch me and although there was time for another 2 laps if I wanted to, why risk a crash and potential injury? I waited in the pit as Ben and Nia went to check and make 100% sure of the rules regarding finishing, if I had to cross the line after 12pm or not. After 15 minutes waiting I had the answer I needed and headed into the arena to roll across the line after 11 hours and 30 minutes. Adrian Scott went on to unlap himself within the time and finished 2nd 1hr 10 minutes behind and Gerald Tudor finished 3rd.

Overall the event was a big success for me, not only did I win the 12hr solo race but everything that I had put into practice had gone smoothly. I went out much harder than I normally would and still felt strong after 8hrs before easing up because of the conditions. The pit strategy was spot on and a few new techniques we tried out to avoid stopping, even for the briefest of times all worked as planned. Nutrition and hydration was also great and I have finalised a feeding plan ready for Australia. Obviously the weather will be totally different out there, probably hotter and dry but I am confident that we can alter the plans to suit.

I have a few weeks without events now so I am hoping to get a few solid training weeks in after a couple of days recovery from this latest race. Next event for me will be the Grand Raid Cristalp marathon on August 21st, a 145km race in the Swiss Alps with 5800m of climbing!

62

Road & MTB Racing

I can’t believe that half the year has gone already, time has really flown by! I keep thinking that I have plenty of time until the Solo World Championships in October but at this rate it will arrive before I know it!

The last few weekends have been great for me, mixing up solid training during the week with busy weekends. I had a last minute reprieve from work and was able to travel to Dalby to race in the National XC series. Of all the courses in the series this was the one that I really wanted to race because it is based on the World Cup course and supposed to be a technical challenge. I made the long journey up from Wales and met up with Lee and Ben on the Friday evening. I did a practice lap straight away and quite pleased with the course. Before hand I had been worried about technical sections on the course that people were talking up, one was called “Worry Gill” which was a near vertical drop. It had several riders worried, although to be honest it was pretty easy once you got your head around it. The other section was named “Medusas Drop” and called for much more skill as line choice down the 30-40 meter section was crucial to avoid a crash.

I had missed the previous round in the series, but I was still gridded number 6 and on the front row. Unlike every other XC race I have entered I actually managed to get a great start, being first to the first corner and within the top 5 to the first singletrack which I knew would be crucial. I felt fairly good on the first lap, but a little frustrated that Giles Drake had managed to get away when I was stuck behind a few other riders. Laps 2 & 3 I was swapping positions with a few other riders, but always within the top 5. The gap to Giles at the front grew during the second lap but then stabilised as time went on. I was really hopeful that my endurance would pull me through and this proved to be the case during the final 2 laps. I managed to pull a gap on the riders behind and I was slowly pulled back Giles in the lead, but the end of the race came too soon and I had to settle for 2nd place, finishing 30 seconds behind. I knew this would be my last XC race of the year and had hoped to go out with a win, but 2nd position is at least one position higher than I managed at Rounds 1 & 2 of the series and considering that XC is just a good training session for me I am really happy with what I have been able to achieve over the year.

Even though I won’t make it to Elite category automatically because I haven’t entered enough races I am hopeful that British Cycling will give me an Elite licence for 2011 and my aims will be to race in the World Cup and be in the top 15-20 in the National Series.

Almost straight after the race at Dalby it was back in the car to make the long journey back home as I had entered the Merlin Ride Sportive, the most local sportive to me on roads I am very familiar with. Unlike many other sportives it was a mass start with the 500 or so riders all starting together. I was immediately on the front and we soon formed a group of 10 or so riders and started making great progress. After 20 miles or so there was a crash in the group and my friend Robin hit the deck, he was pretty beaten up but he managed to keep going, unlike the other rider involved and his Focus Izalco survived totally intact, again unlike the other rider.

