The weather wasn't to bad really, overcast and a little wet under the rubber in places, but not to bad...
The Hammerhead is always a tough event, it wasn't going to be any easier this year, 3 laps and about the length of a cup/national round.... it was the last event on most peoples calender before the 1st cup round in Dunedin early Jan, so we all wanted to perform to see how the training has been coming along.
The gravel road start is always fast and aggressive to be the 1st into the single track climb... Anton and Brad went in first and after putting a squirt in up the road I went in around 4th. I was feeling okay and the pace was sustainable right through to a steep gravel road climb, half a dozen of us pedalled at a good tempo and I dropped into the single track decent at the back of that bunch (9th), the track went downhill and so did I!
Rule number one: Never change fork pressure the night before a race!
This was my 1st real event on my Scale Pro 29er, I have been making changes to get it dialled in just how I like it.... I know, you know, EVERYONE knows rule number 1!
The forks were hard and bouncing of every little bump, and the guys just shredded away from me...
The next climb up timberland's the 2nd rule was clear
Rule number 2: If the body is tired, DON'T PUSH IT
I had a physical week at work, a rat shit week worth of sleep and hay fever which a lot of you know completely knocks me over...
With struggling to breath and the heart rate going through the roof, the legs lost power, and the mind went...
I backed off and rode to finish in 9th over the line. (Ive never not finished a race and I wasn't going to start now) As I crossed the line there is a photo of me..... I'm not a happy boy.
I learnt a lot form this event, the importance of listening to your body and how sleep and recovery is so important to racing at a high level. I have always taking my easy days on the bike easy and get the benefits from it, I should have listened to my body and not raced, I have only just recovered from this event, and lost some valuable training days leading into the national rounds.
There were some solid rides from the lads, it great to see some finally getting the results to reflect what the have been putting in.... It will be a tough season ahead, Canterbury has some great riders.
Time to regroup, Get back into some solid training, and finish of some final tweaks on the Scott before Dunedin.
Cya!
