Driving from 10 days in Finale Ligure with my friend Gareth Brewin and Dirt Norcos Ben Reid and his mate Jordan Scott set the tone for the weekend: FUUUUN!
We arrived at the race site and immediately I realised that this would be no ”warm up” race for me, the mountains rose steep and covered in woodland, the peaks were still snow capped and i felt the familiar formidable feeling that comes with riding in such mountains, stirring in my stomach.
Friday morning was spent setting up the pits, next door to Ben Reid so we could use his bus to cook in etc etc… it was real cool just to have my 4×4 Sprinter, 2 GT tents and my new mechanic Andy Lund. i felt quite free and lightweight, if a little nervous to be at a race!
The race seemed to be really well organised and i was surprised how professional it felt with all the RedBull tents, finish arena etc etc, its nice to be racing a non world cup that is so well done. The pits were full of campers, caravans and vans, everyone seemed really chilled out and smiling, playing a bit of football, dogs running round, people cooking and talking about the track, it was really nice because all the lads were like ”hi Rachel” and all smiling and it made me feel really at home, such a great relaxed atmosphere that had me looking forward to getting stuck into my first proper race since World Champs last year!
Friday afternoon and practise started at 2pm, I decided not to walk the track first and just ride it, testing out my new theory that the first few blind runs down a new track often allow me to find the flow of the track quicker, not having to worry about where i am going but rather just riding what i judge at the moment to be the best line, trusting my instincts. Gaz and Me took a quick round trip on the gondola before practise, which gave me a rough overview of the track, long, dry, rough and challenging, and i couldn’t wait to ride it!
The first run was slow and i stopped to look at the track a lot, and from then on it got better and better, the track was so awesome, really long and fast with just about every obstacle mountainbiking has to offer, i was nervous to think about doing a full race run for sure! It seemed like every rider was struggling with some section, and i am sure every single person felt they didn’t know where they were going, so long was the track with so many turns, long whooped straights and sniper rocks everywhere.
I definitely feel such camaraderie with all the others riders at races like these, we are all doing the same thing, trying to manhandle our bikes down the hill as fast and safe as possible. There were these 2 dudes, so Funny! they were both bullet helmet, all black clothes, riding MAD bikes or something, clapped out forks and those old Sidi clip pedal boots, i followed them for a full run it was awesome, they were pinned so fast, shouting to each other flat out, the front one would crash like mad, jump back up and pedal on flat out, then the other one would crash, jump back up, on and on like this all the way down! I gave them a big thumbs up at the bottom and said ”that was awesome!” they just stared at me like i was mad.
Practise was hard work, i really struggled to let go and find a rhythm because there was just no telling how fast you could go, sometimes you just can never find a limit and i was really nervous about my strength and my shoulders, so i just went super slow the whole time and tried to feel the flow…Baltic Ben Reid has been my saving grace many a time, and this was no different, the man is a godsend when it comes to practise for me, he lets me follow him and he assures me he doesn’t slow down hardly at all because he is still learning the track, so i get to push to stay behind him and it was sick being able to keep his yellow race kit in my vision a few corners ahead, makes such a difference flowing someone you trust, reading his lines, preempting his high lines…rad.
So Saturday practise last run i decided to load up the pressure for a full run, i put on my heart rate monitor, stuck on a Contour head cam and got my timing watch on my bars and went up, its always so rad setting off knowing you aren’t going to stop once no matter what happens, just potter on down, not really stressing if you go off line, and i did get totally lost and nearly drove into some dudes who were shouting my name, embarrassing! At the bottom the watch read 6minutes and my hands certainly felt every second of it! I watched the head cam in the pits with the guys, pretty mental how long the track was! id ridden it and i couldn’t recognise some bits of the video….
A good lunch of baked beans and tomatoes on toast set me up rightly, a quick power nap and off up we went, myself and new mechanic Andy Lund, who is a welshman, lives in penmachno and had Cymru tattooed on his arm, what a chap! The views from the chair are unreal at Monte Tamaro, snowy mountain tops sat above forest riddled slopes, the sun shining, instantly puts me at ease.
