Buller National Round - Dan McConnell Report

Not to be outdone by his team mate, Dan McConnell has sent us his race report from the Mt Buller National round. You can read it below.

You can also keep up to date with the Anytime Fitness-Trek MTB team on their Facebook page.

Dans report:

First Win of the Season!
After a few months of little mountain bike racing it was time to hit up the second round of the All Mountain Cup in Mount Buller, With the new three race format it was going to be a full on weekend of racing.

We arrived at Mount Buller on the Thursday with gave us plenty of time  to learn the tracks and to enjoy the picturesque view that the mountains have to offer. It was also our first race as the new Anytime Fitness Trek team so it was great to spend some time both on and off the bike with the team.
 
Friday was the Super D, Saturday the Cross Country and Sunday the point to point.

The Super D was fast and purely made up of 100% fire road that consisted of water bars, loose corners and a lot of bridges. With the high risk element that came with the super D I decided to take it conservatively, pushing the pace when it flattened out or headed up hill but making 100% sure I kept it rubber side down. I had a smooth, worry free run and recorded the 5th fastest time which I was very surprised with. 

The Cross Country is still the main event of the weekend and I was really looking forward to pushing myself in a race and seeing where my form is in the early part of the season.

Photo: Russ Baker

Having not competed in the first round of the All Mountain Cup my start position was 24 which wasn't too bad but with the start heading straight up a rough fire road before a long section of single track it was going to make the start pretty important.

After a solid warm up I hit the line warm and feeling good, I jumped off the start and after the first 100m was in the top 5 but I was off the race line in the rough which saw me loose a few positions as we headed in to the single track.  I was in 11th position and it didn’t take long until the lead group of Van Der Ploeg and Taberley were out of sight.  So only 5 minutes into the race I had to change my race plan from a starting fast and testing the legs of my competitors to a more conservative race which would hopefully see me ride my way towards the front in the later laps.

I kept with that plan and spent the first 3 laps conserving as much energy as possible (which I found quite a hard thing to as I basically watched the leaders pull away from me) making sure I was not punching over the top of any hills or pushing a bigger gear than necessary.

Photo: Russ Baker

With 3 laps to go I started to wind it up, I was feeling as though I had not even started racing yet and was doing it pretty easy.  It also helped that the early leaders had only opened up a 45 second gap.  On the fourth lap I worked my way into 3rd position and cut the gap in half.  By halfway through the 5^th lap I had the two leaders of Van Der Ploeg and Taberlay in reach.  I made contact and straight away Taberlay attacked to see how my legs were, I was able to respond and we came though the finish line with 2 to go as a trio but this didn’t last long as Van Der Ploeg attacked through the rough rocky fire road.  Then there were two.  I sat on his wheel and let him set the pace early into the lap, on the last climb of the lap I put in a surge and opened up a bit of a gap, I took it smooth and easy on the final descent and by the bottom we were back together again.

On the last lap I gave it everything, still feeling strong I tried to exert every last bit of energy from my body and recording the fastest lap of the race I crossed the line in 1^st, 30 seconds in front of Paul with Blair jumping Taberlay late in the race to finish 3rd.

Photo: Russ Baker

I was very happy with the days racing, with no Mountain Bike intensity I still have a lot to improve on!

Sunday was the point to point on the well renowned Stonefly track. I was leading the General Classification for the weekend so today was pretty straight forward.  I had to mark Andy Blair who was the only real threat to the overall lead.

I had not ridden Stonefly before but it certainly lived up to its reputation.  Flowy single track that just keeps on going, it was a great trail, although this did make racing difficult as passing on the tight single track was an issue. Paul went off the front early in the stage and we never got him back in sight, I sat in the chasing bunch and tried to enjoy the tracks although this was made harder by the fast pace at the front of the bunch.

I rolled across the line in 5th and held onto the win for the Weekend.

It was a really great to start the year and a good sign of what is to come!

A big thanks to the Anytime Fitness Trek team for a great weekend, my coach Donna for getting me to this form so early on in the year and my family for their ongoing support!

Photo: Russ Baker

Buller National Round - Bec Henderson Report

The second of the MTBA Australian MTB National Series, or All Mountain Cup, was held at Mt Buller last weekend. The Anytime Fitness-Trek team were in attendence and racked up some impressive results. Unfortunately Ben Henderson is still feeling the effects of an illness so wasn't racing but Dan McConnell made up for it by riding his Superfly Elite 29r to a win in the Mens Elite XC and the All-Mountain overall for the weekend, while Bec Henderson raced her Elite 9.9 to a 2nd in the Elite Womens XC and 3rd overall for the weekend.

Here's a detailed report from Bec of her weekend:

After a roadie style beginning to 2012 round two of the All Mountain Cup (Australian National Series) meant it was time to put the road bike to the back of the shed and see how I am going compared to the rest of the Aussie mountain bikers.

Bec Henderson attacking during the Elite Womens XCO. Photo: Russ Baker

I missed the first round of the series back in November as I was only just starting up training again after the World Championships but Jenni King – the winner from Perth was definitely the hot favourite for the weekend.

