Roc D'Azur, Frejus, France

The Roc D'Azur marks the end of the race season for many teams, including Topeak Ergon Racing Team. It's an awesome event that attracts thousands of riders. It's also usually blessed with great weather, which in October is hugely appreciated before the winter sets in ☺

Lars (Team Mechanic) taking care of the bikes while I take care of my legs :-)

We packed up the van and drove to Frejus in the South of France where we met up with the rest of the guys from the team. This year we all stayed in an amazing apartment complete with swimming pool. Late at night and after a long drive from Austria, Alban was the first to test it out. He'd clearly been eating too many pies in anticipation of the off-season because he managed to break the driving board! No diving action for the rest of the team. Uhmm.

Breakfast time at the Team apartment

There are many events to choose from, including the 83km marathon on the Friday and a women's elite XC race the following day. I decided to race the marathon and skip the XC in favour of sun bathing and ice cream. Whoops ;-)

Typically, marathons often start early and the Roc is no exception. At 5am I tucked into my (uncooked) oats while Alban informed me that oats are not the best pre-race meal. Now under normal circumstances this would make me nervous, but today I was as cool as ice. I had no expectations for the race and my only agenda was to have lots of fun. The riding in the area is awesome and the marathon course is filled with technical climbs and thrilling descents.

Early warm up with the mosquitoes before the marathon

Not long into the start I found myself riding with Gunn Rita up the first climb. Not too far ahead was Yvonne Kraft who had a great start and was off like a rocket. After the first feed zone I was in 2nd place and already 1 minute 20 behind Yvonne. I decided to chase her down and see if I could close the gap. This worked and as I past through the second feedzone Dirk (Team Manager) told me that I was 15 seconds behind Yvonne. This is pretty much how it stayed for the next few hours. Yvonne would pull out a small lead on the descents and I would close it on the climbs. I knew that if I could reach the final feedzone at 79km not too far behind Yvonne then I would have a good chance of pulling out a small lead on the flat bike path to the finish area.


The last 4 km of the course is always a challenge. It takes the riders across the beach, up steps, around a narrow coastal path, across a floating bridge, and then along a flat cycle path to the finish area, which includes some woodland trails and a bumpy field to the finish line.


As I grabbed my coke with 4km to go, Dirk told me that I had 15 seconds to Yvonnne. I recalled a conversation with Alban the day before when he told me that coke at the last feedzone in this race can give you a real boost, particularly if you are chasing or sprinting to the finish. Hmmmm, what a coincidence, just the position I had found myself in! With Dirk and Bjorn (AKA 'Twitty') yelling "FULL GAS!!!!!" and “GO SURFA!!!!!” I gulped my coke and the chase commenced!

The wind was blowing at least a force 5 and I could see Yvonne tuck in behind a guy in front. I found myself in a chasing group but only one of the guys would work at the front. As he tired I went to the front to try to close the gap to Yvonne. It worked and we were soon one group. I now had to keep close to Yvonne through the twisty woodland trails. I exited the trails and entered the field to the finish line just behind her. Now was my chance. I sprinted past her and didn't look back. Race won. Job done :-) Party time!!!!!!


Alban finished 6th, but he well and truly cleaned up in the men's elite XC on the Sunday when he out sprinted Burry Stander and Florian Vogel to take the victory. Wahoooo :-)

With the last race of the season successfully completed it was time for Topeak Ergon Racing Team to celebrate. Foods normally excluded from elite athletes diets were consumed plentifully :))))

Full results can be found here

1	Sally Bigham	4:23:08
2	Ivonne Kraft	0:00:32
3	Coralie Redelsperger	0:18:36

British Mountain Bike XC Race Series, Round 5, Newnham Park, Plymouth, UK

After the British Marathon Championships a couple of weeks ago I wasn't sure whether or not to stop racing for the season. I was tired and didn't want to train. I took 4 or 5 days off the bike and then went out to try an interval session. I felt terrible and decided to head back home. I tried again a couple of days later and to my surprise I felt so much better and had a great session. I've completely reduced the amount of training I'm doing now and I'm just keeping things ticking over with a couple of interval sessions a week.

