Stodge-Blog

Following the Sprint Final, Monday was a rest day with a model event available for those who wanted to use it.

Most teams opted to go to the model event, based in the town of Boticas, in the morning to avoid the lunchtime/afternoon heat. Team GB did the same but Windy and I (Windy navigating, I might add) managed to take a more leisurely tourist route to the event, so started somewhat later than the others!

We went out together on the 1:15,000 map to get an idea of the types of terrain we would encounter in the following days and to see how the various track symbology is used in Portugal. We learnt straight away that the fast riding forest roads were generally not that quick, being loose and criss crossed in places by storm water run off. Many of the smaller tracks were very rough and Windy’s 4 inch full-susspension bike was a definite advantage, soaking up the lumps and bumps.

We also tried several route choice options as a pair to see what was quicker.

Our last control was at the top of a hill in a beautiful old village, complete with all the old farmers and their wives we had seen in the opening ceremony video the night before, sitting on benches or standing in their doors, watching us mad, brightly-dressed MTBOers scuttling past on the cobbles.

The rest of the team went off to a lake to swim in the afternoon but I decided to stay in and around Montalegre and relax after a great lunch of lots of the smoked meats the town is famous for.

The 2010 World MTBO Sprint Championships was held in the old town of Chaves, in Northern Portugal. All competitors were quarantined inside a football stadium 30 minutes before the first start to ensure a fair competition, and the stadium was where the competition would culminate after 25 minutes of frantic racing round the narrow alleys and parks of the town.

There then started a bizarre warm up with most competitors riding round and round the cinder running track that surrounded the pitch. I had a reasonably late start and by the time I came to warm up, a cloud of dust had lifted over the track. Eventually I decided after about 20 minutes that the amount of dust going into my eyes and lungs was probably counter-productive to the warm up, so I stopped and went to the toilets to wash off. Taking my helmet off I looked like a badger: great brown dusty stripes in the pattern of my helmet vents all over my bald head. Someone said I looked like I’d just finished the Paris Roubaix!

We started just outside the stadium with a fairly difficult first control where I lost some time. Although I saw the entrance I should have taken off the street, I thought it looked a little too private so carried on. I soon realised it was the correct way in and turned around, perhaps losing 30 seconds, before I belted across a slippery tiled terrace to get back on track.

From there on I rode fairly well, though possibly taking safe route choices a little too often and losing a few seconds here and there.

I nearly bottled the long flight of steps coming out of number 3, but decided (as there were 3 or 4 half-landings) I would be OK. The head cam footage shows it to be a little scary, but I rode it cleanly. Next we went over the river to a park area for some very fast controls on tight paths, being careful not to corner cut and risk disqualification. There were many marshals lining the route whistles in hand at all the major junctions enabling us to commit flat out to some blind road junctions, but they were also there to make sure no-one cut any corners.

We then had a very picturesque control on an old stone bridge before the climb back up to some controls in the old town walls and castle.

I then made my only other big mistake, accidentally riding to number 1 on the way to 15. I realised fairly late and lost possibly up to a minute but managed not to let it get to me for the remaining controls.

Finally, we came to the area we had looked at the day before on the recce, a huge castle near the stadium. I nailed the route down into the castle moat as several top riders blatted past me. I stopped for perhaps 3 seconds just to make sure but felt very smug descending the metal ramp as they all streamed past.

Disaster nearly struck (as it did Chris BB), but I just missed an open manhole cover in the grass of the moat. I saw it at the last second and swerved round it at speed. I kept up the pace into the last control and got a very good finish time after a fast standing punch on the last control.

I finished with no idea how I had done, but I had enjoyed the event and had a big smile on my face and was full of adrenaline. Although I probably lost 1.30 in mistakes on numbers 1 and 15, I felt I had a good ride and was pleased with the mid table-position of 47^th considering, though a top 40 would have been nice.

I rode with a head-cam on and I will try and publish something later tonight if my netbook will process the video.

Results available at http://mtbwoc2010.fpo.pt/images/stories/lists/sprint_final_results.html

WOC 2010 Album click here

Saturday morning 5.30am: cockadoodle doooooo!!! Ben struggled with the blinds to try and stop Portuguese sunshine belting through our bedroom window. I rolled over and went back to sleep…..7:30am saw me sat in a locals cafe, espresso in hand taking in the atmosphere, before a quick shopping trip to get the breakfast in. We came back laden with hot baguettes, jams, cheese and more importantly a budget coffee maker, a bargain at 7 euros!

