JetBlack MTB Team at the Ginga Ninja

The Evocities MTB Series kicked off last weekend with the first round – the Ginga Ninja. Here’s a report from the Jetblack MTB Team.

Riders:

Michael ‘Crumster’ Crummy – Solo Elite Male

Kevin ‘ Kevlar’ Wynne-Smythe – Single Speed Elite Male

Sara ‘Never give up’ Mills – Solo Elite Female

Crummy – (In the 3rd person)

Three of JetBlack MTB Racing team’s finest headed to Orange to compete in the Ginja Ninja 250, round 1 of the Evocities Series. Many top rides from around NSW/ACT were expected to enter this event with a large cash prize pool on offer.

Each rider entered their respective solo category with Michael Crummy in Solo Male Open, Sara Mills Solo Female Open and Kevin in Solo Single Speed. Arriving on Saturday gave some riders the chance to ride a lap of the course, but it would have been rude not to ride two laps for all the fun on offer. Some slight changes had been made over previous years course, with a couple more deliberate climbs thrown in this year, the flip side being the exciting descending from said climbs.

The Banjo Paterson Festival had been running all week in Orange and Saturday night was the annual night markets filled full of local food and beverage stalls. A great opportunity to sample local produce and mix with the estimated thousands that converged on the markets that night.

Race morning dawned and there was plenty of time for a civilized breakfast with a gentleman’s start of 10am for the Ginja Ninja. A transition location had been secured and a JetBlack 3×3 shade erected the previous day. All that needed to be done, was any last minute prep and a warm up.

A furious flurry of legs and the JetBlack MTB Racing team riders were underway at 10 on the dot. Crummy managed to hold a steady position near the front of the lead bunch slipping into the singletrack within the top twenty riders.

Crummy seemed to be on fire, lapping consistently and keeping pace with the leading age-groupers on his Pivot 429. Nutritional transitions for all team riders were helped out by James “Chops” Lamb, and during the midst of the midday heat he was on hand with a water-spray bottle keeping the team just that bit cooler in our fresh 2015 JetBlack MTB Racing Champion Systems kit.

Crummy went on to place an excellent 7th in a high class field of riders

Kevlar:

Having decided last minute to enter, I was pumped for this race. I had heard so much about it over the last year or so, so thought ‘Why not?.. It’ll be a good training ride, if nothing else!”

The road trip was on. I packed up my gear and decided that my beloved pooch, Keisha, should come along for the ride also. (She likes making new friends!)

Arriving at Kinross late in the afternoon, camp was quickly set and the LES steed was itching to get out for a reccy lap… and so was I! Sara accompanied me, and a few stops were made along the way when we thought a better line could be taken, which helped immensely for race day. Once the lap was done, the sun was setting and it was time to hit the town for a feed. Capabolas seemed to be the eatery of choice and it was steaks all round for the team, consisting of myself, Sara, and support crew – Coach Chops, and Nini.

Up at a reasonable time (thank you Ninja!) and it was game face on. All the prep was done. Now all we had to do was get this baby started! I placed myself in a reasonable and realistic starting position, and with a 500m fire road climb to spread the field I was surprised to make it in to the downhill loop in the top 20+ riders. I had a ‘plan’ and was determined to stick to it. Heart rate % was at 85-90, which I was hoping to hold till at least the home run, downhill section. I did.

Once settled and positions in the field sorted, it was time to flick in to ‘endurance’ mode and get stuck in. I was feeling strong, with big efforts being put in where they were needed, and ‘rest’ taken when possible to recover the HR down to a decent enough level. After all, there is no peddling happening on a 32/18 ratio geared bike when doing 50km/h!

4 laps down and all was going sweet, thanks to Coach Chops (James Lamb) providing bottles, which drastically reduced my transition time..Something I was going to work on this season. The track really suited my riding style and I was thoroughly enjoying the race.