Without naming people I've had quite a lot of 'friendly' encouragement to give XC racing a go. It's never really appealed to me because the idea of racing on a short track 5 or 6 times for 1.5 to 2 hours isn't the reason why I started mountain biking. For me, riding has always been about spending at least 4-5 hours in the saddle, covering long distances, climbing big mountains and seeing amazing scenery. However, I finally ran out of excuses and Round 5 of the British Mountain Bike series didn't clash with any other races, in fact it fitted in perfectly with my training schedule and the venue was only a couple of hours drive away. I decided to do it for fun and see how I got on. We loaded up the van and headed off to sunny Devon.

As per usual and quite on cue Sally the MTB numpty emerged from within me while practicing the race course on Friday evening. I approached a section marked with three downward pointing arrows and rather than stopping and having a quick look I just rode straight into the drop. As my front wheel went over the lip I noticed that there was a good line and a bad line, and unfortunately I was right on course for the bad line. Splat. I picked my self up and brushed off the mud and blood. A few other riders came along and rode it without any trouble at all. I walked back up and rode it again only to lose the front wheel. Splat. I hurt my knee this time so I decided that I'd probably be best calling it a day before I did anything else stupid!

There was a great line up including Gunn Rita (Nor), Rosara Joseph (NZ), Amanda Sin (Can), Emmy Thelberg (Swe), Maaris Meier (Est), and a number of other good Irish and British riders. Luckily I had race number 13 :-) I had no expectations at all and I had no idea how I would get on. I've raced against Gunn Rita, Emmy and Maaris in a number of Marathons but never in an XC race. My aim was simply to give XC a go and see if I enjoyed it.

Image: joolze dymond

The start sent the riders through a deep river crossing and straight up a steep climb. It wasn't as fast as I had imagined and I was able to exit the river crossing and reach the top of the climb in the front bunch of 4 or 5 riders. The course then sent us down 'pipeline', which is a long, steep loose descent. It claimed a couple of victims but fortunately I wasn't one of them. I soon found myself in 3rd place with Emmy just behind. This is the way it stayed for the remainder of the first lap.

On the start of the second lap I was able to pull away from Emmy and stay at a comfortable pace with Gunn Rita and Rosara within sight ahead. I had no pressure from behind so I was able to get into a good rhythm and have fun. I enjoyed the course, particularly the short steep climbs and 'cottage return', which is a fun piece of single track. The second deep river crossing towards the end of the lap caused me some trouble and it took a few laps (and a few dips) before I found the right line :-)

Image: joolze dymond

I couldn't quite believe it when I started the final lap, it was over all too quickly! For a moment I thought that perhaps I had miscounted. When I passed through the start/finish I was told that I'd made up 30 seconds on the leaders and I was now only 20 seconds back. I could see them at the top of the climb ahead as they turned into a single track descent. I made a few small blunders and that was the last I saw of them. I crossed the line just over a minute back. Gunn Rita and Rosara had attacked in the final kms and Gunn Rita took the win 9 seconds ahead of Rosara.


Martyn Salt put on another great event, which was well attended. There were lots of spectators out on course and it was really nice to hear so many people shout words of encouragement. Thanks, it really does make a difference.

Although it was a short race and there wasn't a mountain in sight, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to some more XC action next season.