We all pushed on and soon came to the big climb of the day over the Black Mountain, my favourite climb of all. The group started to split as soon as we got onto the lower slopes with a couple of riders trying hard to get a gap. I managed to stick to anyone who went away and near the top I put a little dig in and got away myself. The descent is fantastic and quite alpine with several switchbacks and sharp corners along the way, I know every inch of it and despite the rain which had started to fall I went down as quickly as I ever have done, putting several minutes into riders behind. I had a long way to go, so eased up at the bottom and let the group come back together, there was a strong headwind at times and I didn’t fancy riding the rest alone. The weather had turned really nasty, so the 8 of us who were still together all decided to take the shorter 70 mile option, rather than do the 105 mile route which went over some very exposed terrain. We all finished together in a time of 3 hours 28 minutes, which considering the weather and the amount of climbing was pretty good going.

After another pretty good week of training with several long and punishing rides I entered my first ever road race this weekend, the George Greaves memorial. I must admit I was quite nervous before hand, although I have been doing a few circuit races recently to try and get used to riding in a bunch the thought of rolling along public roads at speed just inches away from other riders is a scary thought to me. Turning up at race HQ did nothing to dissipate the nerves as there were some seriously nice bikes and kit around making it quite an intimidating atmosphere. I would be racing my Verenti Rhigos, showing how versatile a machine it is, just as happy doing a road race as it is on a 100 mile sportive.

After a neutral start of a couple of miles we got under way and the pace jumped up immediately and I found myself languishing towards the back of the bunch. After a bit of time to settle into a rhythm I was able to start working my way back up towards the front. The course was 3 laps of a 20 mile loop and the first lap seemed to go by in no time at all. The back half of the loop was extremely fast with a tail wind and I was running out of gears as the biggest gear on the Verenti is 52/12, normally plenty but I was wishing for a 53/11t as the speeds were beyond 40mph for long stretches. Lap 2 came and went without too much drama, although the were a few speculative attacks off the front that came to nothing. I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable in the group and at times, usually by accident found myself on the front.

Everything changed as we went into lap 3 as the pace increased and a 2 man break went away and slowly started to get a decent time gap. It was until the final 5 miles on the very fast stretch that they came back and at the same time I found right by the front having to do more work than I wanted, perhaps showing my inexperience but I knew I had to stay close to the front to stand any chance in the finish. With the bunch altogether for the finish it was going to be a little chaotic, with a gradual uphill 1km from the finish the pace went up as people tried to get away. I was hoping to give it a shot up the hill but I was boxed in and had to stay in the bunch for a little longer. When I finally managed to get onto the outside it was on the flat section 500m before the finish, just before a tight left hander. The rider in front of me took a terrible line through the corner and hit the kerb, I was following his wheel and only just managed to avoid it myself. By the time I had got myself steady the whole bunch was up the road and I knew I had no chance so just eased up and crossed the line towards the back of the bunch.

First road race done and dusted, I’ll definitely do another but there is no way I will be turning into a road racer, give me a MTB race any day!

61

Product Reviews

Over the last few months I have been very fortunate to test some fantastic new kit, I have taken the time to review some of the best kit I have been using recently.

Garmin Edge 500

I was ecstatic to be made a Garmin Ambassador in April this year and provided with a Garmin Edge 500 to use as a training tool. Having used the Edge 705 previously it was extremely easy to use with a very intuitive menu system. The 500 does everything the 705 does, minus the colour screen mapping, but it manages to do so in a much smaller, sleeker case. The new twist mount is also much easier to use than the older mount, single handed 90 degree twist in and out.

The main use of the Edge 500 and the 705 I used previously is as a training tool and both do a fantastic job. Huge amounts on data are available on the go and then post ride the amount of in-depth data through the software included has proved invaluable. A major feature to me personally is the ability to link up to other ANT+ wireless devices, such as Heart Rate via the optional strap or a Cycleops Powertap.

