Throw Back Thursday

This shoot is from the 11th Stage of the 2007 Tour of Murray River in Victoria, Australia.  Wind back to the previous day which was an out and back 80km stage of fast undulating roads, I was keen and determined not to get shelled in the early cross wind so I took flight down the inside of the bunch on the gravel..big risk but I was willing to take it and it backfired on me.  Boom, front tubular went smack into a rock.  The next 75km were long and annoying after I couldn't claw back on the bunch but I was fired up by the end of the day for the following days criterium.
Stage 11, 42km on a perfect criterium course which had a small hill heading up to the finish line.  After warming up on the course I got my team manager Stu Sanders to put a radio on me so he talk to me during the stage and let me know of any attacks that were brewing on the hill climb.  This plan worked perfect.  I was in the action from the get go and slipped away in a few moves which eventually led to the winning move of the stage.  In the photo above Peter MacDonald (eventual winner of the tour), Jack Bobridge (2007 Junior Team Pursuit World Champion) and Sean Finning (2006 Commonwealth Games Points Races Champion) and myself led the charge for line honours.  Looking back on this day I should've sat on more because I was well down on GC and with Peter and Jack wanting more time from the higher GC riders in the peleton it was going to be their lose.  To the finish, I ended up 4th on the line but was awarded the "Most Aggressive Rider Jersey" for my efforts and was well pleased with the stage ride, earlier in the tour I picked up a 7th and a 3rd place on stage 7 in a similar situation to stage 11.

2013 Cyclocross Photo Gallery

 

 

Time has flown!

Time has flown! Far out it’s been over a year and a half since my last blog, so long in fact I had a few attempts to get into my blog as I’d forgotten my password haha.

Since my last blog back in March 2012 we’ve sorted a house which we are caretaking for the bank, so home is in the mighty Wainuiomata (where the girls are smarter)….just 5 minutes pedal from some of the best tracks in Wellington. We have been enjoying our first year with our beaut little girl Casey in our lives and we are trying to maintain as many of our passions in life that we can around spending loads of time together.

Casey is a cool little girl. Luckily she enjoys the wee adventures Bex and I get up to, she loves being outside with her bare feet hooning round splashing in the water, we love the days when she tuckers out with mud under her fingernails.

We always said we wanted both of us to have some time with Casey at home, about 3 months ago we made it happen and did the big switch up. So I’m a full time at home Dad and Bex is the sugar mumma! Best thing ever….lads, if you get a chance (read: If your wife lets you!) DO IT!! I love it, I’ve said to a few people that you can have as many jobs in your life as you want but having the opportunity to really get to know your little one is a very special time. Bex misses the days with Casey but someone has to work and I’m lucky she is happy to enable the time for me with Casey.

So busy days for all round here! My riding is all about bang for buck … get out, go hard, be back home quick so I can hang with my two lovelies. Been a big aim to just make sure we both have the chance to get out and do something each day even if it’s not as much as was done before Casey arrived. Normally winter is my most disliked season, its cold, wet and miserable. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to being cold and wet, not normally my preference at all. This winter though, cyclocross came into my life and it was the best cold, wet and miserable day fun that I’ve ever had.

The Bike Hutt bike crew put on a brilliant eight race series which went through to the New Zealand Champs which was perfect. My first plan was to learn how to race cyclocross then be competitive with moustache man Alex Revell who spent our NZ summer ripping through foot deep Belgian mud and fighting angry locals into rutted corners. The first race of the season was an eye opener, I wasn’t fit, my tires were near 60psi in slippery mud and off camber corners, my lungs were burning a long with my legs swelling with lactic acid and I was nearly lapped by Alex but managed a 3rd. This race set my match, I learnt heaps, I knew what I needed to be fast, I read internet articles and trained smart. What was to come over the next month was motivating and I turned to tables round to be able to match Alex and then went on to beat him in a few few years nearer Nationals time, then I booked my tickets to the deep south. I think I had him worried, but, being on form for a one off hit out is a fine art and for me I wasn’t on top of my health on race day where he was.

Wanaka was the setting for the New Zealand Champs, not the usual wet, mud, cold day you’d expect for a cyclocross race in winter but not all races in Europe are loaded with mud and rain either. There were 5 of us who could win on the day, it was all guns blazing from the gun and any small mistake would cost you a few seconds that couldn’t be pulled back. A long with my poor health I was fighting the whole time with cramps I hadn’t experienced all season plus a few panic moments where seconds were getting gained by the 2 guys in front, with about 15mins to go I was set on holding on to 3rd place, perfect result for the day and a brilliant race by Alex to win a well deserved NZ Cyclocross title, 2nd place went to the 2012 NZ Champion Gary Hall.

