Mud Sweat & Gears 20....13!!!

pilch

Hey VW didn't realise you were about, did the kids race? Had a few spots of rain during the afternoon session then it peed it down just after, awesome timing! Great course really enjoyed it

VWsurfbum

we just popped along after my morning ride, not fit enough to race at the moment, too much working not enough training. Kids havent ridden much through the summer so would be unfair to ask them to race.
Must admit i'm slightly nervous of the Hadleigh race, as not exactly been on olympic std rides recently LOL
I didnt see you either Pilch, i was standing in the first DH bit, but you were probably going too fast!
I tell you what, some people need to know what brake to use on those sections, so many people locking the rear and sliding!

pilch

That explains it, I had a cheeky power nap (must be my age) whilst the other half was racing, very supportive I know... I'm going to Hadleigh but i'm just pit bitching for mrs p so i'll be manning the camera on the gnaaar sections, see you there!

stylish

I must admit, I locked the rear brake down there, it's surprising how much momentum one could gain in a short length of trail, very deceiving when racing, but good fun. The lap was way better than I recall from 2 years ago. The most fun I have had other than 24/12 all year if I'm honest.

evo3ben

Was a great course! A real lung and heart buster. One of them courses where you think your near the top and then it just gets longer and steeper lol. Im sure it was more or less the same as two years ago just a bit more worn.
I lock my back wheel every time down the rooty chute. Not risking a front wheel wash out on the roots and mega slippery dust. I think locking the rear wheel to help control the bike and kind of drift around the corners is the best way of doing it and the quickest way to scrub speed if you are going super fast down it. I went down it in 25 seconds according to strava which is good going. Fastest was 13 seconds :shock: (Elite level)

stylish

I had to chuckle, had a rider pass me going into the rooty chute, without any warning may I add, bars were close and I had to sit up a bit as he came by, he then shot off down there at great speed, about a third of the way down there was a fairly big root in the middle and he hit that and went straight on, into the undergrowth and had to reverse his way out........suppose it was a touch of karma if im honest.

VWsurfbum

just to add to the nerves of the next race
http://www.imbikemag.com/mountain-bike- ... -hadleigh/

pilch

stylish wrote:

I had to chuckle, had a rider pass me going into the rooty chute, without any warning may I add, bars were close and I had to sit up a bit as he came by, he then shot off down there at great speed, about a third of the way down there was a fairly big root in the middle and he hit that and went straight on, into the undergrowth and had to reverse his way out........suppose it was a touch of karma if im honest.

That may have been a friend of mine, It sounds like the same incident, the 3 of us went through that bit in close proximity, I told him that was no place for a rest stop

evo3ben

Now i do think its great that we are able to race at Hadleigh Farm and its great for MSG but i do feel that the numbers are a bit er huge and a little unfair to those that have dedicated there training and racing to MSG.
I do appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into every single event to make this series as fantastic as it is but i feel this last race at Hadleigh is more of a novelty race rather than a series race.

Lets be honest, every racer wants to race the Olympic course and this is a perfect opertunity to do so and dont take that away from anyone. But, as series, there are people dedicated to racing MSG, put in alot of training etc and will be done out of points due to semi pro's, pro's etc having a blast in any cat they can just to race the course (or part of it).

So, if you are usually a top 15 finisher, i think you will be lucky to break top 30 and get points which is a shame really to those dedicated to the series. Once again i dont take it away from these people wanting to race there, i just think its a little unfair to those people that have been dedicated to the series especially where points are critical and very close which they are this year.

berm bandit

evo3ben: The numbers are capped and are at the same level as every other round this year to date. The opportunity to enter has been there for all ever since the series entry opened at the start of the year. No idea why you might think it any different from any other round in that respect. What is it thats bothering you?

G

VWsurfbum

Looking forward to seeing you all there Sunday, if still a little nervous even though I was racing DH Sunday just gone

berm bandit

Ditto VDubyer. Come over and say hi.

We are setting it up as an MSG event so plenty of B lines and options for those with an imbalance in the balls to skill ratio to enjoy their day, whilst enabling the real nutters to enjoy the Olympic experience too

VWsurfbum

A mate has just phoned me after practice, says its epic and really enjoyable.
Put my mind at rest about a couple of things, so thats cool. Only A line he didnt do was I think from his description was deans drop.

WindyG

I'm all sorted and ready to go, really looking forward to this one.

cycleclinic

I put my sus forks in and my rock climbing wheels on too. Still slightly worried about the course I hope they have tamed it a bit.

Who has been round today what is it like?

VWsurfbum

Apparently there's a b and numpty lines all in place

stylish

I take my hat off to all who rode today, I was lucky enough to be at the Olympic race last year, and couldn't believe how easy they made the course look, but too see so many riders take to the best bits today and ride them was impressive.
Many things conspired against me riding today, hectic work schedule, pathological fear of big rocks and just being a tart, meant I was more than happy to use todays event as my first as assistant commisaire, I really cant tell you what I did today, but it was great fun, my mind was all over the place, and luckily the team at the event were brilliant.

hope all those that fell today, mend quickly, and are back on bikes soon.

