Having brokered a deal to produce my first book, The Mountain Bike Skills Manual, in the autumn of 09, I set about gathering images to go in said book. All was going well and I planned on getting the riding shots done the following summer when the backdrops in the UK would be more inspiring.

Snapper Frazer Waller joins me after a successful shoot for a rare appearance on the other side of the lens.

A call from the publisher came in and an excited voice told me that the US had bought the language rights, “Woo-hoo!” I screamed down the phone. Charlotte then paused and continued, “The only thing is…well they have requested an earlier release date.” Bum!

Not wanting to let down the might of the US mountain bike fraternity and miss such a golden opportunity I boldly, and perhaps slightly foolishly, said, “No worries, pretty sure we can make that happen.” Left with nothing but winter and maybe a bit of spring to pull everything together I conjured up a plan to head somewhere sunny to gather riding shots for the skills sequences.

Spain was an obvious choice and a good friend put me onto La Fenasosa Bike Park as a potential good venue. The maps came out, the van was packed and I hit the road south with snapper Frazer onboard HMS VW T5. As we rolled through countless downpours in the north of France the trusty and allegedly bomb proof T5 decided to have a storm of its own. Upon inspection via Exposure Joystick and dirty knees I found a water leak. Bummer part deux.

An overnight stop in the van followed by map inspection the next morning led into Le Mans. We hit the strip of car dealers knowing that even if we couldn’t find a VW dealer, somewhere in Le Mans would be able to assist. Luck behold, a commercial service centre and some rough translations got us booked in, inspected, fixed and motoring once more.

The kilometres rolled by as we passed more stormy weather over the Pyrenees and into Spain and the long haul down over the deserts and into Valencia seemed to take forever; the most boring sections of road I have ever driven.

Another over night stop in the mighty ‘dub’ and up early to scale a hill and check out the terrain: great trails, great light, but freezing cold. We snapped away. This was a long haul to ride turns and do wheelies and hops but it was worth it. The next day we drove around and found a few more spots before rocking up at a closed La Fenasosa Bike Park. A Spanish speaking friend back in the UK tracked down the owners and they kindly drove out and let us in to spend the night, the following day we were given a guided tour of the site and left to ride and shoot to our hearts’content.

With all shots bagged and just before the rain of the plains in Spain caught up with us from we hit the road, back up through FA land and over the mountains, 8 hours in and sleep deprived we started the toughest game of I-spy known to man. The rules were simple: you had to call the most obvious thing possible, bear in mind it’s pitch black and raining on the Auto Route how hard could it be? (VERY.) Time passed and multiple rounds of I-spy led onto the creation of other road trip games like virtual connect 4 and virtual battleships. We desperately needed rest but our ferry was waiting so we fueled the van and sunk another tasty (not) roadside coffee.

All the rushing about and hard work paid off in the end as the book was finished on deadline. Plus we managed to get some great shots in Scotland after all!

Luckily the remainder of the journey went to plan and night time driving paid off, clear roads and a hassle free lap of the M25 (who’d have thought it?!) linked us to the M1 and onwards North. Back at base Frazer got to work tweaking images while I made us gallons of tea and we hit the deadline. The Mountain Bike Skills Manual made it onto the shelves on time but what a journey it had been en-route to its publication.

Clive Forth. MTBSkills, Transition Bikes.

www.mtbskills.co.uk

Follow Clive on twitter – twitter.com/cliveforth

Words: Aidan Bishop
Photos: Barbara Sztyk

New friends, great weather, good riding, good times!

After racing a round of the Big Ride – Cannondale Enduro series in Spain last year and liking it a lot I have planned to do more this season.  This year it is the official Open Enduro series in Spain, backed by it National Cycling Federation, and so should see it step up another level.  With the UK’s springtime still more than resembling winter, a trip to race in Spain was an even more attractive weekend ahead.  Flying out on the Thursday evening, we had the Friday to get our bearings, check out the town and ride a little on the hillside……unfortunately the weather was damp to say the least on the Friday, but the temperature was in double figures so it didn’t seem so bad!?  The opening round was held in the town of Ojen in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia, with lemon and olive trees, white buildings and narrow streets it was as picturesque as you could imagine.

