Imagine a 4 hour car journey through some of the most beautiful countryside in France in glorious sunshine, stopping for a picnic along the way.

Imagine arriving at the race site the evening before the race and kitting up for a couple of practice laps. Know that the weather has been good for months, and the ground is bone dry.

Imagine one of the best mountaibike race circuits you have ever seen. Now imagine one better! It’s was fantastic. A great start area that favours no side leading to some moorland with sweeping off-camber corners, bombholes, super fast straightaways, the lot…..also add in that the taping/marking out are superb allowing the rider to be creative with line. Follow that with 3 kms of superb roller-coaster singletrack that draws you on faster and faster. I was looking forward to racing this circuit so much. I went to bed imagining racing, and racing well.

Imagine being woken in the early hours of the morning to the sound of thunder and torrential rain! The rain continued throughout the night. By breakfast time it was still raining. I made my way from the excellent B&B back to the race site. I changed my tyres in the back of the van. The drop in temperature from the day before was incredible I was cold…..and still it rained.

With about half an hour to go the rain stopped. With twenty minutes to go we were gridded for the start. I was on the third row. Bang on time we were away. I got a good start, held my place up the first climb, passed quite a few riders over the moorland. It was wet. Diving down towards the single track was a little slippy, and then…three kilometres of singletrack on foot. The overnight rain had made it unrideable. A total nightmare. It was a procession, impossible to pass, difficult to even stand in places. Each lap it got worse. By the final lap the mud was like glue. If you tried to carry your bike you could hardly stand, and if you pushed your bike the wheels clogged up and wouldn’t turn.

I finished well down in the twenty somethings. I was not happy. My bike was in a real state. Drivechain and disc pads trashed. To add insult to injury the sun came out!!! Imagine how I felt.

The sun shone, it was hot, we raced hard, it was tough. It went dark, it was still hot, we raced hard, it was tough. It got light again, we were tired, we raced hard, it was tough. We made it onto the podium behind our great friends and rivals. 3rd place out of over 50 teams.

This year they ran the circuit the other way round. There were a few small changes, the most noticeable being that there seemed to be more downhill than uphill. How did they do that? It really was a super fast, super flowing mix of trails. You could get almost all the way round the lap in the big ring. Average time for a lap for me was around 15mins.

Just like last year, a team took it on right from the start leaving us to battle with ‘Culture Velo‘. This year it was the young guns from Briance Roselle Aventure who took it on. We were hoping they’d gone off too fast. So there’s us, ‘La bande à Marcel’, Culture Velo, and ‘Les singlespeed attack’ mixin’ it up for the podium. Should mention here that those crazy singlespeed guys have the current Vet National Champ riding with them.

As the day wears on we slip to 4th place, we’re three minutes down on Culture Velo, who are themselves down on the singlespeeders! There’s no let up, were racing incredibly hard, something’s got to give. We’re doing two laps a piece, and we’re knocking ’em out like a machine.

Racing into the night, we’re gaining. I’m out on a lap battling with one of the singlespeeders, and a rider from another team. The rider from whatever team doesn’t have good lights and is trying to use us to get round. We’re trying to drop him. Over a slight rise, the singlespeeder dives through going like a nutter. I chase after him. Surely he’s going to fast for the turn? In spite of the fact that there is a triple set of tapes together with reflective arrows all pointing left he goes straight on through the tape!!! Those singlespeeders – crazy guys! We’ve only been racing on the circuit for around 12 hours.

Through the second half of the night we continue to gain time. We move up into 3rd ahead of the SS team, and by sunrise we’re in second place some 3 minutes ahead of Culture Velo. The leaders BRA are over a lap ahead.

Now, while we’re riding two laps then change, Culture Velo are playing their cards a little differently. They are riding a man short most of the time. See they have a rider who cannot get to the venue before evening, and he’s going to relieve Jean Claude Sansonnet who is only riding in the day. So, just around breakfast time, JC returns after a good night’s sleep to boost his team. It starts to work, and slowly Culture Velo are pegging us back. With just three hours left to go we’re racing harder than ever. It’s tough.

In the end, we couldn’t hang on. Culture Velo catch us in the last few laps and push us into third. Sometimes though, it’s not where you came, it’s how you got there. We’re happy with third, it’s been a great race, we accept our beating with humility. Like I said at the top, we’re on the podium behind our great friends and rivals, we’ve shared a great weekend. Chapeau guys!

Many thanks, and Bravo to all at Bonnac for a great weekend. Felicitations and Bravo to all the riders, and ‘High 5’, and special thanks to my team mates Marcel (Nantiat), Jean-Phi (Nantiat), Lionel (Nantiat), Seb (Ambazac), Stephane (Ambazac). It was my great pleasure to race with you. Thanks for having me.

First race of the season – The Mountainbike season here in France runs from September to September. So far there’s only been one competitive event, and that was the Chrono (MTB time trial), at Panazol. So this’ll be the first chance to see who’s hot and who’s not. It’s 45kms, one big loop, ridden as seen.

