Orange Monkey Pro Team update from the 2013 UCI XCO World Cup

It seems a lifetime ago that the team left Val d'Isere in France after a first full season of World Cups; a lot has changed since then with plenty of activity in the off-season including rider transfers, new sponsors and a change of bike brand.  The biggest news was the signing of Jovana Crnogorac (Serbian National Champion), the introduction of MTBMalaysia.com as the headline sponsor and new bike brand Polygon joining us for 2013. 

Although it was a long hard winter and the racing had already started with the team flying around the world for races including the Sunshine Cup in Cyprus, the Cape Epic in South Africa and a selection of Euro races we knew Albstadt was the "real" start to the season and we were ready! 

Albstadt was a debut World Cup venue and although the town didn't have the usual feel you associate with a World Cup, the course was as brutal as any World Cup race we had been to.  It seemed you only ever climbed upwards and when you briefly went down, it was steep, technical and slippery.  In the Womens Under 23 race Jovana Crnogorac was making her debut World Cup performance for the team and had a great start riding in the top 10 before a technical issue forced her further down the field to a 35th place finish.  The Serbian Champion has shown her strength and character throughout the pre-season races picking up numerous wins and podiums and we are confident that she will only continue to improve as the season goes on.  Also in the U23 race our guest rider, Mariske Strauss, from South Africa finished 8th. 

In the Mens U23 race Rourke Croeser had a storming ride with his best performance at world level to date.  He rode a controlled race amongst some very talented guys finishing in 12th place - a great start to his World Cup campaign.  Our Junior athlete, Billy Harding, who was travelling with the British Cycling Olympic Development Program had a hard day starting from 110th on the grid but took a lot of experience as we move forwards to the next race in the Czech Republic.  This youngster has some incredible talent that he will no doubt show the world in the very near future.  Watch this space! 

Nove Mesto saw an exciting weekend of racing on one of the best courses and venues in the World Cup series, with mechanicals, crashes and more. Here's our first official short film to show you the highs and lows of World Cup number 2:

 

Mariske Strauss - Elite U23 - 6th

Jovana Crnogorac - Elite U23 - 24th

Billy Harding - Junior - 98th

Rourke Croeser - Elite U23 - DNF

The big news from Italy was the return of our Senior Elite rider, David Fletcher.  David suffered a broken elbow and wrist during a fall in Cyprus back in March and it was a great boost to see him back in action! 

Val di Sole (The Valley of the Sun) is without doubt the toughest track on the XC circuit 2013.  Its relentless long steep climbs together with its technical features and scorching heat make it a course that only the brave survive.  An early morning start meant Jovana missed the hottest time of day, however at 9am you'd be surprised at just how hot it gets in the sun trapped valley.  A superb start saw Jovana leading round the opening start loop and up the first climb putting her in the ideal position as the riders headed into the first technical feature.  After feeling slightly disappointed at her own results from the opening two rounds in Albstadt and Nove Mesto, Jovana had a point to prove and did so emphatically.  Showing great character after suffering through laps 2 and 3, Jovana had a storming last 2 laps to finish a season best 12th position. 

After 3 months on the indoor trainer Dave was just pleased to be outdoors and as first races back go, this was a big one! A comfortable start saw Dave in the top 50 for the opening lap.  The sun, now at its peak took its toll though and Dave showed us all what a great athlete he is, suffering through the pain to finish 76th and gain that vital race training he was looking for. 

Rourke was looking to put the disappointment of the Czech Republic behind him but a bad start meant he had work to do. After the race settled, Rourke really turned on the afterburners comfortably moving through the field of 95 riders to record a nice 17th place. 

Sunday morning and with the sun out again in force, our young Junior was super motivated to prove himself at World level.  Luck certainly hasn't been on Billy's side in the opening rounds but as the saying goes, you make your own luck and this he did.  A strong performance saw the ever improving Billy record his best ever World Cup result with a 61st.  Not being able to walk for the next two days really showed just what Billy had put into the race and how far he intends to go. 

The sun had given us a good insight into what we can expect in Malaysia come September when we take on the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge but for now we can see all of our athletes getting closer and closer to the form that they know will achieve their goals.