A couple more Brits made it out for the race too, which was good, so Friday we met up with Joe Rafferty and Mark Scott (Pro Ride Guides) for breakfast, a catch up and some riding.  They are friends with the guys at Roost DH, a MTB holiday company down near Malaga which host DH riders from all over for good riding and good times.  Chatting with the guys it turns out Mark has done some work for the guys there and so knows the trails in the surrounding hills pretty well, this would come in handy for the day as we’d have a world cup level DH rider show us some of the terrain.  So myself, Joe, Mark, a local Ojen biker and Spanish elite endure rider Ruben set of into the hills for some riding. As it turned out we rode what was to be the 5^th and final stage for the race, a trail that had been used by national teams for DH training this year already as well as the Atherton’s, so when I try to explain the technical nature of it you’ll understand a little and hopefully the video will give you an idea too.

Saturday morning and we awoke to a perfect blue sky, exactly what I had hoped for!  The event was looking slick and professional as always, with good signage everywhere and the town fully embracing the event.  The centre of town was dominated by the Cannondale starting stage which would be the centre stage for the weekend, I really like the way this involves the local town with the race and adding to the whole atmosphere, it’s a shame the UK doesn’t have so many well placed towns at the base of a quality hill.

Saturday was for practice, riders being seeded from previous results and so no qualifying is needed.  5 timed stages with varying transition time allowances, the timings for the race added up to 4hrs riding and racing time.

Setting off from town at 8:30am, I was first to go followed by Joe, Mark then Tony Perez last year’s Spanish open enduro champion.  A 20 min climb mainly on the road and we’re at stage 1, flowing singletrack to begin before an awkward rocky stream crossing and pedal followed by narrow lane down then climb before firing you into the final section of steep loose rocky trail to finish just above town, sub 4mins was a good effort.

Then a monster transition! 1hr time allowance for this full on road climb (which would be amazing on a road bike) to offroad trail leading you to stage 2 start line.  Normally you wouldn’t set out on your 150mm trail bike up a road climb to get to your riding trails, but I think this is part of the attraction of Enduro racing where the route dictates you are out pedalling your bike for hours all the while chatting with friends and fellow racers, fortunately with the weather the views and the gentle gradient it was a pleasurable ascent (but this is where many would appreciate a double front ring set up?).  The stage itself was 3mins long, the trail snaking down a fire break with some man-made jumps and berms to start then a rocky chute before climbing back out and up the other side, keep on the pedals before a few more good corners and then finish your legs off to the line.

Hit the Powerade feed station (a godsend!) before Stage 3.  Started with a fire road sprint before dropping in right into a nice cut out trail with berms, dusty turns and some fun natural whoops that you could roll, manual or jump through to the spectators delight! A rocky doubletrack pedal was broken up by some long bus stops before a high speed loamy couple of turns to the finish, under 4 mins was good, then refresh again before setting off to the next stage.

A new twist this year at the Big Ride was that stage 4 was kept secret until race day!  Another epic road transition, so switch my Jekyll down to short travel, saddle up and spin up the mountainside and take in the views.  Once at the top there was time to walk the first few corners and get a feel for what may lay ahead. At over  5 mins it was mostly put your head down and turn the pedals as fast as you could hold, in between there were some turns I nearly missed and some nice singletrack sections, before dropping down some natural drops to the finish…knackered!

A short pedal to the top of stage 5 and it was party time!! A whopper of a stage, this is the trail that is used by many for DH training. For this race it turned out to be over 8mins start to finish, the trail itself was fantastic, winding its way down the hillside through natural gulleys with open and switchback turns.  What made it technical was the amount of rocks embedded in it the trail, this meant you had to react quick to the line you were on if you didn’t know every inch of trail, so sometimes it was hang onto the bike and ride them sometimes finding a take off point and clear the pointy ones to lessen the risk of puncturing.  After 4 mins of this the trail flattened a bit and followed a dried stream bed where you had to try and maintain rolling speed which was tricky due to tiredness from hanging on and plenty more extremely rocky sections.  Successfully out of this it was through a long dark tunnel before joining a section of stage 1 along flowing trail before the last little rocky pedal to the line….and breath!!!  Honestly of DH World Cup level terrain it was an amazing trail for different reasons, you said your prayers at the start and hoped you and you enduro bike made it to the bottom in one piece, these bikes really are incredibly versatile to handle everything thrown at them.

Mark Scott, top of stage 5.

