These pics are from a photoshoot i did along with the GB Team for promo gear for sponsors. Photo's are by BC photgrapher Luke Webber, pretty handy with a camera that boy!!
Monday 26 April 2010
I've just arrived in Aigle, Switzerland, for a training camp at the UCI centre ahead of the next SuperCross round in Copenhagen, Denmark next wkend.
The National at Cheddar was looong. The event looked super good and there were 585 riders or so in attendance across all ages so racing was pretty tough in most classes.
I got to the track saturday around 11.30am but wasn't due to start racing until around 6.30pm with practice for 45mins at 5.30pm. The other racing should have kicked off at 12noon but for whatever reason it didn't get going until well over an hour after that!!! Which meant that at the first race of the season we're already running late and that time had to be made up somewhere to make sure we were able to get all the elite racing done before it got dark.
It turned out that they cut practice down to 20mins for our group yet there were still 30-40min breaks happening between rd's throughout the day?!?! To me this seemed strange.
We all knew that it was gonna be tight to get all the racing done but because of over runs earlier in the day and starting late we had to run moto's every 10mins or so. Not the best situation but it had to be done. At the start of the first set of moto's it was decided (not by the riders) that we'd only run the 3 moto's that night, then the semi's and mains in the morning (i heard 8am!!!)
Then, it was decided to run the semi as there was enough light left....which was right. Then after the semi's were done it was decided that there wasn't enough light to run the finals.........although at this point all the riders (bar one or 2) were up on the hill willing to run the mains, but we weren't allowed.
Although i appreciate what the ref's were saying about risk, my belief is that you've got riders who are old enough to make decisions for themselves and were happy to ride, so if anything did happen then the buck would stop with us (the riders). BUT the ref was happy to let the PayBack final run (after all the discussions we all could've just raced!) because they're slower than the Elites and thus less risk but in my mind it's all relative to speed & control etc so there wouldn't have been a difference. The crowd didn't seem overly happy about the decision either.....cue the chorus of boo's.
At the end of the fiasco all the riders were down at the finish line to sort out how it'd run in the morning, it was decided (by the riders with officials present) that we'd run the saturday's finals as the first finals on the sunday. To which all the riders left the track knowing that was the case.
Then, on the sunday after the semi's where we'd start to warm up ready for the previous days final it was said that we'd run after the B-finals as the 1st A final.....again a change on what was decided the night before. To me the point wasn't that we'd run later it was the point that ALL the riders went away thinking one thing and then for some reason it gets changed again. If they wanted us to run after the B finals then it should've been said the night before...not 10mins before we thought we were up!!
Anyway, results wise, i got a 2nd behind LP when we eventually ran the saturday main and an 8th in the sunday main. I was running in 2nd until the last turn when Kelvin came up and passed me, i knew he was there, i just didn't no which line he'd choose. I edged my bets and went kinda middle but obviously there was enough room for him to come through, we touched in the turn but it was a good move so i can't be too annoyed.
TIBBOH, mine and LP's new title sponsor launched last wk and seemed to go done well at the national. There were a couple of dongle's handed out as prizes with a yr's free internet access provided.....can't beat that surely?!?!? Roll on the Pro Race at the Brits this yr, TIBBOH are gonna be looking to do a whole lot more at that race and the Brits itself so keep an eye out for info soon. There's more stuff to come from them this year and maybe even companies they've got ties with (there's some good un's in there!!)
Check back in a couple of days for a training camp update!!
Marcus
The National at Cheddar was looong. The event looked super good and there were 585 riders or so in attendance across all ages so racing was pretty tough in most classes.
I got to the track saturday around 11.30am but wasn't due to start racing until around 6.30pm with practice for 45mins at 5.30pm. The other racing should have kicked off at 12noon but for whatever reason it didn't get going until well over an hour after that!!! Which meant that at the first race of the season we're already running late and that time had to be made up somewhere to make sure we were able to get all the elite racing done before it got dark.
It turned out that they cut practice down to 20mins for our group yet there were still 30-40min breaks happening between rd's throughout the day?!?! To me this seemed strange.
We all knew that it was gonna be tight to get all the racing done but because of over runs earlier in the day and starting late we had to run moto's every 10mins or so. Not the best situation but it had to be done. At the start of the first set of moto's it was decided (not by the riders) that we'd only run the 3 moto's that night, then the semi's and mains in the morning (i heard 8am!!!)
Then, it was decided to run the semi as there was enough light left....which was right. Then after the semi's were done it was decided that there wasn't enough light to run the finals.........although at this point all the riders (bar one or 2) were up on the hill willing to run the mains, but we weren't allowed.
Although i appreciate what the ref's were saying about risk, my belief is that you've got riders who are old enough to make decisions for themselves and were happy to ride, so if anything did happen then the buck would stop with us (the riders). BUT the ref was happy to let the PayBack final run (after all the discussions we all could've just raced!) because they're slower than the Elites and thus less risk but in my mind it's all relative to speed & control etc so there wouldn't have been a difference. The crowd didn't seem overly happy about the decision either.....cue the chorus of boo's.