We also met our house guests the Swedes, who arrived very tired after an all night travel-fest: their plane had had to divert following a bird strike  which had smashed the cockpit window!

After team registration we all jumped into the hire cars for a familiarisation trip to Chaves where the sprint is to be held tomorrow. Careful to not break the embargo rules we bumbled our way round first the castle then the old town, tuning into the terrain. We met many international friends also wandering around in the mid day heat. So back to Montalegre and after a leisurely lunch it was training or ‘model’ event time. It was becoming hot and the steep climbs on cobbled narrow streets were testing. Many struggled with the intricate navigation required. I was navigating well but struggling with my front brake. In the end I finished the course and returned to the hotel for some spanner work. I went out again after and everything now seems fine ready for the sprint in the morning.

By 11am UK time tomorrow, the sprint will be all over as the portugese organisers are taking advantage of the moderate temperatures and quiet streets of first thing Sunday morning.

Keep an eye on the event website for results…..

Friday has seen Team GB flying to Portugal for the start of the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships 2010, based in the town of Montalegre.

The men’s team of Andy Conn, Ben Plowman, Andy Windrum and myself is joined by junior Chris Brand Barker who will be riding in the World Junior Championships alongside women’s junior competitor Helen Clayton.

The women’s senior team line up is Emily Benham, Beth Clayton (Helen’s Mum!) and Lucy Harris.

 The team is a great mix of age and experience with lots of young blood looking good for the future of MTBO in the UK.

Emily, Helen and Lucy flew out early in a bid to acclimatise to the promised fearsome midday heat and have already reported temperatures of 38 degrees C. Saturday will be spent training and tuning into the terrain of northern Portugal ready for the first race, the urban sprint in the town of Chaves on Sunday morning.

http://mtbwoc2010.fpo.pt/

Well it’s less than a week to go now till the World MTBO Champs in Portugal. June has been another month of ups and downs. Following my fantastic results in Poland I managed to pick up a couple of colds from my daughter, the last of which went to my chest. I also picked up some sort of strange fungal infection in a cut from Poland on my leg which also required a visit to the doctors. The last week of June was spent not training but pill popping and cream rubbing in a desperate attempt to get better in time for Portugal.
I did though take the opportunity to make sure I had everything serviced and ready and did some technical preparation.

After a couple of recovery rides but knowing not to do anything too punishing in the week leading up to the World Championships, I decided to do a Sweet Spot session on the turbo trainer but limit it to just 1 effort rather than the normal 4 last night. It went very well and I felt great, feeling back in the groove, seemingly not having lost any fitness. I came into the house in a much better mood and phoned my coach for the normal weekly chat.

I came off the phone and then promptly slipped on our timber stairs (yes I was wearing socks, yes I’m a muppet) landing heavily on elbow, arm and lower back, very sensible, nothing seemingly going right for me at the moment. Luckily nothing broken or badly bruised but I feel a little sore now the day after.

So time to pack, double check kit, get lots of sleep, focus on the good results from Poland and just get out there and do my best……

We travel on Friday so as long as I can find a decent WIFI connection, expect daily updates from then.

London on a Thursday evening 5.35pm. It’s hot, sticky and the tube stations are closing due to over crowding after a points failure somewhere. I’m In Victoria, and I’ve got a train to catch at 6.33 in Euston……

A couple of others and I walked reasonably fast past Buck House to Green park station, got to the platform to realise there was no way we were going to get on a train, it was heaving and the carriages passing were full to bursting. So backup to the surface (by this time the station was closed) and try to get a black cab. No luck so we started walking very, very quickly towards Euston. Then horrendous crowds as we neared the end of Oxford Street. After pushing our way through we realised it was iphone launch day. The Apple store was full with long queues up the street, security, police and marshals everywhere.
Eventually with no Cabs in sight with their lights on and it getting very late I decided it was time for a run with a mile or so to go. Being led by a relative local up till then I had no idea where to go so it was out with the iphone and I ran with it on, navigating street by street on the google maps.
I staggered into Euston with 3 mins to spare and I eventually flopped onto the train a sweaty mess.
Now then should it go in the training diary? I don’t think I’ve a milage log for my black work shoes!