To the race then.  Stage 1 and Spain’s Tony Perez was fastest here with Mark Scott and Myself in hot pursuit.  Stage 2 I hurt myself to break the 3min marker and win the stage with Joe Rafferty close behind and Tony in third.  Stage 3 Tony just pipped Joe for the win here with Andres Fernandez in third.  Stage 4 Joe killed it and led the way on the fresh track to be fastest ahead of Tony and Mark Scott.  Stage 5 and young Mark Scott knew what he had to do and went full gas here to win by a full ten seconds (with a crash!) from Tony Perez with Spanish elite rider Santiago Lombo in third.  So after the first 3 stages done it was looking to be a close contest between Myself, Joe, Mark and Tony with all of us having a clean day.  Stage 4 I had a tumble which cost me valuable seconds meaning I lost touch with the other three.  Stage 5 was the decider for the overall result, I rode most of it smoothly and didn’t puncture but with 30-40 seconds of the track left my chain snapped leaving me to roll as fast as I could and the last little section I opted to run as I couldn’t pedal and managed to trip and fall for good measure!  Joe had issues and subsequently lost valuable time to Mark who was charging hard and dropped it on one tight sandy switchback but still went sub 8mins for the stage and overtook Joe on doing so and in the overall standings.  But it was the rally driving Spanish orthodontist Tony Perez that was strong and consistent all day who took the well deserved win.  For the women the talented multi-discipline racer Eva Castro was four mins ahead of Nicola Weaver, with Natalia Gonzalez in third after over 34mins of time racing.

I was really looking forward to riding and racing out in Spain and it lived up to every expectation.  Guti, Monica and the whole Big Ride team put on a great event, the town was busy and friendly as was all the new friends and riders I met there.  With the sun the 30euro entry fee and if you can find cheap flights to then I would highly recommend anyone go and enjoy a race out there, I am now looking forward to the second round in Tui in June.

Full results can be found at www.bigridechamionship.com, along with media and future race info.

Big thanks to Cannondale, Mavic, Crank Brothers, GoPro, MRP, RRP, Maxxis for their support.

It’s all in Spanish by the way…

In the overall competition, Robert Mennen and Alban Lakata have taken the provisional lead as a team and were 1-2 as individuals today.. Full results from day three here.

Alban Lakata sits in second place overall in the competition and his team-mate Robert Mennen leads.

Read Matt’s report from day two here and let Mel guide you through a day of fun riding below:

ANDALUCIA BIKE RACE STAGE 3

Words: Melanie Alexander

I am really enjoying Andalucia Bike Race. What I have really liked about the race so far is the varied terrain. Day one and two around Cordoba had interesting climbs and fantastic descents with the descents becoming trickier and the climbing steeper on day two. Definitely a lot of rocks, and plenty of singletrack. Today the terrain changed again and so did the location of the day’s race.

This morning we left Cordoba and drove for an hour to stage three race start and finish in Priego de Cordoba. It was a stunning drive with lots of olive trees and mountainous.

Today we had a great day of racing. We raced in second position for the whole stage and held it till the finish. In the process we managed to get a big enough lead on our main competition, Blue Motors Ponts 3 (who started the day with a four minute lead over us), to move up to 2^nd in the overall general classification but with less than a minute separating us.

We started in pen 2 again and had a fantastic start. Today there was not a neutralised 5k around twisty streets instead we headed straight up a short hill and it was what we needed as we were able to hold a good position.

I am not very good at remembering what we rode first and what came next but it went a little like this:

The first 20km was not technical but it was fast, mainly on fire road, a few small sections of single track and a bit of road. We were going well and holding our ground and it felt good. I particularly felt strong and as the weaker rider in the pair this was a huge bonus.

The climbing then started with a 30min stint up a twisty dirt road. I enjoy climbs like that especially when you feel strong; it’s a chance to just find a rhythm. Next we traversed along the top – it was a bit undulating before a long fantastic singletrack descent. Again there were lots of rocks and a few stream crossings. Other than Matt somersaulting over the bars we got down there pretty smoothly. It was so much fun, plus we managed to overtake quite a few riders along the way, gaining more space between us and the chasing mixed teams. I think that could have been the best descent of the race so far. At the bottom of this descent we had ridden 42kms and had another 28 to go yet still felt good.

The third stage of the Andalucia Bike Race took a turn for the tech and our racers certainly enjoyed it.

