tate's blog

blog courtesy of seasoned international road/sprint champion Ben Isaksen who appears to be making the switch to the wonderful world of singletrack, and was also in the winning team.

Jetblack Sydney 12 Hour

Saturday the 13th of August saw the first of 2 days racing on the fast trails of Dargle Farm, 75 kilometres North West of Sydney. Saturday was the Sydney 12 hour, followed by the 3rd round of the Rocky Trail GP series on Sunday.

not really that impressed with this one. regardless of weather, organising a race in a floodplain is only asking for these sorts of conditions. poor marshaling led to numerous shortcuts, some riders were correctly penalised, some not. if you're going to have a course that reuses so much of the same trails and loops around on itself like spaghetti junction, then you need to have a means in place of verifying positions around the course.

presentation was a flop. no podium, no photos - just wander on up to the banner and grab a pump or other prize, all in the most disorganised fashion.

It was a great day out thanks to the weather and trail fairies. I can’t believe how well the trails were groomed! Perfect racing conditions.

I think I prefer the James Williamson course though… Two laps of the red loop and no wall.

Congrats to Fleming. I saw him attack about 3km in and he obviously never looked back. Not even Lewis and others could work together to bring him back. Awesome effort.

After missing the closing time for a ticket, Chris Roe came through with the goods - thanks Chris.

I was hoping for 45min so to get under is great. I had a clean start which is unusual for me and found myself in the front four after the first climb. The group became three at about the 5km mark, and then became 2 at 10km when i got dropped on the last climb not too far from the helipad.

Write up is on marathonmtb:

http://www.marathonmtb.com/16/05/2011/rock-walla...

Well done to all those that finished. It was definitely challenging!

What a race! I had a ball at capital punishment, and this took it to another level.

I started the race in the first wave after the elites and I was happy cruising along at a moderate pace just sitting in the bunch while others around me jostled for position. I was keeping a keen eye on True Swain and others making sure i was in with a chance of being with them at the top of the hill. A rider fell in a car-sized mud puddle and went down causing a bit of a pile-up at the base of the climb - luckily though i avoided the carnage.

I unexpectedly managed to grab a free ticket on friday from CB (generous Nobmob member) and headed down that afternoon a little unprepared. Given i hadn't had any time to gear up for it, the game plan was to simply treat it as a training ride. I find i learn something each time i race, and this one was no different.

Decided to do the 50km option to limit pre event training and to go out and have a bit of fun.

The game plan was to stick with the front runners for as long as I could, then settle into something more manageable. It was after the first bit of new single track where I found two guys who were riding well and more to my pace and so stuck with them, for the time being. Punched out the first lap in 1h02 which had me just inside top ten, but only a couple of minutes behind the leaders. With a quick bottle change I was off for the final 25km.

had a ball. was pleased with the performance despite voluntarily adding on 8km and 18min to my time by missing a turn marker in the wineries section. (see obvious loop three quarters around the wineries stage). managed to work with a struggling elite to bring back some time, but i know it could have been better. not to worry - i know the way now!

the new spark RC ran flawlessly which was great!

it was hot and humid. had sweat dripping down my face halfway into the first lap, and that was without a warm up. was determined to finish it with the fling coming up, so was out to see if i could last the distance.

happy with how things went. was in the hurt box between 2h and 4.5h, but once i was able to count down the laps with the time remaining it was all good.