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Rotorua MTB Club AGM
Last nights AGM was held at the Pig & Whistle, although the turnout wasn't overwhelming the business of the day was presented and voted on. As a result there have been some changes in the 2010 / 2011 committee some movements in positions and a number of positions left vacant.
This years committee is:
President Grant Kilby
Vice President & Membership Dave Donoldson
Secretary & Funding Manager Mike Gray
Treasurer Malcolm Thomas
Relationship Manager Gregg Brown
Community Events Director Rhys Cleverly
XC Events Director Mati Tomasevich
DH Events Director Vacant Position
Trail Development Manager Mark Upshal
Trail Maintenance & Equipment Manager Richard Caudwell
XC Development Team Manager Pete Calanan
DH Development Team Manager Vacant Position
Media & Membership Manager Antony Croucher
Welcome to the new members of the team. If anyone is interested in either of the two vacant positions please conatct Grant Kilby on 027 4904454
Dirk Peters: Swiss Bike Trophy
The Swiss Bike Trophy is one of the biggest races on the international calendar and always attracts the top riders in the world. The race is high on a hill overlooking the city of Bern and is a magnificent setting for an event. The public come out in huge numbers to support the race and the atmosphere is amazing. The main access to the race venue is via a cable car and every spectator that entered the car received a rattle, the combined noise of several thousand rattles and the usual Swiss bells certainly created a lot of hype. Commentators report back to the start finish are from several positions on the race track and organised bell ringers drum up support every time a rider comes past. It would have to be one of the most exciting races I have competed in. Even though I was racing flat out I really soaked up the support and enjoyed the experience, it was great being a part of such a high quality event.
Summer has really kicked in over here and the temperature on race day was very hot. The heat and a very hilly course made the racing conditions very tough. Despite some steep climbing it was a very fast race track and there wasn’t really anything too technical. But it was great for the spectators with the track looping around the hill with the start finish area on top. It meant they could easily get around to several vantage points without travelling to far. Race start was 1:45 right at the hottest part of the day and I certainly felt it. But this didn’t slow anyone down, the race was super fast for the first few laps. At one stage on the 3rd lap I ended up getting tangled with several riders after someone crashed on a tight switch back corner and blocked the track. With nowhere to go I piled straight into him and then got jammed up as several more riders came crashing in from behind. Luckily the bike and I escaped relatively unscathed. The feed zone was a highlight of each lap but the fresh bottle I received each time didn’t last very long and unfortunately didn’t do much to quench my thirst. I rode well through the 2nd half of the race and gained a lot of positions. I have learnt now that the racing over here is all about those first few laps only the really top riders appear to hold the same pace throughout, everyone else goes nuts at the start and then fades away by the end. I really have to work on my speed through the first half of the race if I can gain a few positions higher after each of the first few laps I would really start to get some very good results. At the finish I was 29th which I am reasonably happy with.
Next weekend I race another Racer bikes cup in Flims and then it’s a good couple of weeks off until the World Cup races at the end of July.
2010 Dawn 2 Dusk
If you have any pictures of the event please feel free to email your online albem link to me. dave.rose(at)clear.net.nz
Ian's Picasa Dawn 2 Dusk pictures
Helens Picasa Dawn 2 Dusk pictures
Article & Results Page.
Dirk Peters - Internazionali D’Italia Adamello bike XC Vermiglio ( Race Report #2)
Race two of our international campaign. I had actually ridden this race before back in 2008 when I raced it as a junior in the lead up to the World Champs that year so it was pretty cool to be returning two years later. Single track is scarce but the unique part of this track is the section through the streets of Vermiglio, a few stairs, cobbles, alley ways and the vocal support form spectators cheering from there balconies and windows definitely makes Vermiglio different from the usual race track.
The main descent is so steep that you really have to control your speed, there is a big gully off to the side near the top that you don’t want to go riding into and rocks and stairs lower down make it quite tricky. The other down hills twist through paddocks and were good fun with a few natural jumps and nice slalom corners. Climbing wise the track was tough, the longest climb started out extremely steep and it was a struggle to even ride it especially in the latter part of the race. The grade did ease near the summit before a hike a bike section took you right to the top below a water fall. The other main climb is rough and rocky and came after a tight corner which hooked straight back up the hill from a descent.
The race was another character building session, for the first part of the race I found the pace really tough. The hardest part was the flat sections, the speed would really get cranked up and I lost a lot of time to the stronger riders. A lap into the race and it suddenly started pouring with rain. The track got greasy really quickly and it got very cold. We even got pelted with hail at one stage. I had a couple of loose moments in the slippery conditions but managed to stay upright and finished relatively strongly passing several riders in the last couple of laps to finish in 29th position.
I am reasonably happy with my result. The step up in performance that comes with racing in the Elite level in Europe is really tough but thats why I am here, to race and learn from the best. I will look to improve next week back in Switzerland at the next round of the Swiss Racer Bikes cup in Engelberg.
Dirk Peters - Racer Bikes Cup - Champery, Switzerland
After an enjoyable 3 days stay in Schaffhausen we started our race campaign properly, kicking off in Champery with a round of the Swiss Racer Bikes Cup International Mountainbike Series.
