Olympic Talent Team Mountain Bikers on Tour!
News Posted: 21 April 2008
Report and Pics: Eddie Allen
I recently hooked up with the some of the Olympic Talent Team mountain bikers and coaches in Shropshire for what was part of a week-long programme of racing and training. Fresh from a weekend's racing at the NPS at Thetford, the riders then headed north for a skills and teambuilding day that gave me a great insight into the real-life demands and fantastic opportunities that our up and coming riders have.
I joined a bunch of GB's MTB hopefuls for a day of skills training at the Lodgewood Park venue last week. Lodgewood is near Ellesmere in Shropshire and has been formerly used as the venue for the Bontrager 24/12 enduro, using a course designed by former pro downhiller Matt Farmer. The venue itself is fantastic with purpose built log cabins, miles of fireroad, bridleway and singletrack and a landowner dedicated to building a centre for off-road cycling, motorcycling and driving. Elements of the original Bontrager 24/12 course were cleared by Talent Team coaches and provided some technical challenges, as well as tests of composure and bottle for the 13-16 year old riders, who hailed from all four corners of the country.
Above: Descending on the loose and steep stuff was rude awakening
The day was broken down into a number of sections. The first test was a real in-at-the-deep-end (or should that be 'steep-end') challenge. A narrow, loose and extremely steep downhill chute amid the trees tested control, balance and braking skills, as well as nerve. Getting in position on the section was hard enough on foot and I couldn't believe that they were actually going to ride it. But ride it they did, the first rider, ploughing down the slope like it wasn't there. The loose surface tested front and rear tyre grip, with many of the riders using 'rear-wheel-steer' techniques, locking the back wheel to make the turn at the bottom of the slope. There was a wide spectrum of technical ability on display but one constant was the huge levels of energy and determination on show those riders who crashed or slid out just got back up the hill and tried again and again until they nailed it.
Above: More downhill practice, this time weaving through a rooty, treelined descent
After around 45 minutes of riding and coaching input on the first descent, the riders and coaches moved on to a longer, though just as steep descent, punctuated with stumps and roots, again on a loose surface which further tested their ability to perform controlled descents without losing time on their rivals. The stopwatch illustrated just how much time you can make up on a short section, given the right technique.
Above: Race efforts on the specially constructed loop
Next up were some two-up race efforts around a short loop. This tested the riders' ability to tackle the really technical stuff, some of which Talent Team Manager Gary Coltman described as World Cup-level in terms of difficulty, while in a pressure pseudo-race situation. The loop had everything crammed into around 1km - climbing, descending, 'cross style dismounts and remounts and a section of extremely sticky, slippery bridleway.
Above: Hungry riders fuel up before the afternoon session. In the cabin, just like on the trail, it's all about being self sufficient
The group then headed back to the wooden lodges for a spot of DIY lunch and a briefing for the afternoon's activities, which, like many other areas of the riders' training, highlighted the importance of self sufficiency. Over lunch, Olympic Talent Coach Stuart Blunt - who heads up the MTB element of the Talent Programme along with newly appointed West Midlands Go-Ride Coach Louise Day, outlined the programme for the afternoon which would get underway with a fun trials course building session and then culminate with a 5 lap handicap race on another short but very testing singletrack loop.
Above: Caught in the act - a bit of DIY trials section building and Below: here's one I prepared earlier...
The trials course building took place in a section of recently cleared woodland, with nature providing much of the materials necessary for the riders to build challenging yet rideable trials sections. The group was divided into pairs, each given 20 minutes to build and test their section, before each rider was scored over the section.
Above: some sections were more ambitious than others... Below: the team walk through the last section
The exercise was a fascinating insight into the group testing their ability to improvise, work as part of a team and look closely at what makes a section rideable or not. The resulting sections ranged from short ultra tricky sections over big tyres and logs, to longer more intricate sections resembling motorcycle trials sections, with numerous tricky obstacles and tight turns to negotiate, all without 'dabbing' the feet.
After a lot of fun and a few bruised bodies/egos, the day moved on to it's final exercise a 5 lap handicap race on a short loop, using one of the descents from the morning session, this time made all the more slippery by a sharp afternoon hailstorm! And the descent proved to be the pressure point once again, with the surface and the rider's fatigue resulting in a few dramatic stacks but on the whole another impressive display of raw talent from the OTP riders.
As mentioned before, the day was just one small part of a five-day programme of racing and training, which culminated in a short hop over the border into Wales, for some endurance and technical work at Llandegla, before the group dispersed back to their respective regions and another hard season of racing and training.
The overriding impression of the day however wasn't the venue, or the course or the, erm, changeable weather. The attitude, energy, skill, raw talent and enthusiasm of the riders was the real eye-opener.
For more information on GB Team's various programmes go here