Thanks to everyone who has been checking out my blog over the last wee while. I will be keeping it much more updated from now on about life, racing and general yarns about the sport, it’s a massive passion of mine and hopefully I can inspire you to make it your passion aswell.

Enjoy the riding/racing you choose to do and I may bump into on the trails or road one day.

Roll on winter! Yeah right :)

You Never Know Whats Round The Corner..Literally!

On Wednesday I knew what was round the corner, it was traffic lights that I had to stop for or allowing me me to roll though on the green. But that soon changed and as I went flying through the air and came crashing down on my butt! Yep I got hit from behind by a car and I’m pleased I came out with not too much damage to me or the bike, a small mistake from a driver generally is a big mess for a person on a bike. I was a little annoyed but as a cyclist I do expect an accident at some point whether commuting or while I’m racing. Theres going to be a quite a few corners coming up this year and I’m certain there will be a couple of beauties! And the butt....like a grater scraped off everything, it’s going to be one big scab!

My racing has been a little patchy since late last year, the 2nd half of 2011 was pretty big for me and by November I was feeling a little bit tired mentally and physically, I needed a rest and time to have a holiday with Bex in Nelson which was really enjoyable and definitely cleared out the head. Best of all we rode a few trails on the mountain bikes which were amazing and we’ll be back there for sure, I couldn’t get enough of them!

I’m known for needing bit of a kick up the butt! I’m generally really keen to rip into a race but sometimes I will completely get out of focus until the gun goes off then a little switch will flick in my brain..then its all on! That’s the feeling I have right now. The switch can be flicked quite easily just by having a small chat to the right person or having a look at past results or old photos I have stashed away. Bex is pretty good at telling me when to pull my head in and to get out there and get on with it, Bex wisely passed on her knowledge to my team manager and good bugger James Canny to give me a razz up every now and then and it pretty much works straight away.

My race calander is looking pretty busy up till the Club Nationals in May then will calm down over dirty winter. As a team we have some pretty big goals this year and I reckon we have some grunt to do some good things and build on what we did last year, the 2nd half of 2011 was really strong and people started watching what we were doing. We have really supportive sponsors and young Canny is super motivated to get the guys ripping some races to pieces.

A few races we will be racing through to Winter area:

Tour of Canterbury 10-11th March
Oceania Games Road & Time Trial Champs 16-18th March
Grape Ride 24th March
Le race 31st March
Vital Signs Tour De Lakes 6-9th April
Manawatu Cycle Classic 21st April
NZ Club Road Nationals 4th-6th May

A few weeks ago I turned up and raced the 3rd round of the NZ Cup MTB Series here in Wellington at the great venue of Mt Vic, I last did the National series 2 years ago and was fortunate enough to come away with the series win. This year though was more to compete in my “home” town and against the best mountain riders in NZ. The sport right now is probably the best as its ever been and with the Olympics not far away, we have some brilliant talent fighting to be on the line. I was pretty happy with my 5th placing behind the top 4 guys in NZ and my race day prep certainly wasn’t textboo. I turned up 50mins before the race after having spent the morning up in Te Horo, doing a road race I thought I would hammer. After pulling out after lap one as my legs were real slow I had pulled the pin on the afternoons racing at Mt Vic. I had a bit of a sleep in the car on the way home from Te Horo, a good feast of bakery food and was happy to roll up and watch the mtb race in the arvo. After a few ‘gentle nudges’ from Bex (read....get yourself here and on your bike pussy!)....Nek Minnut I’m sprinting up the road racing on my mountain bike. I really enjoyed being back on the line and I did get thoughts of maybe returning next year….in Masters!

I like the mountain bike scene theres no big egos and everyone is super friendly and wants to have a good ol yarn before and after the race, sometimes too much of a yarn then before you know it you are called up for the start!

With young superman Anton Cooper becoming a pro this year I think we will see our sport slowly progress and hopefully see more young talented riders reach their goal of also being a pro rider, Anton is great for our sport not just on the bike but also off the bike. I’m looking to forward to following his overseas results this year and I’m waiting for a big poster to come with him on it so I can get him to sign it for me!

See you out there!

Benchmark Series

The Benchmark Series has become the next best thing behind Southland in terms of exposure for our NZ riders…go through the list of winners and see how many have become pro or thereabouts. This series started the teams racing in NZ and the level road cycling has grown massively. I think it’s awesome and hope it continues for years to come.

A few days before the first round in August I got a call up to from Master James Canny to see if I wanted to join the L&M Group Cycling Team, I agreed and this race was my 2^nd race back after my 6 month retirement. In Nelson I got my beans! I was 19^th and going backwards, I headed home knowing by the time Round 2 rolled around I would need to be firing.

