Category: Orienteering

This weekend will take the cream of the UK’s Mountain Bike Orienteering competitors north to compete in both a middle and a long distance race in the Scottish Borders. Organised by club FVO, the Middle race will be held at Drumlanrig, an area new to MTBO, and the Long on the Sunday will be held at Mabie, part of the Seven Staines group of forests famous for their mountain biking trails.

The British Championships are also the final selection race for the British Team, so competitors will also be looking to the results with interest to see who will be picked to represent Great Britain at the World Championships in Portugal in July.

http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=78

http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=77

Well Hungarian TV, and they chose me as the hero shot for the webpage !

After a fitful nights sleep on bruised ribs and scraped arms and legs, I decided that I just wanted to finish the long race and not come last.

The start finish area was the same as the middle distance race, so up the hill again on the ride to assembly, but it seemed to take longer and felt tougher this morning. The weather was, again, glorious sunshine and blue skies as the riders lined up for the mass start with a plane circling overhead to film us. We were wearing DAG timing chips on our shoes as well as the usual SI and these were studiously checked by marshals on the way in.

We dumped our bikes in predetermined zones by race number and then walked back about 75 metres to the mass start line, where we lined up next to our upturned maps waiting for the countdown. On “Go!” all 70-odd of us careered over the meadow to our bikes and we were off. There were a few elbows but we all got away cleanly towards the start flag some 400m distant. At this point the gaffling (gaffle is the Swedish work for forking) took over, and the pack split in to 3 streams of riders to the 2 first controls via various route-choices some 3km distant uphill all the way.

I settled into a steady rhythm for the 15 minute climb tucked in behind a German, and apparently Andy Conn was the rider tucked in behind me the whole way up. On the way to number two my horrendously squeaky front brake unfortunately scared a group of horses we came across. The riders quickly brought it under control and we were off again but I decided on a route to number 3 avoiding another encounter. The tricky ‘dangerous’ descent from the middle race featured again today twice but a good line was forming on it and I rode it cleanly without incident. Out of number 5 I opted for a navigationally dangerous cut through which paid off fantastically, bringing me ahead of a group of top 20 riders who had just dropped me. Then it was a blast downhill towards the village. Unfortunately, Andy and I plus about 5 other riders started racing at this point forgetting the gaffleing and consequently everybody made a mistake. Mine was probably worst losing perhaps a minute as I relocated and found the control, but It was my only mistake of the race.

Andy pulled ahead at this point as I had a leg which took slightly longer but it was neck and neck.

We then looped through the start finish area and changed maps before attempting the other gaffled course first control, again a 15 minute climb. I started a cat and mouse game with a Russian who kept pulling ahead on the climbs only to make little errors allowing me to catch up. I’m sure I saw him thump the handlebars when I over took him again at one point 🙂

From 3 to 4 on the second loop, I again chanced a big forest cut though contouring and, agai,n it paid off pulling back in some riders who had just dropped me after I stopped to “mark my territory”.

I started racing again when I caught a small group, and was replaying a mantra in my head ‘ride your own race, ride your own race’ which seemed to work and I managed to overtake them and pull away without incident.

Turning the map over again as I punched the last control of the second loop I noticed two things: one, the last loop was short and technically difficult in terms of navigation, and two, Andy Conn was 10 metres in front of me!

I knew this was my chance and luckily I held it together in the complex network of tracks and open areas and managed to cleanly ride the next 4 controls pulling ahead of him by a couple of minutes.

The planner had an ace up his sleeve, however, with a really tricky second last control, which had people riding all over the place. I ended up half running half falling down a horrendously steep bank in a bid to stay ahead of the chasing pack which seemed to work. I had a final wobble on the way to the finish when, frantically trying to read the map at speed, I finally wiped a blob of mud away from the map-board to discover the location of the last control and the taped finish funnel, though lost about 20 secs in the process.

I gunned the run in and practically collapsed over the line to download thinking I was racing someone for the line (I wasn’t I suspect my shadow was tricking me). Considering my state at breakfast I was very pleased with the way I rode and was elated with 38^th place.

Em had a fantastic ride to take 7^th. Andy lost nearly 3 minutes to me on the last few controls and came in 43^rd. Sarah came in a very tired 42^nd.

After packing our bikes we all headed for a well earned Pizza on the lake front before driving for our flights with very tired legs.

An early slot in the start lists meant I was one of the first up to the start/finish area, situated on a grassy plateau a few kilometres above the town.

