World 24 Domination

Willo at presentations shaking Champagne

Alexander and Willo's bike. This is the best bike man in the business. Our bikes were spotless and didn't miss a beat all race.

Willo with Meg just before he crossed the line to take the World 24 hour win.

Jason English crosses the line in 2nd place.

Mark Fenner crosses the line in 3rd place.

Craig Peacock taking his Age group tile for a 3rd consecutive year.

The race for me was over early but more on that latter. The whole team did incredibly well. In Elite Men we filled the first 4 places James Williamson(GIANT), Jason Englisnh(BMC), Mark Fenner(SPECIALIZED), Jeff Tooey(FELT). Katrin VanDerSpeigle finished 2nd in Elite Women,

Craig Peacock(SCOTT), Troy Bailey(BMC) bothe won their age group category. Also many other placings.

Myself in summary. Battling cramps from the beginning, then a clumsy fall straining my knee i was unable to get going pulling the pin at the 8 hour mark. It was a great experience to be their to see so many Aussy riders preform at their best in the most horrific conditions.

BE THE BEAR

24 Hours of Aderalin World Championships live at: Adrenalinlive.

Live 24 Worlds Coverage.

This will be Georges home for the race. Their are more Aussies in Elite than anyone else. We are all in a line up pit ally. Starting with Johnny Waddell, Myself, James Williamson, Jason English, Katrin Van Spiegal, Jeff Tooey and Mark Fenner. The other age group racers number another 20 in groups around the pit area. Tune in via the web and cheer us all home.

The live coverage of the race this year is at:

24hoursofadrenalin.com, World 24 Hour Championships, go into AdrenalinLive on the left.

Bike support and a new room mate.

The Start/Finish area is starting to shape up as the event approaches.

They were busy setting up the pit lanes for the solo riders.

The rain set in last night. It cleared by morning and is meant to stay away for the race.

I went for a scenic drive with George in the afternoon. This is a view over Canmore.

Here is a photo of George at a lake we visited today.

I was down at the local the Bicycle Cafe here in Canmore having my bikes checked out before the race. I meet up with Johnny Wadell who happened to be looking for a place to stay. Since we had a spare room he has joined us for the rest of our stay here in Canmore. Johnny is going for a solo only approach for the race. Should be interesting to see how it pans out for him.

Thanks to Giant i was contacted by a bike shop in Calgary (pedal head). Alexander there has agreed to look after Willo and my bikes for the race. This is fantastic and means i will sleep better now knowing the bikes will be well cared for during the race. To have them offer their time to look after our bikes is greatly appreciated and gives us extra motivation to preform.

Relaxing in Canmore, New Cycling Skins

Over the last few days we have been relaxing and taking in the sights. This is a view from a tee at the local golf course here in Canmore.

George and i went on a little hike. It followed a dried up river.

Went through a moss covered forest.

Past unusual landscapes.

Then arrived at a canyon that was a rock climbers paradise.

Along the way we dropped in on some local Bears, unfortunately they weren't home.

Today i was able to try out the new Long Bib cycling knicks from skins. This was my first use of these and i am impressed. They fit perfectly and you can really feel the compression, this feels empowering making my legs like coiled springs.

Practice today was done with Willo. The course was also different today as it had rained overnight making the technical sections very tricky and slipery. We were also lucky to see a Bear cub run across the track in front of us on the lower section of track. This is the bike after one lap of the course.

I went out the other morning just to test my Nightlightning lights. No problem all charging well.

An 'Epix" to do before you die.

A map of where we were headed. Starting at the top left head across to the middle and down then head back up to the top and across.

The ride started and finished at a car park behind us. We were heading out on a 4-5 hour loop for experienced riders. We thought we fitted the description. The loop set of along a track called the Lusk track. First thing i noticed was the trails here are marked better than our race courses.

The trail heads up and through the woods. The locals tell you to stay together and yell out "Hey Bear" as you blaze through the trails.

About 30 mins into the ride we came across a recently logged area.

Craig doing a bit of hike a'bike. This was steep, I'm talking granny ring 32 at the rear.

