Bike Check: Australian Team at XCM World Championships

This Sunday 22nd September, the UCI Cross-Country Marathon Mountain Bike World Championships are being held in Graechen, in the Valais region of Switzerland. Graechen sits on a high plateau, riddled with trails in the forest around the village. But the whole valley is criss-crossed with trails, all the way from above Zermatt at one end down to Visp at the bottom of the valley. The route for the World Championship will cover about 91km for the men with around 4000m of climbing, and 70km for the women with about 3500m of climbing.

Graechen sits on a sun plateau above the valley.

Sebastian Jayne summarised the course well, "it will be a road race up, and an enduro race down." Much of the climbing is on road or forest roads, although there is a long singletrack climb in the valley, and in the men's extra loop. The descents are primarily on singletrack – and not purpose made trails. They're mostly the older trails used for access to the villages that are now mountain bike routes. Graechen only had a road built to the village in 1951, and the small towns of Toerbel and Embd that the race goes through on the other side of the valley have steep, exposed descents dropping into the valley.

Imogen Smith on one of the descents.

There are five riders here in Switzerland representing Australia: Sebastian Jayne, Tyla Windham, Justin Morris, Imogen Smith and Benji May.

Sebastian, Imogen and Benji all raced the UCI XCM World Championships last year in Italy, and Imogen also raced the 2016 event in France, placing in the top 20 for women.

Here's a look at the bikes that they will use this Sunday.

Sebastian Jayne’s Norco Revolver 29 FS

Sebastian is a travelling bike racer, and has made the sojourn overseas to race against the world’s best for almost 10 years. This is the same bike that Sebastian used at the XCO World Championships in Mt St Anne last month, with very minor changes.

Sebastian rides a medium Norco Revolver 29 FS, and this frame is actually a mix of his new frame for 2019 and his bike from 2018, after he broke the main frame in a racing incident (treading on the top tube in a crash – it didn’t sound pretty).

The suspension comes from Fox, with a 32 SC fork on the front and a Fox Float DPS EVOL out the back. They use a remote lock out, with push to unlock. Sebastian runs 88.5psi in the fork and 131psi in the rear shock.

The drivetrain is full Shimano XTR M9100, with 175mm cranks and a 34t chain ring fitted for this race, driving the 10-51t cassette in the back. Seb uses a chain guide for bombproof chain security.

 

The Fox front fork is Boost, although this edition of the Norco Revolver frame isn’t. Sebastian uses DT Swiss XRC 1200 25mm rims, really similar to the set we now have on test but without the updated Ratchet hubs. 

The 25mm internal measurement of the rims give a good base of support for the Maxxis tyres that Sebastian runs. He has chosen an Ikon 2.2″ on the back, run at 21.5psi, with an Aspen 2.25″ now fitted to the front running at 22.5psi.

We shot this earlier but Seb has since changed his front tyre to an Aspen.

For the contact points, Sebastian has a Pro carbon seatpost and a Pro Stealth saddle.

 

XTR Race pedals are attached to the XTR cranks, and Sebastian does use a Stages power meter for training and racing.

 

At the front of the bike, Sebastian uses Mt Zoom carbon handlebars cut to 695mm, with a -17 degree 70mm Syncros stem and ESI silicone grips. There is also a Stages computer hanging out the front.

Sebastian has said that there really is very little change to his usual XCO setup, it’s just modifying the tyre choice to suit the course, and a slightly higher tyre pressure as well.

Imogen Smith’s 2020 Norco Revolver FS

What, another Norco? Yep! There’s one more to go as well. Imogen Smith is a rider on the MarathonMTB.com Team, who have raced on Norco bikes since 2016. Imogen is now on the new Revolver frame which was released a few months ago. You can find out more about it on our launch feature. It’s longer, slacker and stiffer than the previous model and can be built as a 100mm or 120mm travel bike. Imogen has it in the 100mm variant.

Similar to Sebastian, Imogen uses Shimano XTR M9100, with the wide range 10-51 cassette. Imogen has a 32t chain ring fitted to her cranks, and also uses a Stages power meter to track her training and gauge her racing efforts.

Imogen uses a remote lock out for her Fox Factory suspension, with the new Fox 32 SC that’s a teenty bit heavier but as stiff as the Fox 34. Combined with a 68.5 degree head angle and 44mm offset there’s a fair bit of new-school XC going on with the Revolver.

Pressure notes take the guesswork out of setup.

Imogen uses XTR M9100 brakes, although has a 180mm front rotor fitted and the finned IceTech pads to help with braking power and better cooling for the descents. For this race, Imogen has some custom wheels using DT Swiss 350 hubs and EIE A29C25D22S rims in 28 hole. They weigh about 1290g and the rims have a 25mm internal measurement – perfect for the 2.25″ Maxxis Rekon and Aspen combination at 17.5psi and 19psi respectively.

 Imogen started using a dropper post on her bike in 2016 and last year upgraded from the 65mm drop KS Lev Ci to the 125mm drop model. It’s lighter, and has more drop. What’s not to like? Imogen also uses a Tune Speedneedle, a super light saddle that she swears by, not at.

With the dual remote lock out under the bars, Imogen prefers an over the bar dropper lever. She runs her controls pretty close to the grips – grips are KCNC foam, on Mt Zoom carbon bars cut to 690mm. Imogen uses a Syntace LiteForce 60mm stem.

 
Having raced the Swiss Epic in August on the same bike, Imogen is confident her Norco Revolver is setup perfectly for the event.

