The 2011 Briars Highland Fling, the biggest Mountain Bike event in Australia and one I’ve never raced. This was only my 2^nd 100km race (well, 112km to be precise). My preparation was not ideal leading up to Sunday’s race in both limited training and having to put my 2 beautiful puppies to sleep on the Wednesday. I was extremely emotional for the remaining days of the week.

We decided to leave just after lunch on Saturday after an easy ride through Glenrock in the morning. When we arrived in the small Southern Highlands town of Bundanoon about 5pm, the place was rockin! All the street corners leading in to town had bikes either on the road sides, in trees or on fences. There were exhibitor stands, music playing and the vibe was awesome. This really got us in the mood to race. “Lez get it awn”

We ate the best dinner we could find at the local Pizzeria, which was pasta, bread and salad.

Bundanoon was awash with cars loaded with bikes on the Saturday afternoon / early Sunday morning

Sunday morning – 5.30am rise and shine. I think I slept about 1 hour. I have never been so nervous before a race in my life. My hands and body were shaking and all I could think about was how I was going to tackle the start. I was not hungry but forced myself to eat something which consisted of cereal, fruit and half a piece of toast.

On the line, strapped on the plate and ready to go...

It was a mass start so we jumped the queue to get near the front (no time for a warm up). The gun went off and it was fierce. The pace was faster than any National round I have done with the Elite men driving it hard at the front. Nothing I had done could prepare me for the pain that I was about to endure, both physically and mentally. I managed to find last year’s winner and Single Speed World Champion, Heather Logie’s wheel and stuck on it like the proverbial. Naturally, the Elites of both 100k’ers and 50k’ers were up the front sitting well over 50km/hr. There was dust flying everywhere and it was hard to see. We had travelled about 1km and I found myself being spat out the back of the lead group. I could see Michael sitting on the rear of that group, looking back in hope for me to re-join. My asthma was bad from the dust, so I was finding it hard to breath, my heart was burning and then my legs became so lactic, my pace was becoming slower and slower. I started to panic as I had lost Heather’s wheel and saw my heart rate above 200bpm! I was thinking “what the **** have I got myself in for?”, but then realised that I was still passing some of the other Elite riders. I managed to get on the back of another enduro specialist, Vanina Vergoz, calmed myself down and got into a rhythm. When the dust settled, Vanina and I rode together at a high, but comfortable pace. I soon began to get my breathing under control and my legs seemed to feel a lot stronger. I decided to go on my own and as I upped the tempo, my new Specialized Epic 29er from Drift Bikes just did the rest along the undulating fire road.

The first stage (27kms) was reasonably easy going comparatively, with a few hike-a-bike creek crossings and a lot of fire roads that had some very challenging hills – a lot of hills actually. I decided not to stop at the first transition as I had plenty of food and fluids on board.The second stage (53kms) was really fun. It had some of the best single track I’ve ridden. There was a variety of flowy and fast single trail, rocks, technical sections, gullies and more undulating fire roads. There were long and fast downhill fire roads, but guess what? What goes down must come up! In this stage was the mother of all hills called ‘THE WALL’ – don’t need to say much more. The bike felt awesome, I rode fast and smooth and started to get some flow. I felt really good at this stage, but my legs were becoming fatigued and started to cramp. I stopped at the 2nd transition area this time to be greeted by my wonderful husband Michael who had completed his Half Fling (6th in Vets). I was very tired so he helped me load up with food and water for the remaining stage. He gave me some motivational words and sent me on my way. After 80kms, I was feeling pretty exhausted but soldiered on.The final stage (32kms) was physically draining. There were sandy fire roads, steep paddock climbs, creek crossings – some you could ride, others you had to hike your bike through again, and rough, rocky single track. This stage seemed to take forever as the track was slow and did not have much flow. There were sections that were muddy and this is where I had the crash of the day. I came to a big pool of mud that looked rideable and had tyre marks through it, so I decided to ride it with little caution. BIG MISTAKE. My front tyre sunk completely, and over the handle bars I went, still clipped into my pedals, I was covered in mud. I could not move, and felt my right leg over extend, thinking at this point I had torn something. I could not unclip and there was nobody around. After a couple of minutes I finally felt relief so I yanked my bike up out of the mud and just gathered myself together. With at least 15km to go I was not sure whether I would make it back. I had some energy gel, food and plenty of water and thought to myself what Michael always tells me – ‘Toughen up Princess’ (actually I have changed his words to make it PG). I seemed to find some grunt toward the end and began to motor past people along the final, hard packed fire roads. I turned off into another paddock and at last I could see the tents and hear the Race Caller on the microphone. I can’t stress enough the relief I felt when I came up the last hill towards the finish line.I was extremely happy to see Michael as he yelled out ‘You got 5th’, pointing to the electronic timing board in 5 hours and 31 minutes. Toughest race I’ve done and over the moon with my performance but very, very relieved to have finished – will I do the Highland Fling again? Yea probably!