Elite women

1 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) 1:45:14
2 Rosara Joseph (NZl) 0:00:09
3 Sally Bigham (GBr) 0:01:15
4 Amanda Sin (Can) 0:05:59
5 Melanie Spath (Ger) 0:06:37
6 Lily Matthews (GBr) 0:08:23
7 Maaris Meier (Est) 0:09:58
8 Emmy Thelberg (Swe) 0:11:34
9 Melanie Alexander (GBr) 0:12:01
10 Elliot Caitlin (Irl) 0:13:24

Full results can be found here

British National Marathon Championships: Successful defence :)

The British National Marathon Champs were held last Sunday at Pippingford Estate, South of England. This venue also hosted the National XC Champs in July. In the UK it's extremely difficult to host a one lap marathon because stringent by-laws make it difficult to hold competitive races on public roads and bridleways. It's typical therefore to see multiple lap events. This year the marathon route used a 25km loop, which incorporated the excellent 10km XC course plus a new 15km loop that stretched out onto the other side of the valley. Riders raced 4 laps of the course.

The National Champs was an important race for me this season, not just because I wanted to defend my 2009 National Title but also because I don't race on home ground that often. I have to admit though that after racing the Ischgl Iron Bike, Austria, at the end of August I was feeling tired and motivation to train was already starting to dwindle. It's been a long season, which kicked off with The Cape Epic back in March. I had to mix up my training a bit by adding in an XC race and doing interval sessions off-road rather than on the road. This helped and I was feeling fired up, strong and excited to race. Although I knew that I had really good form, I also knew that I would have excellent competition in the form of Swiss rider Jane Nussli, who has a British race license from descent, and a few other girls who I've never raced against before.

I wanted to pre-ride the course as early as possible, but unfortunately pre-riding was not permitted until after 4pm the evening before the race. When we arrived it was raining and cold and I started to wonder whether this was a good idea! We set off and after about 4 miles we got lost because the course marking abruptly disappeared. We were joined by one of the other racers, Lesley Ingram, who also got lost and we spent a while trying to figure out which way to go. We failed and made our way back to the start/finish area. I was frustrated to say the least! We decided to go out on the XC course, which was already well marked.

It's not at all unusual for me to completely forget how to ride a bike the day before a race and this was no exception. Nerves do strange things to me ;-) I was riding like a total numpty! To make matters worse the rain made the course so greasy that parts were difficult to ride. After 2 hours I went back to our B & B feeling a little fed-up! We went out for dinner and I ordered a curry. It was so spicy that it played havoc with my stomach in the morning! Whoops ☺

True to the weather forecast we woke up to a clear blue sky and a light wind. I regained my confidence as I stood on the start line at 9.45am. The women went off first, 15 minutes ahead of the men. I took the lead and at the start of the first climb Jane was at my side. Once we reached the top we were riding alone. The first 15km was uncharted territory, never being raced on before, and because Jane and I were the first out we had the pleasure of seeing lots of deer fleeing as we raced past. We also had to dodge a herd of wild ponies :-)

A well stocked pit area

Given my experience of the course the previous night I was really sceptical about the first 15km loop; however I was pleasantly surprised. Although in a couple of places it was momentarily difficult to see where the course went, I didn't make any wrong turns. Furthermore the course was really good fun. Fire road was few and far between and there was plenty of fun singletrack. Jane and I had fun and chatted during the first lap, and it was great to ride with her. Early in the second lap I was able to pull out a small lead on one of the climbs. I extended this to a few minutes on the third lap, and after 5 hours and 25 minutes I finally crossed the line with a lead of 5 minutes 35 seconds over Jane. Lesley Ingram took third to finish off the Women's podium. Wahooooo! I’d done it. Job done. I’d won my third consecutive National title. Yay!!! I suddenly felt a huge weight off my shoulders.

Alone on the way to the finish line. Phew!

I thoroughly loved the course, which meant that the time literally flew by. I couldn't quite believe it when I was already on the final lap. This was certainly due to variety of the terrain, it really did have a bit of everything: fast bermed singletrack, roots, fast drops, short steep climbs, off camber sections etc. etc. Relative to marathons on mainland Europe this has to be amongst one of my favourite courses simply due to the amount of grin inducing singletrack ☺ The only thing missing was the climbing. Having said that there was approximately 2500metres of vertical ascent, though this was deceptive because there were no long sustained climbs. Given the chance I would definitely race there again. A massive thanks and congratulations to the organisers, headed by Steve Jones, who did an amazing job on a really tight budget. It was a shame that the number of riders was low, and having more non-elite riders would have improved the atmosphere. Mountain Biking is a great sport and I'd love to see more people in the UK out there, especially women.