I felt better coming into the second round, the goods were in the legs to pull of a much better ride. The course in Timaru suited me and with 30km to go the hammer went down and a group formed with Paul Odlin, Tom Hubbard, James Early and myself, the last 5km was pretty brutal and we just managed to hold off a fast chasing bunch. Tom Hubbard slipped away to win by 10secs from Early and myself in 3^rd, a hard day and happy with a podium. After that race I had my eyes on an overall podium spot and with 2 rounds to go and my race form definitely more coming than going the team knew it could be done.

Round 3 in Cust, cold, wet and a day I’d rather be eating a warm steak and cheese pie but there was a race to do……don’t worry, the pie came later! An early break went with quite a few hitters which wasn’t the perfect start but our team captain Joe Chapman kept calm and said on the way home through the Gorge that the muck would go down and a small group will slip away with about 40km to go and sure enough it did. Joe launched me across part of the way and I finished it off to join a strong group that slowly picked off the riders that were dropped from the lead group. I got 2^nd in our bunch sprint and got 9^th on the line and gained a few valuable points on a few of the top overall contenders who missed the move. This result moved into 4^th on the table and only 10 points off Tom Hubbard.

Round 4 had the making for a hard race and quite tactical. A group including Joe and Tom Francis got away heading into Cust not long after the start, there were no real overall contenders in there but I really wanted to be in there so kept near the action just incase another slipped away. Greg Taylor who joined us for the last 2 rounds was quite active going through Rangiora so I started sifting near the front for action to start, a few k’s later it was on! Myself along with Greg and one other rode off the front in chase of the lead groups, it was a mammoth effort but we got there just before Ashley Gorge. Greg couldn’t quite make it on but he did an awesome effort in helping me get across (good early brownie points with the team Greg!). When we joined there was another group up the road containing Paul Odlin, Jason Christie, Robin Reid and Chris Nicholson. Joe and Tom made sure we caught them and set me up to ride across to them up Summer Hill then from there it was all action till the top of German road where the same 4 slipped away with myself. We were away and fighting it out for the win but Odlin was too strong and took out the win solo and I rolled in 5^th, happy and quite exhausted!

This weekend it was the final days work for the series, I got 2^nd thanks to my brilliant L&M Group team mates. The first round of this series was our first ride together, after 4 Benchmark rounds and Southland we are starting to get a good sense of how each other operates as a rider and who’s capable of what. Some can get results and some are willing to put themselves on the line to help get a result. It can only get stronger!

Congrats to Sam on his series win, he’s a deserving winner and a rider with a lot of potential to go a long way in the sport. Thanks to everyone who helped out during the series, races don’t happen without the support from people who are willing to put up their own time to help our sport grow.

The last few months have flown by, no idea why anyone would want to ‘hang up their wheels’ when there’s so much out there to nudge at…. then again, maybe the break has proven to be a good thing. I’ll be planning an early get away from work on Friday to join the bumper to bumper convoy up to Taupo….hoping for a day like last year to burn out the last of the ice left in me from Southland. Big thanks to Tom’s parents for having us at their ‘caravan park’.

This will round off the first part of my season with a good break until the next set of races. December will be all about consolidating, focusing on some of the aspects of my race and enjoying the lead up to Christmas.

For those of you heading up to Taupo next weekend go hard and drive safe!

Tour of Southland

Southland. An absolute legend of a race in NZ cycling, and one which I needed to complete to shed away some demons which have haunted me since my first attempt where I failed to finish the first stage. Having come straight from the Melbourne heat that year into piercing sideways hail I didn’t have the fondest of memories to work on!

My goals for the tour were simple – finish. Well maybe that goal in itself can’t really be labelled as simple when it’s Southland we are talking about!

The next goal was to create some action and achieve a podium, to let other riders know I’m someone to watch and someone they don’t want to give too much freedom to.

Happy to report that I achieved all three, I finished, despite a few moments where really I could think of nothing worse than continuing, I got the podium spot, not for a stage but instead as number three in the King of the Mountain points where our team featured also on the top step with Joe Chapman taking the honours, and I created some action, leading out solo at the bottom of the crown range...while it didn’t result in a stage win it did reflect the way I like to race, pinning it and taking opportunities.

The overall result was never going to be flash, read back on my blogs for the ‘hanging the wheels up’ one where last December I decided there were other things I wanted to do, that continued for a good 6 months before the wheels in the spare room started calling me again. I had a good 12 week build up coming into Southland...but 12 weeks of training around work hours doesn’t really cut it with the big fellas who ride all day every day!

After the first two days I was pretty annoyed with myself, I was a bit nervous and getting pushed round, I just couldn’t fight hard enough to hold my position, this isn’t my idea of being ‘in’ the race. I was completely wondering why I had bothered with turning up at the start line and when I spoke with Bex on Tuesday night she was pretty insistent that I needed to man-up, chuck back a can or two of concrete and start racing like I know how to race, instead of getting rammed by others.