We had a few more climbs, the next being the toughest at the bottom but it did ease off, and again we traversed along the top before another brilliant descent, which was over all too quickly. Then up and down again a few more times with a nasty climb right in the last 3km – definitely the toughest climb of the day.

On the line

The finish line is always a great sight. We knew we had done well and definitely enjoyed the riding today. I am so pleased with how we rode, we knew we had a chance of getting into second position but we needed everything to go well.

We still have three days of racing and we know the mixed pair Blue Motors Ponts 3 are strong on both the climbs and the descents. With less than a minute separating us it is going to continue to be a tough race to the end.

My bike worked brilliantly today so a huge thanks to Matt for spending 3 hours yesterday evening sorting it out, not the best recovery for him.  Today with 10km to go it was Matt’s turn having chain problems, as he struggled to find a gear that the bike was happy to ride in. Luckily it didn’t slow us down too much. The problem was soon solved after the race as a split chain link was discovered (who knows how it was still clinging on together).

After the race we drove from Priego de Cordoba to our next apartment near Jaen – it is brilliant, big enough to sleep six with all the facilities you need and stunning views. I have been eating continuously all evening. I’m definitely fuelled up, just hope the legs want to work tomorrow.

www.andaluciabikerace.com

More about Melanie Alexander.

More about Matt Page.

From the organisers (in perfect ‘Spanglish’):

“After two third places and intense fight in the previous stages, Austrian World Champion and teammate Mennen clinched victory today and took provisional leadership. Both Multivan-Merida lost more than 10 minutes.

Battle for victory in Andalucia Bike promises to be intense. After the three first stages, three teams have been turning themselves on top. Today, in Priego´s stage, winners were Austrian Alban Lakata and German Robert Mennen, who were the most regular ones until now and got every day into the podium.

Their hardest rivals, Multivan Merida Team members, suffered a lot of complications that made them to lose a lot of time.

Litscher and Cink, the young ones, suffered the consequences of their extra effort in stages 1 and 2, so they decided to “reserve” themselves a little bit, according to their own words, delaying 13 minutes in overall; while within Hermida and Van Houts couple, the problem was the injury Hermida got in yesterday´s stage, that made him suffer quite a lot during downhills. Their time loss, 19 minutes, might make them pay but “everything can change in Andalucia Bike Race”, according Hermida.

Therefore, today´s second place was for local Trujillo and teammate Fran Pérez who couldn´t get into the podium in their “home” stages (they are from Cordoba), but did so today in Priego de Córdoba. 

After them, next Spanish were Milton Ramos and Raúl Serrano, who arrived to the finish before Markus Kaufmann and Jochen Kass, third; and Hannes Genze and Rupert Palmberger, who ended fourth.

In females, Sally Bigham and Milena Landtwing are consolidating leadership with each victory. Today, they signed the third one, and they accumulate a big advantage already ahead their closest rivals, Spanish Sandra Santanyes and Marga Fullana. Danish Rikke Kornvig and Helle Qvortrup were third today.

Annika Langvad and Thomas Bonne also consolidate their control of the Mixed category. Three victories in the three stages already celebrated guarantee it. After them, almost 25 minutes behind, Bikemagic Melanie Alexander and Matt Page, who seem to be adaptating quite well to themselves in their first participation together.

In Master 30, Spaniards Vicente Pla and Javier Cherro won today ahead category leaders, Tomas Misser and Pablo Egeda, also national riders, who crossed finish line with a 5 minutes gap and followed by Bicikultura team members,  Carlos Molina y Gonzalo Orozco.

Spanish dominated today also in Master 40, category in which Manuel Gonzalo and Francesc Sabiote finished hardly a minute ahead Rothwell and White.

Tomorrow´s stage, fourth and totally new in Andalucía Bike Race, will take place between Bedmar and Mancha Real, to face 64,85 kilometers with 2.497 meters of total climbing.”

Read Matt’s stage 1 report here if you haven’t already.

ANDALUCIA BIKE RACE STAGE 2

Words: Matt Page

Today was very typical of the roller coaster ride that you go through during a stage race. A good, frustrating middle section, good end and a very frustrating evening!

Melanie Alexander on stage 2 of the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race.