As always a huge thanks to my amazing team, Topeak-Ergon Racing Team, and all of our great sponsors. I was really lucky to have a brilliant support team in the form of Dave (who has to win the prize for the most supportive partner ever!) and my parents. Big thanks also to Jane for coming all the way from Switzerland and making it a close race. I’m really looking forward to what we can both achieve internationally next year whilst flying the flag for Great Britain.

British National Marathon Championships

It's the National Marathon Championships on Sunday 12th September. All the hard training is done and now I'm resting up :-) My training has been going well and I'm feeling strong, so fingers crossed for a good result!

Southern XC, Chawton Park Woods, UK

Last weekend I had the choice of either road intervals alone or racing at the Southern XC It was an easy decision! The thought of riding alone wasn't inspiring me and I sometimes find it easier to push myself in a race, particularly this late in the season. There was also the lure of some singletrack riding of course!

The women's race started at 2pm so I even had a leisurely start to the day - a pleasant change from 5.30am wakeup calls :-) There had been a lot of rain in the days leading up to the race, so I opted for Conti 2.4 X-Kings front and back. It was the perfect setup and I had lots of grip where some other people seemed to be slipping and sliding.

This was my first XC race. Ever. I had planned to race XC this season as part of my training, but illness and injury scuppered my plans, and this was the first opportunity I had.

Given my lack of experience at racing over only 1.5 hours I decided to try to ride behind Maddie Horton (Team Certini) for the first lap. I took this too literally and rode way too close, which meant that I couldn't see the trail ahead. Whoops! I lost the front wheel and found myself sprawled across the singletrack. I leapt up, put my bottle back in, did up my shoe again, and jumped back on. Maddie was now out of sight. Once I rejoined her I made an effort to enter the next section of singletrack first. Maddie hadn't test ridden the course, so I figured it would probably be more helpful (and safer!) to lead.

After the first lap I had a small lead over Maddie and I knew that I needed to push on hard. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and I couldn't believe how quickly the laps passed by. It was over far too quickly! When I crossed the finish line I was ready for more :-) After watching the World Cup XC races and seeing the riders literally fall off their bikes at the finish line, I now realise that I should have gone harder! Next time :-) It was great to see the guys from our local bike shop and to be in the mix with some of them - thanks also for your support!

Elite Women's Podium

I didn't know until the finish that Maddie crashed during the second lap causing her to retire from the race :-( I hope that you're OK Maddie.

Results:

1. Sally Bigham (Topeak-Ergon Racing Team) 1:36:43
2. Jessie Roberts (WXC Mountain Bike Team) 1:54:47
3. Carla Haines (WXC Mountain Bike Team) 1:57:23

Full results can be found here

Ischgl Ironbike, Austria

After the World Marathon Championships in Germany we decided that it would be rude not to head off to Austria to race in the Ischgl Iron bike. It didn't look far on the map, so the day after the world champs we set off. Eight ours later we arrived. The scale on the map was deceptive!

As we turned off the motorway and started heading through the seemingly endless tunnels, the landscape started to get more and more mountainous. It's amazing to enter a 10km tunnel and emerge on the other side into a valley surrounded by towering mountains. It's hard to describe the feeling I get when I'm in the mountains. I honestly love it and I genuinely get a sense of belonging. I can see myself living in one of the traditional wooden chalets with flower boxes on the balconies. One day perhaps…….

Ischgl is a really great town. We parked the van and didn't get back in it again until the day we left. Everything you need is literally on your doorstep: supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants (even a pizzeria which made gluten free pizzas, crepes and bread ☺ ☺). In fact, Dave was able to take the chair lift to the feed zones!


