Finally I put my race number on for the Round Taupo event. I was deciding for a few weeks prior to the event whether I should race the road or do the Huka XL mountain bike race, I went for the mtb race more as a prep race for the Festival of Cycling which I would love to defend my last years race win. For the Huka I knew I would have the fitness to get up in the top handful but more importantly I knew I had to watch the guys who ended up in the top-4 placings plus Stu Houltham who finished a small margin behind me in 6th place, I also knew if I got isolated from those guys my day would be very long as I had no knowledge of any of those trails. After a hard 45mins racing I did end up losing sight of those guys and after a wee while I saw Stu coming up behind me which gave me bit of a boost because I knew he could ride himself back up to the leaders and I wanted that as well. I sat on Stu’s wheel for a long time and gave him a rest every now and again when we got onto some wide open sections. With about 25km to go I moved to the front and kept a reasonable pace which eventually got me ahead of Stu but still a wee while away from the guys I wanted to catch. I finished at least 7mins behind the winner Mike Northcott and a well deserved win after 2nd placing in the last 2 Huka races, Karapoti winner Tim Wilding wasn’t too far behind in 3rd, last years 3rd place getter Mark Leishman did a repeat of that result and young stormer Dirk Peters pulled off 4th with me 5th followed by last years winner Stu Houltham. A pretty top notch field and a fierce race which will lead into a strong 2011 season.
I was happy with my result and I can see some positives leading into this weekends Festival of Cycling, I’d like to think I will have the goods to do the double in the mountain bike race but I know there are a few people who will want to stop that and I’m up for the challenge!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The wheels are rolling!
The warmer weather has made me feel like a cyclist again, more daylight hours after work has helped me get my motivation back and the last month has been pretty consistent. I haven't spent much time on the mountain bike but more so the roadie and have been hitting up races from Wellington to the West Coast North Island areas. Last weekend I went back to my home town to race the Sharrock Cup in Wanganui, 73km out to Waverly and return. The out journey was fast with speeds of up to 60kmh on the flat but the bad news was coming home with a nasty headwind and some big hills to conquer. It wasn't enjoyable but the 3 of us worked well and nearly got through to the front markers. I got the jump in the sprint and bet home old racing buddy Adam Gosney for fastest time.
Today I rode the Tour of Manawatu, an event I last hit up back in 1998 but on a much different course. Palmy pulled the perfect weather out of the bag which made for a fast race on some really nice rolling country-side. A group of 8 slipped away with round 50km to go and we were't mucking round, plenty of attacks and surges kept the legs honest and weakened a few riders. 10km from the finish I eased up on the attacks and had confidence in my sprint to get a good result, Craig Lawn had a ripper of a day and jumped hard at the same time as me and he held on for the win with me getting 2nd. Great ride by Craig and well deserved as he had a very honest day of racing on his bike. I was really happy with 2nd and stoked to have my road racing legs back after having a few years away from the road. Next weekend is an event over in Masterton, good that there is no shortage of racing at this time of the year.....starting to think I might be keen on lining up on the road for Round Taupo rather than the Huka Challenge....who knows, certainly not me so will see how I'm feeling when I put in the entry!
So for another week it's all about the commuting and making the most of the wicked Wellington terrain after work, if you are in a position of being able to ride to work and you aren't doing it yet get going, make the most of the k's and save your petrol money to get to races!
Hope everyone is enjoying the nicer weather and is getting those white glow sticks some summer tan!
Today I rode the Tour of Manawatu, an event I last hit up back in 1998 but on a much different course. Palmy pulled the perfect weather out of the bag which made for a fast race on some really nice rolling country-side. A group of 8 slipped away with round 50km to go and we were't mucking round, plenty of attacks and surges kept the legs honest and weakened a few riders. 10km from the finish I eased up on the attacks and had confidence in my sprint to get a good result, Craig Lawn had a ripper of a day and jumped hard at the same time as me and he held on for the win with me getting 2nd. Great ride by Craig and well deserved as he had a very honest day of racing on his bike. I was really happy with 2nd and stoked to have my road racing legs back after having a few years away from the road. Next weekend is an event over in Masterton, good that there is no shortage of racing at this time of the year.....starting to think I might be keen on lining up on the road for Round Taupo rather than the Huka Challenge....who knows, certainly not me so will see how I'm feeling when I put in the entry!