Wednesday was a different day, I started to feel my riding style coming out and by the end of the day I was excited to be racing, because on Monday and Tuesday I didn’t consider myself part of the Tour..I was a pack filler and I don’t like that.

Thursday will be remembered for a long time in my little book of good rides. We had a team plan, I even told Bex what the plan was the night before and as the stage progresses she was blown away by how it worked out exactly how I said it would! Joe, Aaron and myself rode aggressive from the gun and we all got in the break that stayed out pretty much all day.

Our breakaway group had some big hitters, guys who win big races overseas and guys I read about each week on the internet, so my reaction was to watch them and wait for them to attack. 15km from the finish and with a fast chasing main bunch I wasn’t sure what to do but I got away in another break with Macauley, Avery, Tivers and Lovegrove, over the next few k’s I started to think the stage win was possible.

We hit the last climb with 5k to go before the Crown Range, my legs felt pretty awesome so I didn’t bother changing to an easier gear I accelerated through for my turn to realise about 30 seconds later I was on my own and charging up that hill solo towards Crown Range. I couldn’t really believe it was me fanging along solo in the biggest stage of the tour. I was eventually caught by young Josh with 2km to go but all I had to focus on was doing my own ride and not losing too much time, I ended up finishing 8th, a 1 minute down from Josh.

I gained a lot of confidence out of this stage, I’ve never backed myself over a big distance and I’ve always looked at the pro’s as unbeatable riders and almost too scared to attack them but I guess they could by just as tired as me?

Friday was painful, my legs were like bricks with no chance of warming up in the cutting southland cold. It was a stage I probably want to wipe from my memory....survival!

By Saturday for the last two stages I felt great again and could walk without too much pain. With the TT cancelled due to snow it left just one last chance to hammer the legs. Joe had an impressive stage and sprinted home to 2nd, I was happy to finish....rolling over that line felt great! If you had told me then that I would be heading out for a big night and not home until 3.30am there is no way I would have believed it...turns out there’s always more in the tank!

I was proud to be part of the L&M Creation Signs Team – a great bunch of guys lead by Joe Chapman who is an impressive and respected cyclist. Legend to come away with the KOM Classification jersey along with a stage podium. Young track superstar Aaron Gate pulled a podium spot too on the very fast stage 3. Sam and “Rookie” Tom had solid Tours as well and Lee had a tough few days in the race and I know he will turn up next year ready to rumble. A few of us had days where we too happy with themselves but I think in a tour like Southland so many things can happen, the best riders have bad days as well and to finish is a good result down there. Finishing last is better than pulling the pin..something I’ve learnt a lot about over the last few years!

Now that race is over it’s time to think about what’s coming up, my next race is the final round of the Benchmark Series down in Oxford near Christchurch. Over the series I’ve slowly crept up the rankings and now sit 4th overall just one point off 3rd so I’m going into that firing!

So for now it’s all about the road, good times while I test myself in a new domain after a couple of years of solid mountain biking. With a mountain bike arriving this week though I hope to have some time to get out and pull a few skids and rail some berms..I do miss it!

A huge thankyou to the team sponsors and everyone else who chipped in during the week to make the tour successful and especially James parents for their lovely hospitality during the tour, the dinners each night were pretty awesome and I'm sure the rest of the team will agree! The chocolate sauce pudding goes down as my favourite, I'll be back next year for that.

See you out there, remember to use that little bit extra in the tank when you most need it!

The Road Ahead

The blogs are back! I'll be keeping you updated from now on till my next retirement.

Over the last 4 weeks I've landed 3 podiums, a 2nd and a 3rd at the Fielding Cycling Carnival and a 3rd at the latest round of the Benchmark Homes Series in Timaru. Really enjoying being back on the bike and its great to be part of a brilliant NZ racing team under the name L&M Group racing.

My next race is the Taupo to Napier Classic on the 24 September followed by Round 3 of the Benchmark Series in Christchurch on October 8th.

Will have a proper article over the weekend.

Wurldz in WAINUI

When I moved to Wellington I spent a good chunk of time commuting over the hill and far away to the little town of Wainuiomata. Most Wellingtonians haven’t been there for years, if at all. But hiding away behind that monster of a hill are some of the most wicked mountain bike tracks in Wellington…with more to come, along with a new BMX track and a cool network of walking/running trails. The turnout at today’s Wainui Wurldz feels like just the beginning for the park.

Thanks to some legend track builders the network of trails is slowly increasing, what was marked out today to hurt the legs was pretty cool and with more trails on the cards Wainui will soon become one of the great places to ride in Wellington.