Lying in a comfortable 2nd in the elite Single Speed Category, with the ever strong Steve Tomcyk consolidating 1st, I was to be held up with the same mechanical that issue that dogged me in the AMB 100. A quick repair and I was on my way, only for it to continue happening. Frustratingly, I had to pull the pin, as it had potential to do some serious damage to the bike, and me, during any one of the gnarly downhill sections. Which, by the way, are AWESOME!

On my way back to the transition area, I saw the determined face of Sara, nicely tucked in behind another rider ready for the twisty, and sometimes steep, climb to the top. Not knowing that on that lap, she would split the rear and lose a heap of valuable time to unfortunately put a stop to any chance of a podium.  Surprisingly, I made it on to the lower podium slot! Which was a bitter sweet end to a race that I was really enjoying.

In the mortal words of a rather large foreign actor.. “I’ll be back!”

Sara Mills:

Kinross…

The rumours about this place for riding were legendary! Chops and lovely friend onboard as my Pit crew we headed to the Ginja Ninja for what was to be my first 4.5hr solo. Nerves racked me but I was excited knowing that I excelled in sustained efforts!

Riding a recce lap with Kevlar I was stunned by the beauty of the trails and the amount of free speed available. It had just rained so hero dirt galore surrounded me! After a lap we headed into town for dinner- Chops cooked me the BEST steak I have ever eaten. It was amazing! To be honest I probably passed the cow it was from on the way to Orange itself. After praying to the MTB gods for a good race we tucked in and enjoyed the country hospitality of Orange.

Race day and after some peanut butter on toast and the ritual double shot latte I kitted up and awaited the start. My pit was loaded with the delicious and effective Etixx products, some bananas and a whole lot of excitement! The field I was up against was tough! Eliza Kwan, Brooke Rowland and other elite rides who’ve been doing this before I was even born. The race plan was simple, ride on HR and keep laps consistent. As the gun went off I was immediately overtaken by the pairs racers, but I wasn’t deterred and stuck to my plan.

Lap after lap I felt great. I settled into a pace, found my groove and was zooming past my competitors who started too fast. Everything was running smoothly! My descending was smooth, fast and efficient due to months of work on my technique. I was even overtaking people downhill. 4 laps in my Magellan died… To my horror, I realised in my race check early in the morning before breakfast I had left it on! Idiot! Ripping it off I rode on perceived effort- now my back was starting to hurt BADLY! I cringed at the down hills and every movement was painful. I started feeling sick in the stomach and slightly dizzy, but to my surprise I was still keeping consistent laps and even lapped about 3 of my competitors. 2 laps to go Chops told me I was 2 min ahead of 4th place and 3min behind 3rd- HAMMER DOWN! While going in the first climb I saw Kevlar walking back to the pit with a broken bike? On my final lap I was now 4min ahead and I gave it hell! I gave it everything! 1 km to the finish in the top of the rocky decent disaster struck…. My tubeless tyre came off the rim and no amount of CO2 would re-bead it. By the time I started to put a new tube in my competition tiredly and shakily rode past me…. I was devastated but not defeated. New tube in I rode the last descent and across the finish line, my final lap had taken me 10min longer than all my other consistent 35min laps. No! But in 4.5hrs I had ridden 7 laps of Kinross! I had accomplished my goal of 6 laps and more!

Chops and Nini really encouraged me and every lap I looked forward to seeing them. They were incredible, and everything they did helps me race the best I could. So for that I am forever grateful. Despite extreme disappointment to have come so close to a podium against such strong riders this was by far a loss. I learnt about my capabilities as an endurance rider and learnt where my limit was! I also learnt more about my body and its needs. I had the most fun I have had on a MTB for a while and to me that is priceless. So a massive thank you to everyone there who supported me and to the girls who raced so strong. The Shimano Series is ahead of me now and I’m ready to tackle that head on.

A massive thanks to Orange and the EvoCities team for putting on a stellar event. The tracks of the back country are truly awesome, and if you have never been, do yourself a favour and load up your steed and head out there for a dirty weekend!