Rockstar Racing's Shaun Lewis ©Rockstar Racing
Most Australian mountain-bikers will recognize the name Shaun Lewis. The New South Wales rider has stood on the podium of just about every major mountain-bike marathon that has been held in Australia and has built a solid reputation as one of his country’s top off-road competitors. Lewis spoke MarathonMTB.com this week after returning from Western Australia, where he rode in support of new Rockstar Racing teammate Josh Carlson.
Lewis started cross country racing with the Southern Highlands Cycling Club in 1999, and had his first taste of marathon racing at the 2004 Epic in Queensland. His timing couldn’t have been better. The marathon discipline was gathering increased momentum and a year later his calendar was marked heavily with events.
“The Dirtworks, The Epic, The Fling. There were more events, and that’s when it started to take off in Australia I reckon.” he said. “I was definitely motivated for marathon events. There is a good opportunity for more tactical racing.
I like racing XC, but there’s just not enough of it. The national champs is a great race, everyone is there and it’s at a good level. But you don’t really get that at all the National Rounds.”
Clearly the quality of racing is a big factor for Lewis, but he is one of many of Australia’s elite mountain-bikers who are more prominent at marathons. The scale, frequency and organisation of the events relative to their cross-country counterparts offers a significant lure to the top riders. “The prize money is better, the fields are better, and usually the race is well run,” he said.
There is also a motivational incentive for riders to favour marathons. For all marathon riders, not just elite competitors, work constraints can make traveling long distances for a two-hour race difficult to justify. Lewis pointed out that training for cross-country requires focused, hard training. Understandably, juggling full-time work with a busy training schedule is easier to manage when the requisite intensity of the latter can be dialled back.
In recent years, Lewis has always included an overseas racing trip in his schedule. He has competed in mountain-bike marathons like Karapoti in New Zealand, Ischgl Iron Bike in Austria and the 2009 UCI marathon world championships, also in Austria. This year he traveled to South Africa to contest the Cape Epic with the late, and sorely missed, James Williamson. But is racing overseas only for the sports elite? Lewis offers enthusiastic endorsement for the opportunities available to riders of all abilities at foreign races.
“Other mountain-bikers should have a go. You get the total package with the big races overseas, especially the stage races,” he explained. “You hang out with the same people, especially if you’re camping. The courses are great, it’s just an amazing experience.”
As proof of his enthusiasm, Lewis is heading back to South Africa in 2011 with Peter Hatton. The Cape Epic will be a new experience for Hatton, who has only recently returned to the elite ranks of mountain-biking. His return was marked with second place at the Australian marathon nationals and a win at the Dirtworks marathon, so signs are good ahead of the Cape Epic’s start next March.
Sean Lewis (left) and Peter Hatton do battle in a tight finish in Australia this year. They'll team up for the 2011 Cape Epic
Lewis has been steadily building his form for summer after a bad crash at the Three Ring Circus in the Southern Highlands left him with broken bones in his left shoulder and right wrist, and eight stitches in his head. While he’s anxious to get back to top form, he’s working hard to manage the relationship between mind-over-matter.
“I only just managed to race the Scott 24-hour. If it had been one week earlier, I couldn’t have done it,” admitted Lewis, who backed-up from the Scott two weeks ago to support Josh Carlson at Cape-to-Cape.
He’s steadily progressing with his training, but will skip his state cross-country championships at the end of October in an effort to be ready for the Highland Fling. “I want to have a good weekend of training two weeks before the Fling,” he said, of the race he won in 2006 and 2007.
After the Highland Fling, he plans to ease off a bit and continue building form for summer, when he will make a return to mountain-biking’s short form. “I don’t want to go flat out then burn out in January. I want to have a good build, get a good result at XC nationals, and then carry on to the Cape Epic.”