In the days leading up to the race the weather forecast was for rain, with snow at the top of the mountains. This brought back memories of the Salzkammergut Trophy in Austria last year, which was cancelled half way through the race. We had to seek shelter in a fire station, which was made worthwhile once I was rubbed warm by one of the nice firemen ;0) Fortunately the organisers of the Iron Bike had a contingency plan in the event of snow - the course would cut out two of the highest points but would largely remain unchanged. Luckily I had packed some warm gloves, wind vest, and overshoes!

Photo by Stefan Fischer

The course in Ischgl is pretty challenging, involving almost 4000m of vertical climbing in 80km, with the majority of climbing in the last 50km. Each rider is able to choose between three different distances during the race. I planned from the start to race the full distance, but I was feeling pretty tired from the world champs the weekend before so I wasn’t entirely sure on the start line.


I had a good start and rode with Birgit Söllner (Firebike) for the first 10km. Without realising I found myself alone with a group of men half way up the first small climb and I passed the first feed zone in first place. I felt good so I decided early on that I’d ride the full distance.

Photo by sportograf.com

Unlike most marathon races, there were points on this course where it was not possible for team supporters to reach, particularly the feed zone in Switzerland and the one at the top of the last climb, so self-feeding was necessary. I carried a Torq Single in my pocket, which provides enough powder to make a 750ml of energy drink.

Dave's view of the race from the cable car

I knew from test riding parts of the course a few days earlier that the first big climb got more difficult from about 2500 vertical metres to 2800 metres, partly because it was steeper and muddy, but also because the altitude started to affect me there. It was these last few hundred metres of climbing that made me worried that I'd finally pushed Dave well beyond his limits. Whoops!! With this in mind I knew that it was important not to over-cook the climb earlier on; however I also knew that there was a long descent down into Switzerland and that Birgit 'the downhill bullet' could soon be on my tail!


Fortunately when I made it to the last long climb back up out of Switzerland I didn't have any close female company. I continued to try and reel in some of the men as I ascended the steep, loose climb. I tried not to look up towards the summit because it was possible to see small ant-like figures in the distance making it only too clear exactly how much further I still had to climb. Although I felt strong throughout the race, my legs were starting to grumble a little at this point. It was a relief to see the final feed zone and stop for a quick refill. It was mainly downhill hill from here. Wahoo.


The final descent was steep and fast. I had to pump my brakes to stop them from overheating. It was a pleasure to see photographer, Tom Janas from Sportograf.com on one of the last corners before I entered the ski-lift tunnel and exited into the town centre. A glance over my shoulder confirmed I was alone. Job done. Yay! Time to go for a large gluten free pizza and crepe filled with strawberries, banana and chocolate sauce. Yummy!

Results:

1	Sally Bigham (GBr)	5:14:45
2	Katrin Schwing (Ger)	0:25:06
3	Birgit Söllner (Ger)	0:26:07
4	Verena Krenslehner (Aut)	0:28:42
5	Silke Keinath (Ger)	1:11:42

Full results can be found here

Katrin Schwing, Sally Bigham, Birgit Söllner

Photo by Stefan Fischer

World Marathon Championships, St Wendel, Germany

The World XCM champs came around too quickly for me this year! I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to be, but with a solid month of training behind me I was starting to feel like I was getting strong again.

Chilling with Larry (Team Mechanic)

I'd been able to test ride the course in June so I knew what to expect: a reasonably 'flat' course but with lots of short climbs throughout the 107km. I've never raced on a course like it before so I was curious how I would find it. It couldn't have been more different to the course in Graz, Austria the previous year, which was mountainous and pretty technical in places.

Topeak Ergon Racing Team Expo Booth

I was able to train on the course in the days leading up to the race and this made me realise that the course was deceptively difficult. The accumulation of the short climbs would start to take its toll and there would be nowhere to rest. Unlike mountainous courses where it's possible to recover on the descents, there would be nowhere to recover on this course.