We arrived at the start to find some great news, we had moved up from Gate 7 to Gate 2, which would make life so much easier at the start. It was still a hectic “neutralised” section, but Mel rode well, holding her ground being aggressive when needed. I stuck with her for the first 5km, then we became separated for a while as I pushed ahead a little too swiftly. Re-grouped we managed to pass the 2nd place team in the mixed category quite comfortably. Progress was slow however as riders were jumping off at the slightest glimpse of some mud or rocks, of which there were plenty. Eventually the climb widened and we could push on. Soon after Mel started struggling with her rear gears, jumping on several gears at a time. We tried everything to get it working smoothly but nothing was working.

After a long and technical climb the 2nd place team passed us while we lubed the chain, hoping that might help. Into a steep singletrack descent we managed to get back past and for about 15km we had them on our tails, just managing to keep them at bay despite Mel still struggling with the mis-shifts becoming more frequent. We seemed to be really well matched and couldn’t shake them off, neither uphill or down, which included some epic descents. Then disaster happened: just after a stream crossing the chain broke. No need to panic, I had a rather nifty Lezyne carbon multi-tool and a spare chain link that Mel had taped to the bars so it was fixed within 2 minutes, but we had lost quite a bit of ground and had lots of people to get by again.

From there we had a long and sometimes very steep climb which was very technical in places. It was great to be clearing sections that had me walking last year, the bike felt just as good going up as it did going down! With the gears still playing up we lost 3rd place on the stage and seemed to lose ground quickly. I was trying to encourage Mel to keep going, but it must have been so frustrating to not use a good chunk of the cassette. After cresting the final big climb things started to improve and we started to pass teams pretty quickly. With 20km to go we had the 3rd place mixed team in sight and this encouraged us to keep pushing on. I got a little carried away at times and bridged the gap too quickly, leaving Mel behind. One last push with 10km to go we got onto their wheel and stayed close on the upper part of the final descent. Up a short road section Mel powered away, closing right up which just left the very last section.

We changed tactics today, instead of blasting down all guns blazing I stayed closer to Mel and she could follow my lines which made a real difference and made us faster overall. The team ahead were slowly coming back to us, then we turned onto a steep pitch and they took a different line. Mel followed me and we got past and onto the shallower section. There was no way we were wasting the chance, pushing flat out up the final 500m tarmac grind and across the line.

Matt Page on stage 2 of the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race.

We ended up being just 30 sec ahead of 4th, but maintain a good gap overall. We didn’t know how far ahead 2nd place were but after our strong finish I didn’t think they would be that far. After checking the results, they had finished 1min 50sec ahead of us, giving them just under 4 minutes overall. Still very much within catching distance and considering all the issues we have had today I know its possible.

I thought the drama was all over after the race, but after trying to fix Mel’s gears I was completely stuck with what was causing it. We changed the inner and outer cable, which was a mission within itself but that didn’t work. Then the chain, which was on the edge of being worn out but again no joy. Almost giving up I had a good look at the cassette to find a few cogs were bent and causing the chain to skip. Bending them back didn’t work, so a new cassette was in order. Thankfully all shops, including bike shops stay open until 9pm and with 2 shops within 200m we were in luck! New cassette fitted, hopefully that is the issue solved and we can smash it again tomorrow.

The race tomorrow is in a different location, called Priego de Cordoba, over an hour’s drive away. Logistics are a bit complicated and it means an earlier wake-up call to get over in time. We also have to get everything packed into the car and hopefully not have to dismantle the bikes completely. That, however, is a job for tomorrow!

View Matt’s stage 2 Garmin 510 Stats online here.

www.andaluciabikerace.com

More about Melanie Alexander.

More about Matt Page.

Meanwhile in other category news (words from the organisation):

“After a thrilling final fight with Lakata-Mennen and their Multivan Merida teammates Thomas Litscher and Ondrej Cink, Andalucía Bike Race 2012´s winner couple clinched victory in today´s stage. Bigham-Landtwing in females, Egeda-Misser in Master 30, Rothwell-White in Master 40 and Langvad-Bonne in Mixed were the other winners”

These two riders from Germany seem to be making the most of the trails and having a great time absolutely smashing the trails, their bikes and themselves. Just look out for the music…it may or may not be to everyone’s tastes.

Matt Page and Melanie Alexander are up to third in the mixed pairs, good stuff!

