October was a busy month of mountain bike racing. WEMBO, the Crocodile Trophy, Cape to Cape, lots of lap based endurance races… busy times for those who like to push hard on their pedals. While someone like Cory Wallace could be considered as our Athlete of the Month, as he was on a roll of winning stage races – that wasn’t quite a stand out performance. He does that all year anyway. So instead we looked at someone who has impressed many riders before, with sheer physical and handling prowess. But someone who only just cracked his first huge win. In late October Mark Tupalski won Cape to Cape, against a stacked field that was racing hard for the win. That result has made him our Athlete of the Month for October.
The Basics
Name: Mark Tupalski
Age: 24
Team: TORQ Nutrition Australia
Started Racing: 2004
Bike of Choice: Merida Big 9 Team
Favourite Post Race Meal: Straight after I’ll have a TORQ recovery shake, for dinner I’m not too fussy but most likely a stirfry of some kind.
Special Move: I’d like to say cross up or whip but at the end of the day I’m an XC rider so when I think I’m trying to style it up it’s probably not very impressive.
So it seems like you’re done with 24hr solo racing now – what got you into it though? How has solo 24hr racing served as a foundation for what you’re doing now?
When I started racing I really enjoyed the challenge of how far and how long I could push myself. I started off doing 7 or 8 hr races and really enjoyed it. The atmosphere at the longer races is always a bit more relaxed, everyone is out for a good time or to battle their mates in teams and have a laugh. I think it’s where I got my habit of talking while racing from….then again I do talk a lot anyway.
After doing 7-8hr races, 24hrs is the next obvious step/benchmark for long distance MTB endurance. 24hr riding taught me a lot about how far I could stretch myself and just how stubborn I can be. It teaches you how to keep pushing on even though every part of you is trying to get you to stop and lie down. It teaches you that the bad patches of races come and go (they do regularly). So if you feel terrible it’s worth just grinding through the pedal turns because you’ll feel good again soon enough.
Keep pushing – you’ll come good.
Winning something big like Cape to Cape seems to have been inevitable with the rides you have had in the last 1-2 years. What’s it been like realising you’re one of the best in the country?
I’m still coming to terms with that. When I started racing, the guys at the front of the races were the same as the ones that are there now (Dylan Cooper, Andy Blair, Adrian Jackson, Shaun Lewis etc) so to be up and bumping handlebars with them is a pretty cool feeling. The last couple of years have been really big jumps for me in terms of what I can do on a bike. I’m just really enjoying seeing how much faster I can go and it’s awesome to keep surprising myself.
You had a great race at XCO National Champs this year – are you focusing on a set discipline from now on, or just going fast?
Racing XCO has been awesome fun and is something I’ll be sticking at for a while; I’m stoked with my results this year and learnt a lot doing the first four of the World Cup series. They’re such hard races, you can push yourself so close to the limit. I’ve blown up worse in an XC race than I have in an 8hr. My focus at the moment is getting faster as well as making that more sustainable. Next year I’ll be splitting my time between mountain biking and road racing, so I’ll have to get used to a lot more pedalling and being able to back up efforts day after day.
Some riders switch teams a lot, but not many people leave the TORQ Team – what is it about the team that develops such strong and capable riders?
I’ve been with TORQ for quite a while now, on and off for 5 years. There was a break in the middle where I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go in so I rode for the shop I work in.
Dean and Gen at TORQ work really hard for rider development. They’re not a big business; they are the sole importers of the nutrition product and at the moment that’s all they do. They put a lot of time and effort into the team. With them it’s not just about getting a bike and chasing results. They work to create a fun team environment where riders can get the support they need to go away to events and chase their dreams. I think the success of the riders is the encouragement that we get from Dean and Gen. All they want to see is riders’ reaching their goals. They work very hard to try and develop pathways for people to take the next step. They know that in Australia mountain biking isn’t big enough to get a level of sponsorship that allows you to race for a living, so instead they try to build a pathway. Whether it’s trying to line up with a team internationally so that people can race in Europe for a chunk of the season or if it’s bridging into a road team where there is more support, they’re just happy to see people progress and hopefully launch into their career.
The team is also linked with Mark Fenner & FTP Training/The Watts Factory for coaching. I’ve been getting coached by Mark for close to 6 years now. Having him there for guidance really helps, he’s been riding/racing/coaching for so long. He really speaks from experience and has the knowledge to get you into the form you want when you need it.
The young Torq team work well together – shown here at Port 2 Port. Photo: Gilbert Romane
Your team is aboard Merida bikes for the next season – what’s the build like on your new green bike?
It’s been a recent jump onto the Big Nine hardtail, I’ve been really happy with the bike. The bike has been kitted out completely with SRAM xx1, SRAM Rise 60 wheels and Schwalbe tyres. The SRAM gear is absolutely bomb proof and super smooth on track.
The bike itself is really nice, it’s a little bit slacker than some of the 29’er hardtails I’ve ridden so far. My first real test on it was the Cape to Cape (I only jumped on it just over a week before) and it was great. It feels really responsive and quick but is nice and relaxed on loose or steep stuff.
Has the team, or an individual rider, got a stylist involved to help combine orange and green?
It’s almost like you’re saying green and orange don’t look good together?! No styling needed, best colour combo out there.