Two more stops into my East Coast trip and I have been pleasantly pumped with the way things have turned around. Here's a couple race reports; one from nationals and one from the final round of the Pro XCT series in Williston, VT.

Coming in to the US National Championships I took the week relatively easy, keeping fresh and positive after the rough race in Wisconsin. I knew if I was able to ride strong throughout the whole race then I would be able to finish strong like I had as a junior. Riding at my own pace for the first two laps I was comfortable in 5th/6th place as I approached the half way point. With two laps left I could barely see fast-man Casey Williams at the top of the grassy switchback climb (~45seconds). That got me excited! I knew I was riding strong on the longer, less steep climb and decided that would be where I could reel him in. Half way through the final lap of the race I powered by Casey into 4th place and tried to put as much time into him before the descent and short punchy climbs of the second half of the course. Unfortunately I had gone way too deep trying to catch him and went into the descent a little cross-eyed from the effort and was unable to respond when he attacked in the final climb of the race. Did my best to hang in for a sprint finish but ended up losing about 10seconds by then end of the race. All in all very happy with the 5th place finish, big improvement from last year's 10th and still room to improve by the time next year comes around!

Short track went okay at the National Champs, with the U23 and Elites in the same race it was always going to be fast and hard. I had a good start until a little tangle-up with Mitchell Hoke on lap one but rode through until starting to fade around lap 3 and seeing lots and lots of people go by. Finished up 26th which leaves me wanting more in these short races in time to come!

During the week following Nationals I spent a night in Boston, checking out Newbury Street, Fenway Park, and the Parlee Bikes HQ and Factory with intern/friend Rob Auchincloss. Following Boston I found some more friends in New Hampshire who work at Highland Bike Park and spent a day riding the rad trails there on a loaner DH bike followed by riding a baby moto for the first time. One thing to say: these guys are doing it right, and thank you for putting a roof over my head for the week!

This past weekend racing the Catamount Classic Pro XCT in Vermont was another exciting race to finish the national XC season in the US. The course suited my riding style pretty well, with a lot of open grassy fields needing lots of power and a few mildly technical sections in the trees. It was always going to be a hard race starting at the back of a 60 man field, but I had fellow Skyhawk Mike Sampson to keep me company and CX champ Jeremy Powers to try and ride with on the flats. I decided to take it easy off the start and ride into the race, finishing strong as people started to fade. This race plan worked well, keeping consistent with lap times I continued to move up through the field throughout the race. Eventually finishing in 16th I am stoked that I was able to put together a good race and excited to make it into the top 20 of a Pro XCT. Still room to improve for next year!

Short track followed about the same protocol as the cross country, starting at the back of about 40 guys it was a slog the whole way. Ended up riding a strong race after a pretty shocking start finishing again in 16th place, just ahead of birthday boy Mike Sampson. Welcome to your 20's!

This week has been spent in the great land of Quebec, Canada, trying to get by with year 9 French class and growing a pair to ride la Beatrice (rock garden in the Mont Sainte Anne XC course). It's been a great week of recovery and relaxing with a bit of training and go-kart racing with Coach Rotem, Payson, and Levi.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! These people have played a huge role in making this East Coast trip possible:
 - Dirty Harry's bike shop for helping me out when mum and dad told me I needed a new helmet
 - Lauren Catlin for being my feeder through Wisconsin and Nationals, and sunglass lender after I broke mine with my helmet in Wisconsin
 - Grandmas and Grandpas on both sides for coming out to Nationals and cheering and supporting all the way, you guys are great!
 - Mr and Mrs Noonan for providing me with such a wonderful home to stay in during Nationals
 - Joe, Andrew, Lauren and Chad for showing me the Highland way of life
 - Chris, Noah, Sarah, Billy, Aaron, Nick, Elisa, Crystal, Vanessa, Brad, Tom, and Mikey for welcoming me into the floor sharing life of the North East
 - And of course Mum and Dad, Corey at Ultimate Ride, and everybody else who is always there for support and smiles!

Now is time to do a tiny bit more recovery to race the Eliminator here in Mont Sainte Anne tomorrow morning, wearing USA kit and #72. Have to make it through the timed qualifying round in the top 32 (out of 72) to be seen on RedBull TV at 5pm Quebec time. Go hard or go home

Next blog to come with more exciting news and hopefully photographs :)

Cheers,
Ryan

Racing, Riding, NO INTERNET, Happy Birthdays

It's been a little while since I said I'd post a race/life report but I swear I really have been busy!