At the end of the fiasco all the riders were down at the finish line to sort out how it'd run in the morning, it was decided (by the riders with officials present) that we'd run the saturday's finals as the first finals on the sunday. To which all the riders left the track knowing that was the case.
Then, on the sunday after the semi's where we'd start to warm up ready for the previous days final it was said that we'd run after the B-finals as the 1st A final.....again a change on what was decided the night before. To me the point wasn't that we'd run later it was the point that ALL the riders went away thinking one thing and then for some reason it gets changed again. If they wanted us to run after the B finals then it should've been said the night before...not 10mins before we thought we were up!!
Anyway, results wise, i got a 2nd behind LP when we eventually ran the saturday main and an 8th in the sunday main. I was running in 2nd until the last turn when Kelvin came up and passed me, i knew he was there, i just didn't no which line he'd choose. I edged my bets and went kinda middle but obviously there was enough room for him to come through, we touched in the turn but it was a good move so i can't be too annoyed.
TIBBOH, mine and LP's new title sponsor launched last wk and seemed to go done well at the national. There were a couple of dongle's handed out as prizes with a yr's free internet access provided.....can't beat that surely?!?!? Roll on the Pro Race at the Brits this yr, TIBBOH are gonna be looking to do a whole lot more at that race and the Brits itself so keep an eye out for info soon. There's more stuff to come from them this year and maybe even companies they've got ties with (there's some good un's in there!!)
Check back in a couple of days for a training camp update!!
Marcus
Friday 23 April 2010
So, only one day to go until the National Series kicks off down in Cheddar. The track rode pretty well last night and I'm headind back down in a bit to try some new bike parts out before the race.
Since the last update I've just been training and really trying to work on some stuff that needed sorting, we'll see if it works soon enough no doubt. I've been up to Preston a couple of times recently for a change of scenary, the whole atmosphere when there's gates on is really good and the people who are involved up there are real sound and always make you feel welcome. Plus there's some super fast kids up there too so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go this wkend.
Something else of note, TIBBOH launched yesterday so it won't be long until everybody see's the benefits of using them. Check the link on the right to see what's up or google TIBBOH and see the press releases from yesterdays forums and newspaper!!
Since the last update I've just been training and really trying to work on some stuff that needed sorting, we'll see if it works soon enough no doubt. I've been up to Preston a couple of times recently for a change of scenary, the whole atmosphere when there's gates on is really good and the people who are involved up there are real sound and always make you feel welcome. Plus there's some super fast kids up there too so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go this wkend.
Something else of note, TIBBOH launched yesterday so it won't be long until everybody see's the benefits of using them. Check the link on the right to see what's up or google TIBBOH and see the press releases from yesterdays forums and newspaper!!
Thursday 15 April 2010
Crewe regional race was pretty fun on Sunday. There were 18 riders in the payback class which was more than most nationals I did last year. The track rode well all day and the weather was spot on also. Was nice to be able to race in shorts with no need for leg warmers.
I didn't get to race LP until the final so one lap no crap to take the win, I was winning until I messed up on the 3rd straight and lost enough speed for him to slip up the inside of the last turn to win. Overall I was happy with how I rode all day so can't complain. After the race we, along with the Manaton's went for some good old English pub grub. A good end to a good day.
Yesterday I had a BC filming and photo day along with the rest of the GB Team. I thought it was for all the new coaching docs but was pretty happy when they said it was for sponsor promo stuff....happy days!
We rode from 9.30 till 1pm then headed to the velodrome for a photoshoot, there was some pretty serious faces being pulled I can tell ya! Hopefully within the next 2wks or so I should have some pics to post up on here from the day, the track ones look pretty slick!!
I didn't get to race LP until the final so one lap no crap to take the win, I was winning until I messed up on the 3rd straight and lost enough speed for him to slip up the inside of the last turn to win. Overall I was happy with how I rode all day so can't complain. After the race we, along with the Manaton's went for some good old English pub grub. A good end to a good day.
Yesterday I had a BC filming and photo day along with the rest of the GB Team. I thought it was for all the new coaching docs but was pretty happy when they said it was for sponsor promo stuff....happy days!
We rode from 9.30 till 1pm then headed to the velodrome for a photoshoot, there was some pretty serious faces being pulled I can tell ya! Hopefully within the next 2wks or so I should have some pics to post up on here from the day, the track ones look pretty slick!!
Tuesday 6 April 2010
Since Madrid i've just been trying to get back into the swing of things again.
I didn't race the Euro Rd in France on the wkend as I headed home for a wedding, was a really good day and there were all sorts of shapes being thrown on the dancefloor, not by me but some random older people......classic.
Anyway, trainings been getting better. My back's finally stopped hurting all the time and the ear's almost there too. I'm just trying to work as hard as i can right now to take me up until Copenhagen and then we'll see what happens. There's couple of races i'm doing before then, 1 of which is this Sunday at Crewe for a regional and the other is the 1st 2 National Rd's at Cheddar.
I've attached a Pic of the new UltimateProBMX truck for you to check out....this things gonna be hooked right up inside!!!
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