Ragot and Seigenthaller laughed their socks off at me when i rocked unto the chair lift with a mechanic, spare wheels and a Turbo! but a race is a race and i need all the practise i can get, so we took it seriously enough!
The heat was almost unbearable for us Brits all weekend, so shade was the name of the game at the top of the track, Baltics mate, Jordan Scott ( who was Moto Trials world champ 3rd, 3rd in the Moto World Enduro champs U23, and has ridden a DH bike 5 days in his life! ) was at the top and kept me entertained trying to tape cardboard to his shirt and arms to use as body armour, a strict rule at the IXS cups… Jordan is so unreal on a moto bike, the lad has got more skills than anyone vie ever seen ride in real life, excusing watching super cross!
So, a good warm up went down and it was time to race…i was last down, a position that, when i have it, gives me a certain calmness in my mind. I didn’t feel any nerves which i thought i would, seeing as how i could count the number of times ive ridden my DH bike in the last 6 months on both hands, but although it was a race, i was more focussed on riding safely, riding with a high level of concentration and awareness, so that when i felt my body was fatigued, i could acknowledge it and adjust my riding accordingly, i set off knowing that i had to override my race instinct and that safety was my main concern here… as soon as i set off i nearly laughed out loud! my bike felt SIIIICKKK, we had made a slight last minute adjustment to my rear suspension just before my run, and i could feel the difference tenfold, i felt like a springbok, i felt so alert and aware, my eyes were like out on stalks, it was the sickest feeling ever and it made me remember why i race, becausewhen you race and race well, you never concentrate and pay attention so much, and so you feel everything, every little thing you are aware of, its amazing to bethat in tune with your body and bike, and on a long track it gives you time to relax into it and listen to things. I saved energy every chance i got, filled my lungs religiously and over braked most things, there were no risks taken and it felt good. I crossed the line and was surprised to see my name up top, 11 seconds up. The relief i felt i cant describe, after a long arduous winter of surgery, rehab and training, im beyond happy that im riding my bike again, having fun and racing,and that racing still means everything to me.
After the men raced, Baltic Ben Reid and myself persuaded the man to let us up on the last lift of the day, to walk the track. I was looking forward to walking the track, approaching a track walk after qualifying is always rad cool because you can remember exactly how you felt in certain sections, its all fresh in your mind, and Ben and myself were using this weekend as a real test before the world cups, so we walked a section, talked it through, then sat and went thru’ it in our minds eye, making sure we could remember each bit, giving sections quotes helped us remember them, because the track was so long and full, things like ”claudios section” because that is where we passed Clauido Calouri chainsawing and sweeping (Scott 11 team manager and Monte Tamaro track prepping machine) and one section was like ”brown line” because there was no line but the main line, and one section was ” inside Like Water” because i figured that was the line the water would take. Stoked to walk such a long track and find some amazing fresh lines, high lines and safe lines, all ready for sundays race.
Sunday and race morning saw the rain set in, misty mountains, thick wet rain! No body wanted to make the first move, a few brave soldiers were up on the lift but most people sort of stood around wondering when it would get sunny again,…no chance! i took my time, ate my porridge whilst staring at my race bike, asked what she thought of the situation. I decided then that i would not race, i had done what i came to do friday and saturday, good practise, good warm up, good race run. I felt that to push my luck up there on that hill in those conditions, this early in the season, well, i like to think i learn from my mistakes. So when i was stood in the lift queue just going to go up for a little look, and people kept muttering words like ”war” and ”battle” and ”death”, ”muddy and slippery” my heart skipped a beat, i love a good muddy track, time was id be first up that hill wallowing around in the mud, grinning from ear to ear, feet off and round my ears trying to ride, but alas, with every passing year you must learn to assess situations and listen to your body, your instincts. Eventually the race had to be cancelled altogether because the Heli couldn’t even get thru the mist to rescue riders if they fell, so Qualy results stood firm as the final results. i was stoked! First win of the year and safe as a house.
Id like to say Thank You to everyone that weekend who said hello, who said good luck, smiled, and shouted funny things, it was an awesome weekend racing.
Lastly Thanks to my Team, GT factory racing, Pete Michaliszyn – head mechanic and puts up with all my shite, and to all my sponsors, i wouldn’t be much without you all.