Since my last post I had a very rude awakening to the realities of altitude, riding a very good first lap and a half before my heart and lungs decided that was all they could do with the oxygen they were given. After the short track on Sunday (which went just about the same as the XC the day before) I packed up and headed down to Durango for a short week of training and catching up with friends before the big trip towards the east side of the USA.

The week in Durango included some hard mountain bike rides and some easy ones followed by time at/on the Animas river doing stand up paddle boarding and tubing. It was a great time to relax and finish organizing travel details for the six weeks of racing to come.

The first race of my current trip was in Portage, Wisconsin at a little ski resort called Cascade Mountain. It was a relatively long lap with punchy climbs and grassy ski slope traverses, not overly technical unless it rained... Which it did. My race started out well, from the back row I made my way up to around the top 20, riding in a group of four guys and feeling good to recover a little for the last couple laps and maybe make up some more spots. This plan went pear shaped as it started to rain on lap 4 of 6 and my mud riding skills from Alice Springs really began to show. I would get passes on a singletrack, try to hold the rider's wheel, and fall over. It went like this for the rest of the race, sliding and crashing all over the place, eventually finishing in 33rd. Definitely a lot of things to take away from this weekend, the main conclusion is that I need to ride more mud.

The place we stayed in Wisconsin was a cool old farmhouse with cows, corn, a snapping turtle, but no internet. Sorry Cruz and Elena, happy belated 21st to you!

Since Wisconsin, Levi Kurlander (Ska/Zia/Trek MTB team) and I have been treated to wonderful grandparent service with my grandparents in Pittsburgh, PA where they DO have WiFi! I am writing this from their living room before we head out to the next stop, USA National MTB Championships at Bear Creek Mountain Resort, PA. It's the morning of my 21st birthday and I am very excited for the next few weeks, not because I can drink legally, but because I feel that my legs are finally deciding it's time to switch on - I guess we'll have to see!

Sorry for the lack of pictures this time, will do my best to add some from nationals.

Cheers,
Ryan

6 Weeks = Not Enough!

Well, after six weeks back in the land down under staying with my family, working at Ultimate Ride, and riding my bike, I can safely say that it wasn't quite enough. But I think that's a good thing - keeps me excited to go back next time! It was great to catch up with everyone at home and with a solid block of training under my belt I am ready for the next six weeks of racing here in the US and A.

The flight over was pretty long and uncomfortable, but nothing out of the ordinary. Under the loving care of my grandparents helping me get over the jetlag and ready for the Colorado Springs US Pro Cup! Altitude is hurting my poor heart and lungs but we'll see how they pull through tomorrow, awesome course in store so bring it on!

Watch it live here at 2:30pm Mountain Time: 

Here's a picture from the top of Mt. Gillen with my mate Alex!

Stage Racing = Hard!!

Coolest race ever! Hope to see y'all next year :)           Photo: Shane Mulcahy

At the end of a totally awesome week of racing I am happy to say that Alice Springs has not lost any of its magic! The trails and racing were absolutely unreal and coming into the last stage with a lot of work to do made for a very exciting day... Here's how the last three stages went:

Stage 5, Night Race:
   - Good start with fast section on the golf course
   - Little stack in the sand about 2km in
   - Panicked to get back on Ben's wheel
   - Second into singletrack but too adrenalined up to ride well, blowing through a turn
   - James, Chris and Paris came by and rode behind them for ~20mins
   - Calmed down
   - Got back on the front of the small group and started to chase down Ben
   - Dropped chain with ~5km to finish, many profanities yelled
   - The 3 guys came around again
   - Failed to get back into the racing groove for the rest of the race
   - Finished up 5th on the stage, ~3mins down on Ben, 2mins down on James, Chris and Paris
   - Dropped to 2nd overall
   - New derailleur fitted for stage 6 (Thank you Corey Gerdsen at Ultimate Ride!!!!)

