This race report has been provided by MarathonMTB.com contributor Kristen Pimpini
I read many cycling articles where professionals talk about having “great sensations” in their legs from race to race and I always think to myself, will this ever happen to me?
The 2011 Dirt Works 100km Classic was the race this year where I hoped to understand all the talk of these “sensations”. However with my family and work commitments, let alone the month of rain in Sydney, my preparation was far from ideal and the only sensations I was having was to sleep in and eat way too many Easter eggs over the festive season.
Turning up to the Horn Dogs house at 4:15 am, we set off out to St Albans. Getting out there is pretty easy and arriving into town, we grabbed a great park and did the dash to the toilets. It doesn’t matter how many races I do, it is always the same routine, so it was added to morning schedule….This was my second Dirt Works, so 5 years later I was hoping not only to improve on my previous race time, but also to turn up to the start line on time. I did, plenty of fuel in the pockets, I think enough to give the patrons from the Settlers a run for their money.
My main goal was to beat the time set by fellow Road Rider come Mountain Biker, Mark ‘Bandit’ O’Connor, named due to his BMX National Championship Title earnt when he was a pre-pubescent British Youth.
The Elite’s all lined up and Horn Dog and I in the first wave behind them. The usual suspects were in both groups and with it to be a heavy track ahead, bike reliability and “good sensations” were needed to have a good day out. Cranks Bikestore had checked over my Scott Spark RC previously, so that was one box ticked.
Elites off, the 7:10 wave moves forward, I already loose 30 spots…. great! The count down begins, 3, 2, 1 and we are off. I immediately start maneuvering my way through the bunch and get closer to the front. I am no natural hill climber, so my goal was to be up front and hit the first hill with the lead bunch. After working to get my nose in the front 10 riders, I had to hit the anchors before I plowed into a fence and cow grate that nobody called out in front. I got back in to the group and we hit the hill, this is a super grovel-fest, at times it gets as steep as 22%, it might not be long but it zaps your legs and lungs. Over the top, I slowly got my heart rate down and got into a rhythm.
After the first water stop, it was into the single track. Prior to this, the track was wet, the sand felt like it was sticking to your wheels slowing you down, creating extra resistance, or was it the lack of those “sensations” that I was missing? The single track was great, other than the deep puddles, I motored through and felt I was making time on my nearest riders.
Riding over 100kms you tend to pass and get passed by guys at a similar level throughout the day. I found one guy that, depending on the terrain, we kept meeting up with one another, which made it helpful through the day to see a common face.
I hit the 50km mark, still no sensations, however I thought if I can do this pace, I might have a chance to crack 5h30, taking into consideration how much I might fade the second half of the race. I saw MarathonMTB.com Elite rider Mike Blewitt at the 50km mechanics tent, seems he blew a brake hose clean from the lever, it was a tough day out there on the bikes. I set off again after a show pony wheelie for Mike.
The 55km to 75km was sort of enjoyable, I was fueling up well and enjoyed swapping turns through some of the single track with a few blokes. Hitting the river crossing I started to fade and thought for a second about walking across to recover and get into a better head space, when my old mate that I was riding with through the day passed me attacking the bridge, all he needed to do was pull a mono and it would have topped it off. I jumped onto his wheel, we hit the pavement and with another bloke swapped off until the next and final major climb for the day. The first one is steep, this next one felt like it went on and on and on, Jack Johnson style (you get the point). I doubled my fuel intake, lubed my chain and hoped for the best. My new Garmin wasn’t recording a speed on some of the pinches up the climb as it doesn’t seem to record when you are going less than 5km/h. Up and over the hill and all of a sudden some bloke comes out of nowhere to link up with my old mate and I and says:
“Come on guys 14km to go, you’ve got the rest of the day to cramp up. ”
We jumped onto his wheel and again started swapping turns. Down the dippers, on to the bitchumen then a right across the last river and then on our way to the finish line. At this point, I realised it was only maybe 3-5km to go, can I break 5hrs and smoke the Bandit? Will I blow up, start crying and lie on the side of the road in the fetal position? Nup, the thought of being so close to the finish line and a cold beer drove me across the line. The organizers handed me the token Dirt Works completion beer, 4h55, I was pretty happy and even better I started feeling those sensations I was looking for all year.
Time to start preparing for the Husky 100ker!
Horn Dog finished a respectable 6hrs, clearly and improvement from his 2010 Highland Fling and after flying in from London less than 24hrs earlier, seems a 5h30 100km Marathon will be his next target, look out Bandit.