National Round 1 - Adelaide 01-02 November 2008 - Report by Ben Henderson
06/11/2008
Friday
Its dark all around, my clock has 4:00 displayed on its illuminated dial and my alarm is buzzing its way through my dreams and snapping me back to reality. “Welcome to your trip to Adelaide” its beeps.
Arriving in Adelaide by 7:30 am with the rest of the Mongoose XC team, we headed for the nearest bakery. Salad rolls and fruit salad set us up for the morning ahead as we set course for Eagle on the Hill MTB Track.
Track conditions were ideal and I opted for the Maxxis Crossmarks to tackle the fast and dry terrain. Four laps later I was feeling confident that I could ride the course at race pace. The first three laps hadn’t resulted in the same level of confidence due to the many high speed blind corners, big jumps and skatey descents.
Back to our accommodation we went, eyes widening as we opened the door to the palace team manager Shaun Lewis had hooked up for us. Now this was the way to prepare in style!
Saturday
With a 1pm race it was a calm start to the day. After checking out the latest hits on Rage over breakfast… and then lunch, it was time to head up to the track. Adelaide’s track really is up as I hit the 30-minute climb to the race site.
With 40 minutes till race start I focussed on keeping hydrated for the hot conditions as the SRAM guys put some fresh bits on the Mongoose.
As the gun went off Chris Jongewaard leapt ahead of the field and starting behind him I was able to briefly catch the Jongewaard train as he steamed his way towards the first climb. Half way up the swichbacked climb he gapped the field and I was left sitting in second. For a hectic first lap I lead our chasing group till Aiden Lefman moved to the front where he would stay for the next five 20 minute laps.
After another solid lap Aiden and I opened up a small gap over the next group of Nathan Haas, Andy Blair and team mate Shaun Lewis. My confidence grew as I became more comfortable with the pace that was keeping me at the pointy end of the field. Shaun bridged the gap up to Aiden and I and we lapped as a trio until Shaun flatted with three laps to go.
Aiden continued to ride at a consistent pace as I started to have difficulty concentrating as the race wore on. Aiden was faster in a couple of the skatey sections. I desperately tried to stay with him as I pushed dangerously hard through the fast corners. With a good gap to fourth I found myself faced with a decision. Either ride out the remainder of the race with Aiden and avoid unnecessary risks or push hard for second place. I felt like I had something left in the tank for a final effort and Aiden seemed to be riding now with more effort.
A lapse of concentration saw me sliding off the track on the sixth lap of seven and sent more doubts through my mind as I chased back to Aiden on the climb. With one lap to go I was still upright and riding with Aiden. Approaching the main climb I passed him and hit the 110% button. I felt relatively okay and could see I was starting to stretch out a small gap by the top of the climb. I rode at a new intensity as I spent every ounce of energy where I could, climbing breathlessly out of the saddle and battling to focus hard on the remaining sections of track.
Reaching the final sections of track I felt I had done the work to hold off Aiden and turned my focus to negotiating the final descent smoothly and without mistakes. Very nervous times. “Surely I could run from here if anything happened,” I thought. “You can’t run with a broken leg,” came another thought. “Just concentrate on the bloody track” said another. It was these mind games that had impeded on my concentration from the fourth lap.
Riding up the finish straight I finally gave in to temptation and smiled and rejoiced in what had been a dream race for me. Without any podium finishes at the elite level (not many top 10’s either) I was deeply relieved to accomplish something that I’d put years of effort into and finally proved to myself that I can ride at that level. Also as my first year out of the U23 category this was where I hoped to start the season at.
Thanks to Mongoose and the team sponsors for putting together a professional package which delivered at the highest level. A particular thankyou to team manager Shaun for his support over the weekend.
14/11/2009
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