Awesome singletrack in stage 6
Photo: Shane Mulcahy

Stage 6, Velodrome to BMX track:
   - Queen stage of the event
   - Pretty fast start along the hell line
   - Paris has mechanical early on - snapped his chain :(
   - Select group of 4 guys (Ben, James, Chris, and myself)
   - Ben punched it up the hard steep fireroad climbs keeping it tough
   - Rolling turns along bike path and bitumen
   - Other guys seem very strong, sitting on about 35km/h
   - Tried to eat as much as possible - could feel legs starting to go
   - At about 20km to the finish legs decided that they didn't want to be there anymore
   - Dropped off group at water stop #2
   - Rest of the stage spent trying to limit losses
   - No crashes on the ridgeline
   - Finished ~8mins down
   - Slipped to 4th place overall, ~10mins to Ben, ~2mins to James and Chris
   - Very impressive rides from these guys - super shredders!!




Stage 7, Chifley to Telegraph Station:

Racing just to be in the singletrack!
Photo: Kirrily Whitehead

   - Final stage
   - No troubles with police escort today!
   - Knew I had to go from the start to make up as much time as possible
   - Raced James to the first bit of singletrack
   - Couldn't shake anyone by Undoolya rd.
   - Into the next singletrack put the hammer down again
   - Got a bit of a gap with Ben, began to ride away from James and Chris
   - Kept the pressure on for the rest of the race
   - So much fun going very fast in the new singletrack!
   - Legs hurt so much, knew it would be close

Raby - The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Trail Gopher responsible for amazing singletrack in stage 7
Photo: Shane Mulcahy

   - Came through the finish line with absolutely nothing left in the tank
   - Had the ride of my life!
   - Climbed back into 2nd overall

Little brother Paul - looks hurting but probably having fun!
Photo: Rapid Ascent

Absolutely spent at the end of the week!
Photo: Rapid Ascent 

Myself, Ben Mather, and James Downing
Awesome to share the week with these champions!
Photo: Rapid Ascent

These wonderful ladies!
Imogen Smith, Jo Bennett, and Jess Douglas all smiles for the women's podium
Photo: Rapid Ascent

STOKED! It was such an awesome week getting to ride with guys so much more experienced than me and to meet so many amazing people. Great work to everyone this week and I hope to see you all in the near future, hopefully you're all as excited as I am to come back and race next year!

Cheers,

Ryan

My friends' back yard is cooler than your back yard ;)

Stage 4 Time Trial Highlights!

This morning's stage was absolutely phenomenal with the ~22km time trial which started and finished at the Alice Springs Golf Club with a bit of a later start for me, heading off at 10:18am (30 seconds behind Ben Mather). I knew going into it that I had the upper hand having someone to chase the whole way which made it very challenging not to get out of the gate too fast and blow myself up. I knew that he was going to be really strong again in the sand and in all the climbs like yesterday so I made a point of saving a little energy on the first half of the ride and staying super smooth and fast through the singletrack.

Had the pleasure of trying to run away from cameraman Norm Douglas (who put together the super cool highlight video below) out on Kim's Track which added some excitement before having to put my head back down and continue the chase. On the way back I decided it was time to have a big dig on the fast and flowy Emily Gap Track and hoped I would be able to see Ben some time soon. About ready to slow it down a little I caught a glimpse of him and James Downing at the top of some switchbacks which rekindled the fire in the hammered legs.

With about 3k's to go I had finally reeled them in and knew that I had had one of the rides of my life, hopefully not doing myself in for the next three stages...! It has been such a pleasure (and suffer!) to ride with these guys so far this week, all of their racing knowledge and friendship has made me truly respect them and a little anxious to see what they've kept in store for me in the second half of the race.

Anyway, here's the quick video and a couple more photos before the night stage this evening. Enjoy :)

Doing the hurting and being hurt while trying to smile
Photo: Dane Groza

The beautiful backdrop of the West Macdonnell Ranges (Home)
Photo: Shane Mulcahy

Back in the Alice!

It has been a very, very long time since I've posted anything on here. A month short of three years to be precise! A lot has happened between June of 2011 and May 2014 - including finishing up high school, a six month stint in Bogota, Colombia, as an assistant teacher, and surviving two years of college at Fort Lewis in Durango, Colorado. 

A little flashback action of my lovely house and roommates in Bogota

The nitty gritty on these happenings is going to have to wait as currently there's a little more important racing to talk about here at home in the Alice!