The only slight downsides of the 500 over the 705 that I have discovered so far are the microphone level which is slightly lower and harder to hear in noisy conditions, such as the wind or busy traffic. The 500 also uses different file formats which make it slightly more time consuming when importing data into the Training Center software provided or the 3rd part WKO+ software I use. Neither of these affect the use of the device and I would imagine that Garmin will soon have fixes for the software issues.

I couldn’t imagine training without the Edge 500 as along with the Powertap it has completely revolutionised my training and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a very powerful training computer.

USE Carbon Road Handlebars:

These bars are such a new product in the USE line up that they on not in many shops yet. They are very light handlebars, weighing in at 199g for a 44cm bar they are aimed mainly at the sportive rider rather than the out and out racer. They feature some unique touches that really make them stand out from other top end bars on the market. The shape, bend and drop are all very comfortable and I felt happy with them from the very first ride. The bars also do a great job of reducing road buzz and even when moving from bars with gel pads and thicker tape to these I found the USE bars just as effective and overall more comfortable.

Cable routing is taken care of thanks to the built in cable holders, a feature I have not seen on any other bars. They do a great job and make it really easy to setup the cables and then tape up the bars. I am using the bars with SRAM Rival shifters and they match up perfectly. All other double cable shifters like high end Shimano and Campagnolo should work equally well.

Another neat feature is a flat spot near the shifter mounting, it is a simple but effective way of blending the transition between bars and hoods making them more comfortable when your holding onto the hoods, which for me is 95% of the time.

The final unique touch is how the bars keep the 31.6mm diameter right through the flat section and into the start of the bend. There are a few advantages by doing this, one being it is simply more comfortable. The second, perhaps accidental advantage is that you have more options when attaching devices, such as computers or lights to the bars.

Overall they are the best bars I have used; the weight is competitive with anything else on the market and the shape, style and features really help them stand above the rest.

Cyclops Indoor Bike, PT300:

The latest training tool in my quest for greater fitness on the road to Australia and the 24hr Word Solo Championships is this Indoor Bike from Cyclops with built in Powertap technology. It may seem strange to get an indoor bike in the middle of summer, but the one part of my training where I felt was lacking was the ability to do multiple reps of high intensity work away from the constantly changing nature of the roads. I have not had the bike long, so a full review will follow in future but my initial impressions are very positive.

The whole bike is very sturdy and even when pedalling at maximum effort there is no movement at all. The bike is infinitely adjustable so you can dial in exactly the position you want, from MTB to TT. The display is clear and quick to update information. I can see this bike becoming a major part of my training in the run up to the Worlds.

Power Balance Band:

I was recently sent this new product to try out along with a few other Wiggle athletes. The bands have big claims and top level sport stars are endorsing them, but I will be honest and say I was very sceptical when I first saw the band. They claim to improve balance, power and flexibility but just how it manages it is a mystery to me.

I followed the tests shown on YouTube and to my amazement the band appeared to do exactly what it claims! All the tests “worked” on me and I also gave it to Nia to try and there again is seemed to work just as it shows on the video. It was rather convincing and I must admit I was swayed to believing in it, despite still not knowing how it works… witchcraft maybe?

I have since tried the band on several other people with varying levels of success, but after discussing it with some people they have planted a few more seeds of doubt in my mind. I am going to continue wearing it and conduct the tests shown on the video weekly and also do some cycling specific tests using the Cycleops Indoor bike and Powertap hub to provide accurate and fairly scientific data on weather or not the band can really improve power.

60

Hard Training Restarts

Just over 5 weeks have past since the UK 24hr Solo Championships and I am pretty sure that I have fully recovered, which is a couple of weeks sooner than after previous 24hr solo races. The last 2 weeks have been mostly good although I have had days when tiredness has stopped me from training. Instead of training through the week I have entered a couple of events mainly to give myself a good workout.