WindyG

It was a great course, the Olympic riders made it look so simple, I had my share of off's and have few cuts and bruises to show for it, somehow I even managed to scrape the top my arse!

bigdawg

well done to everyone that raced yesterday - looked amazing...

The results seem to be a bit upside down I assumed the same a stylish back up there that loads of pros woudl turn up and nick points but looks like the opposite happened, lots of friends normally back in the mid to late twenties coming in top ten!!

Really gutted I couldnt ride, but at the same time kind of glad as Id probably have hurt myself!!

bigdawg

loads of people coming up to me yesterday and telling me how hard / scary the course was, yes it is but, two words:

broken collarbone:

WindyG

It was a tough/scary course, first time I've felt nervous, the main obstacles could be bypassed and some had either been taken out or the A line removed, it was very dry and loose and it was easy to get caught out dropping from some of the rocks, I came off a couple of times so have a few cuts and bruises to show for it and pulled muscle across my chest, I enjoyed all the climbs as I was gaining places on nearly of them. There were quite a few crashes but it was to be expected, the only real big one I nearly had was clipping the bars on a tree and getting huge sideways moment scary the hell out of a few behind me but just pulled it back into shape. I did notice a few riders finished higher than they might have in other races, it really was down to how much you took on, taking B or C lines were costly.

berm bandit

We definitely tried to reward skill, but make it doable for all in the way we approached it.

Overall we've consistently found that it is easy to ride by those who haven't been there, pretty uniformly those who have have a different view.

G

bigdawg

Well done G - not just for yesterday but for all the work effort and sacrifices that you and Matt have made over the year... Thank you

WindyG

I think the course lines were set right it did quite rightly reward those that had the skill to take on the A lines.

evo3ben

What an absolutely brilliant weekend!! Massive well done to everyone who raced, that is a super tough course and you can see why its classed as the hardest XC course in the world which was made to test the best riders on the planet!
The organisation by the MSG crew was outstanding!! Saturday practice was spot on and a great big thank you too the volunteers that enabled the practice day to go ahead 8) If it wasnt for the saturday practice, i would have been in trouble come the race.
I personally think that MSG has set the bar as standards go for xc racing in this country and really do deserve all the positive feedback that they are getting! I can only see things getting better for next year 8) How you improve on this year though i dont know lol

The course yesterday was really well thought out with lines that most competitors could take with out problems. There were a few people still out of there depth even on the easier bits but thats not to the fault of MSG but the racers themselves not trying the course before racing it. I came flying around the corner before going over the tunnel to find a girl contemplating weather she wanted to go down the rocks or not with her bike parked sideways :shock: I stopped in time thankfully but could have been a different story.

I must admit, having tried all the lines on the saturday, come the race i would play it safe with a combination of A & B lines mainly for my personal safety and limit damage to the bike. One thing is practicing them in your own time and another is doing them at 180bpm. My concentration definately started to dip a little come lap 3 and opted for the 'C' line at Triple Trouble. Lost a couple of places but not really bothered to be honest as i intended on racing with the attitude of enjoying the experience, taking no risks and making it safely around.

Well done to all, what a great series it has been, sad its finished but looking forward to next year already

VWsurfbum

WindyG wrote:

I think the course lines were set right it did quite rightly reward those that had the skill to take on the A lines.

Quite right, i made up places on the tech sections and lost them on the climbs

Only bit that really got me annoyed was on the start of the ZigZags where you had to go up a short rock garden, so many people just stopped and walked along the racing line :evil: it was such an easy line i cant believe people were stopping :?: but worse it took all your momentum out of your climb.
which then for whatever reason people couldn't do the rocks on the climb? surely that is just basic MTB?

sparkingchains

Big selection of photos from the afternoon race - http://bit.ly/15FfFuo
Email if you are interested in any

VWsurfbum

sparkingchains wrote:

Big selection of photos from the afternoon race - http://bit.ly/15FfFuo
Email if you are interested in any

Some really good pictures there.

berm bandit

Guys,

Thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated. Not everything we do is immediately transparent, but there is usually method inthe madness, this whole season has had an undertone towards a finale at the Olympic course, so upping technicality throughout and working hard at making sure that people got the idea of A and B lines was all about making it through last Sunday without carnage. While it wasn't totally injury free we were closer to an MSG style injury list than the one experiences at the Nationals so overall very happy with that.
Its all about giving the Olympic experience without the bit that involves an air ambulance.

bigdawg

just out of interest G the guy that went over triple trouble a line head first in the elite I assume he's ok - looked a bit dazed.