Not completely according to plan

Things got off to a good start at the Croc, until the racing started anyway! The vibe was good within the team, with Tim and Jo amped to have a crack at the overall titles, and Nick and I ready to do whatever we could to help them. We all arrived in Cairns a couple of days before, and in between showers (yes it was raining!) we ducked out for a quick spin, media commitments and filling our stomachs in anticipation.

Thanks to Andy from Kaos for priming the rig, it didn't miss a beat. Ozriders also gets a mention for their spiffy chain protectors, great grips (no blisters in 1300km!) and new 'Specks' sealant (no flats in 1300km!).

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This didn't stay white for long ...

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Day one (Mareeba - Irvinebank, 86km) proved to be a bit of a shock for us guys. It started OK, with all 3 of us making the selection with 6 Czechs from VIG racing, but in the end they proved too strong and we had to let them ride off as the pace was blowing us apart. Tim, Nick and I continued on, but about 25km from the end on one of the rough, washed out descents I lost my front wheel in a rut and went about digging up some dirt with my face. The other guys stopped to make sure I was OK, but the small group we were with got away, and we ended the day a disappointing 15 or so minutes behind.

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It is a long race, so we went into stage 2 (Irvinebank - Koombooloomba, 128km) with higher hopes. It turned out to be an easier day, with a big group staying together until the end, with a break away of 2 Czechs and another single one getting away in the final 1/4 of the stage.

Stage 3 (Koombooloomba - Gunawarra, 122km) we knew was going to sort out the pretenders from the contenders, and it didn't disappoint. The start was very fast, and Tim decided early on to drop back and help Jo who was having a ding-dong battle with Karen Steurs from Belgium for the women's competition. Nick and I lasted a while with the lead group, but in the end we were dropped, and had a very long ride in.

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Stage 4 (Gunawarra - Chillagoe, 130km) was the turning point for the team, as we now knew that a high GC placing was out of the question for us guys, so we decided to throw everything at keeping Jo in the women's GC jersey. We all rode stage 4 with Jo, trying a few times to drop Karen, but in the end it finished in a sprint with the Belgium edging Jo out by the width of a Racing Ralph knob - if only she had been using 2.25 tyres like me!

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Stage 5 (Chillagoe - Chillagoe, 100km) was an out-and-back which on paper should have been an easy day. We decided that one of us could afford to stay up the pointy end and go for a stage win, and that proved to be me as I jumped into an early break which the GC contenders were happy to let go. The break worked well for more than 70km until the games started, and in the end the group of 7 was down to me and Ivan from the almightly VIG team. He attacked on a climb about 5km to go, and it was the 2 of us time trialling it home with him 20 sec up the road. In the end that's how it stayed, and although I was so close to winning I was still thrilled with 2nd place.

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Stage 6 (Chillagoe - Mt Mulgrave, 138km) was a flat boring stage, and all of us rode with Jo in a good size bunch. Luckily we were all around her, as she flatted and I gave up my wheel while Nick and Tim rode her back onto the bunch. After fixing Jo's wheel, I smashed it for 10km to get back onto the bunch, and sat in for the rest of the way to Mt Mulgrave. Luckily for us although the stage finish and camp was in the middle of nowhere, there was a beautiful river to keep us cool in the 40+ heat :)

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Stage 7 (Mt Mulgrave - Laura, 148km) was one of the worst stages, long, sandy, corrugated and very hot (40+ again), but proved to be the highlight for the team. Nick went up the road in an early break and was looking good. Tim and I were riding with Jo, and through the tough sand had put a good gap into Karen and were powering on when we caught Nick who had a flat. Bad luck for Nick, but great for us and with the full team together we managed to put many useful minutes between us and Karen.

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Stage 8 (Laura - Cooktown, 142km) proved how quickly you can fall in stage racing. Things were going well, Jo and the rest of us marking Karen in the bunch, despite their dirty tactics like attacking in the feed zones! Then the hills started, and Jo was quickly going backwards compared to Karen. She managed to get in a bunch ahead of us, which wouldn't have been too bad except that she had 20 Belgiums working for her (some actually waited for her), while we were stuck in a bunch with plenty of parasites so it was up to us 3 guys to drive into the block headwind into Cooktown. It was a bad day, and we lost the jersey plus 14 mintues to Karen.

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Stage 9 (Cooktown - Ayton, 128km) was our last stand, as the final day is a neutral stage, to peg back Karen and get Jo onto the top step. After their dirty tactics yesterday, we thew everything at them, but in the end Karen proved stronger on the steep finale, and we lost more time to the Belgiums.