So for another week it's all about the commuting and making the most of the wicked Wellington terrain after work, if you are in a position of being able to ride to work and you aren't doing it yet get going, make the most of the k's and save your petrol money to get to races!
Hope everyone is enjoying the nicer weather and is getting those white glow sticks some summer tan!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Endura is the one!
Well I have marked down my first big race for the coming season, The Festival of Cycling.
Last year I won the mountain bike race and 2008 I finished 5th in the Criterium, this year I am returning to both events and hoping for similar results. I have always enjoyed crits and have had pretty good results in these races over the years in NZ and overseas, they good great to combine with mountain bike racing and more mountain bikers should race criteriums.
The mountain bike race for me is a favourite, I have spent a lot of time riding these trails over the years and I rate them as the best trails in NZ, I look forward to December!
www.vorb.org.nz/sharratt-returns-for-festival-t109172.html
Next year there is going to be a new look for the Bergamont Racing Team, there is some new riders on the team and it will be great to have some younger riders to help grow as riders and help them achieve their goals. Even better we are joining forces with Endura Clothing which is new brand of cycling clothing in New Zealand, Jack Bauer is part of their pro cycling team in the UK. This is a big deal for the Bergamont Team and I am sure we will help Endura Clothing grow as a brand in New Zealand. Big thanks to Nigel Blanchard from Endura Clothing for the support! Roll on 2011..
Check out the range of clothing on http://www.endurasport.co.nz/
How exciting were the Commonwealth Games?! Congratulations to all the New Zealand riders, they rode awesome!
Enjoy. Summer is coming.
Last year I won the mountain bike race and 2008 I finished 5th in the Criterium, this year I am returning to both events and hoping for similar results. I have always enjoyed crits and have had pretty good results in these races over the years in NZ and overseas, they good great to combine with mountain bike racing and more mountain bikers should race criteriums.
The mountain bike race for me is a favourite, I have spent a lot of time riding these trails over the years and I rate them as the best trails in NZ, I look forward to December!
www.vorb.org.nz/sharratt-returns-for-festival-t109172.html
Next year there is going to be a new look for the Bergamont Racing Team, there is some new riders on the team and it will be great to have some younger riders to help grow as riders and help them achieve their goals. Even better we are joining forces with Endura Clothing which is new brand of cycling clothing in New Zealand, Jack Bauer is part of their pro cycling team in the UK. This is a big deal for the Bergamont Team and I am sure we will help Endura Clothing grow as a brand in New Zealand. Big thanks to Nigel Blanchard from Endura Clothing for the support! Roll on 2011..
Check out the range of clothing on http://www.endurasport.co.nz/
How exciting were the Commonwealth Games?! Congratulations to all the New Zealand riders, they rode awesome!
Enjoy. Summer is coming.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Warmth=Motivation
How good is cycling when it is warm? For me motivation comes once summer rolls into town, I don't like being cold and wet so in winter I prefer not to do too much riding (only to work which I have to go to). Over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot more riding than I was a few months ago, my commute to work is so much more enjoyable and riding round the Bays on a calm morning is amazing, more amazing is the amount of people out doing some sort of exercise.
http://www.spokemagazine.com/2010/09/bergamont-threesome-5-0-online-review/
Last weekend I did a video shoot for the Spoke Magazine doing a bike test on the Bergamont Thressome 5.0 which was really cool, I hadn't ridden on the Korokoro track before so it was a chance to do some exploring on some knarly trails that were pretty wet and definately not a place you want to crash on! My riding skills were abit rusty after some time off the mountain bike but it was an enjoyable few hours and a cool video to watch at the end of it.
This weekend was pretty busy on the bike, on Saturday I went for a big road ride out and over the aka's to Waikanae then back along and up over Paekakariki Hill then to Wellington via the Haywards, super cool ride and the view up Paekak was postcard material. I last did this ride a year ago when Bex and I moved to Wellington, such a solid ride a ride I need to do more of. The bunch of guys I rode with were a good laugh and made the ride go pretty quickly.
Sunday was bit of a killer though, I started the Peaks Points event with Dave Sharpe, the idea was to ride to 9 peaks round Wellington in the quickiest time..any route any order! I knew it was going to be hard as Dave is super fit at the moment and had me chewing my handlebar on a few climbs as I struggled to hold his wheel! I popped at the top of peak 5 and called it a day while Dave stormed off on his own to try pull back a few lost minutes.