The map for today was a continuation of yesterdays sprint map, but this time at 1:15,000. We started in grand style on a podium with Maria commentating and the off was straight into the most technical area of the sprint map. I immediately made a small mistake which, unfortunately, probably lost me nearly 2 minutes as I faffed and took the wrong track descending to far down towards the houses and on the way to the next control saw my 3 minute man (the next rider in the start list) coming the other way. I focused and didn’t let it affect me though and rode strongly to the next, though a wobble in the circle lost me a few precious seconds in the dense network of tracks.

Planning ahead it was obvious this wasn’t going to be a classic middle race, more of a “short long”, with lots of climb and big route choice legs. I started riding quite well after the wobbly start and pulled in a group of early starters. I think made some OK route choice decisions, though its difficult to tell until the splits are available later tonight.

We had one very steep descent which had caution signs, and we had been warned about it in the team briefing the night before as being dangerous. I was skidding down it wondering what the problem was when at the bottom saw there was a drop off through a drainage ditch across the track ! I threw my weight back and hopefully the watching photographer got a reasonable shot of it, though I suspect he was looking for fallers!

I rode the next 4 or 5 controls cleanly but chose the long route choice option round on the long leg, avoiding the climb (as did Andy Conn). I’m sure the really strong riders would have gained time on this leg by going straight, but, for me, I think it was the right decision. Then came my “highlight” of the race….

Going flat out on a level landrover track I had a massive accident. I think my crank/pedal caught on a strand of fencing wire which was strung across the track in the grass. Needless to say the bike stopped but I didn’t taking a huge dive, superman style, over the handlebars to land some 10 feet away from the bike in a crumpled heap. For about 10 seconds I though I’d really hurt myself, winded and struggling to move, but as seems to be normal on these occasions I tried first my arm then my head and then finally I staggered back to the bike to disentangle it from the wire.

A bit dazed I cruised the next two controls fairly slowly and carefully before opening up the legs heading for home crossing the finish line and into quarantine where early starters have to wait until all other competitors have started. By this time the blood from a small cut on my chin had made me look probably far worse than I was, and organiser, Sandor, lined me up in a row of three riders, all waiting for the doctor to patch up. He looked at all three of us and decided I warranted attention 2^nd, triage being what it is! After cleaning up my various cuts the spray he applied to the scrape/lump on my arm hurt more than the original injury !

I felt a bit groggy for a while but after quarantine was opened I had a big bowl of goulash (served from a huge witches style cauldron) and bread which seemed to sort me out.

 

 

The sprint race was held 2 km from the event centre, in the low cultivated hills and urban edge of the town. A stiff climb up to the start meant that there was a significant net descent on the course, which finished with a mad dash through the streets.

I got a great start and nailed the first control, but lost loads of time on the second. Thinking I had overshot after blasting down a road, I went in too early on an unmarked track but relocated very quickly after spotting a very small quarry. I still lost perhaps a minute, though.

I was good through number three, confidently riding the rocky ‘dangerous’ descent for the TV cameras, but lost time near control 4, again taking an unmarked track which I should have noticed was wrong. I eventually extracted myself from the undergrowth (with a great big stick through the front mech) and headed out into the grassland section where I picked up some time riding and navigating well. I made one final error before the sprint for home, missing seeing a fence on the map and tried to cut through to a road, only to be forced back round losing time.

I rode the town section cleanly and avoided mispunching the control that caught so many others out.

I sprinted for the line overcooking the braking and managed a spectacular punch with rear wheel still in the air.
Looking at the results I was pleased to see I was well inside the top half in 30^th position, my best international result to date.

Em had a solid ride to take 12^th, Sarah, 36^th and Andy Conn beat me by 40 seconds, making only two small mistakes to take 25^th.

Results should be available at www.mtbo.hu

 
Well, after a roller coaster of emotions over the last 6 days with the ash cloud closing UK airspace, it looks now like I might actually make it to this event so here is a quick preview.

I should be flying out Thursday morning from Luton  all being well with the changes to the flying regulations. Em Benham is on her way already by train to make sure of getting to the event! The World cup consists of a Sprint on Friday, Middle race on Saturday and a mass start Long on Sunday.

With 500 people competing at the open pubic events the atmosphere should be fantastic. More details http://www.mtbo.hu/ . It’s just a big shame some of entered British riders have had their flights cancelled & won’t make it.

Sundays event organised by Harlequins Orienteering Club’s Colin Palmer was held in the private forested estate of Foxley, about 5 miles West of Hereford. The skies were blue and the sun shining brightly as I queued on the Worcester ring road with lots of people trying to get into a car boot sale.

So, a little late I arrived to find the event in full swing.

I had intended to get lots of people practicing their E punching and then competing in the Stodge Blog Sportident Punching Challenge (more about that another time) but I just had time to set it up before warming up and getting my head together ready to race.

