It's been a crazy few weeks for the team that has seen a fair few podium finishes, and some well earned wins. There are a few championships at stake now going into the final rounds, and we have also seen the Swedish Marathon championships take place in Örebro. Our bikes have been tested to the limit, not only by riding them, but by people deciding to reverse over them in car parks too! A testament to the strength of our Wilier frames was that the frame survived to tell the tale and take a great result the following week!!
Warren:
A total of 6 races have flown by in a flash since my last update. 2 XCup races, 1 Swe-Cup and 3 Västgötacup to be exact. After deciding to not take the expensive trip to Andorra in August, I shifted focus to trying to instead win both the Swe-Cup and Västgötacup series here in Sweden.
First I attended a relatively local XCup near Hässleholm on 2nd August. The course was great fun as usual, and I had a great battle with Johan Malmsten. Fighting for the first 2 laps to close down the good gap he had pulled not long after the start. Going into the third lap I caught him and we rode together. At the beginning of the last lap I could feel the first twinges of cramp, and knew it was going to be tough to get the win now. Going into a left-hand bend with about 2km to go I took a bit of an awkward line and my leg seized solid from cramp as I flailed in a strange position on the bike. Johan took the opportunity to go up the inside and attack straight away. I managed to close down on him again until less than a 1km to go when he attacked again and I couldn't go with him due to the cramp. I then hobbled home to finish 2nd, happy to know that I had pushed him hard.
Next up was the CK Master weekend in Gothenburg 22nd/23rd August, first a normal XC race on the Saturday, then a shorter Criterium on the Sunday. The weather was looking great, and the track was dry and dusty. The race was going to be a long one, with an estimated race time of 01:30 for H30. Going into the race I was a little worried about being able to last after the cramp in Hässleholm. I tried to pace it, and had a good battle with eventual winner Jens, but his attack on the last climb of the last lap was enough to pull away from me as I once again started to cramp. I then rode my own pace to the finish where I came home 2nd to lick my wounds and reload ready for the shorter criterium race on the Sunday. Sunday's race was to be more my cup of tea, closer to an hour and flat out all the way. I took the lead early which I then extended all the way to the finish. An intense but fun race.
The next event was a weekend later, and was again an XCup. This would be my last of the year, and I was looking forward to what has become my favourite XCup course at Bockatorpet near Kristianstad. The first row of the grid appeared a little sparse compared to some other XCup races, but I still had some tough competition from Björn & Stefan (Team Roslins) and Martin (Team Ruby Project - Suunto). The tough tarmac climb at the start strung the field out, but Björn and Stefan stuck like glue all the way till the woods. Here I tried to ride smooth and fast, but couldn't shake Björn for the whole of the first lap even after a couple of digs. Deciding to settle in on the second lap I could hear him breathing down my neck close behind all the way to near the end of the second lap where he attacked on a fast open section. I had to pull some extreme faces to hold his wheel which I did for the rest of that lap and the third. Seeing that the 4th would be our last lap I tried a dig on the first short, sharp climb of the lap and then into the first tech singletrack continued to push. The gap from that first attack was then consolidated wherever I could in the singletrack knowing that Björn could close the gap on the gravel roads if I didn't push on. Into the finish for my first XCup win of the year. No cramp either, which was satisfying.
Last race weekend for this post was 12th/13th September - Hallbyrundan and Landehofs MTB race. The race on Saturday was to be on the Swedish Nationals course from 2014, so I was keen to try it out having heard the reputation. I wasn't disappointed as the course proved to be tough with lots of climbing and tough descents. The race started chasing a storming Jens who was riding in the top 5 elites for the first couple of kms. Eventually I caught him and attacked straight away to try to open a gap on the steep climbs. I held the lead throughout feeling strong into the finish but easing off on the last lap and a half to try to save some juice for Sunday! A tired but happy Tobbe sneaked in a great result coming third behind Jens too, so we had a satisfied couple of riders going back to camp.
The course for Sunday proved to be a little slippy and damp, with less climbing, but with more old school singletrack interspersed with gravel roads. I managed to get a great start and pushed ahead of H30 and up into a good position in the elite field. Then just before the first singletrack I was passed sneakily on the outside, realising quickly it was World Cup racer Emil Lindgren I decided to try to follow his wheel and inventive lines as long as possible. Amazing to see how effortless it looked! Jens and a flying Tobbe were on my wheel for the whole of the first lap, and I remember smiling to myself as I looked forward to a tough battle between us. On the second lap I pushed as hard as I could in all the singletrack sections, and by the end of that lap managed to pull out roughly 10 seconds on Jens & Tobbe, plus overtake one of the elite guys to put a bike between us. The gap grew similarly on laps 3 and 4 and I continued to push as hard as I dared. All went well up until lap 5 where I slipped and fell on a wet root knocking my knee and losing my drinks bottle. My ~50s gap disappeared to around 10s to the now 5-strong group behind. Worried they would catch me I pushed hard for the whole of lap 6 and managed to push out to around 50s again, perhaps helped by the group behind sitting up and watching one another. Going into the final lap of 7 I tried to keep the pace high and smooth, but I could hear that someone was closer than the lap before after a hairpin. Into the last climb and the realisation that someone was on the attack and close behind hit as a spectator began to cheer on the rider behind. A sprint to the line ensued which ended up being about 800m up to and around the arena. I crossed the line 1st with a 4s gap to 2nd place, a result which also would have placed me 4th in Elite. No cramp, pushing to the end, last year's form is finally back! Tobbe made a small mistake in the slippy singletrack meaning he lost contact with the group and could never get back up to them, but some solid points for 4th were still appreciated.
Saturday Podium
Jessica:
Jessica's run of 4th places and podiums at Långloppscupen continued strongly with a fifth place against some strong competition at Finnmarksturen, a superb 18th place (total women) at Cykelvasan and then onto her best result of 2015 of so far, a win at Bockstensturen! The race in Varberg was hit by some pretty appalling conditions, and Jessica rode a strong race climbing up through the field to take the win in style. It appeared that the conditions took their toll on a lot of riders with mechanical problems, and others just not managing to last the full 100km. A perfect day was unfortunately spoiled when a fellow racer decided to drive their car over Jessica's bike in the car park. A week before the marathon national championships caused some panic, but amazingly the frame was intact, and only the rear mech and rear wheel needed to be replaced. A testament to the strength of our Wilier bikes!
Bockstensturen would have been Jessica's best result of 2015, had she not followed it up with a superb ride to at the Swedish marathon championships on the 13th September, just a week after Varberg. Tired legs thwarted her early progress on the tough start climb and she lost contact with the leaders. As usual her strong will overcame and eventually the legs awoke. Pushing on and passing several women during the last 40km, but not knowing where she was in relation to the others in her class, she crossed the line in an amazing 4th place. Who knows what 2016 will bring with 2015 being Jessica's first proper season of Mountain Bike racing since she started riding!
