European and National 12 hour solo titles for MTVM

BY: Ben Thomas

Published: 16th May, 2013

12 Hours of Exposure - European and UK National Solo Championships

Report by Tim Dunford

On Saturday the Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team were at Wasing Park for the UK and European 12 and 24 hour Championships at 24 Hours of Exposure. It's a venue we are well familiar with as it's hosted the National Cross Country Championships as well as rounds of the National and Southern Series. This event is also round 3 of the 2013 UK Endurance Series. Having missed round 2 of the Series and with 5 rounds counting I had to finish well to ensure I was in with a chance of keeping the title, no pressure then!

I arrived early Saturday keen to get in a quick practice lap. Ben and John were on pit duties and were already busy setting up team HQ. I cruised round and was really pleased with the course. After a short section of fireroad we turned off into the woods for a couple of short but fairly steep climbs. What goes up must come down though and after each little kick was a really fun singletrack descent. The first has featured in many XC races and is a little gem with a couple of roots to hop and some super bermed corners. The second was a little trickier as it was a bit slippy leading into a tight right hander. We then had another short fireroad section with a little rise at the end before the course turned once more into woods for more singletrack. Towards the end of the course there was my favourite descent through the woods. The carpet of bluebells were an amazing backdrop to a really quick descent over roots and with lots of rises allowing you to catch a little airtime, watch out for the right hander at the bottom though! It was a great course, mostly singletrack with well placed sections of fireroad to allow eating and passing.

It was soon midday and I took my place for the neutralised start. The lead out rider had one small advantage over us. He only had to do five minutes, not 12 or even 24 hours and we were soon struggling to hold his wheel! The pace on the first lap was pretty quick considering we were racing for 12 hours and a group of 3 quickly formed including last year's winner Dave Powell of Team JMC, James Braid of Wiggle, and myself. I felt pretty comfortable on the first lap and we swapped turns resulting in a blistering opening lap. A quick swap for a new bottle of USN and a Vooma gel, then we headed off again. On the second lap I struggled as Dave and James pressed on up the little rises. A small gap opened but I was able to close it on the more technical sections so I was just a handful of seconds behind as we passed through the arena. The gap opened again on the third lap and stretched out further. We'd only been racing for an hour and a half and I was already struggling. Ben and me had finished the 9 day JoBerg2C stage the previous Saturday and I'd picked up a cold on the flight home from South Africa. If I felt like this for the next 12 hours it was going to be a very long day so I hoped I was going to come round!

By midway round the fourth lap I was helpfully informed that the gap had stretched to a minute. I settled down to concentrate on riding at my own pace, steady on the climbs then pushing in through the singletrack. It's more fun that way anyway! Coming back to the arena I had the leaders in my sights though and starting the fifth lap we were all together again. Our masterplan was to swap bikes every 4 laps so Ben could check over my number one bike and give it some TLC including a wash and lube using our Fenwicks cleaners and Stealth MTB lube. Having only just got caught back up though I was reluctant to swap so I signalled we'd swap a lap later. This time we stayed together on the little climbs and I pulled out a gap on the twistier sections. A couple of light showers had made some of the sections a little greasy. I really like conditions like that though, not deep muddy, just a little slippy to keep things interesting!

I managed to maintain the gap till the end of the lap and swapped onto the hardtail. I started to come round a bit so pushed on a little, the twisty sections still bringing a big smile to my face. The race then settled down into a pattern of eat, drink swap bikes and repeat. At around the six hour mark I went through a really bad patch. My stomach was playing havoc and I was really struggling to eat. Ben had small chunks of energy bar broken up and ready to force feed me. A quick 10 second break each lap to scoff some food really helped. The enormity of racing for 12 hours was hitting me. We were only half way there and I was feeling rubbish. This was only my second 12 hour event so I'm a relative novice. Based on my very limited history in these events I really think they are as much about experience and mental strength as they are about physical endurance. In an event this long it's unlikely you will a million dollars the whole time and it's about how you get through the bad times. I broke the event down into manageable chunks; coming next is the fun swoopy section, every other lap I'd have an energy bar (I really know how to have a good time!!), only two laps till bike change. This really helped me to stop thinking 8 hours to go� How long?!!!

I got through the bad patch and started to feel a bit better. The next milestone was time to put lights on around 8. We may have got it a lap too late as towards the end of the lap it was really dark in the trees - I'm sure there's some roots down there somewhere, oh well hit it flat out and hope! We'd swapped bikes the lap before and Ben had my number one bike ready to go again all kitted out with a blazing Exposure Reflex light, I'd have no problems seeing where I was going! The sky by this point was ominously dark. The every reliable BBC forecast was only for some light rain though and with the keen breeze it would surely all blow over�And then it rained!! No messing about, it really did it properly. Fortunately I was near the end of the lap and Ben and John beckoned me into the shelter of their tent to pull on a rain coat. Clearly they were concerned about my welfare, not about getting wet themselves!!

I plugged on into the deluge and growing gloom. The trees offered some shelter and I wondered if it had stopped but I'd soon have any such thoughts quickly quashed! Halfway round the lap I started to feel really cold. I dived into tent again and went for a full wardrobe change - long sleeve top raincoat, roadie hat, winter gloves, overshoes - the full works! On the climbs I was fine but on the more exposed sections the wind really chilled me�Ah the delights of the British summer!

Within an hour the course changed unrecognisably. The fast singletrack now required a good deal of oomph to maintain momentum. With the exception of one short climb it was all rideable though, just not as quickly! Weirdly the slippy descent near the beginning of the lap seemed easier now. The Schwalbe Rocket Rons were the ideal tyre for the job and kept me moving in the right direction. After my stop for a change of clothes I was really worried I'd been passed whilst in the warmth of the tent so I anxiously pressed on and kept asking if I was still leading. I probably sounded delirious! The last few hours in the dark were a bit of a blur. I didn't even notice changing bikes. Get off one get on another and pedal. The end did come though. Fortunately only laps completed before midnight would count so it was all over for me around 11.30 and I was all warm and showered by midnight which was a real result! In the end I covered 19 laps to take the win ahead of James with Dave just behind.

A huge win, a European and a National title, they mean a lot to me. A massive thank you to teammate Ben and John from Vermont Images who were in the pits all day and kept me fed, watered and my bikes working, leaving me nothing to do except pedal. Thanks also to all our sponsors who continue to be incredibly generous with their support, none of this would be possible you. Finally, thanks to Sara and Paul and everyone else at SIP Events for putting a fantastic event on a really good course.

Blogger Info:

Ben Thomas

Team manager of Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Cycling.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-Trax-Vauxhall-Motors-Cycling-Team/330790256947713

XC Racer Blog Post

European and National 12 hour solo titles for MTVM

BY: Ben Thomas

Blogger Info:

Ben Thomas

What's New In The Shop:

Mt ZOOM ceramic Sram Eagle 12 spd pulleys 14t/12t