Bung leg

I have had to pull the pin for natinal champs due to an unconfirmed condtion with one of my legs.

More detail to follow after I have seen a specialist.

NZ Cup Round Three Nelson

Nelson always puts up a great race track and a great race atmosphere for us.

The track was hard, fast and challenging for me I did enjoy riding around getting lines and doing efforts etc on the track.

The race was fast and I didn't have a chance, not too sure what was happening but everyone went around me and from here I started to make my way back up the field picking riders off each lap. We done 6 laps and I finished 17th.

So not the race of my life, I am now focusing on the fourth round of the NZ cup here in Christchurch and then National Champs in Dunedin next saturday.

Huge thanks to Bruce and Sarah in Nelson for the wonderful accommodation.

This weekend I was racing my Scott Spark 20 rolling nicely on my Kenda Small Block eights and I was fueled by Peak Fuel.

N-Duro Summer Series Race Two

Todays race was great, I really enjoyed the whole race from the start to the end. Marcus plus team had planned a killer course that featured all aspects of a good mountain bike course with sufficient climbing and majority single track, this was my kinda race track.

There was a bit of congestion at the start that I managed to keep clear of and found myself in a good position to start with and had the form to keep up in the top five most of the race.

I was being kept very honest by John Grey and Des Curry that were just behind me when I was sitting in fifth place going up a main climb, I managed to shake these guys off as soon as I hit the flatter single tracks, where I was leaving nothing out on the track and keep the pace on hoping to catch a few others in front.

Over all another great event ran buy the N-Duro crew. I finished 4th place behind, Dirk Peters, Carl Jones and Sam Shaw.

Training is starting to pay off and things are settling in just nicely with 20 days until Nationals.

Today I was out riding my Scott Spark 20 loving the down and flatter tracks, keeping things rolling very smooth. These dry conditions were perfect for my Kenda small block eights that I was running tubeless. Peak fuel Gels kept me alert and on the rivet nearing the end of the race.

NZ Cup Round two Napier

Round to of the NZ Cup in hot hot Napier was a good weekend away with a few mates. I liked the track and it was bone dry and bound to be a fast race.

I felt good riding around on practice day and was feeling confident, However as soon as the race started this went very bad I seem to have no go and really suffered. Making it not such a good day in the saddle for me finishing 11th. This was a UCI round so it had some meaning to me if I decide to go overseas.

Working a few things out in the next few weeks and will be expecting a good result down in Nelson (another UCI round) and Dunedin (nats)

Thanks to Peak fuel and Avanti Plus.

N-duro Summer Series Race One

The first mountain bike race for the season and it felt great to finish this race in one piece.

Todays race was a 45km one loop course spreading over some of the best trails that Rotorua has to offer, the pace was hot from the gun with Dirk Peters leading the field, I was sitting in 3rd right behind Carl Jones and 10m off Dirk. We caught Dirk at the base of the first hill and the KOM (King of the Mountain) of the race, I was third over the hill slightly behind Carl and Dirk took it out.

(KOM is a new thing to hit the N-duro series and mountain biking on a whole it mixes the event up and gives some people that can't race for as long but still have a chance up a short hill to get some sort of result)

Shortly after the KOM I took a slight detour losing 10 or so places that I was trying to make back up over the rest of the course only making it to 8th. I do have to admit I wasn't feeling the best at all today and put it down to my first mountain bike race since the Huka in November, lets hope next weekends NZ cup in Napier is a different story.

Today I was using Berry Blast Peak Fuel gel and hydration mix thanks to AvantiPlus.

Nice work to Marcus and the N-Duro team another great event.

Tour de Vineyards, Nelson

Happy new year to all, It was a hard start to my new year with Tour De Vineyards. Overall I had a tough tour finding it harder than last year. I did enjoy it though, I love hanging up the mountain bike and dusting off the road bike for some hard racing now and then and Tour de Vineyards is an outstanding event to kick off our summer Mountain bike season.

Our mission started on boxing day, Thanks to Waiariki for the van and ferry. We also had the helping hand from Sam as our manager/masseuses. The girls tour started on the 28th December and we started on the 1st January.

This is how my tour unfolded.

Stage one- 60km circuit race around "Hope circuit", I held in the bunch working on the front near the end, After this stage I was still feeling good and ready for the next day.

Stage two- 130km with Hill top finish on Takaka, by the time we got to the base of Takaka (16km climb) I was already pretty blown, the effects from yesterday where showing presences and I fell far back in the field by the finish. Ending up 64th ish.

Stage three- 120km stage race. feeling pretty gadded by now I held in there for 90km before a big group of us getting dropped on the 2nd King of the mountain seeing us to the finish.

Stage four- 50km "Hill street" circuit. The pace was on from the word go and I was hanging in there until around 5 laps to go. From here I started swinging off the back being dropped several times and getting back on only to get dropped again but on 3 laps to go I just couldn't get back on and the bunch drifted away from me and that was my Tour over.

