Aussie Scott 24 HRS

Scott 24hrs

Whammm! Another solid 24 in the bank and I’m not super screwed for the next 3 weeks recovering, just sorta…

The Scott 24 Hrs was one of the hardest races I have ever done as the competition was very tough, the conditions were muddy, and there was a little jet lag to deal with.

Deciding to add this race to the calendar was a very late edition. The first focus of the trip was the Crocodile. When the organizing crew (CORC) started offering some very generous incentives to come race the Scott 24 I figured I would roll with it. I knew things might go a little screwbally but the only other option was to be at home watching on the internet. Nope not cool, gotta go..
Having Worlds here in Canberra next year it was a no brainer I had to come race as worst case scenario it would provide some important reconnaissance for next yr., and best case everything works out and I’d topple World Champ Jason English.

Showing up in Australia after 52 hrs of travel, just 1.5 days before the start left me behind the 8 ball. Given the short time frame to prepare I opted to try a different tactic and maximize my time at home and then try to hit the ground running when I got here. This tactic somewhat worked as I had good training at home, good rest and good food. The problem came was with some jetlag as it left me with just 4 hrs of sleep the night before the race and a half empty tank at the start line.

This was not to be on this day. I went out hard, lead for the first 3 laps and then settled into a nice groove riding with English, watching a couple different Aussie riders lead for the first 10 hrs, severely detonating themselves and pulling out of the race. This left us in a dogfight with European Champ Matt Page and Aussie #2 rider Andrew Hall. This was short lived as I started running on reserve energy stores just over 8 hrs in the race. I immediately went from fight mode to survival mode as there were over 16 hrs of racing left and I was on fumes. Too make things worse the creamy Canberra mud was demolishing my forks and I was left riding a pretty much ridged bike for the second half of the race. I have never hurt so much on downhill’s before in my life.

It was a tough place to be as the top 3 road away and I was left alone in 4th with a long rough ride ahead. It was a lesson learned that 24 HRs aren’t something you wing if you want to compete against such hardy well prepped riders like English, Page and Hall. You need to have every once of energy available to lay on the line if you want to ride with these guys.

Luckily I had an amazing pit crew in my Aussie mates James Lamb and Tarren Sohier. James I had met in 2010 when I raced against him at both the 24 Hr Worlds and Crocodile Trophy. Tarren had supported James at the 2010 Worlds so I had two experienced and great people in my pit. They were on the ball, kept me laughing, had everything sorted and left me with nothing to do but ride my bike around and around and around… Having a positive pit crew is crucial in a race like this and they kept the spirits high as 5th place slowly closed in on me, being 1 hr back at one point and by the final lap being just 2 minutes behind. James and I had a deal that 4th was ours and he gave me a plate of hot fries and sent me out on one more lap to secure the placing while 5th place rider Shane Roberts pulled the pin.

Crossing the finish line in 4th I was in mixed emotions as it is always a huge accomplishment to finish one of these races and 4th wasn’t all that poor of a result given the high level of competition there. It’s rough on the head when you know you can be up with the leaders on a good day though. The fitness was there, the support was there but the preps weren’t. That being said, I wouldn’t change a thing as the memories and new friends, which came from this race overcome any downfalls ten fold. The lessons learned will be put into the experience bank to pull from next time I meat up with the top 24 riders in the World.

R&R is on the menu for a few days as I try to glue things back together. My bikes are getting overhauled, clothes and bottles washed and a lot of sleep is occurring. Being such a small world, I have landed at some family friends from Canada who now live in Canberra. Darro and Donna Stinson have opened there house and lives to me for the week to recover before I fly up north to Cairns to start the Crocodile Trophy SR on Saturday. There’s nothing like some golden Canadian hospitality when your living out of your backpack across the world.

Racing over in Australia is unreal. The people here have always welcomed foreign competitors with open arms and are there offering whatever assistance they can. They also have some crazy sayings and there accents never get old. The only real problem is getting conditioned to driving on the left side of the road and having all the controls in the cars backwards as well. Trying to signal always starts off with hitting the windshield wipers first, squirting liquid allover the shield as I flounder around trying to hit the proper signal lights before the turn. I’m not super proud of my driving up to this point over here but the Aussies have been patient with me as I slowly get it all figured. Thanks mates.

Congrats Jason and Matt on a couple of killer rides this past weekend. You guys have set the bar high.

Off for some fueling and downtime as the Croc adventure is t-3 days away!