Words: Matt Page

After a slightly “exciting” time at Bristol Airport, somehow putting my passport back into the hold luggage without realising and having a tiny panic, I’m now in Andalucia for the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race along with my race partner Melanie Alexander and we’ve just finished the first day of racing.

Getting started

Thankfully EasyJet customer service were ace, letting me through the boarding gate and onto the runway where they had pulled my bag out of the hold for me to collect my passport. It could have been really bad, had they not let me and my bag gone I wouldn’t have been able to get another flight which would have been race over before the start! This would also be the first ride on a bike borrowed for the race, a Pivot 429 Carbon. It would be nice to be back on 29er wheels, my last ride on one would have been the Crocodile Trophy way back in October.

We arrived in Cordoba on Friday afternoon and managed a short ride, checking out the brilliant final descent then another ride on Saturday with Gareth Montgomerie and Dave Henderson from GT Racing we were feeling good, but a little nervous.

This is the first time racing as a mixed (male/female) pair and although I know Mel well, I’ve never raced with her so the entire process will all be a little unknown. The weather had not been kind in the days leading up to the event, dumping a fair amount of water and a Spanish rider I know commented that it would be his muddiest ride of the year! Compared to back home it was no worse than a typical summers day.

Muddy yes, but not in the slightest bit hard to ride. The bike proved to be suitably impressive on everything I rode in practice. It was most impressive on anything technical, either up or down and felt unstoppable. Downhills were taken at speeds that I wouldn’t have dreamed of on previous bikes and it left me grinning from ear to ear!

Race day dawned and we made the start line in good time. Most other people seemed to be dressed in hundreds of layers where as I was in shorts and jersey. The sun was shining, it was about 5 degrees and it felt great! We were both a little nervous about the ensuing chaos that is the race start in Cordoba and I had perhaps talked a bit too much about it to Mel, hopefully not scaring her too much. We were in pen 7, the very last pen. With over 600 riders ahead of us it was going to be an interesting start. The only good point was all mixed teams were in the same pen, including Annika Langvad and Thomas Bonne who were just behind us and most definitely the strongest team. Annika was the 2011 World Marathon Champion and is a full time pro racer.

The start of the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race.

As the race started they showed their class straight away, zipping through the field and disappearing within 100 meters. I was trying to be cautious through the start, which was a sight words simply cannot describe. Chaos, stampede, carnage and madness are some apt words. We were funnelled down narrow, people filled streets with bollards and street furniture all around. It was a guided tour of Cordoba by bike, except with riders within inches of each other screaming, shouting and to the sound of brakes screeching and tyres skidding. I managed to keep Mel in sight the whole time through the so called “neutralised start”, getting split up would have been costly so it wasn’t until the road eventually opened up and we started a tarmac climb that we could settle into a pace.

The first 3-4km were thankfully tarmac, giving riders a chance to spread out and we were making good progress, cutting through the field and riding around people with low numbers compared to our plate of 393. As the route turned off road we kept pushing through, passing wherever the opportunity arose until the inevitable bottleneck where we had to stop and walk. Back on the bikes for a bit and up a technical section where the crowds had gathered, it was amazing to pass through, people lining the track and cheering us on… well they were mostly cheering Mel on! After that we were stuck behind some rather slow descenders for a while with no chance to pass, then thrown into what can only be described as a ravine, complete with river. It might have been rideable in some way, but there were too many people ahead of us walking. At the bottom we made good progress again and got into a fast bunch for a flat section along a storm drain. We were both on the limits, but knew it would be beneficial to stick in the bunch. It was pretty wet in places with water splashing up from the riders in front and some seemed a little scared of getting wet, but considering we had just walked down through a river I had no idea why!

After 30km came the big climb of the day, knowing exactly where we were the first stages were taken at a steady pace, Mel was going really strong and we tried to stick to a elite female pair riding with us as well as lots of Male pairs, including several Elite teams. The longer the climb went on (and it was a pretty long climb!) the better we did. Eventually reaching the top we had passed the female pair and both felt good. The next 20km was all rolling terrain, some steep sections up and down with no real chance to recover fully. Some of the teams around us were struggling, so it was really encouraging that we were both feeling good. Because of the terrain there wasn’t really anywhere to gain a big advantage by drafting, there was only the occasional short tarmac section of fireroad. There were people in small crowds on the peak of anything relatively high and also on anything technical, up or down and Mel was getting big cheers the whole time. Through the 3rd feed station we made our only stop, a quick bottle refill and judging by the reaction I guessed we were doing OK.