The sun filtering through the trees and the relaxed atmosphere at the start / finish with ‘Colins’s kitchen’ complete with tablecloth was in stark contrast to the course which promised 25 km & 700 metres of climb with several areas of free order  controls (Hungarian style) – gulp !

I started strongly, riding fast to the first control, but I think it might have been better to take the road option and spend more time concentrating on planning ahead on the first free order section. Opting to ride downhill off track through the controls 42 and 43 I missed taking in 41 first, which, in hindsight, was a mistake, but there were lots of route variations available. Coming up out of the free order section there followed a tough section of uphill riding with variable surfaces and some fallen trees. Ben Plowman put in some fantastic times for these legs, showing his strength and technical riding skills. We then headed back down on some fantastically fast descents on single tracks and wide grassy rides, enjoying the private nature of the forest to really let rip (24mph recorded for me) but were then punished for our enjoyment after a few controls  by a huge climb back up to the ridge for number 57. I felt I rode this section very well and the splits show me consistently on or ahead of the pace which I am pleased with. It is again showing the concentration on strength this winter is paying off on the hills. Going into the second free order section I was leading, 20 seconds up on Ben and 5 minutes clear Andrew Windrum.

Disaster then struck for me. I had just overtaken a couple of people and managed to miss a track junction on the way to 61 losing about 1.5 minutes until I realised what I had done. Looking back, I should have stopped and had a proper look at the map. I then lost nearly another 2 minutes on the way to the next 2 controls picking daft route choices panicking trying to make up time. I started to get things back together again only to blow another minute on the way to number 50, even after double checking a track junction.  The map wasn’t great in that area but I can’t blame it, no one else cocked up quite so spectacularly on those 4 controls, some mental mistake preparation needed, me thinks, before my next race.

I then got back into the groove and set a few more fastest splits but there was more muppetry to come. Turning over the map for the final time I didn’t see the long route out and back to number 67 and promptly lost a load of climb going half way to number 68….

Luckily I rode cleanly to the end to take 3^rd place after that, but it is frustrating to know I lost so much time on those 5 controls and is just not good enough at this level.

On the plus side I was very happy with the way I was riding and particularly my strength on the hills.

Ben Plowman had his best MTBO result to date with a great ride, his experience of joining his local orienteering club, SYO, and attending club training sessions seem to be paying off.

After a warm down and a stretch in the sun, most people had left for home so I didn’t have time for the usual banter but I did go back out and pull in a few controls at a relaxed pace, enjoying the views through the forest and the wildlife before packing the car for the return journey. The area was very good for MTBO, perhaps a little too much climb for some, but Colin got the winning time right.

I think, looking back (and I know Colin and I spoke about the rideability and the various types of tracks in this working forest before the event), that the wide grass rides should be marked as open yellow rather than paths next time and perhaps he should also add some fallen tree symbols, but for a first MTBO map of a new area, planned and organised by one man, it was great. I look forward to returning to this area next year if Colin can secure permissions again, and thanks to Harlequins for taking the plunge and putting on an MTBO.

Results available here….

Stodge gets silver !

This bizarre event comprised of approximately 25 controls in a twisty 75 metre course between some bungalows on the event hotel grounds. The aim was to ride the course in the quickest time possible.

There was a qualifier, and a final held later in the evening, in the dark. Riders in the qualifiers were allowed to practice as much as they like but were only allowed to submit one time. After 3 practices, I completed what I felt would be my best, and I was gobsmacked to find I’d qualified 4th fastest.

The final was held as night fell. The 16 finalists lined up on the centre lawn with the whole MTBO camp watching. There was lots of banter and support form the various riders from their team members.

The format changed slightly, so there were head to head figure of eight races in a knock out.

First off I was drawn against a female junior, where I cruised to a victory by an embarrassing country mile – she qualified by winning the short super-sprint on Friday. However, in the quarter final I was drawn against the defending champion, Andreas Rief, from Austria. I had the reverse punching loop first and Andreas pulled out a lead of one control at the turn, but I finished very strongly on the return loop and pipped him on the line by only half a metre with the crowd going mad (for him, unfortunately).

My semi was against an Italian, and I managed a really clean ride and beat him by a control, now with the Austrians joining Em supporting me . So, to the final against local Danish boy and crowd favourite, Andreas Proschowsky. After a crowd chanting countdown I started well and at the figure 8 crossing we were neck and neck, but I then fluffed two controls in a row, the nerves getting the better of me, and despite a really strong finish where I was pulling him back in, it was just not enough and he beat me by about a second.

So, second place in this highly prized international event ;-). Ill go to bed with a smile on my face tonight…..