Last weekend was the Xterra US champs. After the world champs in Maui in 3 weeks time, this race has the biggest prize fund in the world. It carries double points for the US series and it must count as a scoring round for that series. Because of that all the US athletes were there, along with pro's from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Austria, Costa Rica, Mexico and many more countries.
Having done the race last year and suffered with the altitude, I decided to sleep in an altitude tent back in England for 2 weeks and then get 1 week at altitude here. General theory is that you need 3 weeks at proper altitude but this was the best I could do around a full time job!
I certainly felt a lot better than last year come race day, however I was still having big trouble breathing on the bike and run. I had a good swim coming out ahead of 3 times womens world champion Melanie McWaid (who is a good bench mark and was beating me by several minutes last year), I was in the top 25 overall at this point too.
On to the bike and I got in a good rythmn but always felt my legs could go loads faster but my lungs wouldn't let them. I came off the bike in 9th place.
Onto the run and again I felt like I couldn't get going and I lost 2 places to finish 11th and in the money, just!
I am now staying up high for another week, before I go to Maui to get 2 weeks of sunshine before the big day!
Thanks to all sponsors, all products performed faultlessly. Sam
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Monday, 8 September 2008
Xterra Austria and Japan
Hi guys.
You might have already seen the news on tri247.com given the ammount of emails and facebook messages I seem to have recieved. Good news travels fast, especially when I have only spoke to one person in the UK since the race, cheers Mrs Dibens!
I WON my first Xterra world cup this weekend in Japan! Known as the the most technical Xterra course on the plannet, and made even more technical by the torrential rain in the previous few days, they almost shortened the bike because it would have been dangerous. At the last minute they decided to run the whole course, and i am very glad they did. I had the best swim of my life, knowing that one of my main competitors would be an ex Japanese mountain bike champion and team mate to british olympian Liam Killeen. I exited the water in 3rd position and with a swift transition I was in the lead at the start of the bike. With the chance of a clear track I attacked the good old British muddy conditions. In a day where I could do little wrong I had a great bike leg and built up a comfortable lead. I lost a little time on the hard jungle run but still crossed the line with a few minutes lead.
The womens race was won by Rennata Bucher of Switzerland. My poor Japanese prevents me from finding the full results on the website unfortunately. Taro the organiser has been fantastic in organising our trip, with collections from the airport, transfers to the race 4 hours away, putting us up in the poshest hotel room in the fabulous race hotel )with volcanic spa). Far too many free beer tokens too! Thanks for all the help.
Almost pailing into insignificance now is last weekends Xterra Austria result where I finished 10th. This means a top 10 at every European race and 7th currently in the series. Given that I am having to miss the final French race I might well drop a place or two, but it has been a consistent strong campaign on the European front this year.
The day after I fly home next weekend I am doing the Mens Fitness Rough Track off road triathon at 12:30pm near Windsor. I have then got a few weeks off before the US champs in Tahoe on 6th Oct and the World Champs in Maui on the 27th Oct.
My Cannondale Taurine was fantastic as usual (with USE bits), Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres worked great in the mud, Sundog eye wear kept the muck from my eyes until they got too caked and I lost yet another pair on a descent (sorry Barney!). Maximuscle kept me well fuelled. Montrail running shoes meant grip all the way round the rocky, rooty run. Thanks to these guys and everyone else for the support.
You might have already seen the news on tri247.com given the ammount of emails and facebook messages I seem to have recieved. Good news travels fast, especially when I have only spoke to one person in the UK since the race, cheers Mrs Dibens!
I WON my first Xterra world cup this weekend in Japan! Known as the the most technical Xterra course on the plannet, and made even more technical by the torrential rain in the previous few days, they almost shortened the bike because it would have been dangerous. At the last minute they decided to run the whole course, and i am very glad they did. I had the best swim of my life, knowing that one of my main competitors would be an ex Japanese mountain bike champion and team mate to british olympian Liam Killeen. I exited the water in 3rd position and with a swift transition I was in the lead at the start of the bike. With the chance of a clear track I attacked the good old British muddy conditions. In a day where I could do little wrong I had a great bike leg and built up a comfortable lead. I lost a little time on the hard jungle run but still crossed the line with a few minutes lead.
The womens race was won by Rennata Bucher of Switzerland. My poor Japanese prevents me from finding the full results on the website unfortunately. Taro the organiser has been fantastic in organising our trip, with collections from the airport, transfers to the race 4 hours away, putting us up in the poshest hotel room in the fabulous race hotel )with volcanic spa). Far too many free beer tokens too! Thanks for all the help.
Almost pailing into insignificance now is last weekends Xterra Austria result where I finished 10th. This means a top 10 at every European race and 7th currently in the series. Given that I am having to miss the final French race I might well drop a place or two, but it has been a consistent strong campaign on the European front this year.
The day after I fly home next weekend I am doing the Mens Fitness Rough Track off road triathon at 12:30pm near Windsor. I have then got a few weeks off before the US champs in Tahoe on 6th Oct and the World Champs in Maui on the 27th Oct.