Ben May’s Specialized Epic hardtail

If you live in south east Queensland you probably know Ben May as you’ll see his name atop many Strava KOMs, along with Ben Forbes and Aiden Leffman. Ben is a ferocious rider in a quiet, friendly kind of way. His calm demeanour really says nothing about how hard he can push the pedals.

Ben is racing a hardtail here in Graechen and given the amount of climbing, the light weight of the Specialized Epic hardtail will be a big bonus. Ben is pushing the bike forward wityh a SRAM Eagle AXS group set, which looks pretty damn flash.

Ben has a Quarq power meter, one of the best power meters on the market, and this no doubt will have helped in his preparation for the World Championships. He has a 36t chain ring attached – which shows he’s not here to muck around!

Ben’s choice of wheels is the Roval Control SL – they’re light, wide, low spoke count and roll on DT Swiss hubs internals. The tyres are Specialized Fast Trak – ideal for the dry terrain. These are the GRID models with Gripton rubber – we tested these last year, and they’re a top performing reliable XC tyre.

Ben uses a Specialized Phenom saddle, perched atop s fixed seat post. For suspension, he has a RockShox SID World Cup.

For stopping, Ben is using a 180mm front rotor and a 160mm on the back. Brakes are SRAM Level Ultimate.

In the cockpit Ben has carbon Specialized handlebars and a long stem, which is slammed.

Ben May’s bike is seriously light and there sure are a lot of light hardtails buzzing around in Graechen – let’s hope that Ben’s race is everything he wants it to be on Sunday.

Justin Morris’ 2020 Norco Revolver

Ok, this is the last Norco Revolver! Justin is on the same MarathonMTB.com Team as Imogen Smith, and which Sebastian raced on from 2013-2016. So they have become accustomed to what their team uses: Norco bikes with Shimano, Fox, and Maxxis. If it ain’t broke…

Justin has moved from a large Norco Revolver to an XL on the 2020 model, as one of the big changes in the new design was the geometry. The extra length and steeper seat angle has left Justin in a much more centred position, while he can still run a 60mm stem as the bike is designed around. The 44mm offset fork is a reduced offset compared to the 51mm that the bike is designed around, but Justin finds this keeps the bike more agile at low speeds, while the long reach and 68.5 degree head angle keeps it stable at speed.

Justin has a Shimano XTR M9100 group set with 175mm cranks pushing a 34t chain ring and 10-51t cassette. Seeing Justin has already cleared the 24% singletrack climb known as The Wall that sits within the last 10kms, he’s pretty sure that gearing is fine for race day.

Justin has a set of XTR M9100 hubs laced to EIE Carbon A29C25D25 rims, with DT Revolution spokes and brass prolock nipples. Like Imogen, Justin has a 180mm front XTR rotor and 160mm on the back. Just also has the same Maxxis Rekon and Aspen tyre combination as Imogen. Justin’s wheels have a 25.5mm internal measurement with a thick 4mm rim edge.

Justin has just adopted using a dropper post, and is using a 65mm KS Lev Ci, actuated by the Shimano dropper lever that is a neat fit with the iSpec EV fitting on his Shimano XTR M9100 brakes.

Justin rides on a PRO Turnix saddle.

Like Imogen, Justin uses a dual remote lockout for his Fox Factory suspension, but he uses push to lock. Plus he has a black fork not Factory orange.

Spares count and Justin has an inner tube and CO2 held securely in place with a Backcountry Research strap.

This will be Justin’s first XCM World Championships, and after a career as a road professional and now as a full time cycling coach, he’s motivated for the challenge.

“I’m excited to be here to race on a route that’s so different to what we get to ride in Australia,” said Morris. “I’m lucky to be able to represent Australia for the World Championships, and my new bike is going to let me really rip on the descents.”

Tyla Windham’s Giant Anthem Advanced 29er Pro

If you have been racing some marathon races around Australia you might have seen Tyla Windham briefly, as long as you were near the front! Tyla grew up on motor bikes but is now racing unassisted, with skills to burn and a whole lot of strength.

This is Tyla’s first World Championships, and his first trip to Europe. Coming from Albury Tyla has some great people to train with, but the hills here in Graechen are a little different.

Tyla’s Giant Anthem Advanced has a SRAm Eagle group set, giving him a wide 10-50 spread in the back with a 34t chain ring.

The Giant Anthem Advanced runs 100mm of suspension up front thanks to the Fox 32 SC fork, with 90mm in the back via the Fox-equipped Maestro suspension system. Tyla has a remote lock out for the rear shock.

Tyla’s GIant XCR 0 wheels are wrapped with Maxxis tyres, with a Rekon on the front and a Rekon Race on the back. The Rekon Race is fast rolling, as is the Rekon. But the Rekon has deeper tread and is great in loose and dry conditions, which is probably why it’s on 3 out of 5 of the Australian rider’s bikes.

The KS Lev Integra dropper post is new for Tyla for this trip, and by his own admission he wondered why he hasn’t had one before. It’s 100mm drop, and one of the few options for the 27.2mm seat tube of the Giant Anthem.

Tyla uses a Giant dropper lever under the bar, while he has an over the bar lock out for his Fox rear shock. There’s also a Sahmurai SWORD tubeless repair system in the end of his Giant carbon riser bar.

Along with the tubeless repair system, Tyla also has a tube held onto the frame with a Backcountry Research strap.

Racing a World Championship on a course like this here in Switzerland has got to be one of the best ways to see an area – not a bad first trip to Europe!