Stodge-Blog

I woke on Sunday morning with a voice like Barry White, sounding as if I had had a night out on the town. Not sure where it came from but the cobwebs soon blew away as I bumbled up to the relay event arena in the morning sun, chatting to John Houlihan about all things BMBO and discussing ideas to increase participation by UK Orienteering Clubs.

This was a first for me, a mixed sex relay where every team had to have at least one woman. Most teams seem to have put out their women on the middle leg but there were 8 dotted around in the 30 teams that were to start the race. There were safety worries about 30 riders all converging onto a small single track at once, particularly with a mix of men and women, plus the added complication of the masters start and finish located in the same place, but in the end people were careful and things went reasonable smoothly with no mishaps that I saw.

At go! I hung back a little intending not to get caught up in any incidents but got the map onto the board quickly in the Le Mans style start and got into a reasonable position in the pack as we descended the single track to the ‘map start’. At the start kite we split in 3 directions and I seemed to immediately get dropped off the back of a bunch, struggling to keep up with the furious pace set by the Czechs and Poles.

My control flow and navigation kept me in touch for a while but eventually I was riding alone. At this point coming into number 5 I spotted a route choice around through the start rather than straight and decided to give it a go on the way to 6. Though I wobbled when the track seemed to disappear I fell back on contours for nav and nailed the control. As I was coming out I realised I had just regained several places which got me fired up even more.

I got into a pack with Tobias from Austria (3^rd place in the middle race), Russia’s legend Ruslan Gritsan and Denmark’s Bjarke Refslund. I just could not believe I was mixing it with these guys and managing to stay in touch as the legs split and rejoined the courses gaffeling their way through the forest.

I took another good route alone down a very fast asphalt road which again pulled me up the field but disaster nearly struck. I thought it better to be on the asphalt track alongside the road as it would give me better visibility when trying to pick my track junction. As I zoomed right I suddenly saw a large step in from of me. I just managed to clear it with the font wheel and I clattered the back really hard on its edge. Luckily riding tubeless I had no pinch puncture problems but then I saw a flight of 3 steps back down. I

threw my weight back as far as possible, pulled back on the bars and hoped. Looking ahead there was more to come so I cut left through the bushes and rejoined the main track, counting myself lucky.

As we neared the spectator control I again fell off the back of the pack but I saw a better route out of a control than the others and rejoined it only to be dropped again on the climb.

I gritted my teeth and rode harder and harder. Every time the pack pulled away or disperesed on a gaffel I would wind them back in with better control flow but eventually nearing the number 18 the control I had messed up on yesterday I found it too much and it ended with just me and a Frenchman. His speed was superior to me on the asphalt road sprint to changeover but I’d had the best ride of my MTBO career, handing over to Em Benham on second leg in 8^th place. I collapsed over the line, incoherent and wobbly even keeling over as I tried to undo the map cover, but on a massive high. What was brilliant too was that the Danes and Austrians came over to congratulate me on such a plucky ride and a great result, 18km in 57 mins just 2 mins down on the leader and 1.5 mins behind the main chasing pack.

Then came controversy as the leading Danish team rider Rikke Kornvig came through the spectator control on a different bike. Apparently she like many others had lost her rear mech to the brashings and had been given a bike by an M50 competitor from the masters on the course. Unfortunately this is considered outside help and she was disqualified. I really felt for the Danes as they have had so many mechanicals and breakages this weekend between them and she had such a good lead. The bike she was loaned was real shopper and I’m sure it would have slowed her. Em kept the pressure on even though she was feeling sick that morning managing to hang on to 6^th place through spectator and dug in deep to hold it to the end, mixing it with some Swiss guys, their women having gone out on first leg.
The team knew before the start that GB rookie Bobby Smyth would not be in a position to put in the sort of performance needed on last leg, so for me and Em we were really happy with our result at the end of leg two and for Bobby the pressure was off and we told him just to go and enjoy himself. Unfortunately after a good start Bobby didn’t finish the course, losing his SI card before the spectator control.