The Ingerreke Commercial Mountain Bike Enduro (ICME) started yesterday and so far has been nothing short of amazing after stages 1, 2, and 3. Having ridden in the race four years ago, the event run by Rapid Ascent hasn't lost any of its fun (both in the casual atmosphere and unreal trail choices)! With the support of the Ultimate Ride Bike Shop and Bicycle Centre I've been given the opportunity to ride a suped up Lapierre XR 529 while I'm at home which has proved to be a great bike so far for the race. Enough with the background info, here's a bit of a race report on how the race has unfolded so far:

Stage 1, Chifley Resort to Alice Springs Velodrome:

A very unfortunate start to the race for number one plate Ben Mather as the cop car escort through town ended in a brake slam instead of an acceleration, ending with Ben laying on the back window a little bruised and now an angry man. He showed this as he lay down a steady but very strong pace through the sand before getting to the Alice Springs Cinema KOM. By this time we had a gap to the rest of the field, and I wanted to see how Ben's climbing legs were going so gave it a big effort over the top to take the prize. 

Top of the KOM, photo by Shane Mulcahy

From here we settled in for a solid shred on the local singletrack keeping the power going through when a km or two before the water stop I burped my rear tyre. James Downing had a heroic chase and caught us on the descent into the water stop where I put CO2 in the tyre and, fortunately, Ben and James were gentlemen and slowed for me to get back on. 

The last part of the stage continued with more awesome singletrack, and the three of us stayed together until the second train track crossing where I was able to hop across like a kangaroo and put a tiny gap into the guys. After a little mistake at the bottom of Blair's Stairs, I put the hammer down and the dually handled the climb perfectly letting me descend into the velodrome with a slight gap over Ben in second and James in third. 

Stage 2, Anzac Hill climb:

After taking the stage in the morning, I wanted to capitalize on the small lead I had since time bonuses are on offer (20 seconds for first and 10 seconds for second). The short 300m climb is an all-out sprint, and I made sure my legs were nice and warm before heading to the start line 30 seconds after Ben. Everything went quiet as I watched the start clock tick down from 5-4-3-2-1… after that it was all over before I could think about it. With legs burning and barely able to get enough oxygen, Norm Douglas came over with his camera and said "sum it up in two words for me," the only appropriate thing that came to mind was "holy moley!" with a big grin having gotten up the hill in just under 44 seconds, barely two seconds quicker than Ben to take the stage win for the second time.

Cool little highlight reel here check it out here.

Stage 3, Telegraph Station to Lasseter’s Hotel and Casino:

Today was all about staying with Ben and James and not losing any time in the overall standings, going into the stage with just a 28 second lead. We got off to a relatively responsible start on the fire roads through and after Wigley's waterhole, with Ben and I gaining a little time through the sandy sections on the 'Roller Coaster.' We made it to the helmet (Ben's, after Ben Hodgson an ex-local strongman) with a group of four or five of the top guys and enjoyed the riding on some new singletracks before making it to the water station at about 25km mark. 

Tongue's out fun's out! Photo again courtesy of Shane Mulcahy

Ben continued to tap away pretty strongly on the pedals, and we would get small gaps to the guys behind before they would catch up in a bit of a yo-yo exercise. Coming along onto the final stretch of fire roads and bitumen with about 5km to go Ben put in some massive efforts keeping me on the ropes trying to get back on. Eventually it was back to four guys again, with Chris Hanson and Paris Basson mixing it up towards the last climb of the race. I misled all except Ben with my 'local' knowledge, and advantage was taken with Ben taking off again leading most of the remainder of the race spent in the red zone. Coming down Stephen’s Road to the finish, Ben was going so fast there was no chance to come around and try for the stage win again, and he took a well-deserved win after sitting on the front all day! 

The results of today's stage leaves the gap between Ben and I at 18 seconds after time bonuses. Unfortunately Mr. Downing had tyre trouble today and had a valiant effort after blowing through three CO2s and only losing three minutes! 

Highlight reel for stage 3 action click the blue underlined word.

Getting some rest now and watching a bit of Star Wars in preparation for tomorrow’s double stage. Looking forward to a nice massage from Pippa at Alice Springs Physio this evening as well!

Cheers :)

 -Ryan