I’ve never done a 6 hour solo, or raced a single speed in an event where beer wasn’t provided at every lap….haha..google SISS to check out the wurld famous 5 second skull effort!. But given my current bike selection it was a no brainer to use my old repainted steel KHS single speed. A no brainer as right now that is my only bike!

As we were getting ready this morning Bex was giving me the talk about how I needed to ride a bit differently to the normal go out and smash it hard from the gun, that I needed to ‘pace’ myself. Easier said than done, I’ve always struggled to hold myself back in longer races and tend to want to go all out from the gun. After 2 laps of playing with the kids at the front I had to force myself to drop down a peg or two to make sure I could go the full 6hrs (yep, I listen to my wife!). After Diesel Turbo (or Dirty Bearded) Dave Sharpe rode away from me I was happy to hold on to my 2nd place spot and see how long I could hold off the cramp which did eventually nail me with 2 laps to go. I spent a fair few minutes holding my leg in agony and only being able to move an inch. Of all the pains I’ve experienced over the years cramp has to be on top of my list of hates.

If you hear of me being called ‘nearly Sharratt’ or the ‘under 10 second man’ it will be in reference to my super poor timing on the very last lap. I’d hit through the cut off time with well enough for a lap, but after my jumping around holding my cramped up leg and swearing episode I found myself coming through into the finishing loop with under a minute to go. Despite giving it all to push through the tent sites for the last time I was shut down with only about 2-3 more seconds needed to get over the line….damn that man on the microphone who was creating a lot of interest from everyone as to whether I would make it or not…could’ve slipped in and no one would have noticed if he wasn’t there! So the under 10 second man I am…..but only when it comes to the end of a 6 hour solo…..

As with any great 6 hour event I was reliant on my tent crew. I shifted in for the day with the Bushlove boys, but it wasn’t the lads I was really interested in, I had a heads up that Keryn had made lolly cake which proved to be my saviour at about 3 and a half hours. Bex showed up too and had a great day of yarning on the side of the track (and enjoying Beth’s massage….the best apparently!). She had been out at the third of the Xterra runs a bit further down the valley from wurld famous Wainui in the Orongarongos…sounds like a great place too, she loved the ‘root running’ along the ridgeline and rated it as the best one of the series yet.

Wainui….a great destination for a very sunny autumn day in Wellington!
(their tourism office isn’t paying me,….honest!)

Thanks to everyone who put together the event today and well done to all who got out there and did a few (or more than a few) laps.

Back to it for another week, quite happy that my commute now takes me round the bays to Miramar, the mornings are starting to show signs that winter isn’t too far away, although despite being told that growing a beard takes the chill off in the morning I don’t think it’s something I can get into! Keep warm and keep the legs spinning even when the cold hits.

Decisions come and go....

Well its coming up 5 months since I last raced and I must admit that decision has been a real tough one, I’ve been going through cycles of wanting to race then I’m too busy to commit to racing. I’ve been riding my bike upto 6 times a week and my riding routine hasn’t changed one bit, I still have the desire to ride my bike hard and that’s an addiction I have and will always have. I keep asking myself the same question and maybe theres a lot of people asking the same thing “why isn’t he racing?”. I go out on rides on my road bike in Wellington and can still give the best guys bit of a wind up. I could getting ready for a “out of retirement” comeback like Mr Macauley has done a few times? I don’t know?..some days I know and some I don’t but first I need to commit to a few other things in life then I’ll no doubt be back on the start line, not sure if it’l be on the road or mountain bike..maybe both?

I’m really enjoying being a bike rider in Wellington. Years ago I always heard of Wellington to be a hard place to get some good long rides in or too much traffic etc, but I must say I really love the scene here and theres a real good bunch of strong riders and definitely a lot of solid rides to do. The mountain bike tracks in Welly are becoming some of my favourite, I’m a huge fan of Christchurch trails having done most of my riding down there (after Wanganui) and they’re at the top of my list, I really enjoy rough rocky trails where the rocks don’t move, rocks where you have to really pick the right line or have to jump over and with that I’m a big fan of full suspension over a hard tail!