My Cannondale Taurine was fantastic as usual (with USE bits), Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres worked great in the mud, Sundog eye wear kept the muck from my eyes until they got too caked and I lost yet another pair on a descent (sorry Barney!). Maximuscle kept me well fuelled. Montrail running shoes meant grip all the way round the rocky, rooty run. Thanks to these guys and everyone else for the support.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
National Mountain bike Champs 2008
Sorry for the lack of report after last weeks National Mountain bike champs. I managed to defend my title and get loads of publicity as usual for wearing compression socks in a Mountain bike race! See link below http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/mtb/EventReports2008/20080720_xc_national_champs.aspThe race didn't go quite as planned, I missed my pedal at the start and from being gridded first I went all the way back to about 30th place. It took me a lap to even get near to the front. I eventually attacked with 2 laps to go and crossed the line with a slim 20 second lead.My lap times would have placed me about 7th in the Elite National champs, but I think the Masters jersey looks good on me and gets more publicity than 7th in the Elite.
All sponsors equipment worked faultlessly. Sundog orange lenses worked great in the low light woodland sections. Racing Ralph tyres did the job again. I used my Cannondale Scalpel full suspension to win on this course, instead of the hardtail Taurine I used last year.
This weekend just gone, I helped guide a charity ride from London to Paris for the 'Big issue foundation'. This was great fun and 260 miles on a mountain bike with knobbly tyres in 3 days is good training!
I have got 3 weeks off until Xterra Austria and then Xterra Japan. Back to hard training now. Sam
All sponsors equipment worked faultlessly. Sundog orange lenses worked great in the low light woodland sections. Racing Ralph tyres did the job again. I used my Cannondale Scalpel full suspension to win on this course, instead of the hardtail Taurine I used last year.
This weekend just gone, I helped guide a charity ride from London to Paris for the 'Big issue foundation'. This was great fun and 260 miles on a mountain bike with knobbly tyres in 3 days is good training!
I have got 3 weeks off until Xterra Austria and then Xterra Japan. Back to hard training now. Sam
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Xterra France
This weekend saw the 4th European Xterra round, set high up in the French Alpes in the ski resort of Auron.
After tactically missing the Czech race last weekend I knew I had to score some good points to get me back up the standings.
I suffered a bit with the altitude, especially at the swim which was at 1800m above sea level, where i lost 2.5 minutes, which is about a minute more than i should have done.
Again on the bike i lacked that little edge on some of the climbs, due to the altitude, but I was riding well technically and in my first race on my new full suspension Cannondale Scalpel I came off the bike in 4th place, in good company behind Current world champion Conrad Stoltz, ex world champion Nico Lebrun and ex pro mountain biker Jorg Sheiderbauer. The bike handled fantastic especially with the Schwalbe Racing ralph tyres and i'll be using it at the next round in Austria.
Onto the run and again i felt the altitude and the hard work i'd done on the bike and i lost 3 places to finish an exhausted 7th, but gaining essential series points. I am currently lying in 7th place in the European standings, but I can drop the Czech round which i didn't race where as some of the athletes ahead have to drop a result still.
My next goal is retaining my Masters title at the national Mountain bike champs in 2 weeks time. I'll be having a week off hard running this week in preperation for this.
After tactically missing the Czech race last weekend I knew I had to score some good points to get me back up the standings.
I suffered a bit with the altitude, especially at the swim which was at 1800m above sea level, where i lost 2.5 minutes, which is about a minute more than i should have done.
Again on the bike i lacked that little edge on some of the climbs, due to the altitude, but I was riding well technically and in my first race on my new full suspension Cannondale Scalpel I came off the bike in 4th place, in good company behind Current world champion Conrad Stoltz, ex world champion Nico Lebrun and ex pro mountain biker Jorg Sheiderbauer. The bike handled fantastic especially with the Schwalbe Racing ralph tyres and i'll be using it at the next round in Austria.
Onto the run and again i felt the altitude and the hard work i'd done on the bike and i lost 3 places to finish an exhausted 7th, but gaining essential series points. I am currently lying in 7th place in the European standings, but I can drop the Czech round which i didn't race where as some of the athletes ahead have to drop a result still.
My next goal is retaining my Masters title at the national Mountain bike champs in 2 weeks time. I'll be having a week off hard running this week in preperation for this.
Monday, 23 June 2008
Xterra European champs and Xterra UK
It's been far too long since my last post. Loads has gone on. I won the first round of the national Mountain bike series Master category back in April.
More recently the European Xterra tour has kicked off in ernest. Xterra Italy was also the European champs and more than 350 athletes lined up on the start line in Sardinia. It was a very fast race, which was won by the in-form Swiss athlete Olivier Marceau. I had 2nd fastest bike and got up into 5th place before fading slightly on the run to finish 9th.
