After being offered a grass roots sponsorship from a bike shop in ulladulla i thought i would mention the offer to my local bike shop up here. They said they could match it and i thought this would be easier being close to home. At the same time my mates girlfriend charli had mentioned this to her boss who is a bike parts whole saler on the central coast. He asked to see some results and said he would c what he could do. Wow from nothing to 3 offers in 1 week! I get a phone call at work and he is very impresed with my results seeing as i have only been riding seriously for less than a year. We talked about the conditions and it all sounded awesome. The big turning point was that he wanted to start a team. So after a long meeting and sorting out all the fine details i signed the contract!!
Im now sponsored by SCV imports in tuggerah who deal with Light & Motion, Turner bikes, FSA, IXS protective gear and marzocchi suspension. Big thanks to Stu and the team for giving me a chance and the opportunity of a lifetime.
If all this wasnt the best news ever the next week i hear news that TORQ nutrition and Continental tyres have jumped in to sponsor the team as well!! Awesome news as TORQ has a testing facility and access to a coach and nutritionalist.
Cant wait to get my new bike with all the best gear on it and start rippin it up and gettin some good results and doin the team and Stu proud. Im all in now, theres no lookin back and the possibilities are endless. National title, Worlds champs, Olympics....... who knows :)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Awaba 4hr Race
It was a nice change to be racing on a saturday for once so that i didnt have to work the day after a race! The race started with a qualifying lap of a shorter 2km course to sort out the start positions. A couple of people got in under the 5 min mark, including former world 24hr solo champion Craig Gordon!, with me coming in at 5:02.
I started not too far from the front withe first lap or two spent overtakin a few slower people. Track length was about 7-8km and had some nice bermed corners with plenty of drift happening! At about lap 3 i realise daniel, who id raced against at sparrow hill, was behind me. This kid only just turned 16 and is a solid rider for his age. So he follows me around for quite a few laps, so close to me it felt like i had a trailer on lol. We were setting a cracking pace which had me a bit worried but i was havin too much fun to slow down.
He finally takes the lead for a while at lap 9 or so after we stop at transition to refuel. He is still riding fairly quick n im wondering if im gonna be able to get back past him, i notice that he isnt eatin that much tho. Its a hard track to eat on but i had managed to get a few gels down on the limited amount of firetrail. Halfway thru this lap on a little pinch climb, i hear what sounds like a truck comin up behind me. I turn around just in time to hear gordo yell track as he laps us n let him thru. He passes daniel on the top of the hill which we were riding out of the saddle in middle ring, n i notice that gordo is in the dog (the biggest ring) with only about 3 gears left on the back!! Man this guy has some legs!! Also he says thanks, not even puffing or panting n looks like hes only done 1 lap!
Anyway with gordo gone in a flash its back to me n dan with another guy closing in for 4th place. Thru the transition again and fourth goes first then dan then me. The commentator is goin off by this time with us guys swapping the lead and being so close. Dan manages to get back into 2nd n gets a little gap on me. I struggle to get back into 3rd but manage, then catch up with dan again. Getting tired by this stage i pass dan near the end of the 2nd last lap n scoff some more food. Luckily i get an energy boost and decide to put the hammer down for the last lap.
I hold it flat, still having a ball on this awesome track, n keep looking back. No dan in sight. I knew i would just beat him as he hadnt eaten enough. I come past the finish with 30 sec left. If dan turned up before 4 hrs we would have to go out for another lap so im waiting, still clipped in with the mc firing the crowd up so much, he counts down n still no dan. I breath a sigh of relief, 2nd place was mine :) after a quick interview i see dan finally coming round the last corner. The laps were about 22 min and id put 5 mins on him in the last lap alone! This is what happens when u dont eat enough, its not fun hitting the wall like that......been there done that............
I started not too far from the front withe first lap or two spent overtakin a few slower people. Track length was about 7-8km and had some nice bermed corners with plenty of drift happening! At about lap 3 i realise daniel, who id raced against at sparrow hill, was behind me. This kid only just turned 16 and is a solid rider for his age. So he follows me around for quite a few laps, so close to me it felt like i had a trailer on lol. We were setting a cracking pace which had me a bit worried but i was havin too much fun to slow down.
He finally takes the lead for a while at lap 9 or so after we stop at transition to refuel. He is still riding fairly quick n im wondering if im gonna be able to get back past him, i notice that he isnt eatin that much tho. Its a hard track to eat on but i had managed to get a few gels down on the limited amount of firetrail. Halfway thru this lap on a little pinch climb, i hear what sounds like a truck comin up behind me. I turn around just in time to hear gordo yell track as he laps us n let him thru. He passes daniel on the top of the hill which we were riding out of the saddle in middle ring, n i notice that gordo is in the dog (the biggest ring) with only about 3 gears left on the back!! Man this guy has some legs!! Also he says thanks, not even puffing or panting n looks like hes only done 1 lap!
Anyway with gordo gone in a flash its back to me n dan with another guy closing in for 4th place. Thru the transition again and fourth goes first then dan then me. The commentator is goin off by this time with us guys swapping the lead and being so close. Dan manages to get back into 2nd n gets a little gap on me. I struggle to get back into 3rd but manage, then catch up with dan again. Getting tired by this stage i pass dan near the end of the 2nd last lap n scoff some more food. Luckily i get an energy boost and decide to put the hammer down for the last lap.
I hold it flat, still having a ball on this awesome track, n keep looking back. No dan in sight. I knew i would just beat him as he hadnt eaten enough. I come past the finish with 30 sec left. If dan turned up before 4 hrs we would have to go out for another lap so im waiting, still clipped in with the mc firing the crowd up so much, he counts down n still no dan. I breath a sigh of relief, 2nd place was mine :) after a quick interview i see dan finally coming round the last corner. The laps were about 22 min and id put 5 mins on him in the last lap alone! This is what happens when u dont eat enough, its not fun hitting the wall like that......been there done that............
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