Our accommodation for the race was a Swiss Youth Hostel in the beautiful town of Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. The Youth Hostel was right down by the lake which was good but unfortunately two railway tracks passed right by and at night it sounded like the trains were going to come crashing through the wall.
The weather which up until Friday had been very average decided it was time for summer and the temperature rocked up to 27 degrees with bright sunshine till 10 at night. It felt good to be riding without jackets and thermals on. We had plenty of time to get a few laps in of the Champery track that afternoon and we were very impressed. Its only short at 4.5km but it is very technical and has a couple of nasty climbs that really test the legs especially later on in the race. Heaps of exposed roots and rocks litter the course and in particular the flatter parts where there are a couple of tricky sections that are very hard to ride without losing traction. Not to be out done the descents are steep, literately chutes straight down the hill side with their share of treacherous roots and rocks and tight off chamber corners. It’s a true test; you've got to have the skills as well as the legs to do well at Champery.
The build up for the race wasn't the best. We had all been sick, probably caught a bug on the plane and jet lag had made it hard to get a decent nights sleep. But come Sunday we were into it. 6 full laps plus a start lap was the order of the day.
It was very exciting to be lining up in the same race as riders like double Olympic and multi World Champion Julian Absalon and I was more nervous than I have been before a race in a long time as I warmed up. Call up to the start line was a bit tricky, my German isn't very flash so I had to suss out rider number 45 (I was number 46) and follow him up to the line. The gun went off and I suddenly found out what its like racing against the best riders in the World in Elite Men. It was easily the most intense race I have ever done. I moved up through the field into the top 30 after the first 3 laps but didn't advance much further from there finishing in 28th place. I found the pace very tough and dropped off losing a lot of time on the last couple of laps. At the finish I was absolutely shattered but pleased to have got the first race under my belt.
A weeks rest and I'll be ready to go for the next one.
The Physiotherapy Clinic Announces Support For Rotorua Mountain Bike Club
As avid mountain bikers The Physiotherapy Clinic is stoked to be able to support the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club. If you are injured or wanting to access to any of their other services like musculoskeletal screening or video analysis, then head on down to any of their three clinics in Eruera St, Ngongotaha or Owhata and for each new thing that you turn up with, the clinic will donate a cash sum to the club. To ensure no-one gets missed, please make sure to let the guys know you're a member of the club and t
hey'll do the rest.
You can find their contact details here. http://www.physiotherapyclinic.co.nz/Contact_Us.html
Stefan Bennett's Triple Crown Report
Well, who would win this years Triple Crown was as up in the air as the weather forecast (which like the previous 2 days was for thunderstorms and heavy rain). Without last years winner Nick Lambert and with a top class field consisting of pro elite downhillers, the reigning NZ Single Speed champ, some very sharp all rounders and a couple of xc whippets, any one of a dozen riders could have taken the crown this year.
The first casualty of the slippery conditions was Tom Adams (the number 1 seed), 3 minutes into the first run and a spectacular crash resulted in a broken arm, thankfully other than some broken ribs and general bruises, they were the only injuries of the day. There was the 2 competitors who were chased (and whipped) by horse riders, which didn’t do horsey /mtb relations any good, but that’s another story.
It turned out to be the day of the downhillers, with out of towner Byron Scott taking the mens crown from locals Des Curry and Stefan Bennett. Only 11 seconds separating the top 3 riders after 24 minutes of racing. Of special note has to be Garth Weinberg taking 5th place in the slippery conditions on his late 90's Gary Fisher hardtail with V brakes. Alice Kevern retained her crown, narrowly beating fellow local Simone McGreggor. In the Juniors. Sam West took the win for Rotorua.
A big thanks to the starters and the timers for their help, and a big thanks to who ever or whatever determines the weather – would have been pretty miserable if it had rained all day. I doubt that even the hot chips at the finish line would have compensated for rain.
Also a big thanks to Southstar shuttles, Agroventures, Okere Falls Store, Bike Culture, Spoke, Kaituna Kayaks, Mtb skills clinics and Offroad NZ for their generous support with prizes.
Some great photo’s that were taken by Helen Brumby can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GiddyInVegas/TripleCrown2010#
Some more photos can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/biasone2/TripleCrown?authkey=Gv1sRgCMGZhpjR1JmJOQ#
TRIPLE CROWN 2010
Sunday 5th of May saw a fine day for riding in contrast to the two days prior.
We saw 44 riders take one the wet and slippery tracks, the clock and each other. Unfortunately on of the faster riders and the first man to leave the start gate didn't make it any further than the drop on Billy T. yes, Tom Adams had a spectacular crash where he separated from his bike at the top and catapulted over the drop head first. Unfortunately for Tom this was the end of his day, some three minutes of riding, and a free ride to the hospital from myself. Tom isn't the first person I've seen in the Hospital from this section of track ( Rob Smail, Eric Cawte) but he is the first I have witnessed first hand. Fortunately for everyone, Helen Brumby was with me at the drop and managed to capture Tom's action on camera. Results can be found here........
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