T42

This weekend just been was the annual Totalsport T42 event down at National Park. This event has been going for a few years now and has got to be my favourite event that Totalsport puts on. The T42 attracts a large number of people as there is also the option of an offroad marathon, a 24km, 11km or 6.5km trail run/walk. The last time I did this event was two years ago with my younger brother Peter, we both had so

much fun. I really enjoyed the track, the majority of it being downhill made it very appealing to me, I was keen to give it a go again this year! So there I was again in the shadow of Mt Ruapehu and Tongariro, on Saturday morning ready to take on the 48km Mountain bike known as the 42nd Traverse.

A bit of insight into what the trail is like... It's predominately downhill (really fast downhill!), with a couple of decent climbs (that feel like they go on and on forever), half a dozen river crossings (which are freezing cold!), a couple of steep rocky chutes and a few steep pinch climbs. Overall it's a pretty wicked track, not very technical just very fast and so much fun!!

On Saturday morning I woke up to a lovely clear morning, the view of Mt Ruapehu and Tongariro was stunning, I love the central plateau area it's so beautiful and the crisp mountain air is so good, such a nice change from the humidity of Auckland. We were up early for the race, the horn went off just after 9am to signal the beginning of the T42 MTB event. Over 300 riders raced off down the tar seal road, that led to the 42nd Traverse trail. The start was pretty fast with riders carrying an average speed of about 60kms, it was pretty dodgy because I had riders surrounding me on all sides, I had to stay really focused and hold my line till we reached the farmland where gaps between the riders increased. My plan for the race was to keep a consistent pace for the 48km, I didn't want to push it too hard at the start then burn out on the uphills at the end, I made that mistake the last time I raced the T42 so I knew this time I needed to conserve my energy so I could stay strong throughout the entire race. I had a great start and felt good with the speed I was going. I was determined to beat my younger brother this time having been beaten by him twice before on this track I wasn't going to let this happen again! (especially when I had a bit of an advantage over him on a 26er, me being on a 29er I could get up hills faster and roll faster downhill too)

We battled it out for a while, chasing each other till we reached the downhill, I also chased Piki (Sasha Smith, U23 National cross country champ) for a while I tried really hard to keep on her tail. It was so mint me, Piki and Peter formed a train down one of the longest descents letting out whoops of delight as we pinned it down my favourite part of the track! At the bottom I reached the first river crossing, then it was up a short steep climb. I was still hot on Piki's tail with Peter following me. However as I got through the second river crossing, in my haste to catch Peter who had managed to overtake me, I jammed my chain on a steep pinch climb!! I sprinted with my bike to the top of the hill, unfortunately it took a bit longer than I would have liked to fix. Peter and Piki were well out of my sight by the time I was back on my bike.

On the bright side I got to have a breather and I managed to gulp some food down to keep me going. I put in a good solid effort after that going hard up the hills despite the burn in my legs and lungs. The first climb felt like it would never end, but I kept focused on what was to come, what goes up must go down! Finally I reached a marker that stated there were only 20kms to go. Woohoo! and then I was at the 15km mark... then 10km and then there was an epic downhill down a gravel road. I chased Jenna Makgill (pro downhiller back from when I first got into Downhill) all the way down the gravel road. Lastly came a killer of an up hill right before the finish, downing some lollies to get me through the final climb I pushed my legs hard knowing soon the finish line would be in sight. It was such a welcome sight to come out of the tree's into Owhango domain and see that finish, it was a pretty tough race, and I certainly gave it my all. Despite a mechanical in the middle I managed to get 6th place, although I didn't beat my brother, oh well bring on next year!! Congrats to Piki for taking 2nd! Megan 4th and Sarah 8th, top 10 for all us girls! :) Well done to Jafakid Kim for taking out the Juniors with Robin in 2nd, Tom in 3rd and Peter in 4th. The Jafakids dominated! As did the DoC crew with roadie Brendan McGrath taking 5th overall! Very impressive. Thanks to the DoC crew for the awesome weekend away, thanks Greg for the lift down and back! Looking forward to next year's T42!