A few weeks back I entered the “Rough Ride”, a 70km enduro held on the welsh borders. I last entered it 3 years ago and had forgotten just how hard it is. 70Km isn’t a massive distance, but factor in the surface which is 100% moorland and over 2000m of climbing, some of which are extremely steep and punishing. There were several fast riders entered, so I would certainly get the workout I wanted. Starting from the front I pushed on and after 5km or so there was just myself and James Williams at the front, someone who I have raced against in XC races all season. By the halfway checkpoint I was in front, but soon after at the top of a long climb I was able to look down the hill and see Johnny Pugh catching me very quickly. Sure enough after another 5km or so he caught me. We rode together for a while, but he eventually got a gap and that is how it stayed to the finish. I finished in 4hrs 3 minutes, just 2 minutes behind the winner.

The week that followed was another mixed week of training, but I did at least get in a couple of harder training sessions including a road criterium at Pembrey, something totally new for me. Totally flat and held on a motor track I knew it was never going to be a good event for me, but I was just hoping to use it as a solid training ride and a chance to improve my experience of riding in a bunch.

Then it was once again time for Mountain Mayhem, the race that defined my 2009 season when I won the solo 24hr race. It is in my opinion the best Mountain bike event of the year, where the atmosphere is simply unbeatable with thousands of competitors and spectators. This year was very different for me as I had decided a long time ago that I would not be racing solo. Instead Wiggle had entered a team consisting of myself, Lee Williams the XC whippet and Ben Jeffery and Andrew Delahay who are mechanics at Wiggle. We were just looking to enjoy the event and were not looking to compete. For me I was really exited about being able to enjoy the atmosphere, as the last time I was entered in a “fun” team was 2004.

Rather annoyingly I had to work during Saturday so I arrived at the site soon after the race had started. Del pulled the short straw and did the run, mainly because he was the only one without any leg injury niggles. Lee went second and put in one of the fastest laps of anyone during the weekend, then Ben went third leaving me to start last. Our laid back approach to the event was clear to see as transitions were being done from the Wiggle ez-up rather than the hand-over area. One thing we did was always keep someone riding, at no point did we stop altogether. The night came and went without too much trouble as we decided to do double laps to give us all time to sleep, although Ben had the short straw riding between 1 and 3am, giving him less chance to sleep. During my night laps I had the chance to test the new prototype exposure lights and they really impressed me. More power, better light colour and the same impressive burn times. I will have a full compliment of the new Diablo and Maxx-D lights for the World Champs in Australia which will certainly give me the edge over other riders.

When dawn arrived we took our first look at the results so far and were very surprised to see that we were only 25 minutes off 10th place in our category. This spurred us on a little and our competitive sides started to come out. Ben and Del put in their fastest laps of the weekend during the morning and Lee was not showing any signs of slowing down. My laps had been quite consistent and I was able to equal my fastest lap of the weekend despite a heavy crash from being a little over confident going into a fast and loose section. Going into the last few laps we had got the gap down to 5 minutes and with Lee and myself still to go we were confident of catching the teams ahead. My final lap was my slowest of the weekend, but I knew that I had just enough time to finish to allow Lee to do one more lap for us. I came into the arena with 3 minutes to spare and handed over to Lee, who despite cursing me at the time I was certain that deep down he really wanted to go that extra lap! Maybe he was enjoying the traffic free course or maybe just trying to get the race over and done with but he put in his fastest lap, 42 minutes which was also one of the fastest of the whole weekend, including all the pro/elite teams. As a team we finished 9th in the Open Men category, totally unexpected and something we were all very happy with.