Xterra Uk was a stark contrast to the sunshine and heat of Sardinia. Being Wales it rained constantly, but it didn't dampen the spirits or the racing. A smaller but equally quality field lined up and it turned into a battle of the world champions at the front with Nico LeBrun of France the 2005 world champ beating Conrad Stoltz of South Africa in an epic race. I had a reasonable swim, but couldn't get going on the bike and ended up losing 6 minutes to leaders and coming off the bike in 7th, I had a good run and gained a place to finish 6th, retaining my title of British Champion.
This weekend is a weekend off, before Xterra France the following week. Where i hope to once again be in the running for the prizes and improve on my current series standing.
More recently the European Xterra tour has kicked off in ernest. Xterra Italy was also the European champs and more than 350 athletes lined up on the start line in Sardinia. It was a very fast race, which was won by the in-form Swiss athlete Olivier Marceau. I had 2nd fastest bike and got up into 5th place before fading slightly on the run to finish 9th.
Xterra Uk was a stark contrast to the sunshine and heat of Sardinia. Being Wales it rained constantly, but it didn't dampen the spirits or the racing. A smaller but equally quality field lined up and it turned into a battle of the world champions at the front with Nico LeBrun of France the 2005 world champ beating Conrad Stoltz of South Africa in an epic race. I had a reasonable swim, but couldn't get going on the bike and ended up losing 6 minutes to leaders and coming off the bike in 7th, I had a good run and gained a place to finish 6th, retaining my title of British Champion.
This weekend is a weekend off, before Xterra France the following week. Where i hope to once again be in the running for the prizes and improve on my current series standing.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Merrrell Mudman 2008
Knowing that John Lunt and the crew at Human Race always put on a good event, I thought this would be an ideal opening multi sport event for 2008. The race was an off-road duathlon with 7.5km run, 15km bike and a final 7.5km run.
Over 100 athletes lined up on the start line on this damp day. The first run was led by a french guy called Cedric Lassonde, who I later found out has a pedigree as a top 1500M runner. He was followed into transition by Elliot Challifour and myself. The run course was brutal with 6 climbs that you could barely walk up, and so steep running down that the soles of your feet got bruised. I was very pleased to get onto the bike and into a rythmn again. The bike leg went well for me, getting into the lead comfortably, with my new Cannondale Taurine performing faultlessly. Other bits of equipment I was testing included Canterbury compression top and socks, whether they helped or not is difficult to say, but i had a good second run and didn't cramp unlike a lot of people.
My second run was only 9 seconds slower than my first, which I was very pleased with. Most people lost at least 3 minutes. All in all a very pleasing first multisport race of the year with a 3 minute victory. I still have 3 months until the European series starts, so I am not far off where I want to be already.
I am off to Lanzarotte next week for a spot of training with Julie Dibens and some other athletes, then my next race will be the first round of the Mountain bike national points series, where I intend to wear my National Champs jersey with pride.
Over 100 athletes lined up on the start line on this damp day. The first run was led by a french guy called Cedric Lassonde, who I later found out has a pedigree as a top 1500M runner. He was followed into transition by Elliot Challifour and myself. The run course was brutal with 6 climbs that you could barely walk up, and so steep running down that the soles of your feet got bruised. I was very pleased to get onto the bike and into a rythmn again. The bike leg went well for me, getting into the lead comfortably, with my new Cannondale Taurine performing faultlessly. Other bits of equipment I was testing included Canterbury compression top and socks, whether they helped or not is difficult to say, but i had a good second run and didn't cramp unlike a lot of people.
My second run was only 9 seconds slower than my first, which I was very pleased with. Most people lost at least 3 minutes. All in all a very pleasing first multisport race of the year with a 3 minute victory. I still have 3 months until the European series starts, so I am not far off where I want to be already.
I am off to Lanzarotte next week for a spot of training with Julie Dibens and some other athletes, then my next race will be the first round of the Mountain bike national points series, where I intend to wear my National Champs jersey with pride.
Monday, 29 October 2007
Xterra worlds Maui
600 athletes including almost 100 pros lined up in Maui, Hawaii for the world championships yesterday. The best field ever assembled included Olympic medalists, 8 world champions, several top ITU road athletes, mountain bikers, Ironman champions and the best Xterra pro's.
After spending 3 weeks aclimatising to the heat here on Maui, I was very motivated to try to get the quickest bike and top 10 overall. Unfortunately I just missed out on both accounts, with 2nd quickest bike and 14th overall, however looking at the athletes behind me and ahead of me I know i have stepped up a level, beating many of the top Europeans that have beat me most of the season, and most of the US athletes that beat me in Tahoe a month ago.
Looking forward to a couple of weeks here in the sun, surfing and chilling on the beach. Then back to the grind of slowly improving my swimming.
After spending 3 weeks aclimatising to the heat here on Maui, I was very motivated to try to get the quickest bike and top 10 overall. Unfortunately I just missed out on both accounts, with 2nd quickest bike and 14th overall, however looking at the athletes behind me and ahead of me I know i have stepped up a level, beating many of the top Europeans that have beat me most of the season, and most of the US athletes that beat me in Tahoe a month ago.
Looking forward to a couple of weeks here in the sun, surfing and chilling on the beach. Then back to the grind of slowly improving my swimming.
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