I reckon NZ should have more 4 day weekends! Easter has been really cool with Bex and I heading over to Martinborough for a few days with our good friend who is over from London plus a few other people. We took our bikes to get out and do an adventure on the Saturday before cruising round some wineries. I only one ride in that area and that is out towards Manuwera Point but we only got to a small settlement called Tuturumuri which was about 35km from the holiday house, brilliant ride with quite a few big hills and a big 4km hill back out the vally upto the big wind turbines. I ended up riding the hills one and a half times which was the challenge Bex set for me and I think I achieved that goal on most of them. Sunday (today) I set of early to ride back to Wellington, I’ve always wanted to ride the Rimutakas and this weekend was a great opportunity and probably a safe one as most people were coming over to the Wairarapa rather than leaving. I had a nice tail wind all the way to Featherston then as I approached the bottom of the climb I met a wicked head wind that got more and more wild the closer I got to the top, some points on the descent I was pedaling at 30kmh which is abit nuts. I got into the Hutt round the time the Sunday morning bunch ride would normally cruise through so I thought I’d jump in and have a burn with the guys which was cool. The bunch always finishes with a mad sprint to the Placemakers on Old Hutt Road, it’s a huge title to win and I’m stoked to have that on my list of wins. After doing a 5km tt down the motorway with my junior days racing buddy Greg Taylor I thought we were in but I got up by an old couple driving at 20kmh which caused me to get caught, but after all that I still managed to pull the sprinting legs out for the title.

April is a special month for Bex and I, we got married last year on the 10th so it was pretty cool to celebrate our one year anniversary with her a few weeks ago. Bex is massive part of my life and has always sorted me out when its needed and definitely been a big part of my racing success over the last 5 years. I look forward to many awesome years with her.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the Summer riding/racing and now getting ready for the winter months which aren’t too pleasant. If you see me out and about come say hi I’m always keen for a chat.

Happy Easter.

Hanging up the wheels

New year….new missions….new goals. And for the first time in 15 years those goals aren’t revolved around racing.

2010 was another super season. My goal was to win every major mountain bike race that I entered and to be noticed as one of the best riders in New Zealand. I came close to that, finishing 2nd in two of the major races and winning lots of other events along the way. Being noticed as one of the best riders in New Zealand is a fairly subjective goal, I’ve loved being able to turn up to a variety of mountain bike, road, criterium and multisport races knowing that I can be competitive and transfer my training, strength and power from other areas. A write up before the Festival of Cycling had me as NZ’s best all round cyclist….perhaps it’s that I added cycle commuting into the bundle also?!

Defending my title from 2009 in the Festival of Cycling in Christchurch ended in victory, a massive end to the year and a feeling of accomplishment for both me and my sponsors. The 2009 Festival of Cycling was my first victory under my new sponsors, Bergamont, who were so excited to see me out there on the local tracks so it’s fitting that the journey was completed with another win in 2010. Bergamont have been a fantastic sponsor, they’ve been in the country well under two years but have already established themselves as a brand/company that are serious about supporting riders in a range of cycling disciplines and experience levels. By teaming up with Endura clothing they offer a great package to their sponsored riders and are constantly looking for new ways to support their riders and get Bergamont bikes out there being ridden and enjoyed.

Since I announced my decision to forgo my sponsorship and take a step back from elite level racing a lot of people have already asked the question…“why am I stopping?”…..good question….it’s a question that I’ve been potentially struggling with for a number of months now. I still have the physical ability to race and win races. I still enjoy going fast. I still have a lot of friendships within the racing scene and circuit which I enjoy. I am still at a level which many aspire to. I still have potential to be better. The list goes on. But the reality is that I just don’t have the spark for racing that I always have. Whether it is the travel, the cost, the time, or that at times I haven’t been pushed with close competition or whether it is a mix of a whole lot of factors, the simple reason is that I just don’t get the pleasure I used to get from it. That’s how I feel now….that’s not to say that in the future I won’t be hitting up the scene again. What I do know is I have a complete enjoyment for the sport of cycling and I’m making a decision now that will only strengthen that enjoyment rather than sticking with something I’m not completely enjoying.

My journey in the sport will continue, the need to be competitive and strong doesn’t stop when racing stops, that’s something that I believe is inbuilt. My journey outside of the sport can now also continue, those things which have had to be put aside to focus on racing are now achievable and the goals I’m choosing to pursue are not all in sport. As far as riding goes I have a huge amount of exploring to do, I’m looking forward to some good adventures and hitting up some new tracks. Over the years I have been racing I have always suppressed the desire to be motox riding to avoid injury or just simply because I haven’t had the time or money to do both. I’m enjoying learning my way through some local tracks at the moment, I’m no superstar but being fit and strong definitely is helping. I’m currently taking on a few riders as a coach, while I haven’t completed formal training in this area I believe my experiences as a rider put me in a position where I can make a difference to the goals of others, I have a huge amount of passion for helping others to reach their goals and understand themselves as a cyclist. My day to day profession has become a far more motivating environment, potentially as I feel I now have the energy to invest into it and using this energy to complete additional study throughout the year in Graphic Design. After a huge amount of interest from the article in the NZ Mountainbike magazine late last year I’m also painting bike frames in my ‘spare time’. That ‘spare time’ is suddenly not looking so ‘spare’ anymore!

