“This weekend was the start of three weeks racing on the bounce, taking in Xterra Sweden, ETU Cross Championships Germany and Xterra Italy. Sweden is a place that I have never visited and I had made my mind up at the start of the year that I would like to go, and it just so fell nicely in the calendar. Arriving in Stockholm on the Thursday night, I was planning to use the Friday to take part in a bike recce. The race in Stockholm is a in a place called Hallesgarten, about 15 minutes from the centre of Stockholm by car. Travelling down to pick up the race number and register, the weather had seen torrential showers from the moment I had arrived. Great, typical English weather and a lot cooler to the previous other races that I have competed in. With some breaks in the weather, me and my friend Johnny Perry had decided to do 1 lap loop of the 15 km bike through the woods and trails. About 1 km into the recce, the weather changed and the heavens opened: bring on river riding in the Swedish woods. On the recce there was a shortage of markers that some passers by had been taking down! Anyhow, we ended up lost and a good bit off track and the map in my rear pocket wasn’t much use trying to navigate home. Thankfully, we found a nice little garage and the nice guy gave us directions back. So we may have got lost but at least we sort of knew what to expect.
Come Saturday morning the Xterra Lite kicked off at 9 am and then the Xterra Sweden at 12 noon. Preparation leading into the race had gone well and I had recovered from the mountain bike marathon in the Dolomites. I was feeling strong and confident. The swim took place in one of the many lakes around Stockholm and the temperature was a good 19 degrees. The swim was the typical 2 x 750 m. I felt good in the swim and feel I am starting to make some gains again, but this is something that I ll have to keep grafting at. I exited the swim and began the job of trying to close down the gap.
The bike was two laps of 15km with a mixture of fire trails, undulating single track, mud and roots and some good rock sections that would test your technical riding. This was what I enjoyed and I enjoyed attacking the course. Out onto the bike, at around 5 km, I felt for my rear brake and there was nothing there……. I had changed the pads midweek for a fresh set and was adamant I had bent the pin back through. Somehow this had dropped out and caused the pads to become dislodged, and along with all the mud and grit, the brake jammed on. I took the option to try and rectify the situation and lost a couple of minutes whilst I sorted this out. I lost a couple of places from the progress that I had made on the earlier rock gardens. It was time to ditch the rear brake and ride without it. For the remainder of the lap there was only a couple of places where I needed to brake, but the majority could be done so by riding smoothly and using the front brake lightly. By the end of lap one I had lost a bit of time and set about trying to ride more smoothly for lap two, this went well and I gained a few more positions. Overall, even with the little mechanical issue, I felt good and was pleased with how I rode.
The final 10 km run weaved along the side of the lake and then climbed onto the opposite side of the lake, taking in some rock slabs to climb and run over. By this point the sun was out and I was pushing on with the run. At the end of the first 5 km I had held my position and gained a bit of time. Pushing on with the second lap, I had a spring in my step and was enjoying the undulating run route after a solid race.
I eventually crossed the line in 6th MPro. This was an improvement on my previous result from Greece and I feel that the cooler climates suit me better to perform in. Overall a nice step to pick up some points in the Series and keep on building towards the Worlds in September.
Many thanks to Vitus Bikes, Vittoria UK, SAM Race Wear, Huub Design, Suunto, Miiego UK, NJD Sports Injury, Bonk Triathlon, Kurio, G4 Physiotherapy.”
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