I will be turning up to more events over the next few months as I prepare for some big races nearer the end of the year, theres a few exciting plans on the go at the moment which I will share with you when its all go. I am looking forward to the coming season, the competition will be stepping up a level with some young guns moving up the grades..Bring it on I say!
See you out there somewhere. Enjoy
http://www.spokemagazine.com/2010/09/bergamont-threesome-5-0-online-review/
Last weekend I did a video shoot for the Spoke Magazine doing a bike test on the Bergamont Thressome 5.0 which was really cool, I hadn't ridden on the Korokoro track before so it was a chance to do some exploring on some knarly trails that were pretty wet and definately not a place you want to crash on! My riding skills were abit rusty after some time off the mountain bike but it was an enjoyable few hours and a cool video to watch at the end of it.
This weekend was pretty busy on the bike, on Saturday I went for a big road ride out and over the aka's to Waikanae then back along and up over Paekakariki Hill then to Wellington via the Haywards, super cool ride and the view up Paekak was postcard material. I last did this ride a year ago when Bex and I moved to Wellington, such a solid ride a ride I need to do more of. The bunch of guys I rode with were a good laugh and made the ride go pretty quickly.
Sunday was bit of a killer though, I started the Peaks Points event with Dave Sharpe, the idea was to ride to 9 peaks round Wellington in the quickiest time..any route any order! I knew it was going to be hard as Dave is super fit at the moment and had me chewing my handlebar on a few climbs as I struggled to hold his wheel! I popped at the top of peak 5 and called it a day while Dave stormed off on his own to try pull back a few lost minutes.
I will be turning up to more events over the next few months as I prepare for some big races nearer the end of the year, theres a few exciting plans on the go at the moment which I will share with you when its all go. I am looking forward to the coming season, the competition will be stepping up a level with some young guns moving up the grades..Bring it on I say!
See you out there somewhere. Enjoy
Monday, September 13, 2010
Roll on Summer
Summer for me is what motivates me. Winter has never been a great time to race a bike, I get cold pretty quick and I am not a big fan of water at all except to drink. This winter has been pretty quiet and it has been a great time to forget about racing and have a small break after a busy 2010 summer racing series. I may have kept low key and away from bike racing but I have been doing my usual Monday to Friday riding to and from work with a few extra minutes added on every now again. I now ride over to Miramar each day which has been a nice change from the ride to Seaview, I have already sussed out the new area and found some good climbs to punish the legs when the time is needed.
In the weekend my younger bro Nathon came up from Christchurch with his motocross bike to spend the weekend riding some new tracks and more importantly teach me how to pull the throttle back on my bike. I am pretty new to the sport and I am slowly getting the confidence to ride the bike how it should be ridden..in the powerband! My Suzuki rm125 is a toy compared to Nathon's Kxf450, I won't be going to a bigger bike thats for sure. It will be interesting to see if riding the motocross bike over winter has helped my mountain bike riding, one thing I do know is that my arms just aren't quite big enough to pull the throttle back and hold it wide open. I am sure any riding is going to be a benefit and I certainly am enjoying the motor bike riding.
The 2011 season is not too far away and I have been thinking quite hard about it, as summer nears I am more and more keen to get riding a lot more and checking some more tracks in Wellington that I haven't ridden yet.
Catch you out there soon.
In the weekend my younger bro Nathon came up from Christchurch with his motocross bike to spend the weekend riding some new tracks and more importantly teach me how to pull the throttle back on my bike. I am pretty new to the sport and I am slowly getting the confidence to ride the bike how it should be ridden..in the powerband! My Suzuki rm125 is a toy compared to Nathon's Kxf450, I won't be going to a bigger bike thats for sure. It will be interesting to see if riding the motocross bike over winter has helped my mountain bike riding, one thing I do know is that my arms just aren't quite big enough to pull the throttle back and hold it wide open. I am sure any riding is going to be a benefit and I certainly am enjoying the motor bike riding.
The 2011 season is not too far away and I have been thinking quite hard about it, as summer nears I am more and more keen to get riding a lot more and checking some more tracks in Wellington that I haven't ridden yet.
