So, as you can imagine, I was delighted to discover that a squad was being formed here in Auckland with the intention of doing exactly that; taking a small group of riders and making them into nationally competitive athletes. I thought that it was a brilliant idea and that whoever was chosen for the squad would have access to some great coaching, training, riding, racing and an even greater time doing it all. Having been on break for a few months travelling, it was much to my surprise that I was chosen to join what would become known as "The J-Squad".
Having had the chance to spend a few weeks to train together, we had targeted the "Cruiser" event of the Lake Taupo Huka event as our debut race as a team. 33 km of fast, open tracks and roads, with tight, windy single track and pinch climbs near the end just when you thought you were home safe. It was here we would push to the limit and find the chinks in our metaphorical Suits of Armour to begin our training for Nationals in just under 2 months time.
Friday was a preparation day. Running through stretching exercises with our coach Jesse Voza exposed all our week spots when it came to flexibility, with more than a few grimaced faces witnessed during the session. I am sure many of us were quite pleased when it was all over. An earlier night than usual was in order for all of us as we had a big day the next day, as we set out to try and take the course record.
The Race.
Saturday morning and it was all systems go. An early breakfast before rolling in convoy into Taupo. For those of you that haven't raced at any of the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge events, getting into town early on race day is a must. With over 8000 people showing up for the different events in a town that usually only holds 34,000, parking and traffic are a nightmare. Unfortunately, due to the huge numbers of riders, no-one was entirely sure when and where our event, the Huka Cruiser, was supposed to start so warm ups were a tentative affair that involved not straying far from the start line lest we miss a call up for our event. With everyone we asked giving us a different answer, this was not a risk we wanted to take.
Eventually, we made our way to the front row and prepared for an hour and a half of pushing as hard as possible. When the start horn went, the entire squad shot to the front of the pack for the hole shot. By the time we were off the road and onto the grass, 3 out of the 5 front riders were J-Squad representatives including the lead rider, Isaac Schuurman. Within the first 3km the field had separated out and the real racing began. Isaac, Josh Riley and Coach Jesse held the fort out front in a pack of 4 riders, while I pushed the lead of the next couple of riders shortly behind, with J-squad rider Peter Bethell hot on my heels. Then came J-squad "Associates" Alex Beavan, and Hayden Schuurman pushing a blistering pace ahead of the rest of the pack, with the J-Squads female contingent, Harriet "Hatty" Beavan and Coach Sophiemarie Bethell rounding out the top 10 or so riders.
As the race began to stretch on the Squad held its own throughout the field. Isaac still lead the race, pushing through the head winds to hold first, with Josh and Coach Jessie right behind. Peter and Alex slid in behind me and together we began to punch out the miles, holding our own ahead of the rest of the pack. Slightly further back, Hatty and Sophie were having a race of their own, putting many of the male riders to shame. At around the 12km mark, I had a bit of a moment of energy loss due to my lack of recent racing experience, where Alex, Hayden and Peter got passed and shunted up the hill to pull away from me. It was here that the race could be made or broken, which Hayden and Alex showed by pulling away from Peter and racing together for the rest of the event. Once we hit the flats I managed to reel Peter back to within a drafting distance and together we rode the rest of the race; alternating leads and working together to keep the pace up.
And so it continued until the last few Kilometers.
Alex and Hayden had put a decent lead on Peter and I, to the point they finally slipped out of sight. Peter and I rode hard through the final sections of tight twisty singletrack before emerging out onto the side of the road to head back into Taupo. Around about then Isaac and Jesse were sprinting for the finish, with Isaac just edging ahead of Jesse to take 2nd place over all. Josh followed through almost exactly a minute later in fourth place. Well done guys! Peter managed to get ahead on the last real downhill section, but I caught him on the next climb as we started on the road towards the finishing straight.
The facts were as follows; we were both cramping, tired and hungry. Peter had the advantage of being in front and a triple crank set to gear him up for the finish, but I could draft and "slingshot" my way past if timed correctly. Rounding the final corner, we went to sprint, but as I shifted up...
...Nothing.
My chain had over shifted onto the crank. Turns out a worn big ring is not a good thing to have for a race. Peter began to pull away as I downshifted and tried again, with my chain shifting up into the big ring and...
...overshooting again.
Peter was getting further away, about a quarter of the way down the 400m finishing straight as I tried to shift one last time. Chain up, onto the big ring, and...
...it stayed.
And so began my hardest sprint this year. Bike swaying beneath me like a flax bush in a hurricane, I surged forward with everything I had. Cramped calves, heaving oxygen deprived lungs and exhausted mentality were all forgotten in those few moments of blind ambition and desire to win the sprint. My senses returned as I crossed the line, greeting me with clapping and cheering from the crowd and sweat rolling down my riding glasses. It was not in vain; somehow I had pulled 5 seconds on peter in the space of a little over 300 meters to finish in 7th place. Moments later, Peter crossed the line in eighth. The race was over.
The Results
Second Place overall was taken by J-Squad rider Isaac Schuurman. After leading from the front for most of the race he was overtaken by Endura rider Nathan Johnston near the final section of the course. Nathan went on to win the race by a little over 3 minutes thanks to some clever drafting earlier in the race keeping his legs fresh.
Coach Jesse took first in his category and third over all, a mere 3 seconds behind Isaac at the finish.
J-Squad "Associates" Josh Riley, Alex Beavan and Hayden Schuurman took 4th, 5th and 6th overall respectively, with Hayden winning the 15 and Under category. A strong performance by three riders that was reflected in the results.
Peter and I were to follow shortly after with yours truly in 7th and Peter in 8th.
Harriet Beavan rounded out the field with 10th over all and as first woman home, taking the category win, as well as smashing the course record by 10 minutes! Coach Sophiemarie Bethell took first in her category as well, only a few seconds behind Hatty.
7 out of the top 10 riders were representing J-Squad, 2 out of three overall podium positions were held by J-Squad members and four category wins were recorded, with a new course record to boot.
It is hard to imagine a more successful outcome than that.
On its very first outing, the J-Squad has shown itself to be a formidable team capable of delivering results. I look forward to seeing how we develop and improve as we build towards the Nationals season. The future looks bright for Youth Mountain Biking here in Auckland.
Long May it Last.
The J-Squad.
