Wednesday 22 August 2007

UCI World Masters MTB Champs, Pra-Loup, France - 19th August 2007

Finally getting the report done, here goes!

DKS, Dave and I headed for the French alps, about 160km north of Nice airport. After a brief stop in the medieval village of ??, we headed over the ???m pass of ???, amazing road, didn’t have the nerve to go the wrong way up the one way tunnels!! A nice descent through the ??? gorge and we arrived in Pra-Loup @ 1600mtrs. To my surprise, the place was PACKED. We fist checked into or Apt, not too bad, 2 dbl bedrooms and an amazing view. After signing on in race HQ, we got the gear on for a quick lap of the course.

The course consisted of 1km of flat grass & fireroad, 2.5km fast singletrack descent, followed by a 2km savage climb back to the start/finish. Didn’t really suit me as I usually prefer the more technical courses. But we all agreed it was good fun. A nice dinner in ‘Restaurente Penguini’ and off to bed for an early one.

We awoke Saturday to beaming sunshine. As this was the DHers day, we decided to get 2 laps of the XC course in, and chill out in the afternoon and cheer on the Irish DH riders. The laps went well, course was getting very rough though, washboard and dust! We made it in time to watch the last few DHers come down, the highlight of the day was Glynn O’Brien taking silver in the DH, ‘What about ya’. More ‘Restaurente Penguini’ and back to the apt for a quick game of scrabble.

Sunday, Race day!! Our race was due to start at 12, but we awoke early to cheer on Peter Bug in the 45 – 49 cat. Peter was riding well in 2nd spot, but a freek technical issue pushed him back to 6th, still, a good result. Back to the apt for race prep, and back to the course for warm up and gridding. The start area was abuzz with riders from all over the world, all looking like total pros, GULP. DKS and I were gridded on the front row, perfect! A good start was needed as there was a singletrack descent right after the start. BANG, off we go, I got a great start, 2nd down the dodgy steps, 2nd into the descent. Not too good for DKS, 5mtrs after the start a guy crashed in front of him causing a missive pileup, and Daves bike was at the bottom! Bent mech and last down the steps, the worst possible start. Meanwhile, I was settling into race pace and let riders pass when needed. By the end of the first lap, I was comfortable in the top 20, going well. I held this position pretty much event free until the end of the race, 21st overall, not too bad at all! DKS did not fare so well, major traffic and a bent hanger left him struggling, eventually pulled at the end of lap 3 and a mid 70s result.

Steep climbs amde the going tough!
Next was Daves race (30 -> 34), again a good grid position helped his start, and he rode well to climb from mid 40s to mid 30s by the end of the race, getting stronger towards the end, a good ride. James McCluskey had a great ride to grab 7th place, nice one.

Another 2 days of amazing alpine trails and Cot D’Azur beeches rounded off a great trip. Next up, Irish Marathon Champs and the then back to France for the Roc d’Azur.

Dave in the granny

Images
Race Images - http://picasaweb.google.com/joemccall/World_masters_champs02
Spin Images - http://picasaweb.google.com/joemccall/PraLoup2007

Movies
My start - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWgwPbR0xec
My start # 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0DEH7ehpUI
Steep climb!!! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFR4nYMOx8g

Friday 3 August 2007

UCI Master World Champs Preview

Preparation is going well for the UCI Master World Champs in Pra-Loup, France. I am really looking forward to this event, as its been a long time since I have raced a world class XCO event. I will be competing in the 35-39 category (I'm only 34, but its the year of my 35th birthday), and I am hoping for a top 20% result.I am traveling with Dave Gill and David King Smith, both very experienced MTB races.

PraLoup is in the Frence Alps, about 2 hours from Nice, and the elevation is at 1600 mtrs, so the weather may be changable!

There will be a few Irish there, so we should also have a good laugh. We are staying on for an extra couple of days to get in some alpine riding, chillout time!

Good luck to ex team mate, Peter Buggle, who is going for the win in the 45 -49 category. Peter has been rinding full time this year in preparation for this race, so things look good!