This weekend I entered the Welsh XC Champs, held not too far from me at Forest Fields. It is a course I have ridden before and I know how tough it can be. Steep climbs, fast, technical singletrack descents and soaring temperatures would make it a really tough race. I had entered the Championship category alongside racing in the Expert cat, but would be basically racing against the Elite riders and doing 6 laps (instead of 5 for experts). I was happy with my start for a change and managed to get in the mix. Laps 1 and 2 were pretty good and faster than I would normally race at. Going into lap 3 I settled into my own pace, trying to keep the pace consistent. I was loosing a little time to some riders on the climbs, but pulling back big gaps on the descent where I seemed to find a much quicker line than others around me. I let a few Expert riders get away from me, because I had the extra lap I wanted to make sure I had something left. Going into the last lap I knew I was running in 3rd in the Champs race and already finished 3rd in Expert. The last lap was problem free and I was delighted to finish in 3rd behind a couple of seriously quick riders. Lee Williams won the race, so he gets to wear his Welsh champs jersey for another year! Top stuff.

I felt pretty fresh after the race so decided to ride home on the Verenti Rhigos 3 road bike, which was about 35 miles. It topped off a really good weeks training and a return to the distances and hours I was training before the UK 24hr. Next weekend I will be racing at Dalby at Round 4 of the BMBS XC series, which will be my final XC race of the year. Later in July I will be racing at Twentfour12 which will serve as a great opportunity to test out new bits of kit and fine tune my endurance racing ready for the 24hr Solo World Champs in October which is my ultimate focus from now on.

59

Recovery

Just over 2 weeks have past since I won the 24hr Solo National Championships and the reality of winning one of my major targets for the year is only just starting to sink in. I certainly pushed my body hard during the race which became evident afterwards as I was quite unwell with fever like symptoms and unable to eat. I thought seriously about taking myself to hospital, but a combination of a cold bath and using cold, wet towels on my head to cool me down I started to feel a little better. My sleep pattern was a real mess, so I only managed a few hours sleep the day after the race but at least I awoke feeling much better and able to eat again.

The next few days I slowly started to feel better, but as usual I had a big slump on the Wednesday & Thursday as the normal daily routine returned I struggled with tiredness and could not stop eating. My appetite was huge and I was craving junk food all the time. I was back on the bike pretty quickly afterwards, but only for commuting to work and riding the 4 miles into town. It was good to turn the pedal at a steady pace but I had no reason to get back to training too soon.

It took well over a week for me to feel anything like normal again, but I did seem to be recovering quicker than I did after Mountain Mayhem last year. 10 days after the race I had a reason to get back on a bike, my new Verenti Rhigos 3 had arrived and I headed out with a friend to give it a test ride. I jumped in at the deep end a bit and we did 60 miles with a few big climbs thrown in. Most of the ride felt fine but I had a few tweaks in my legs, groin and back that gave me a few worries but I made it to the end of the ride in one piece. I managed just one other ride that week and put in a few harder intervals to test the legs. To my amazement I was pushing out higher power number on the climbs than before the UK 24hr! That is one massive advantage to using a Powertap, there is no guesswork it tells you exactly how hard your riding.

This gave me a real boost in confidence and I arrived at the Verenti Dragon Ride on Sunday hopeful of at least keeping my personal 100% Gold time record from the 2 previous sportives I have done. The time needed to get the gold was 6hrs 30min, which worked out as an average of 18.5mph. I started in the front group with Magnus Backstedt and his team and a few others who looked quite sharp. The initial pace was very leisurely and a very big group formed, no one seemed too concerned about the speed. It was about an hour in when we arrived at the first of the climbs, Bwlch 1. As soon as we hit the lower slopes I upped the pace and 5 other riders followed me. We stayed together for a long time, all the way around to Cimla. We had worked quite well together to this point, everyone willing to do some work although it was evident that a few were stronger than others. At the top of Cimla we were down to 5 and the on the lower slopes of Bwlch 2 we dropped another rider. Going into the steeper slopes the 3 other riders pulled away from me, so I just stuck to my own pace and got to the top a few minutes behind them. I knew there was no chance of catching them from here on, with 3 of them able to share the work on the flat sections to the finish. I crossed the line to finish in 5hrs 49min, well inside the Gold standard time and an average speed of 20.5mph and ended up being the 9th fastest time, not bad for a Mountain Biker recovering from a 24hr race!

