Panadol Mtb Marathon - Jurmala, Latvia

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BY: JAMES HAMPSHIRE

Published: 30th August, 2011

A mountain bike race sponsored by Panadol... You know it's gonna hurt. The Panadol MTB Marathon in Jurmala, Latvia to be precise, a 90km UCI class II marathon that started and finished on the beach. The only international race in Latvia this year meant a fair bit of interest in the local press and TV, we even spotted billboard posters for the race over 75km away from the venue! Neighbouring Estonia had hosted the 2009 European Marathon Champs and looking back maybe I should have read some more reports to have better prepared for an Eastern Bloc smackdown...

In the run up to this trip I had managed to squeeze in a long ride or two to remind me what it feels like to sit on an SLR saddle for more than an hour and a couple of local TT's to get the lungs going - nothing like a triathlete putting a minute into you over 10 miles to knock the confidence (even if it was Tim Don on a Specialized Shiv). And to offset the lack of miles, some new trick bits from Mt. Zoom and BETD/Goldtec to shed some grammes. Thanks Ant and Kev!

Arriving the day before felt like turning up to a Midlands XC race on a Saturday expecting to find a full programme of activities to entertain the kids.... No sign of the start/finish, no expo village, just lots of Russian oil tycoons with their trophy wives. It can't be easy walking on the beach in high heels and full make up, but that didn't stop them. The town was the opposite of any UK resort - white sand stretching for 20km along the Baltic sea, lots of beautiful wooden houses and the blue flag beach dotted with the sort of alfresco dining/drinking venues you see in Scandinavian design magazines. After several days of sightseeing it was nice to get the Superfly built up and spin my legs out before carbo loading Latvian style: meat, more meat and some potatoes :-)

Race day. A wise man once said "old men drink coffee, young men drink Monster" so after a caffeine free Twentyfour12 this year saw me with a happy gut but shoddy lap times, a can of Fire Starter was downed with my rye bread and Nutella. Thanks to the UCI number on my B.C. license, I got a place in the front pen. I only managed a spot on the second row, but I still stuck out a mile on the start line - bright blue XCracer.com kit, riser bars and a single ring. Checking out the front row, the two things that I was lacking was a rigid front fork and at least 1 Furious Fred tyre. Several of the riders had been given GPS transponders so spectators could follow their progress on the big screen - a nice touch.

I was expecting a fast start, but as the needle edged closer to 40kph it was obvious that the front runners were keen to get back for the beach volleyball tournament taking place. After 6km along the beach front at my max, we turned right for a scramble over the dunes and up some steps. My legs did not appreciate that one bit and I took solace in a bunch of fellow riders who'd been shelled from the front group. After several K's of chaingang action and a trip along Latvia's only 3 lane carriageway I was glad of some singletrack and a chance for me to overtake some riders for a change. Weaving through the virgin pine forest, the trail was rooty and very sandy, with the undulating terrain punctuated by short sharp hike-a-bikes.

 

There was not enough singletrack though and before I knew it I was in no-mans land. A sensible person would back off and wait for the group behind, but being naive to road race tactics in a mtb race I dug myself into a hole trying to catch the group in front. When you're Expert pack-fodder that is a bad idea and by the half way mark I was starting to cramp. Next time I get to freewheel in a race I'll savour the moment, because here I may as well have been riding fixed wheel.

Passing alongside Riga airport on yet another dirt road, one minute I was towing a puncture victim, the next we were swallowed by a group, finally giving some respite from the headwind. The group contained 2 women who would eventually finish 4th and 5th. It's a bad day at the office when you get overtaken by women, but just like their male compratriots, they were seriously strong on the flats! From that point I can only remember digging seriously deep for the next 40km to avoid getting dropped as we rumbled across doubletrack, gravel roads, flooded roads (with added abandoned car) and short sections of tarmac.

After a second sprint along the beach I rolled across the line just inside the top 50 and twenty minutes down on the winner, giving him an average speed of over 30kph! I was disappointed with the deficit, while Nadine was just annoyed / surprised I was back before she'd managed 1 chapter of her book while sunbathing! With equal prize money for men and women, 5^th place took home 200 Euros, rising up to 1^st place both bagging 700 Euros! The top 10 positions were filled with Latvians and Estonians with 5x Belgium national champ Nicolas Vermeulen finishing 11th. In the shorter 40km race, 100^th, 200^th, 300^th etc etc, each took away 100 Euros!

 

Smoke these and you'll be as fast as him.

The nudist beach was further down the beach. Apparently.

Spot the odd one out.

The UCI commissaire will start the race when the young ladies have finished shaking their thang.

A paddle in the sea was called for after a long visit to the pain cave.

How not to look after your bike...

Thanks to: XCracer.com, Exposure lights, Mt. Zoom components, Accelerade nutrition and Gateway Cycles for their support this year. And thanks to Nadine for the pics!