Pioneer Stage 2: Racing beats riding

Another day, another bike race. Such is the beauty, or the banality, of a marathon stage race. When you’re on a roll, it’s a case of rolling on from one stage to the next. You nail your routine in the morning. From the coffee line, to breakfast, to the bike park, to finish packing and off to the start line soon after. Post race, you clean your bike and get it done, wash, clean up, eat and relax… And The Pioneer is perfectly setup for that. As I’ve said already, the organisation and camp are dialled. The courses are pretty well marked, and great for racing in pairs.

But, when your plans are set aside when your team mate suffers an injury – the thoughts of racing hard and fighting for a podium need to be parked. I firmly believe that marathon stage racing is one of the best sporting and travel opportunities around. You can test yourself under pressure, both mentally and physically, while meeting new people, exploring new places, and finding out about new trails too.

But here at The Pioneer, a week out racing was no longer on the agenda. I had to find a new team mate, and was partnered with a jovial Welsh man, Huw. A great bloke to share a beer and laugh with, Huw is in New Zealand to compete in the Coast to Coast in about 10 days time. Huw is digging pretty deep each day, and his mountain biking on his old Giant Trance he has hired is improving heaps. But he’s not a bike racer.

So instead of being able to thrive on competition, I’m thinking what could have been. I’m watching others jealously, as they pedal off hard over the climbs, riding in rhythm, and working together like a team should. This morning, I rode up the major climb and could see so many examples of that. Who really stood out was team New World, the current mixed leaders. While it appears to be their first Mixed Pairs race together, being able to train together at home in Queenstown is clearly a huge advantage. The two rode with little more than a 2 second gap between them over the top of the climb, along the ridge and down an extended descent. It was the fluid team work, and calm racing that any team should aspire to.

In recent times I have often wondered if I need to take a break from racing. I think riding The Pioneer route without one of my chosen team mates is a great indicator that no, I don’t need to. I’m hungry for the routine, the challenge, the suffering, and the shared experience. Getting the right stage race partner is a massive part of that, and while mine is awesome off the bike, the rapid shift to just riding isn’t sitting easily.

Cooper and McConnell tighten their stranglehold on The Pioneer

Today’s stage started with a massive climb, the bulk of it ascending about 1000m in 9km. Yeah it was steep. The terrain makes it hard too, as it’s either rocky, or grassy, or a bit muddy or with loose gravel. Or sometimes two or three of those. Running a full 1×11 Shimano XT group, I’m wishing for a 30t chain ring on the climbs, not the 32t fitted.

The climb hit a ridgeline and it was cool to see the Master’s Men fighting pretty closely for the race lead. The descent was long and loose, with plenty of double track through tall green grass, with the occasional sharp rock the size of a toaster hidden in the mix.

Through the first feed zone at the bottom, Team Danton of McConnell and Cooper lead the way, without even stopping. The Kona pairing of Wallace and Paxson were close behind, and caught up later in the valleys. Matt Page and Sam Gardner were close behind the second Kona Team, and Team New World were again right up there. The Master’s leaders Ian and Minter were soon off, with Garry James and Mike Israel nearby, and SXC Racing not long behind.

Erin and Kath from the leading women’s team of Torpedo7 have a safe lead, but they aren’t just cruising, as Erin has WEMBO in her sights later this month.

The course skirted some fields, with a climb and descent – one after another. It was a pretty valley and we climbed through it and into some scrubbier farm land, moving away from the green fields and into a landscape more reminiscent of Morocco or Mongolia.

 

The trails were rough, and loose, but we had views to the Southern Alps, including the 3 peaks of Aoraki. But the valleys, and heat, took a toll. The wind was slight but there were a lot of people hurting. It’s fair to say that some people might have underestimated the difficulty of the race. The trail surface is probably what makes it harder than other stage races – there is minimal singletrack so far, just lots of farm trail and double track. But the climbs are slow, and steep, and it’s taking a toll on the masses.

Who it didn’t seem to take a toll on were the race leaders. Wallace and Paxson caught up to Team Danton, and even launched a small attack at the end, but with Danton coming into the final singletrack first, they took the win for the third day, with Kona A in 2nd, Kona B in 3rd.

Full results are online.

The Master’s racing had a rough day. While Ian and Minter took the stage, Mike Isreal got heat stroke, Garry James tore his knee open, and the SXC Racing boys caught a lot of sun. There’s 4 days to go and this could all get turned on its head.