Celebrations continued when Charlie and Sarah both came in 1^st from their

chasing starts to be crowned IOF World Masters Champions and Tony BB took advantage of mistakes by the riders in front of him in this pursuit chasing start to leap frog up to Bronze, a great result for them and British Mountain Bike Orienteering in general.

The World Masters next year is in Dalana, Sweden in June (Combined with a World Cup again), and British Masters in M/W 40, 50 & 60 should really consider the event. Sarah, Charlie, Tony, John, John, Bryan and Andy have shown that fitness gained on a diet of 3 hour score MBOs in the UK give GB riders in good chance against the Worlds best 40+ riders.

After the middle race Bobby and I drove into the centre of Gdansk to do a little sight seeing and purchase pressies for our daughters.

I was immediately gobsmacked by the beauty and cleanliness of the old town. Although much of it has been rebuilt since the war it is simply sublime. Pedestrian cafés lined street, breaking into squares with fantastic buildings, fountains and sculpture, a waterfront with more of the same and little alleys and back streets with arches and tree lined smaller squares, Gdansk old town is easily a match for many of the more traditionally beautiful European cities such as Budapest or Prague.

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It is a shame I do not have any more time to explore this wonderful city as I am flying back straight after the relays but it will be on my watch list for international orienteering festivals from now on as I would love to return.

The mountain biking too although tough has also been very good and I’m sure there is more than enough to keep the average UK rider happy, all within a stones throw of the city centre. With cheap flights from Wizz air and low prices for food and drink it would make a good alternative long weekend destination.

Luckily Bobby gave me a lift up to the start of the Middle Distance MTBO World Cup Race as I had a very early start of 10.12, the 7^th man off. The event area was a good 10km cycle uphill from the event centre so more than a warm up for most.

The terrain was similar to the model area, a plateau and a series of wriggly ridges with lots of fairly steep re-entrants, criss crossed by a denser track network than the long. There were lots of brashings on the tracks and in the forest which again caused many people to return from their courses early with rear mechs tucked in their pockets and spokes missing from their wheels.

I started well, riding smoothly through the controls, if though a little frustrated at the junior men getting in the way at the flags until I made an error on the way into number 4, trying to cut through the forest too early rather than riding around which was a big mistake. I ended up thrashing about pulling branches out of the bike, climbing unnecessarily to avoid more brashings and generally started to see red mist and got angry. I probably lost more that 2-3 mins!

Unfortunately I then took both a poor route choice and made a mistake taking an early track on the way to the next control losing another 3 mins. I seemed to bumble the next few controls still losing time and making either daft route choice decisions or little nav errors until I eventually got it together for the middle part of the race but it was too late. Unfortunately I also made an error on the second last control. Until I see the map again tonight I’m not sure what I did but I was thrashing around twice in the same area not seeing the tracks on the ground as they appeared on the map.

Kevin H, caught me at this point but I decided some British pride was at stake and I would beat him in, which I did after a great standing punch at the last.

So not a great race (53rd), I could blame a little of it on the early start, as the elephant tracks created would have helped the later riders but I think I let the first mistake get to me and tried to cut through the forest too much when it was faster to ride around.

The rest of team GB faired much better. Bobby rode solidly and Heather was 25^th Emily rode a great race on Women’s elite to take 5^th so she will join some of the GB masters on the podium at tonight’s prize giving.

Sarah and Charlie both extended their leads in Women’s 40 and 50 + and Andy Conn rode a superb middle race to get 4^th on Mens 40, just over two minutes behind MTBO legend Mika Turvala.

Sarah and Charlie now look unbeatable in the overall masters competition with everything hanging on tomorrows chasing start final.

The World Cup riders will be taking part in a mixed relay on Sunday. I will be leading out handing to Emily on second leg with Bobby on anchor.

Full middle results available later at
http://www.harpagan.pl/worldcup/?page=results&lang=en

Maps will not be available until after the relay.