There is a lot about elite racing that I will miss…but I think the biggest of them is the people and the conversations, I have a heap of mates in the sport who I hope I will continue to have adventures with and I will be excited to follow their progress. While I’m giving up elite racing I’m not giving away the sport in general, so always keen for a ride or a smash session! Gotta keep the legs turning and you never know when I might just pop out for a race or two for fun.

Thanks to everyone who has been part of my goals and dreams to this point, there have been a number of teams, sponsors, supporters and races which have been such a blast to have been part of – it’s been a cool ride!

Happy New Year to all … I hope that you’ve set your goals for this year based on what is most important to you – you’ve got to follow your heart.

End of year win!

You know it’s a big day when the weetbix you eat truckloads of every other day just won’t go down the hatch….ask Bex, we do a separate shopping trip each week just for weetbix and milk! A big sign that I was quite nervous heading into the Festival of Cycling this year, and with good reason, it’s always hard going to a race with a title to defend.

I knew this year the riders were going out there to beat me and with a bunch of young talent in the South Island and a generally strong field at the moment I had to be on top of my game to win.

The course was slightly different from last year with a huge climb near the start which traversed across to the top of Rapaki. The climb was mainly on grass which made for a slightly dead climb and some sections being super steep! I got a small gap about half way up which I held on to and slowly increased to the top of Rapaki to take the King of the Mountains competition and from there I slowly gained more time out of NZ U19 Champion Richard Anderson and the consistent Mark Leishman with a few young guns on his wheel.

With one more descent to go I had a lead of roughly 40 seconds which I thought would be plenty to get to the finish on my own but…that was soon to be gone when a storming talented Brad Hudson and Leishman appeared out of nowhere on the tar seal nearing Sumner. With my solo plan gone I had to start using my road racing knowledge and get myself into good position for the sprint, I was pretty confident I could out sprint both Brad and Mark but when Brad opened up for the sprint I had to quickly get my wheels turning to roll over him, I did just that with a few metres to spare to take the win. This year’s win was just as exciting as last years which was my first race for Bergamont. The perfect race to launch our new team kit and name - Bergamont/Endura. Endura Clothing have jumped on board and kitted us out in awesome gear that matches the Team Bergamonts nicely. My cycling wardrobe is looking pretty cool right now!

Wicked to see and hear all the supporters at the top of Rapaki and then as we criss crossed over the road sections….this race has to be one of the best for spectators, Bex had the supporter thing dialed in on her road bike, managing to get out to Gebbes to see the road race leaders challenging the King of the Mountains, then up Coopers and over to Rapaki to be there when I popped out, continuing along the summit road for each entry and exit and then down to the finish line in time to see me take the honours!

One more race to go and that was the Elite Mens Criterium in the centre of Christchurch city, going along Oxford Terrace, a perfect location for a crit and the crowd is always in full swing. The mens field was pretty jam packed with class as always. I love this race and once the gun went to start I was right in there doing what I love to do and that is race fast, a break went early and with Team Pure Black having control over everyone it was quite hard to get anything done. I tried along with a few other guys to get across which eventually pulled us within touching distance to the leaders. 3 laps to go I drove out of the bunch and got a small gap which got me pretty close but then over top of me a few riders rocketed away and with tiring legs I wasn’t able to respond, that was the move I needed to be in and I knew it. There wasn’t much I could do know so I rolled in with the bunch to get 15th with only a few more actually finishing the race which was incredibly fast.

I was really happy with my performance, I certainly haven’t done the amount of racing the other guys have done and with most of the guys in the top-15 being full-time or near enough full-time bike riders I had a pretty solid race. Next year I will come back a lot more prepared and try reach the podium that I stood on in 2008 with a 5th placing.

I’ve had 3 podiums in 3 years of racing at the Festival of Cycling so keen to keep up that momentum next year! A fantastic weekend and not all hard work on the bike…..enjoyed a few ciders in the sun at Sticky Fingers both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and the chance to catch up with family and friends round Christchurch. It’s on the calendar for 2011 already!

Taupo Huka XL

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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…..

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.

Enjoy the winter trails..keep the bike clean!

Victory at Mt Isobel

Early starts in the South Island are generally not my favourite! On Saturday morning it was crisp as at 5.30am when we packed the van to head up to Hanmer for Mt Isobel. We had the heater on full noise most of the way, it was more than a bit nippy in Hanmer but the blue skies were gleaming and it was to stay like that for the rest of the day. Hanmer was a bit frosty and while there was a bit of ice thankfully there was no fresh snow on the trails. We hooked up a ride with Anton Cooper and his dad Paul (best supporter of the day award!) Even better Anton’s Mum Laila packed a big chilly full of home made goodies for us all … think the chocolate muffins were for after the race but we all had a couple before, highly recommended pre race food!