Let me set the scene – I’m still on my way up form wise. Nowhere near as fit, or light, as I was when I broke my collarbone in June. I’ve been struggling this week. Sometimes when I overdo it some of the muscles around my good/bad shoulder get really stiff. From Wednesday onward I’m ramrod stiff, and despite the team masseuse doing her best, and me topping up with anti-inflammatories it just won’t let go. During the night before the race I wake up many times uncomfortable. I decide not to race as the outcome is bound to be a negative one.

On the day – We are up early and on our way. It’s a cold crisp morning. Carla is racing, I’m just doing the rando. At the race site, in the bustle of activity, I go into auto pilot…. sign on, number on bike, warm up, and as if by magic, I’m on the front row of the grid, the starter is counting us down from 5, we’re away on 3. There’s some pushing and shoving as we funnel into the first trail. I’m sitting just near the back of the lead group, we’re going fast!!!

On the first climb, I pass a few, a few pass me. It’s tough, and I don’t feel good at all. I’m starting to lose ground. Some of my Veteran B rivals come past Jean-Claude Sansonnet (Nantiat), Marcel Buisson (Nantiat), Dominique Vrignaud (EC Ambazac), Jean Luc Gromet (Beauvallet). This is going horribly wrong.

When you’re going backwards and you feel like sh*t it’s easy to back off, you need a strategy. Here’s what I do…

Stay calm, stay focused, stick to the task. I tell myself that’s what I’m doing (self talk?). Often, when I’ve been going really well I’ll have a tune going round and round in my head. Not always the same tune, but one tune that’s worked for me on many an occasion is Kylie’s ‘Can’t get you out of my head‘!. Not the whole song, just the “La la la, la la la la la, la la la” bit. I call on Kylie voodoo to help me out, I focus on what I’m doing, and push on.

I seem to be going OK on the descents, and I’m gaining on Jean Luc. There’s a tricky section with big rocks as we drop onto a road. Jean Luc over cooks it and crashes. He’s OK, it’s a low speed tumble. I squeeze by. On the tarmac now, chasing to get the wheel of Marcel. I catch him as we go off-road. It’s Marcel who’s set the circuit. He knows every twist and turn of these trails, and it shows. Firing into blind bends at the perfect speed and line for the exit. I put my faith in Marcel and follow as tight as I can.

We catch Jean Claude! As we pass I ask him if he’s OK. He says he cannot breathe, the air is so cold. Onto big wide tracks now heading in the direction of Lac St Pardoux. Jean Marc Restoin (AS St Junien) arrives. He’s a strong roadie and on the open trails he’s going like a train. Only thing is, he’s towed Jean Claude back up!

Marcel has dropped off, we’ve caught Dominique. Jean Marc is doing the lions share of the work, and the kilometers are flying by. As we get into the narrow technical stuff JC thanks Jean Marc by diving in front of him. Down a rocky descent Jean Marc struggles, Dominique and I give chase.

On the twisty singletrack by the lake (St Pardoux), JC on the front, me glued to his wheel, Dominique glued to mine. It’s quick, but not desperate. I glance at my watch, one hour done, I reckon we’re halfway. Turning away from the lake, climbing what seems like a forever climb JC edges ever so slowly away. I try to go after him and get rid of Dominique, I can’t. Dominique tries to get rid of me, he can’t. JC stays in sight, just up ahead.

Almost two hours on the clock, and I’m really struggling, I’ve had enough, I’m looking for the finish. There’s a sharp right, and a granny ring climb, I hear Dominique miss his gears, I kick hard. I can hear the PA system announcing riders home. The finish can only be just around the corner. Dominique is back. I recognize where we are. A short twisty 500metres to go. I give it my all, and as we drop out onto the short finishing straight I sprint. No one comes past.

Wrap up – So, seeing as how I wasn’t gonna race. It didn’t actually turn out too bad. I’m second Vet B around a minute and a half down on JC (who’s been going extremely well). I’m 14th scratch out of 106 finishers, again, no too bad. I’m exhausted, it’s been a tough one.

Thanks to the Nantiat club who hosted the race, and Marcel for a superb circuit (course). Thanks to my fellow racers for a great workout, and thanks to Kylie – “La la la, la la la la la, la la la”. 🙂

BTW – Carla came 4th in the ladies race.
A copy results in Excel is here.

Rode the Panazol rando yesterday. 28kms friendly with a 10km time trial (chrono) at the end. Enjoyed the rando, lovely sunny morning, a bit chilly, but a good warm up for the chrono. Stripped off arm warmers and leg warmers, and was ready.

Three short laps to make 10kms race track with riders going off at 30 second intervals. I’m off behind Christian Boutin, someone good to chase. Just over halfway around the first lap I puncture! How can it be, as I’m running tubeless with sealant? I stop and use a foam canister. It doesn’t work very well. I continue back to the start area where there is a mechanic. I shout him, and he runs over with a track pump. With my tyre pumped up hard I set off on lap two, passing some of the same riders I’d already passed.

By the end of lap two I can feel that the tyre won’t be hard enough for the last lap, I pull over at the start again. Shout the mechanic again, and bang the tyre up hard again. Out for the last lap, I give my all knowing that it’s pretty hopless.

Now, the worst part is i’ve been going on at Jean Claude Sansonnet for not using tubeless, and puncturing so often. He’s riding today, and finishes a fantastic third (scratch!)…….. on normal tyres, with tubes! Doh!