Norway World Cup finals

The final round of the 2013 world cup series was held in Hafjell, Norway. This was the first time I have been to Norway and one thing's for sure, it’s an expensive place! We headed there early in the week to get ready for my race which would be on the Friday afternoon at 5.00. Norway was a beautiful place and some really quite roads for riding on during the week running into the race. The course was very open with a variety of features such as a jump section and some open rocky sections. I was looking forward to my race as I had put some more work in after the world champs and I was hoping I could get a good result to finish the year. I was number 9, so gridded as first man on the second row which was a nice place to be. I had a good start up the wide fire road and was able to settle somewhere in the top 20 before moving forward to around 10^th place. From here I tried to take someone each lap of the 6 lap race and to make sure I kept moving forward throughout the race. It started to rain mid race which provided some excitement in the slippy sections.  I raced all the way to the finish and managed to roll in 5^th place which I was pleased with and a nice way to end my season! So that was my final race of a very busy year starting with national Cyclo-Cross Championships in January followed by a full World Cup season and lots of exciting British races. It was great fun with a lot of learning and lots of new experiences!  I’d like to say a massive thanks to the GB team and Bart Brentjens and the superior- Brentjens team for their support throughout the whole year, it is massively appreciated! I’d also like to thank my Coach Phil Dixon and the team behind, family and friends, Braveheart Fund and everyone else who I have forgot to mention for supporting me this year! Now I plan to take some time off and make some big plans for next year!

Thanks for reading, Grant.

Photo thanks to Keith Valentine.

2013 World Championships South Africa

The 2013 World Championships were being held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I was happy to get selected to represent Great Britain in the under 23 men’s cross country race.  My preparation had gone well running into the event having won the final National round at Hadleigh on the 2012 Olympic Games course and putting together some good training in the weeks prior, I was looking forward to it. 

We headed to South Africa a week before the event to give us time to get ready to race and have a look at the course. The course was dusty with some nice technical features such as rock gardens and drop offs, I had raced the course previously the year before so I knew what to expect and had an idea of how a race could unfold. We spent the week running in to the race doing nothing special other than practicing the course.

Race day was Friday and it eventually came around and I was excited to race. I had number  11 so I would be on the second row for the start which I was happy about compared to the year before where I was number 86, which is about row ten. This meant I had a much better chance for the start which is important. As I lined up I was slightly nervous but ready to go. I started well and did about 5 pedal strokes into the race before I found myself top tube riding and looked down to see a missing chain! This is not an ideal situation as I looked up to see the front of the race disappearing into the distance. The race isn’t over when you snap a chain but the chances of a good ride go out the window. There was a technical zone just after the start so my mechanic nick was able to fit a new chain to my bike which takes about 2-3min and then I was able to start the race. It was a 6 lap race and I was now last man so I tried to settle into a good pace but this is hard as I started to catch people and trying to overtake is a challenge on narrow single-track. I also had some gearing issues due to the new chain which provided some challenge’s but I pressed on the best I could and started to move through the field. I rode through to finish in 32^nd place but obviously quite disappointed as I knew I could have done a lot better, on the plus side I must have some power to be snapping chains on the start line ha-ha. After this we competed in the XC sprint eliminator on the Sunday, I was looking forward to this as I have never done one before and they consist of a short 2min sprint race. The reason I have never done one before is usually they are the day before the XC race and for a skinny man like me a sprint competition is a bit of a challenge. I gave it everything I had to try and qualify but finished in 44^th which was not good enough as the top 32 go through so that was my World Champs over. I had a great time in South Africa and learned lots; it was especially fun to spend some time with GB downhill squad and obviously the fellow XC’ers Kenta Gee, Mikey T and Alice Barnes. I would also like to say a massive thanks to everyone in the GB support team for supporting me throughout the year in bike races and especially away from the bike races, it is much appreciated. Finally massive thanks to my coach Phil Dixon for all his work! Next up I have the final World Cup round in Norway with Superior-Brentjens which will be great fun.

Thanks for reading, Grant.

Hadleigh British Round

The final National round of the year was being held at Hadleigh which was the Olympic Games course from 2012. It was exciting to race on the course and with some international guys coming across to race I was looking forward to it. With fresh new British Champs kit from Superior Brentjens and Endura It was going to be a fun weekend. 

We arrived on the Saturday to do some course practice; the course is technical with lots of rock features and lots of climbing which should make for a great race. Before the race I was sitting in 3^rd place in the overall British series having missed a round earlier in the year so that was on my mind for the race but the main plan was to try and win the race. I was gridded on the front row and after fast start I settled down in 3^rd wheel before moving to 2^nd wheel after the first lap. I was feeling good and made a move after 3 laps of 7 which was quite early but I opened up a 30sec gap which I managed to hold through the rest of the race. I was happy to cross the line to win the race and to with the overall British series! My team mates Kenta and Hans also finished in 3^nd and 4^th place so superior Brentjens had a good day out! Next stop for me is World champs. J