In total we had four Topeak Ergon Racing Team riders: Alban Lakata (Austria), Wolfram Kurschat (Germany), Sonya Loony (USA) and me. This was the first time that I had the opportunity to meet Sonya and it was her first race in Europe.

Pre-race warm up. Focused.

Courtesy of Stefan Fischer

I am now getting much more experience at marathon racing and although I still get nervous, I am able to cope with it better, which is far more relaxing for me and for Dave!

I had a great start position (number 4), which put me on the front row. My plan was simple - stay at the front of the pack for as long as possible and preferably until the finish line ;0) I was tenth in Graz last year and obviously I would have liked to improved on this, but I was well aware that this might not be possible given the disruptions to my training this season.

The weather forecast was for rain during the race and given previous reports of the course turning into a mud bath I decided to run the Continental 2.4 X King on my front wheel. I've used this tyre a couple of times now this year and I really like it. It’s very fast rolling, like the race king, but it gives great grip in gravel corners and in mud.

The course started off on the athletic track, turned out of the stadium and up a short gravel climb. Everything was going perfectly until I flicked down into my small chain ring. Despite pedalling I seemed to be going backwards and all of the riders behind started to over take me. I could hear Dave shout "Go Surfa" (Surfa is my nickname :0) due to my previous life as a surfer). My chain had dropped off onto the inside of my crank. I thought I'd be able to flick back up into the big ring again and recover it, but to my horror it didn't work and I had to dismount and put the chain back on. Once I had remounted I was in last position and saw the whole field of riders disappear up the first climb. I went 'full gas' and didn't stop until I'd rejoined the front of the pack. I blew the doors off :) and needed to try and recover. Luckily the pace was comfortable for a while and I was able to ride at or near the front for the next 60 km.

Look carefully and you can see my leg as I dismount. Bad timing!

At about 65km there was an attack and I tried to go with it but I started to cramp. Was this really happening??!! I panicked because there was 30km between the 3rd and the 4th feed zones and I knew that I had a long way to go before I would get my next bottle. I had to reduce the pace in an effort to manage the cramp. When I finally reached the feed zone I was able to take two bottles.


Eventually I started to regain power and I was able to pull away from the group of 3 or 4 girls behind. The men started to overtake the women (they started 45 minutes later and rode exactly the same course) and eventually I heard Alban say “Good job Surfa” as he passed by. This made me smile ☺ He was in about 10th position and at least 2 minutes behind the lead group. Damn. I really wanted him to pass me first. Not long later bad luck struck once more when my chain came off again! They say bad things come in threes!! Kristine Noergaard (Denmark) was able to pull away from me and I was unable to close the gap. I crossed the line in 8th position.

Courtesy of Stefan Fischer

I'm really pleased with the result and I've come away feeling confident about the future. My bad luck was all worth it because unbelievably team mate Alban Lakata won the men's race and was crowned the new World Marathon Championships. Wahooo!!! A truly awesome ride. Not only is he the best marathon rider but he's also one of nicest riders. Congrats Alban!!! Sonya Loony finished 30th despite some stomach troubles. Regrettably Wolfram had to pull out due to problems with a previously broken rib.

World Marathon Champion :)

As always a HUGE thanks to all of our sponsors and our amazing Topeak Ergon Racing Team support crew, including Dirk Juckwer, Werner Faust, Lars Hartwich, Dave Padfield, Theresa Faust, and Anita Rienzner.

Results:

1 Esther Süss (Switzerland) 4:33:47
2 Sabine Spitz (Germany) 0:01:57
3 Annika Langvad (Denmark) 0:02:54
4 Elisabeth Brandau (Germany) 0:07:51
5 Birgit Söllner (Germany) 0:07:54
6 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway) 0:08:12
7 Kristine Noergaard (Denmark) 0:08:59
8 Sally Bigham (Great Britain) 0:09:56
9 Erika Dicht (Switzerland) 0:11:34
10 Anna Villar Argente (Spain) 0:11:34

Full results can be found here