The next 2 weeks are set for more recovery and to ease myself back into a proper training regime. I will be at Mountain Mayhem but not racing solo this year. Instead I will be there in a team to soak up the atmosphere which you never fully experience when racing solo.

Matthew aims for world title

10:53am Wednesday 2nd June 2010, The Guardian Online

A Towy Valley postman is gearing up to make the delivery of his life as he aims to bring home the world 24-hour endurance mountain bike championship.

Matthew Page, of Cilycwm, scooped the British 24-hour title on May 23, after leaving the rest of the field trailing in his wake at Newcastleton.

The 25-year-old former Rhys Prichard and Llandovery College pupil completed a mind-blowing 22 laps of the gruelling course in just under 24 hours, stopping for less than two minutes throughout the entire race and completing more than 250 miles.

Matthew’s nearest rival could manage only 21 laps of the course.

The British title was just another honour to add to Matthew’s growing trophy collection after won the European single speed championship 12-hour race in April and the Mountain Mayhem title last year.

“I knew that I was in with a good chance of winning it,”

said Matthew, who trains up to 30 hours each week.

“There were perhaps 10 people of the 90 entrants capable of winning, and I knew I would have to make sure I was there at the end. “The race climbs meant I had cycled the equivalent of going up Everest and then quite a bit more.”

The marathon battle took its toll with Matthew expecting to need six weeks to fully recover with British and European titles already under his belt, he is now preparing for the world title event in Australia in October.

“I had hoped to go there under the radar, but after the British title they will all know I am coming,”

said Matthew.

“The Australians are the best endurance mountain bikers in the world, so it will be great to go out there and take them on in their own back yard.

“There is going to be a full range of competitors from across the world, Europeans, Americans, Canadians and of course Australians.”

Matthew already has the best endurance mountain bike sponsorship deal in the UK thanks to a tie-in with Internet bike company Wiggle.co.uk, but hopes that a successful autumn could see his racing taken to a new level.

“My focus now is totally on Australia and the world championships and there is a real possibility of going professional next year if I can win it.

“I have a great team behind me thanks to my deal with wiggle.co.uk and the support of my family and my fiancee Nia so to make it pro would be something really special,”

said Matthew.

Dreams of the world title and a professional sponsorship deal have given Matthew the sort of focus that will ensure his is among the leading pack when the finish line comes in sight.

“I will be going there ranked third or fourth in the world, but I am going there to win.”

Read Matthew’s Full blog report below.

Matt Page Blog : UK 24hr Solo Championships

58

UK 24hr Solo Championships

In previous years there have been a number of 24hr events in the UK MTB calender, all of them different and each one stakes a claim of being the best, hardest, biggest or most important. This year there was a new event on the calender; one which looking to finally answer the question of who is the best solo racer in the country, the inaugural UK 24hr Solo Championship. The date was set and the venue of Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders picked and every big name in the sport had entered and was ready to do battle.

My preparation for the event stretches back to November and I have made a number of changes to my training to try and get myself to a new level of fitness. One of the biggest changes has been switching to the use of a Cyclops Powertap in training and linking that to a Garmin 500. I also made a conscious decision to loose weight as the course at Newcastleton would include a huge amount of climbing. I managed to loose 5kg of body weight in the build up to the event, which when you weigh 60kg is considerable.

There is a saying: “Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance” and this is a motto I stick to. So with this in mind I had a week off work to prepare for the event and we travelled up to Newcastleton on the Thursday to give ourselves plenty of time before the event. After the 7hr drive we took the time to relax and went to the event site on Friday. The weather for the weekend was going to be dry and very hot, so I made the decision to do a practice lap during the hottest part of the day to give myself some idea of what it was going to be like when racing as I have not ridden in weather like it for almost a year! Although based around a forest many sections were in the open with no chance to hide from the sun. The heat would certainly play a part in the race and I completely change any thoughts I had on tactics and strategy. The course was certainly worthy of the championship; it was going to be tough and with plenty of climbs (550m per lap!) and technical descents, which were loose in places. The lap was longer than other 24hr events at 11.5 miles, with a good lap time being around the hour mark. I decided to run Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres as they are a fantastic all round tyre for dry weather and are robust enough to be used on rocky courses.