Catch you out there soon.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A year goes pretty quick
This time last year I was relaxing with Bex (now my lovely wife) on the side of small lake known as Lake Orta up in the north of Italy. This was the end of our 3 month holiday and Orta was the one of most amazing places I have visited. The main goal for the trip was to do some European racing to prepare for the World Mountain Bike Champs in Canberra. A winter in New Zealand has been completely different and I’ve been enjoying a more relaxed approach, deciding I won’t put my all my focus on bike racing. That’s not to say I haven’t been out riding, my daily commute is keeping the legs turning although my body fires up in the warmth!
It is great to see so many young riders heading away to try achieve their dreams, there is certainly a lot of depth in New Zealand in all codes of bike racing. Exciting to see the dominance from NZ riders in the BMX World Champs this week, how cool is little Lachie going to be at school when he tells his class at news time that he is the Under 7’s World Champion! I often wonder how long I can go as one of the top NZ mountain bike riders – I don’t think I can measure my own success by ‘how long’ but more determine it on the enjoyment I get from the sport. There will be a long time when I am not at the peak of the sport in New Zealand and I know for a fact it will be the enjoyment of the sport which keeps me in it for years to come. To make that move though, I have to be happy with my achievements over 15 years of racing. I have to decide if I want to have another crack at becoming the New Zealand Champion. I have to decide if 2nd place two years running is satisfying enough for me.
My whole life has been bike racing, when I was a young lad doing a paper-run on my Raleigh 20 before and after school it was always a race. I never felt comfortable riding slow and still don’t. I see myself now as one of the ‘older guys’ in the sport, when I was young I was racing against legends Gary Anderson and Lee Vertogen who I wanted to beat. What motivated them? Maybe it was to try beat the ‘youngies’ and prove they still had the goods, maybe because they just enjoyed it so much and couldn’t imagine life without the rush of racing.
I’m pretty sure that this coming season is going to be one of the fastest New Zealand has experienced. Those riders coming up through the ranks are not peaking, they are building their own campaigns which hopefully they can reflect on in 7-10 years when they are closer to my age and still put enjoyment up there as one of the main reasons why they ride and race.
So while I might have been lying low this winter I’m slowly coming out of hibernation, the fingers have been moving quickly on our keyboard hunting out racing calendars, the light is lasting longer at the end of each day and I’m being inspired by the results of others…..
It is great to see so many young riders heading away to try achieve their dreams, there is certainly a lot of depth in New Zealand in all codes of bike racing. Exciting to see the dominance from NZ riders in the BMX World Champs this week, how cool is little Lachie going to be at school when he tells his class at news time that he is the Under 7’s World Champion! I often wonder how long I can go as one of the top NZ mountain bike riders – I don’t think I can measure my own success by ‘how long’ but more determine it on the enjoyment I get from the sport. There will be a long time when I am not at the peak of the sport in New Zealand and I know for a fact it will be the enjoyment of the sport which keeps me in it for years to come. To make that move though, I have to be happy with my achievements over 15 years of racing. I have to decide if I want to have another crack at becoming the New Zealand Champion. I have to decide if 2nd place two years running is satisfying enough for me.
My whole life has been bike racing, when I was a young lad doing a paper-run on my Raleigh 20 before and after school it was always a race. I never felt comfortable riding slow and still don’t. I see myself now as one of the ‘older guys’ in the sport, when I was young I was racing against legends Gary Anderson and Lee Vertogen who I wanted to beat. What motivated them? Maybe it was to try beat the ‘youngies’ and prove they still had the goods, maybe because they just enjoyed it so much and couldn’t imagine life without the rush of racing.
I’m pretty sure that this coming season is going to be one of the fastest New Zealand has experienced. Those riders coming up through the ranks are not peaking, they are building their own campaigns which hopefully they can reflect on in 7-10 years when they are closer to my age and still put enjoyment up there as one of the main reasons why they ride and race.
So while I might have been lying low this winter I’m slowly coming out of hibernation, the fingers have been moving quickly on our keyboard hunting out racing calendars, the light is lasting longer at the end of each day and I’m being inspired by the results of others…..