Good tour once again and though out the tour I was using Peak fuel gels, bars and hydration drink mix, thanks to AvantiPlus.

This time already

To start with I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and success full New Year.

I am currently working and training hard, I have managed to find the right balance between work and training and also having some chilling out time for recovery. I had some testing a few weeks back now and the results were good, I am lighter, more powerful and skin folders have decreased 37%.

On Boxing Day I am planning on travelling with some of the Waiariki crew to Nelson for Tour De Vineyards, a four stage road race over the first for days of the New Year. I’m looking forward to it, the four days hard racing really kicks off my season of racing on the mountain bike.

I am looking forward to this summers racing with plenty of summer N-Duros that I will be racing and the NZ Cup, I am also making plans to travel back down to the south Island for the NZ Cup rounds and National Championships in Dunedin, where I hope to have my best result ever.

I will be keeping you posted as my season goes on. Have a Great Christmas with your families and a nice New Years.

CheersScott

Huka XL

Friday night I drove down to Taupo for the Huka XL MTB race which is part of the famous Lake Taupo Cycle challenge. We started at 7am which is rather early and something that none of us are use to. However there we all are lined up at 7am on a Crisp Saturday morning on Taupo's main road.

The pace was hot from the gun and I was sitting in top 10 for the first ten kilometers until boom I broke my chain heading up a steep hill. I managed to borrow a chain breaker off someone but still had a bit of trouble fixing it. I got it sorted after a while and jumped back on my bike, I made it around a few corners and then it broke again. This time my good friends Wilson Jones and Locky Mcarthur helped me, by then my chain was rather short so I was restricted with what gear combinations I could use.

From here on in I was well down from the top 10 and just enjoyed the rest of the ride with the help of some Peak fuel Gels nearing the end. I was using Kenda Karma's which help heaps with the Taupo conditions, it was a great combination with my Scott Spark 20.

Thanks to Team AvantiPlus, and Sheppard's Industries Ltd.

Unison and Cycling Rotorua bring us the Rotorua Ohope

Rotorua to Ohope funride is over for another year, Cycling Rotorua do a great job at running this event every year. Even though its a funride theres always the pressure to get to Ohope the fastest in the sense of a race.

It was a hot pace from the word go, with hot shots, Clinton Avery and Sam Bewley playing at the front. I used this time to warm up and spin the legs a bit after a pretty intense training camp as part of the Waiariki Academy of sport including boot camp style training.

The famous Hells gate hill spilt the bunch like normal and I did miss the initial attack but managed to bridge across over the top really putting the hurt on my legs. Form there I was swinging on the nine strong break away and pulling some weak laps all the way around to the Rotoma hill where I got slightly droped and lost about 15 seconds. This was nothing I couldn't bring back on the two minute long down hill where I took a few major risks to do so. Clinton Avery had already gone off the front and by the time I caught back up he was out of sight.

When we hit the Whakatane flats I started feeling rather strong again and pushed the pace. Some riders dropped off in because of this. We approached the Ohope hill where Dirk Peters put in a very solid attack followed closely by Josh Page (fellow Team AvantiPlus rider from Napier), I could not match the pace and just rode up the climb with two others that did drop me over the top, Again nothing I could catch back up on the downhill. These are the two guys that I caught at the bottom behind me in the sprint for 4th place.

A great hit out and I do enjoy the change from mountain biking now and then, bring on Vineyards!!!

Top Five: Clinton Avery, Dirk Peters, Josh Page, Scott Green and Nelson Shaw.

Team Avanti Plus

Here is the start of another season, with only 4 national series races, National champs and Oceanias (AUS) it seems to me its going to be a short intense season which is good for those of us that want to be able to have a outstanding international season as well.

The 2010/2011 season for me has had a turn for the best, I have signned with Team AvantiPlus for the year. Our aim is to promote AvantiPlus stores and products. We are on a mix of Avanti and Scott bikes.

The time has really come, Scott Green is riding Scott bikes, I am currently riding a very smooth Scott Spark 20. Its a great bike, it has an effective lock out system so that it's just as stiff as a hard tail when climbing and when unlocked it rides just like a trail bike. I have had several rides so far and its rips through the Redwoods with ease.

This Spark 20 is my first full suspension bike that I've had for more than a few days, the ride it provides is out standing. When I was told that I was going to be riding a full suspension I thought ahh, heavy bike for climbing but I guess heaps of fun on the downhills and single track. I was wrong...... this bike has the ability to be just as fast on the climbs and even faster on the downhills than a hardtail. One feature it has is a two stage lock out system which allows me to lock out both front and rear suspension completely or just stiffen them up. So far I have loved riding it and have been impressed each ride.

(Picture)Lock out system on spark 20 >>

With Team AvantiPlus comes with the support from Kenda

(tyres), Peak fuel (nutrition), Zero (accessories) and Scott and Avanti bikes.

Look out for the new AvantiPlus Team at the Huka Challenge in Taupo where we are having our first race as a team. If you see me around come over and have a chat.

Please check out my calendar to see where I am heading in the next 6 months.