After the practice lap I had a nice leg massage and my body checked over by Sabreen Hitchens, from Active Physio Clinics who was on site all weekend, then feeling very refreshed we took ourselves away from the site, staying at a Guest House a few miles away rather than camp on-site to keep my mind off the race and try to relax as much as possible. I managed to get a good nights sleep and we arrived back on site with a few hours before the midday race start. The team (Ben Jeffery, Nia & my Mum) made all the final checks to the pit area and Focus First Extremes before heading down to the village of Newcastleton where there was a ceremonial start. The race had a controlled start through the village before heading up the hill to the arena and starting for real.

With all the big names here to compete everyone was understandably cagey at the start and a big group soon formed and the pace was relatively slow. Everyone was watching one another, no one person wanting to take up the pacing. Towards the end of the first lap Josh Ibbett moved off the front with a group of 7 of us behind. No one seemed concerned that he had gone, myself included. It was scorching hot and there was no way I wanted to push too hard in the heat and risk dehydrating.

The pace settled and in the opening few laps the chasing group dwindled from 7 down to 4 with Josh a couple of minutes ahead. At this stage there was myself, Anthony White, James Lister and Rich Rothwell and we stayed fairly close until about 5-6 hours in when Ant upped the pace and Rich went with him. It was still very hot so I decided not to follow them, instead I stuck to my own pace. Rich stayed with Ant for a while before dropping back to me and we then lapped together for several hours. It was nice to have someone of similar speed to ride with, especially on the downhill sections where I was quite happy following his wheel knowing that he is a great descender picking the good lines. My friend Arfon joined the pit crew on Saturday evening to help out wherever possible and he proved to be a fantastic motivator to me each and every time I passed through the pit.

Everything was going smoothly and the Focus First Extremes were faultless and I didn’t change or adjust anything. At 8pm lights became mandatory, so I rather than stop I just swapped bikes which already had an Exposure Maxx-D fitted. This gave Ben a chance to check everything over and keep the drivetrain lubricated on the other bike, which had been ridden for 8hrs. The next lap I added an Exposure Diablo, the Cable Free Design means that it can be handed across easily while riding through. The super bright combination of Exposure lights allows me to ride exactly as I would in the day, without needing to slow down at all on the downhills. When the sun started to go down Josh was leading by about 10 minutes, Ant was in 2nd a few minutes behind and myself and Rich had a comfortable gap on riders behind. It was now that I started to make a move, upping the pace and caught Ant.

As darkness fell I put in 2 faster laps in an attempt to catch Josh, but I only managed to close the gap to 8 minutes. I was convinced that he would have slowed by now, but he was holding strong and I started to wonder if you would be able to hold out until the finish.

I ran into problems around 1am because I had increased the pace but neglected to increase the amount of calories I was taking on board. I hit the wall and “bonked”; my pace dropped off considerably. I also started to feel tired, faint and my vision was going leading to me making a number of mistakes on the singletrack. Ant passed me as if I was stood still but there was nothing I was able to do. As I came around to the pit I stepped off the bike and legs gave way. Nia and Ben helped me up off the floor and I managed to compose myself and take on board plenty of energy and also took on board some caffeine. At this point I thought the win was out of the question, but I still had a chance of a podium position. I got myself back onto the bike, still feeling pretty bad but kept moving. Things didn’t improve until halfway around the next lap when all of a sudden it was as if someone flicked a switch and I was back up to speed, much to the surprise of the team in the pit when I came around on the next lap.

