Disappointment at British MTB Series round 1

After months of winter training there was a huge build up to the first national of the year which created a massive amount of excitement and a huge turn out in all categories.

It was good to gather as a team once again and feel like a unit with our TORQ team setup in the arena. A few practise laps Saturday revealed a very tough lap which would be a true test of race fitness. To suit the new UCI regulations the lap had also been shortened to 4 miles which meant riding through the arena more times which was good as this is where the majority of the crowds tend to gather. However the tight and twisty singletrack sections did result in some congestion on race day.

After a good warm up I was able to make a good start but crucially lost some places going into the first singletrack. Over the next 2 laps I made my way up into the second group of riders battling it out for 6th place. This group including some quality riders including Liam Killeen and several visiting professional riders.



The singletrack was being ridden at a high speed but the pace on the fireroads was crazy! The 2 hour race was a huge interval session with very limited recovery. My body just wasn’t ready for this and I popped going into my 5th lap. Not even a TORQ guarana gel could save me and I slipped from a possible top 10 to 22nd in just over 8 miles.

To say the least I was and still am very disappointed but hopefully I can bounce back strong at the next race.

Survival and relief – round 4 of the Gorrick Spring Series

First race of 2011 complete, what a relief! I was pretty nervous last night and definitely over thought the race. The big question was whether my hand would survive. My determination to lead down the first fireroad descent to the drop off paid off as unknown to me carnage prevailed behind with multiple riders on the floor. My block pass to take the lead before the descent was a little risky but had to be done, I did have the inside line.

After taking the lead 10 seconds into the race I kept my nose in front for 2 laps pushing the pace as practise for the rapid Sherwood speed we’ll see next week. The objective was to start as fast as possible and then survive to the end. Pretty quickly it was just Jody Crawforth sat on my coattails with Ade Lansley, Chris Minter, and Scott Forbes following shortly behind.

The gap to the chasers increased and by lap 4 they were out of site, Jody and myself were still together though despite both of our efforts to drop each other with multiple attacks on laps 3 and 4. Going into the last lap the pace increased and Jody got a gap on a small short sharp climb, his 10 second advantage he created at that point was just too much to pull back. The gap stayed the same till very near the end of that lap where I faltered on a slippery climb loosing traction and any chance of taking the win. I cruised the last few minutes to the line accepting and enjoying the emotions of completing my first race of the year.

Today was a real battle and an enjoyable ride. My hand survived although it’s a little sore and swollen now. It makes me excited about the next 28 days of racing that lay ahead this year! Next up is round 1 of the British XC Series in a week’s time. Thanks to everyone who shouted support my way today and a huge thank you to Chris White from Mountain Trax for lending me his amazing bike.

Start Time

This blogs once again been neglected over the last few weeks, not a lots been happening and therefore there hasn’t been much to write about. After missing Andalucia Bike Race I was pretty determined to have a go racing the Gorrick Spring Series two weeks ago at Heath Warren, however after twenty minutes of pre riding it was clear my hand was still broken!

Fast forward two weeks to today where I finally got a proper taste of riding the mountain bike with two hours of blasting around the trails of Porridge Pot Hill which will host the fourth round of the Gorrick series this weekend. I’m pretty excited to be finally getting the season going this Sunday, all the hard work I’ve been putting in might not completely show this week but I hope with a week of recovery my energy systems will be firing on all cylinders in time for the first British XC on the 27th.

That’s all for now, will check in next week with an update... promise!

Broken Bones

Sorry about the lack of updates but there’s not been much to write about recently… that is apart from me breaking a finger. It all happened one Tuesday morning out on the mountain bike on a familiar trail I’ve ridden hundreds of times. A small slip of the front wheel under heavy braking into a corner sent me flying, I did the correct thing and rolled as you’re meant to do but I also put my hand out to break my fall.

After a lengthy wait in one of our countries marvellous NHS hospitals I was bandaged up and then drove home with a diagnosed broken finger and an appointment for surgery! Surely a finger can heal itself!? Apparently not and there was a chance I’d be fitted with another horribly painful wire like I had 2 years ago when I broke a bone in my left hand.

A few days later I was privileged enough to explore multiple waiting rooms in another NHS hospital. Having waited all day I was then invited back the next day to wait in another waiting room for my operation. Eventually, as all hopes of ever making it onto the operating table had pretty much disappeared, I was called through to get prepped for the reconstruction of my finger. Once in the operating theatre I was asked some final questions including why my heart rate was so slow!

Having been knocked out by the general anaesthetic for a few hours I awoke and felt pretty groggy - like I’d been out drinking at university. However, I wanted to get home as soon as possible so told the doctors I was feeling fresh and awake. They pretty quickly allowed me to get changed, as I climbed out of the bed I almost fell over like a drunken kid but stabilised myself before anyone noticed, phew!

Since then my right hand ring finger has been healing pretty quickly and there’s been surprisingly little pain from the 2 screws that now hold the bone together. Instead my throat has been incredibly sore, an after effect of having an air tube down my throat during the operation so I could breath.

Despite all of the above training has continued. There were 3 forced days of rest between the accident and the operation but I’m now training about 2 hours a day on the indoor trainer and hope to be fit enough to be racing the next Gorrick Spring Series race on the 6th of March. Hopefully see you there!

Testing Time

This past weekend the TORQ team gathered for its first testing and training weekend of the year. The testing would give a clear indication of who’s been putting in the miles and doing the correct training. The test day was made up of two parts, the first being a lactate test that shows the power output the riders begin to suffer from lactic acid and essentially indicates how effective the riders base training has been over the winter. The second test was a flat out 20 minute effort outdoor up a nearby hill where the riders power output is recorded and the average power is taken to indicate how strong the riders legs and lungs currently are!