After we finished the Lusk track we took the Powderface fire road track to the Jumpingpound track turn off.

The valley below is Powderface road. We came up Jumping pound track which was a tough granny ring climb for an hour.

My Giant Anthem was loving been on top of the world.

We finally arrived at the top of Jumpingpound hill and were rewarded with spectacular views.

This was the ridge we were about to descend down. What a reward for all that tough climbing.

Off the ridge and back into the woods.

We popped out onto the other end of the Powderface trail and had a great view of the ridge line we had just ridden up, across and down.

This was heading back along the Lusk track.

And finally back at the car. It had taken 4 hours and 30 mins. We had climbed 2000m and avoided flat tires in the rockiest of conditions, thankfully to Geax Saguaro tires and sealant. I will never forget this ride it rates as the best yet. I know this is the sort of trail the Felt Epix search for on a regular basis. When they find the trails as good as this i hope i am lucky enough to be their too.

Disecting the course and soaking in Banff.

Singletrack decent, some ascent's are like this as well.

A climb on the course.

Banff hot mineral springs.

Banff hot mineral springs.

Craig riding the single track descent.

This is a perfect example of the singletrack. Rooted and rocky.

This morning i meet up with Mark Fenner for a quick burn around the 24 hour course. After one lap of figuring it out and piecing it together properly we were able to do one more off the full track in the correct order and direction.

This is by far the toughest MTB course i have in counted. It is 20km long and has 630m of climbing (more than last year). It is different as the course is always amongst the trees. It has a good balance of fire road and single track, this applies to the ascents and descents. This course will test fitness and MTB skills. It truly is fitting of a World Championship.

The afternoon was spent soaking in the hot mineral springs of Banff. The water temp is 39 degrees so after about 30 mins your done. It is however fantastic for recovery. The rest of Banff i didn't think much of. It has far to many tourist wandering around for me. Canmore is allot quieter and way more relaxing.

Day trip to the Glacier

100 years ago the glacier came up to where the road is.



All that is left of a shrinking glacier.

This is lake Louise. Far to many tourist.

Another lake without the tourist and i think it looked better.

The weeping wall.

After a couple of days riding the course and getting the legs moving again we took a day trip up to the glacier taking in the sights along the way. This country just blows me away with it's raw beauty and endless mountain passes. Tonight we are going to a BBQ at Shane's (local). Tomorrow i am meeting Mark Fenner for a few laps of the course. Cheek out the course profile at http://www.24hoursofadrenalin.com//. You will also be able to get live coverage of the race on this site. Enter site and go to world championships. Then go to rider profiles for live coverage.

Canmore, Canada.

Looking out my bedroom window.


Looking the other way.



View over Canmore. Heading up towards the 24 Hour track.

The lowest part of the 24 hour track.

The Solo pit area. The track is up to the right.

Looking towards Banff.

Craig Peacock and myself.

Geax TNT Pitstop. This is the best sealant on the market. It forms a layer inside the tyre that acts like a tube that repairs itself if penetrated. It has already been doing it's far share of work.

We arrived safely in Vancover on Monday the 14th of July after 21 hours in transit. The only hiccup was having the Internet cafe shut as they started the last climb in the tour. I had to wait 12 hours to find out that Cadel had taken the yellow jersey by a second.

We went straight to our hotel and freshened up. Then we went straight to the pub for a counter meal and 2 pints. I recon i was halve pissed after that.

With a good nights sleep we were back at the airport to catch a flight to Calgary. This flight only took an hour. Craig Peacock arrived just after us and we all piled in a shuttle bus to get the hire van. This is hilarious when you have your luggage and 3 bikes, nobody else has any room for their stuff.

Driving into Canmore you feel as if you are been swallowed by the world. The mountains rise up so fast and surround you. We settled into our accommodation, built up our bikes. Craig knows a local here (Shane) who took us for a ride around the 24 hour track.

First impressions of the track are a bit daunting. Their is alot of climbing. The surface is like a wet pine forest, say Majura but has a rocky, Shelley feel. Basically tree roots with sharp rocks through it. I have already slashed a tire by getting a bit carried away to soon. Will have more info soon.