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Stage 10 (Ayton - Cape Tribulation, 42km) is a neutral stage as it goes along the main coastal road (dirt track) up the cape. It was an awsome way to finish an incredible race, and hitting the beach at Cape Tribulation was a surreal feeling (although you can't swim because of the crocs!)

In the end we didn't have an overall winner, but 2nd place for Jo was still an excellent outcome, and we had got plenty of airtime over the week with the close racing which is why we are really here anyway!

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Thanks to the Merida Flight Centre team and all our sponsors. Lazer helmets and BBB sunnies, for their killer products, Infinit nutrition for keeping us fueled through the toughest conditions known to man and Schwalbe tires for keeping us the most flat-free team in the whole race. Finally a big hand to Paul Traynor for travelling with us fickle racers and bowing to our every wish!

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Typical afternoon at camp Merida Flight Centre

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Although the final stage was neutral there was still plenty of steep climbing to do!

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Ivan "Ivanator" Ryarik of VIG, he's a cool guy and will be staying in Australia for 6 months.

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The team with our hero Jiri, who we always referred to as Maurice (as in the Bee Gees), or Jesus

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Where's Merida Flight Centre?

The last will and testament of AJ

I am sitting at home looking at my packed bags wondering if anything I have in them is going to help me through 1200km of far north QLD outback roads - probably not.

For those not familiar with the Crocodile Trophy let me fill you in: 1200km in 10 stages, all on corrugated sandy roads, temperatures 40+ deg and hoards of ex and current pro Euros ready to smash you into the dust. What have I got myself into?!

The Merida - Flight Centre team will be Tim Bennett, Nick Both and myself. The other 2 guys rode it last year, with Tim picking up 3rd overall, and the plan is to again get Tim onto the steps by the end of the race (preferably the highest one!). Also joining us is Tim's wife Jo, who will be looking to take home a top spot in the women's category (and yes they do ride the full distance).

It is time to get this Blog happening again, so I will be re-launching during the Croc, sending in updates whenever the reception allows. I've heard there is a guy with a 4WD who travels with the race with a huge aerial; reckon it adds value? (Castle, circa 1997)

So if you heard from me again, please be grateful, you'll never know when it might be my last post before i'm taken by a croc at one of the river crossings or simply melt onto my top tube.

World Champs Finale

Firstly my apologies for not posting sooner, but I have been a little under the weather for the final few days of the races. It all started turning pear shaped on the morning of the rest day (Thursday) when I started violently throwing up. Luckily it was only food poisoning and lasted only a few hours, but the rest of that day I had to pretty much lie down and try and eat and drink little bits when I felt I could.

Having eaten a decent amount by Friday morning I decided to start the Long Final, but the signs my body was giving when warming up were less than positive! I started a pretty conservative pace in case I had misjudged how much food I had been able to put away and I hit the wall half way round. I had a quite clean ride, losing only a little time on a dodgy Polish track which is where the eventual winner Ruslan Gritslan (Russia) caught me and I followed him home. Amazingly despite how crap I was feeling I finished the day in 6th place, my 3rd podium from the 3 individual races! I was very disappointed to have caught whatever bug I got, but I can't be too unhappy with how I went in the circumstances.

Saturday (today) was the relay race, and our team of Alex, Paul and myself were looking to move up quite a few places from our unlucky start number of 13. Things didn't get off to a good start with Alex making a big error and losing quite a few minutes to the front teams. Paul rode pretty steady and I was able to pick up a few more places, but I wasn't really feeling much better than the day before and made a single 3 minute error, so finished many minutes off the pace myself. In the end it looks like we were 11th nation across the line.

So I am signing off for now, the banquet and party are soon so it is time to finally kick back. Another point of interest is that I am avoiding my Houdini packing routine for the flight home, as I have sold my Spark to Greg, one of the NZ'ers who lives in Moscow. I fly out of Warsaw Sunday evening and land back in Melbourne Tue morning, so I will be able to catch up with some of you again pretty soon.

GOLD!

For the second time in my life I have made it onto the top step at the World MTBO Champs, this time it was again the middle distance discipline. My race was very good for the first 1/3, and then steady from then on with a few small wobbles in a desperate attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In the end I stopped the clock in 54:13, 26 sec ahead of Soren Strunge of Denmark and my old foe from the 2004 relay sprint finish Lubomir Tomecek of Czech Republic.

It is another race tomorrow, a qualification for the Long distance final. So unfortunately it is bed time now, and i'll update again after the race tomorrow.