MTBA have completely changed the style of the National rounds – turning them more into a stage race and taking away the emphasis of the cross country and more about the three stages for the weekend. The first was the Super D – a 12km descent from the top of Mount Buller, the second stage was the Cross Country – Olympic format and the third a point to point around the trails of Mount Buller.

We arrived to Mount Buller in the Anytime Fitness ‘truck’ on Thursday afternoon and headed out for a couple of laps of the cross country course. Exactly the same as last year – only dry the vibes around the Anytime Fitness camp were positive!

On Friday morning we decided it was important to have a practice run of the Super D. We took it fairly steady – luckily as there were many sketchy sections which would more than likely claim a number of riders. The track was just an open rocky fire road descent with unpredictable water bars and other obstacles to be expected on a mountain bike course. The problem was – the course didn’t necessarily require as much skill as it did guts. Many riders were riding outside of their comfort zone, and ability level but were unaware until they came unstuck.

Despite what MTBA have tried to do with the series – the cross country is still the main event in my opinion so the Super D was just about getting down safely. At the start of the Super D stories were going around about all the crashes in practice which left us all a bit edgy.

I got down the hill safe and sound – trying to ride within myself and push myself on the climbs. My finishing time was 3rd in the Women. After some awesome dinner cooked by the team Chef (wife) I was all recovered and ready to go for the Cross Country race on Saturday morning.

For the 2012 with Olympic selection in mind I decided it was important for me to race in the Elite category for both the competition and comparison against the best girls in the country.

Bec on the climb during the Elite Women XCO. Photo: Russ Baker

With the training I have been doing in the lead up to the race I knew I was going to struggle with the pace set early on in the race but hoped to ride into the race and finish strong.

The gun went off and my prediction was correct. I had an awful start which went straight up a fire road drag and the power houses of the race took to the front. I sat in the group hoping that the girls in front of me would hold the wheel in front and I would not loose contact with the front of the race.

At about the halfway mark the course opened up and I managed to make a few passes and get closer to the front but the girls at the front were not letting up. I got into third wheel going into the big descent before the start/finish but unfortunately race favourite Jenni King was first wheel and Katherine O’Shea was in between us. With descending my strength I found it frustrating as Katherine dropped the wheel and Jen rode out of sight. It was not until Katherine got a rear flat that I managed to get around her.

For the rest of the descent I was going hard and managed to close the gap a little – I came through the start finish about 8 seconds behind Jenni.

Lap 2 of 5 was the toughest in the race for me – the pace was still a little quicker than I wanted to go but Jenny Fay and Jodie Willett were still chasing hard. Jenni opened up a bit more of a gap this lap and as I was riding through the last single track I could see her coming up the fire road in the opposite direction. She was looking strong!

By the third lap I started to feel a little more comfortable and stopped worrying about the girls behind. I was starting to ride into the race and feeling strong on the climbing sections. Finally the torturous road kilometres were starting to pay off. This lap I actually mad a bit of time up to Jenni but not enough to make an impact.

The fourth and fifth laps were relatively uneventful I tried to stay in a rhythm as best I could and do what I could to close the gap to first but the latter didn’t happen. I crossed the line still happy with 2nd place in my first official Elite race. A number of steps ahead from where I was this time last year I am confident I can have a good season.

On Sunday morning we had the Point to Point – a day to hopefully back up but have a bit of fun as well with the serious day of racing behind us. The race was a 25km race going up one big mountain before coming back to do part of the cross country course and then added an extra couple of kilometres of bumpy switchback grassy single track to finish off.

Again I started slow – really slow and the front group was well out of sight. The major climb suited me though – it was technical and steep in parts and I settled into rhythm. Slowly I caught the girls in front but again Jenni was fast off the start and had formed what I assumed was a significant gap. As I caught the girls most of them were all fair with their passing and I continued to chase down the next in front. It was just before the top of the climb that I caught Katherine O’Shea. With some tactics and blocking coming from here I eventually managed to find a suitable place to pass and pushed on.

At the top of the hill one of the spectators yelled out to me “15 seconds” and I thought what? Impossible? I descended as quickly and efficiently as I could catching some riders from the other categories. On a couple of the switchbacks I saw this orange flash – it WAS Jenni. Maybe she had gone out too hard?

I caught her on the next climb and managed to make a pass. I could tell she was suffering and after a few more minutes I was putting time into her. Feeling strong and now slightly more determined I pushed harder and knew I was getting away. We were also well past halfway and I knew if I stayed strong I would be right to win the race – which could also put me in contention for the All Mountain Cup this weekend.

Unfortunately though, it wasn’t to be and I flatted before the final climb. Gutted! I jumped off my bike and pulled my XTR wheel out – I had a fairly efficient change but so close to the finish the race was gone. I tried to ride hard for the rest of the race but was disheartened and frustrated.

I finished the stage in 5th position and third overall in the All Mountain Cup (only three seconds in front of Tory Thomas!) It was a good weekend of racing and the form and endurance was there so I finish the weekend looking forward to the next round on home soil – Stromlo!

Thanks to all of my sponsors and supporters who make it all happen! A massive thank you to Anytime Fitness who took care of us for the entire weekend and I look forward to having a good season on the new team!

Team Manager Richard Peil on his way to 4th in the Masters Men XCO. Photo: Russ Baker