Mt Isobel has been one race that after doing it a couple of times in a team I’ve been super keen to hit as an individual….and super keen to win! I had heard stories of Isobel being pretty rugged and steep but these stories only hyped up the event for me and made me even more determined. My biggest challenge on the day came from midget Anton Cooper. At the start of the run we were running together and swapped placings every now and again but eventually it became a combined effort which we enjoyed to find ourselves at the head of the race and going for the win. We had our work cut out because the first runner came in 5 minutes ahead of us and was doing the Individual as well. Once we came clear of all other riders we were able to both enjoy the final stage of the mountain bike leg…and from the youngest rider in the open men’s field came the suggestion of a bit of a gentleman’s agreement – he wanted me to cross the line first as he felt I had done slightly more work on the bike than he had. I feel this type of maturity and selflessness is something that Anton can be proud of and take with him as he develops into the next stage of his riding. Who knows who would have taken the win had we not had a quick chat along the way but that’s irrelevant as both of us were clearly capable and it would have been only down to the two of us anyway. To have had such close competition throughout the entire race from Anton made it not only an exciting fast race, but also pushed us to finish at a time quicker than the record set in 1999. Because the record was set on a slightly different course it’s not clear if this will stand in history but my time of 2 hours and 14 seconds was on a course which is rumoured to be longer than the one in 1999, with additional singletrack.

Seriously great to hit up this event again, it’s still got a real local flavour to it – right down to the bbq crew who when they ran out of paper plates to serve the delicious fare on they promptly went and found a whole lot of china plates for the picnicking masses!

I seriously recommend to the North Island riders to pick some of the South Island local events and get down there, flights to Christchurch are cheap as and there are always people travelling from the Garden City to the races to hook up with. In the last month I’ve raced in the Hutt Valley, Rotorua and Hanmer and all three locations have had completely different terrains and trails. It’s this variety which New Zealand is huge for….use it and become a better rider. I’m a big fan of making connections with other riders and families who are into the sport – as riders we should be helping each other to get to these races in different places, or just for weekends of riding. There is no doubt that the stronger the competition the better the riding becomes and in turn the better the sport becomes.

And yes….it wouldn’t be one of my blogs without mentioning Bex! She enjoyed the race, only complaint was not having time afterwards to hit the Hanmer Hot Springs for a well deserved soak. Bex took 3rd place out of a field of about 14 woman in the individual event, once again the strong and gutsy Sia Svendson took the win. Best wishes to Sia as she heads back to Denmark soon to tackle the Denmark Elite Road Nationals in preparation for the Worlds on the same circuit.

Try something you haven’t done before in the sport – you never know, you might just enjoy it!

Four more days to Mt Isobel!

Mt Isobel…starting at the mtb haven of Hanmer and running up a bloody big climb for close to 8kms, then a mad dash mtb ride to the finish. That’s the plan this weekend!

Any excuse to have a weekend away! This race is one I’ve been looking forward to hitting again, having only ever done the mountain bike leg previously I can’t wait to put the run in front. In 2002 a mate and I won the team event and two years ago Bex and I took 3rd in the mixed teams…this weekend I’m aiming for a sprint through the tracks to take 1st in the individual.

On both occasions it was pretty cold with sleat and snow - 2002 I was the first rider through and had to learn how to bash my way through ice puddles and very quickly because I was on a mission. So far it seems like it will be balmy in comparison this year, although after a settled period of autumn weather in Wellington I’m pretty sure I will be blowing frost out as I climb.

This weekend was a complete opposite to the last two – with no racing planned I was at a bit of a loss on Saturday until I put on my running shoes. Awesome to be living in such a great location for hitting the hills, I went up Bells Track intending to complete the loop which goes up over Mt Kaukau, instead I got a bit sidetracked and did some repeats up and down Bells Track. I learnt at Crazyman that what I thought running down hills fast looked like was very different to the speed other runners could get so it was more of a downhill session than anything else. Hoping it will pay off this weekend as the last 1km or so of the run is a steep downhill scamper.

The day got better and better weather wise so perfect for a spin out to Silverstream on the roadie – and better and better bike wise as I not only got a good 55k flat ride in but also managed to spend some time oogling at bike stuff in at Cycle Science. Of course no Saturday bike shop mission would be complete without a purchase so I came back with pockets full of spanners to complete the build of a new Bergamont Contrail (full sus) for my mate Sam…look out Ngaio, Bergamont is in the hood! Spent the rest of the day tweaking and generally just playing in my bike room (whoops…slip of the tongue…our spare room!)

I haven’t been for many weekend road rides over the last few months and was planning to do a long ride on Sunday but a good group of friends and too much Malibu changed that..oops! As it turned out the weather was yuck anyway so a day of laziness didn’t hurt.

Roll it or run with it..both will get you there! Bring on the weekend!!