So it’s been a crazy busy few months, after finishing up nationals in NZ I headed straight out to Spain for a test camp with the team.
That didn’t go so well for me getting unlucky and crashing onto my quad really hard. It was however a good time to suss out the new bikes, suspension and meet my new team mates Willow and Aaron. After Spain I flew into Australia to meet up with Tory to spend 10 days in Port Douglas, up near Cairns. I don’t know what I picked up on the flights back from Europe but I came down with one gnarly flu and spend a week in bed. Really not what I had planned for a holiday. I headed out from Cairns to fly down to Sydney and meet up with Mick Ross from Australian Mountain Bike Magazine. We hung out for the day and checked out a bit of Sydney on and off the bike. A short drive in Micks Subaru and we were in Canberra for the weekend with Trek Australia doing a Master class. It was the first time I’ve been to Canberra to ride XC / Trail and also do a coaching day, it was pretty cool riding something new there away from DH. Coaching day was Sunday and we had a little rain but it didn’t seem to bother anyone. I was still quite sick but green tea, coffee and cough medicine got me through and in all was a successful day. Shout out to Trek Australia and Mick for helping pull this together. The article will run in the next issue so keep and eye out.
Back to NZ and in need of getting myself healthy again. I had 2 weeks at home and then it was time to pack up and get myself back on a plane to South Africa for another Team Camp this time in Cape Town. Awesome weather, and such a different prospective to what life is like over there. I did notice is was so different to what we have in NZ with the quality of life for the average. Shanty towns are a norm to see scattered along the road sides, kids out playing soccer and transport either over packed vans or walking on the motorway. The flip side to that is amazing winery’s, beautiful diverse landscapes and million dollar mansions.
After a week it was time to fly to Durban and drive with the team to our favorite hotel in Pietermaritzburg, Capulet. Pauline our host is always full of sunshine and enthusiasm. Our first race as a team was the SA National on the World Cup track. Weather conditions were so bad the DH course had to started from halfway down the hill. After seeding run Aaron was 1st, I was in second and the down pours got even harder. The event was cancelled and seeding times counted for the prize money.
The World Cup was the final part of the SA trip and it was a nice change to see the weather turned back into what everyone was hoping for, sunny warm conditions. It was evident in practice rolling speed and carrying speed everywhere was so important. Tires were pumped up and cut down and suspension setup stiff. Being first race of the year I was nervous to see where I was at and after Qualifying sitting in 19th was a little off the mark. Another day of practice and I was feeling a lot better with my riding, yet come race day I couldn’t get in the zone and had to settle disappointed in 28th.
Not how I had planned to start the World Cup season. I went home to NZ with my tail between my legs to figure out what wasn’t there. When I think back to the last month before the race however I had some decent setbacks with injury, sickness and travel that obviously affected my preparation.
Back to the drawing board !