Having been to TORQ for testing twice last year it meant we had some data to compare these new results with. My lactate threshold was good and matched my best results from last winter, more impressive though was my anaerobic threshold power from the twenty minute uphill effort. In July last year just after National Champs I smashed the record set up the climb, at this point of the year I’d just peaked for my main goal and had fantastic form. Already this year I’m just five watts below that previous power output despite having done no power training through the winter. Both results are a huge moral boaster and show that all the hard work over the last three months are paying off.

The following two days consisted of some epic training rides over the amazing Shropshire hills. Check out the video below taken by teammate Josh Ibbett showing the weekend’s trails and scenery.

Torq training ride in Shropshire from Josh Ibbett on Vimeo.

Brass Monkey 4 Hour Round 3

The first race of the year was the final Brass Monkey taking place near Aldershot in Hampshire. Just to make the start line would be a tough task with our flights landing from Gran Canaria at midnight before the race. Luckily our flights landed on time and I managed to get about 5 hours sleep before the alarm clock started beeping.

Arriving at the race venue the cold temperature was a shock to the system, going for 25 degrees centigrade to 3 degrees wasn’t huge fun! The race once again was a sell out so after my warm up I made sure of a good grid position on the front row by arriving a few minutes early. Having training hard in the mountains of Gran Canaria and after being deprived of sleep it was difficult to tell just how the legs and body would cope with the following 4 hours of pain.

I immediately took the lead up the first climb from the start line leaving me with a clear path ahead whilst the hundreds of riders behind battled it out for positition. Pretty quickly a small lead group started to form including myself, Phil Gale and Gareth Montgomerie. Having pre ridden the course before flying off to training camp I made sure to lead all the singletrack sections, half way through the first lap this fast pace on the tight twisty tracks meant Phil Gale had dropped off the back of our group.

Until lap 4 Gareth and I shared the pacesetting, however on the first climb of the lap the legs were still feeling amazingly fresh and I decided to try a small tester to see how Gareth would respond. To my surprise it was enough to get a small gap over the 2008 XC National Series Champion.

I edged out a lead over Gareth until he was out of sight and for the next 3 laps I rode alone to take a hugely satisfactory race win and overall series win. By the end of the race I’d cycled over 41 hours during the last 9 days, doing 5 to 7 hour rides in the mountains made race day almost seem easy even against some hugely talented competition!

The Brass Monkey race series each winter forms a key part of my winter base training, and the organisers put in a huge amount of effort to build in my opinion some of the best race courses in the country. For this reason I’m excited about returning again for next winter’s series.

One final thing i'd like to add is a little thank you to all the kind people out the course whether racing or watching who shouted kind support my way throughout the event.

Gran Canaria Training Camp January 2011

Last week 9 riders including 3 of the 2011 TORQ riders gathered in Gran Canaria for a weeks training camp. With temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 degrees centigrade it was ideal conditions to complete the third week in our hard January training block. Having flown in early evening we had enough time to unpack, visit the supermarket and beach, and build our bikes for the following days training.

With base miles still the key focus we headed out for a steady 5 hour day to break the legs in. Riding from the beach to the highest point on the island at 1940 metres certainly woke the legs. However the route chosen into the mountains was an easy ride in comparison to what lay ahead in the following days.

Day 2 was a really tough day on the bike, after riding west around the coast of the island we headed inland on the GC200 road before heading upward on the GC210. After already riding for 3 hours through the fantastically stunning mountain roads we choose to shortcut up the dreaded GC606, otherwise known as the Valley of Tears. Standing at the base of the GC606 we had no idea that ahead of us was 11kms of tarmac climbing at a 20% average gradient with sections of 28% gradient! The climb snaked its way up the mountain and with temperatures reaching the high twenties it proved a huge test. An hour later we finally appeared at the top of the GC606, a road we’ll never forget!

Monday and Tuesday we once again completed 5 hour rides with over 3000 metres of ascent each day. A well earned rest day was taken Wednesday where we rode down the coast to a small resort called Puerto Rico where we enjoyed some fantastic strawberry milkshakes in a nice café by the marina.

Thursday was an epic day as we completed a huge 105 mile loop on the island taking 7 hours. The 3500 metres plus of climbing included some steep ascents and proved to be an excellent days training. The descents from the top of the island every day were fantastic fun but today the views on the descent through the valleys were stunning.


On Friday with already sore legs we completed a shorter 4 hour ride up to one of cafes near the top of the mountain before descending down the GC60 which acts as a savour road for any rider staying near Maspalomas. The road descends for 40 kilometres straight down to the southern point of the island and riders can average about 35 miles per hour from top to bottom!

With tired legs and thoughts turning for some riders to Sunday’s race we completed a 2 hour ride with a few intervals to keep the legs moving before packing our bags and heading to the airport.

Along with the TORQ team last week the island played host to riders from the BMC road team, Leopard Trek road team, Bulls mtb team, Ergon mtb team, Rabobank womens road team, Alriksson Go Green womens road team, Cervelo womens road team, and Great Britain team.

Our week long trip to Gran Canaria was a fantastic week of training, laughter, sunbathing and ice cream eating. In total the TORQ riders completed around 35 hours of riding over 8 days.


Many thanks to Tim Dunford, Mel Spath, and Ryan Sherlock for showing us some fantastic routes. Also thanks to Stuart Harvey, Steve Middleton, John Pybus, Paul Hopkins, Ant White and Phil Lenney for joining Josh Ibbett, Sion O'boyle and myself for the week in Gran Canaria.

Gran Canaria training from Josh Ibbett on Vimeo.

Video of Gran Canaria