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Drifting back into the zone
Since Mt Isobel I’ve been bit of a drifter, I usually go into this mode once serious racing stops then my mind starts drifting to find something to do to keep busy. The day after Mt Isobel we went and watched my brother Nathon race motocross out at Omihi in Canterbury. Everytime I watch motocross I get excited and have the thoughts of buying a mx bike to end my childhood dream, it now has because I finally have got myself a motocross bike! I’ve been getting rides in when I can and planning on doing a few local trail rides over winter. I took the bike to Peka Peka beach near Kapiti and had a burn..far out it is SO fast! And what a buzz, I love the buzz pinning a cool descent on the mountain bike but the feeling of the powerband kicking in is something different and when it’s on its ALL ON! Downhill riders use motocross/trail riding as training so I’m sure it will help a cross country rider...even if it doesn’t it will be a heap of fun.
The big mountains of Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngarahoe were the background for a fantastic weekend with friends to riding T42. We woke to a bitter wind, a nice clear sky and snow covered mountains, what a great area to ride a bike. I last rode this ride when I was 16 with the Wanganui Mountain Bike Club, I didn’t remember too much about the ride but I knew there were a few step climbs and a few river crossings along the way. There were a mixed bunch of riding abilities but we cruised along and waited when needed and raved about the sections we just rode. We all really enjoyed the ride and we will certainly get back up there through summer for another ride. Our day finished with watching the Rugby, drinking a few beers and listening to a very local singer playing his guitar who hadn’t prepared at all for his night. He was so unprepared he sung songs he didn’t even know the words to, then even let a girl sing a song she didn’t even know the words to..maybe it was a karaoke?
My ‘training’ is going to be a little different from now on, since being in Wellington I have ridden over the Wainuiomata hill most days to get to work. I’ve taken a job on the city side of the hill and am stoked that unless I opt to test my legs up that big beast of a hill it’s not part of my daily commute. Plenty of other hills to get some training on round Wellington and adding in old Porirua Road instead of Ngaio Gorge will keep my legs working. I’m still a big fan of cycle commuting where it’s possible and Wellington has no shortage of keen commuters, they have now made parts of Thorndon Quay a no parking zone in the morning to give cyclists space which is just one step towards the city becoming more cycle friendly.
I’ve had a great long weekend with Thursday and Friday off work – long enough to make me want to be a full-time athlete! Great weather in Wellington made for two weekdays of action with mountain bike rides on Skyline and Makara and a blast in the Wainuiomata hills on my motorbike each day. I was surprised by how wet the Makara trails were, but they were as much fun as when dry. Awesome to have tracks locally which can cope with a bit of rain without being a washout.
The big mountains of Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngarahoe were the background for a fantastic weekend with friends to riding T42. We woke to a bitter wind, a nice clear sky and snow covered mountains, what a great area to ride a bike. I last rode this ride when I was 16 with the Wanganui Mountain Bike Club, I didn’t remember too much about the ride but I knew there were a few step climbs and a few river crossings along the way. There were a mixed bunch of riding abilities but we cruised along and waited when needed and raved about the sections we just rode. We all really enjoyed the ride and we will certainly get back up there through summer for another ride. Our day finished with watching the Rugby, drinking a few beers and listening to a very local singer playing his guitar who hadn’t prepared at all for his night. He was so unprepared he sung songs he didn’t even know the words to, then even let a girl sing a song she didn’t even know the words to..maybe it was a karaoke?
My ‘training’ is going to be a little different from now on, since being in Wellington I have ridden over the Wainuiomata hill most days to get to work. I’ve taken a job on the city side of the hill and am stoked that unless I opt to test my legs up that big beast of a hill it’s not part of my daily commute. Plenty of other hills to get some training on round Wellington and adding in old Porirua Road instead of Ngaio Gorge will keep my legs working. I’m still a big fan of cycle commuting where it’s possible and Wellington has no shortage of keen commuters, they have now made parts of Thorndon Quay a no parking zone in the morning to give cyclists space which is just one step towards the city becoming more cycle friendly.
I’ve had a great long weekend with Thursday and Friday off work – long enough to make me want to be a full-time athlete! Great weather in Wellington made for two weekdays of action with mountain bike rides on Skyline and Makara and a blast in the Wainuiomata hills on my motorbike each day. I was surprised by how wet the Makara trails were, but they were as much fun as when dry. Awesome to have tracks locally which can cope with a bit of rain without being a washout.
Enjoy the winter trails..keep the bike clean!
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