We have a National Champ!
Massive congratulations to Morvélo Test Team rider Joe for storming to a win at the DH National Champs!
With Katy Winton taking 2nd in the Scottish DH champs (to go with her 2nd in the National XC Champs and 2nd in the Scottish Road Champs!) it's safe to say our friends north of the border know how to ride bikes - fast!Here's Joe's report from the hot seat2012 British National Champs – Moelfre
At the last couple of races I’ve had a bit of bad luck which has meant that I’ve not been able to show how I’ve really been riding, so coming into this Moelfre, I put in some good preparation to ensure I was in the best possible position to win at the weekend and to show people how I was really riding. On Friday afternoon, my Mum and little Sister drove down to Wales for the 2012 British Champs. The journey was a bit eventful, the back tyre on the camper van blew out on the motorway so we had to wait an hour to get help from the AA before getting back on the road to Moelfre! When we finally arrived it was pretty late so we grabbed some grub before getting some well -earned sleep. On Saturday morning I got up at 7.00 am to go and walk the track, the sun was already up and it looked set to be a great day. The track had a few new changes that had been made by the BDS which looked pretty cool. The track was pretty dusty which was bonus after riding wet tracks for the last couple of weeks up in Scotland. After walking the track I got kitted up in my POC gear and headed up the dusty Welsh hillside for my first run. I cruised down, sending jumps, sliding about in the dust and just generally having a load of fun riding my bike. Throughout the day I just built up my speed until I was happy with everything. After I stopped practice I got my bike cleaned and prepped for race day, a good clean, bolt check and fresh Intense tyres and my bike was ready for Sunday’s racing. On Sunday morning I got at 8 am, filled with excitement to go and smash out a couple of practice runs before racing in the afternoon. After two solid runs on the now very windy Moelfre track I got some food and then headed up for seeding. The wind was pretty dodgy and as I came into the third turn of the track, I got caught by a gust of wind, which sent me over the top of a berm which lost me a bit of time but I got back on it and pinned the rest of the track. I crossed the line with a 2.33 which put me in third for qualifying. After my run I was confident that I could take a few seconds off in my race run. Three hours later and I was sat on my turbo-trainer warming-up for my run at the top of the hill. I was sure of what I needed to do and after a good warm-up I headed to the start with my Zerode. Before I knew it, I was sprinting out of the gate, speed tucking and then shifting down a gear before the crucial turn that I had messed up in my qauli run, I nailed that bit and that pretty- much set the tone to how the run went from there. I hit all my lines, and pinned it pretty much everywhere except for a few sections where it was necessary to back it down a notch in order to carry good momentum and not stall or make a mistake. Coming into the last three jumps near the end of the track, I could hear the commentator saying that I was up at the split so I knew I had to keep it smooth for the last 30 seconds. I squashed the first two and the on the third one I actually nose- cased it and nearly lost it but I held it and then gave it everything to the end. I crossed the line and went into the lead, I knew there was still two riders left to come down the hill so I hadn’t won yet. Both riders came through, but slower than me, I took the win by 1.77 seconds with a 2.31. I was so happy to have just won the National Champs after crashing metres from the line at last year’s Champs, it made a good weekend of riding in Wales, into an absolutely awesome weekend in Wales! Next stop, The Val Di Sere World Cup! I just want to say thanks to all my sponsors and family for their never ending support and help! Big shout out to Stephen, Paul and all the guys at Prestige Cycles, Rob at Zerode Bikes, Morris and Jake at 2pure, POC kit, Crank Brothers Pedals, all the guys at MORVELO clothing for keeping me hooked up with awesome t-shirts and casual wear, Intense tyres for giving the grip that I need to win, Pedros for keeping my clean and shiny, Cliffbar for keeping me fuelled, RRP Products for keeping the mud off me and SRAM for their awesome forks, brakes and components!
JC
At the last couple of races I’ve had a bit of bad luck which has meant that I’ve not been able to show how I’ve really been riding, so coming into this Moelfre, I put in some good preparation to ensure I was in the best possible position to win at the weekend and to show people how I was really riding. On Friday afternoon, my Mum and little Sister drove down to Wales for the 2012 British Champs. The journey was a bit eventful, the back tyre on the camper van blew out on the motorway so we had to wait an hour to get help from the AA before getting back on the road to Moelfre! When we finally arrived it was pretty late so we grabbed some grub before getting some well -earned sleep. On Saturday morning I got up at 7.00 am to go and walk the track, the sun was already up and it looked set to be a great day. The track had a few new changes that had been made by the BDS which looked pretty cool. The track was pretty dusty which was bonus after riding wet tracks for the last couple of weeks up in Scotland. After walking the track I got kitted up in my POC gear and headed up the dusty Welsh hillside for my first run. I cruised down, sending jumps, sliding about in the dust and just generally having a load of fun riding my bike. Throughout the day I just built up my speed until I was happy with everything. After I stopped practice I got my bike cleaned and prepped for race day, a good clean, bolt check and fresh Intense tyres and my bike was ready for Sunday’s racing. On Sunday morning I got at 8 am, filled with excitement to go and smash out a couple of practice runs before racing in the afternoon. After two solid runs on the now very windy Moelfre track I got some food and then headed up for seeding. The wind was pretty dodgy and as I came into the third turn of the track, I got caught by a gust of wind, which sent me over the top of a berm which lost me a bit of time but I got back on it and pinned the rest of the track. I crossed the line with a 2.33 which put me in third for qualifying. After my run I was confident that I could take a few seconds off in my race run. Three hours later and I was sat on my turbo-trainer warming-up for my run at the top of the hill. I was sure of what I needed to do and after a good warm-up I headed to the start with my Zerode. Before I knew it, I was sprinting out of the gate, speed tucking and then shifting down a gear before the crucial turn that I had messed up in my qauli run, I nailed that bit and that pretty- much set the tone to how the run went from there. I hit all my lines, and pinned it pretty much everywhere except for a few sections where it was necessary to back it down a notch in order to carry good momentum and not stall or make a mistake. Coming into the last three jumps near the end of the track, I could hear the commentator saying that I was up at the split so I knew I had to keep it smooth for the last 30 seconds. I squashed the first two and the on the third one I actually nose- cased it and nearly lost it but I held it and then gave it everything to the end. I crossed the line and went into the lead, I knew there was still two riders left to come down the hill so I hadn’t won yet. Both riders came through, but slower than me, I took the win by 1.77 seconds with a 2.31. I was so happy to have just won the National Champs after crashing metres from the line at last year’s Champs, it made a good weekend of riding in Wales, into an absolutely awesome weekend in Wales! Next stop, The Val Di Sere World Cup! I just want to say thanks to all my sponsors and family for their never ending support and help! Big shout out to Stephen, Paul and all the guys at Prestige Cycles, Rob at Zerode Bikes, Morris and Jake at 2pure, POC kit, Crank Brothers Pedals, all the guys at MORVELO clothing for keeping me hooked up with awesome t-shirts and casual wear, Intense tyres for giving the grip that I need to win, Pedros for keeping my clean and shiny, Cliffbar for keeping me fuelled, RRP Products for keeping the mud off me and SRAM for their awesome forks, brakes and components!
JC
Posted by Morvélo
