Justin Morris has been racing for the MarathonMTB.com Race Team in 2011. Although he has just signed with Team Type 1 for 2012, Justin will be racing at the Crocodile Trophy this coming October as part of the Subaru/MarathonMTB.com team.
With the Crocodile Trophy as part of Team Subaru/MarathonMTB.com on the horizon, preparation for such an event has been on the noodle of late. Lucky for me, I have had great oppurtunities to do some road stage and one day racing of late with an eye for Croc Trophy preparation.
In August I teamed up with the Parramatta race team in conjunction with ‘Wilson Racing/Bikebug’ to line up at the 5 day Tour of Gippsland, followed by the 8 day tour of the Murray River. These tours are part of the ‘Scody Cup’ and are an integral part of the Australian road series. Road racing in Australia has experienced a fantastic growth in interest and support in recent times. There is now so much high quality racing here on our shores many overseas riders see Australia from August onwards as a destination for hard, fast and professional style racing.
The Tour of the Murray is the longest road stage race in Australia. At eight days long it is still two days shorter than the upcoming Crocodile Trophy. Seeing how the body settled in to a long stint of racing was interesting and frightening for the thought of what lays ahead. At fifteen stages (many days have two stages), the Tour of the Murray was relentless. Flat and fast stages left me hanging on by the grit of my teeth, while on other stages the legs felt comfortable. The fast crits that typify the Murray tour can actually offer some respite. Once you get pipped (dropped from the bunch) you can then roll around, get lapped and go and have a sit down and a bite to eat.\
I imagine getting pipped at the Crocodile Trophy will not be so straightforward. Get dropped, and it will be time to put my head down and keep pedaling. Maybe with Mike or Graeme for company! This is another key difference between road and MTB racing – especially in a point to point stage race!
Also on my mind was the relative luxury available to you when stage racing and staying in hotels. After a particuarly hard days racing at road stage events some of my favourite activities include: a shower, McDonalds, a lie down on a freshly made bed and maybe flicking on the TV for some afternoon ‘Young and the Restless’. At the Crocodile Trophy I will have a self inflating mattress- thats it! Travelling with the team at the Murray tour was great fun though, I even managed to get a 10 minute time penalty from the commisaires for wearing a Jamaican wig during one stage!
Next on the agenda was the prestigious Goulburn to Sydney road race which I was racing with my home club Northern Sydney Elite Racing Team. A 4km prologue on the saturday had many, myself included grumbling about the logistical nightmare required to attend a 5minute race. I was happy with how I performed however and was glad I did the dash around the park. The Sunday race which includes 70km on an interstate freeway was insanely fast, definately the fastest edition of this race I have ever completed. Over the 180km an average speed of 46km/h was recorded. The two final climbs over ‘Razorback’ usually define this race, for me the second ascent was my undoing as I faded toward the top of the climb and finished just behind the second group. Disappointed, I did note nearly half the field DNF’d, there was carnage all over the road!
With a welcome wee break from racing before the Crocodile Trophy, it gives one time to dust off the MTB which has been neglected since the postponement of the Bottlebutt, the new 29er seems to be the goods for the less technical style racing like the Croc. Fun times ahead!