After a tortuous section that seemed to go on for ages, going uphill steeply in stages we hit what I knew was the start of the long final descent. The first section on singletrack through the trees, a little muddy but still loads of grip and brilliant to ride. After crossing a road and then a brief few hundred meters of tarmac it was into the very last bit, which I remember well from last year. Several kilometres long and super rocky. I got a little bit carried away, letting go and letting the bike do the work. The Pivot showed its class on the descent, passing several people and taking all sorts of interesting lines. The course then went down a steep descent that was new for the race and I followed James Porter from Team Juice Lubes who showed his skills making it look very easy. At the bottom I knew we were close, so I tried to encourage Mel to push on, although she started to have a bit of cramp, so we eased up and spun up the final section and into the race finish to cross the line.

The aftermath

After crossing the line we didn’t know how we had done but I was really happy with how we rode and was sure we had done well. It was great to see Ant White and Rich Rothwell stepping onto the podium as the leading Male 40+ team, way to go! They only invite the leading team, which in our category was unsurprisingly Annika Langvad and Thomas Bonne.

With over 600 competitors at the start, the first day has been about thinning out the competition and getting into a strong position for the stages ahead.

We didn’t hang around the finish too long, just enough time to refuel with Torq recovery drinks and we then made our way back to our accommodation. Checking the results soon after we realised that we were in 3rd position within the category, just 2 minutes behind 2nd place!

The next stage

The leaders look untouchable, with Annika being the fastest woman outright. Sally Bigham and Melena Landtwing finishing as the leading Womens Elite team less than 10 minutes ahead of us. That makes Mel the 5th fastest woman so far, which is really encouraging. It sets us up well for the rest of the week, both feeling pretty good afterwards and both confident that we can push on to try and gain 2nd spot.

Tomorrow is again raced from Cordoba, but on different tracks (except the final descent which remains). If its similar to last year then we can expect more challenging and technical terrain and hopefully the disused railway which was rather fun!

Click here to see Matt’s Strava from today’s stage…

www.andaluciabikerace.com

More about Melanie Alexander.

More about Matt Page.

Melanie Alexander on the podium (right, green/black kit) at the National Champs.

If you haven’t already, read Matt’s introduction here and then read Melanie’s below.

ANDALUCIA BIKE RACE PRE-EVENT

Melanie Alexander
36 years old
8 years racing (at first endurance – stage races then 24 hour solo and now cross country)
2011: 3^rd overall in British national XC series, 1^st Mixed pair Sudety Mountain bike Challenge and 1^st Kielder 100, Women’s Yellow Jersey Winner of Tour of the Himalayas.
2012 : 3^rd British national XC Champs and 2^nd overall in British XC Series.

Sponsors: for 2013 I will be racing in the women’s mountain bike team: Team Scott Contessa Syncros. Team sponsors will also include Torq, Schwalbe and Fibrax. Personal sponsor: Exposure Lights.

This Sunday I will be teaming up with Matt Page for six days of stage racing at the Andalucia Bike Race. Right now I am excited about the possible prospect of a bit of sun and a week of riding fantastic trails. I am also a bit nervous; I know it is going to be tough as racing always is, the legs are going to ache and at times it is going to be a mental test to hold on to Matt’s wheel.

Matt asked me four weeks ago if I was interested in pairing up as team Bike Magic and of course I was. I had heard good things about the race from many of the participants from the previous two years with the main point being the amazing trails. My training, although focused on XC for the 2013 season, has been very consistent over the winter, with quite a few long rides included and I am at a point now where I feel ready to race.

We’re proud to have Melanie onboard and representing Bike Magic at the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race along with team-mate Matt Page.

The Andalucia Bike Race starts in the historic city of Cordoba which in it self looks like a fantastic city to visit. We race from Cordoba for the first part of the week before moving on to Jaen, which will host the concluding days. We have two apartments booked, one in Cordoba and then one in Jaen, both of which are very reasonable. This I am particularly happy about. I have over the years raced the Cape Epic, Trans Rockies, Trans Alps twice and Sudety Mountain Bike Challenge and this will be the first stage race in which I will be sleeping in a bed! It will be bliss and it will be interesting to see if this helps with the aching body.