By this point Ant was 4 minutes ahead and Josh had a commanding lead of just over 40 minutes. I caught Ant on the next lap; he obviously thought I was down and out and commented as I passed. There was no time to chat, I was on a mission! It was starting to get light again which seemed to spur me on. I was slowly chipping away at Josh’s lead. I worked out that I probably had 7 laps remaining, so if I could take out 5 minutes per lap I just might have a chance, all be it a slim one! I came around into the pit next lap to find that I had taken over 10 minutes out of Josh’s lead. I really started to believe that I might be able to catch him and kept pushing on.

The sun started to rise at 6am and at this point I was still in 2nd but had a comfortable gap back to Ant in 3rd. The gap to the lead kept coming down and sure enough at around 7am I caught Josh coming into the arena. Part of me wanted to go straight through the pit and get a gap, but I knew how important it was to take on board energy and fluids with the sun out and the temperatures rising once again. We both left the arena at the same time and hit the first singletrack section together. At first I kept it steady, not pushing too hard as I wanted to see what Josh had left in the tank. I was pulling a gap straight away so guessed that he was tiring, so just rode away at my own tempo.

It was now an agonising countdown to the finish. I was pulling out a good lead and the lap times were both quick and consistent, not far off the pace at the start of the race over 18 hours before. The final few laps seemed to take forever, every sound the bike made and every stone that hit the frame or pinged off the tyres I feared the worst but everything went like clockwork. I knew going into my final lap that I had probably won it, but to make 100% sure I had to finish my 22nd lap. I was hoping to finish on a high and tried to put in quick sub hour lap. Things were looking good, but I realised halfway round that it was perhaps a little foolish and settled for just finishing.

As I crossed the line emotion took over as my pit crew greeted me. I had put every ounce of energy into the final stages of the race and it was certainly showing as I was struggling to even stand up. I have so many people to thank for getting me here, but none more so than my pit team. Several people at the race commented on how professional and well drilled we are when it comes to the big races. Solo races are as much about the team as any other event, but we are certainly raising the bar and showing others what is possible.

A few stats from the race:
I completed 22 laps, which adds up to over 250 miles and over 12,000m vertical ascent.
I consumed about 40 Torq gels and 10 packs of Clif Shot blocks. I kept to drinking 500ml of High5 Energy Source 4:1 each lap, switching to High5 Extreme in the final 4 laps to give me an extra kick.

From here I have a few weeks to relax and recover, before then starting to rebuild my fitness in an attempt to take on the best in the World at the World Championships being held in Canberra, Australia in October.

57

24hrs of Exposure Preview

So it has finally arrived, the UK 24hr Solo Championships are this weekend and we have arrived up in Scotland in time to relax and prepare for the race. My preparation for this race stretches back to November and every pedal stroke and each minute of pain has been focused on this event.

The competition is the most fierce of any 24hr race that has ever been in the UK with every major name entered and looking to take home the title. A run down of the favourites appeared on bikemagic recently, and any one of 10 or more riders could win but I know how I have my eyes on. Ian Leitch has already proved that he is probably the fastest of everyone over a short distance and has also proved his endurance by winning the Muc Off 8hr enduro. Ant White is always going to be in the mix and has already won a 24hr solo next in America early in the year. Then you have James Lister, Josh Ibbett and Craig Bowles who is a dark horse and seems to have gone under most peoples radars.

I have prepared as well as I could have and my new Focus First Extremes are superb to ride and should suit the hilly but technical course well. Bikemagic also ran a feature on my bikes recently, check out the feature here.

I have a full pit on hand with Nia taking charge, my mum on hand to help out wherever needed and Ben Jeffery from Wiggle has made the journey up to provide mechanical support.

I am planning on doing a practice lap today, but then I will try and relax as much as possible so I am fresh for the race start at Midday Saturday. With a bit of luck I will have mobile signal, so Nia will keep my twitter updated, @mattpage24.

Wish me luck!