Reading the profile of the race it sounds like we will be racing varying terrain with it becoming hillier as the week progresses. The toughest day looks like stage 4 with over 3000 meters of climbing in 68km. The first 5 stages are 66 to 76 km in length. The sixth stage is a long time trial 45 km. In total we will cover 400 kilometres and over 13,000 meters of vertical climbing. It is going to be tough.

This will be the third edition of Andalucia Bike Race and it has already built a good name for it self. I am really pleased to be representing Bike Magic at Andalucia.

Find out more about the Andalucia Bike Race here.

Good luck Matt and Melanie, enjoy the race and bring it home for Bike Magic!

Matt Page has an impressive CV including winning the Mountain Mayhem, 24 Hours of Exposure and Trans Wales as well as many great results abroad. We’re incredibly happy to have him onboard and covering his next big adventure – the 2013 Andalucia Bike Race.

Matt is gearing up for the multi-stage endurance event and to get things rolling he has written this introduction to his assault on the event:

ANDALUCIA BIKE RACE 2013 – PRE-EVENT

Matt Page
28 years old
7 years racing
11 years a Bike Magic reader
2010 Mountain Mayhem Solo winner,
2011 24hrs of Exposure and TransWales winner
2012 12hrs of Exposure and Scott 24hr (Australia) 2nd place

Sponsors: Garmin, RRP, Torq, Schwalbe, Lezyne, USE, Exposure Lights & Fizik

At the end of an incredible year racing in 2012 there were a few standout events, one of them being right at the beginning, the Andalucia Bike Race. Despite only being in its second year it really impressed me with the high level of organisation, incredible riding and, of course, a bit of warmth and sunshine! The Andalucia region of Spain holds the record for being the hottest part of Europe and also one of the driest. Temperatures in the summer reach beyond 40 degrees, which would be quite uncomfortable, but in February its a very pleasant 16-20 degrees with the chance of rain being very slim, although the higher mountains do have a bit of snow on the peaks. When the opportunity arose to represent Bike Magic at an event I enjoyed so much I jumped at the chance.

Andalucia Bike Race has already become a popular race for British riders, perhaps like me seeking a bit of warm weather training and racing. Last year it became one of only a handful of other stage races to be categorised by the UCI and hand out points for the elite male and female categories. That made it an attractive proposition for anyone looking to qualify for the Olympics, a World Cup or simply to boost their points to gain a good grid slot in any Elite XC race. It isn’t only the domain of elite riders however and thanks mostly to very slick organisation and some brilliant riding it is fun for everyone. Based around 3 main areas within the Andalucia region – Cordoba, Priego de Cordoba and Jaen – each “base” offers something a little different. From undulating, fast and rocky trails to olive tree plantations and onto the higher mountains and snow capped peaks of Jaen.

The Andalucia Bike Race is a six-stage race from Cordoba to Jaen. We’ve heard that Matt is in pretty good shape right now so here’s hoping for a great result.

Last year I raced as an elite male pair with a talented Spanish rider, Milton Ramos. It was the first time that either of us had raced as a pair in a stage race and we learnt the hard way that it isn’t always easy. Despite finishing 13th in the most competitive category we were mismatched and didn’t race as a team. Milton was faster than I was and he found it frustrating, while I found it annoying that he kept yo-yoing off in front of me. We could laugh about it afterwards, but it wasn’t as fun as it could have been.

With no need to collect UCI points this year I decided that the mixed category could be a good idea and I had the perfect race partner in mind. Mel Alexander is a top elite XC racer and very experienced at stage races having raced all the big name events. Despite the mixed category not carrying any UCI points it certainly won’t be an easy race with 2011 World Marathon Champion Annika Langvad and her race partner Thomas Bonne probably being the pre-race favorites.

I’m really looking forward to representing Bike Magic and returning to what will no doubt be some excellent racing again this year. I will be updating progress throughout.

Find out more about the Andalucia Bike Race here and to head over to Matt’s blog go here.

Watch this space for updates from the event!

This is one series to keep an eye on as Jerome is renowned for his love of riding in remote and unfamiliar places like Iceland, Argentina and…the Costa del Sol. OK, so the first episode isn’t from anywhere a million miles from home, but at least you can rest assured that Jerome probably saw more rare breeds down in the south of Spain than he’s likely to come across anywhere else in the world…