Elated to be finished, 5th place, Elite Female, in a time of 5 hours and 31 minutes for the full Fling

The Cape to Cape MTB stage race takes competitors on a journey from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste in the Margaret River region of WA. The race has been steadily growing in numbers since it’s inception in 2008 and the 4th year attracted 800 riders that came for the 4 stages and 220km of singletrack, forest trails, dirt roads, beaches and road.

Peter Hatton proved to be hard to shake throughout the race

Stage 1
At only 40km, stage one from Cape Leuuwin was shortest but it was probably the hardest with a few solid climbs, plenty of sandy trails and a killer section of energy sapping beach.  Fortunately for me, it was one of those days when you just feel great.  On the first main climb at the 6km mark I went to the front to apply some pressure and hopefully cause a split.  It didn’t quite go to plan as I ended up off the front on my own, so I just pushed tempo and hoped that someone would jump across because I didn’t fancy 34km on my own.  I expected to be caught at any minute, but as the kilometers ticked by I started to think that maybe I should go for it and by the time I hit the beach I decided that I was 100% committed.  Despite being low tide, the sand on the beach was terrible.  It seemed to be like quicksand; sucking my tyres down and I felt like I was going so slow.  I started to panic that the bunch would come flying past at any moment and I just focused on keeping the power down & the momentum up, while constantly scanning for the hardest bit of sand which was sometimes in the salt water – sorry bike!  The remainder of the stage seemed to go on forever; the last few climbs seemed so tough but having now gambled so much energy on this stage I did not want to get caught. I pushed all the way to the finish line in Hamelin Bay to take the first stage, with a time gap back to Chris Jongewaard, Craig Cooke & Jason English of 7 minutes!

There was a great depth of talent in the field, which kept the pressure on at all times

Stage 2
The stage started with predominantly bush tracks and single track and finished with a very fast and open 2^nd half on dirt roads.  Predictably it was Chris J who was the main aggressor and he pushed the pace on all the narrow sections, I was super attentive and stuck to him like glue. After losing time on the first day he was riding with a kind of reckless abandon that makes him very dangerous; he is one of the best bike handlers normally, but when he rides like this he has nothing to lose, it is a sight to behold! As a result of Blood’s surging, the main group split and reformed several times, fortunately I was feeling good and able to keep contact.  The lead bunch swelled to 6 riders for the final 20km fast run in to the finish at Xanadu winery.  We all had a few digs to get away, but the day was destined to come down to a sprint where it was Hatto who out-foxed us all with Blood and Lewi 2^nd and 3^rd.

Stage 3 was dedicated to Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation and all the riders recieved rainbow coloured laces for their shoes, to help promote the cause

Stage 3
With 20kms of Margaret River’s best single track and the finish at Colonial Brewery, stage 3 was one of the most anticipated stages of the race.  The abandonment of Jongeward meant that it was English that assumed the role of pace maker for much of the first half of the race.  It was in the 2^nd half of the stage that things got serious with Peter Hatton making his intentions clear with several venomous attacks.  With 15km to go he managed to snap the elastic and get away solo with Craig Cooke and English dragging me along in a chase group.  With 6kms to go we hit a steady climb and I attacked Craig and Jason to set off in pursuit of Hatto, but it was too little to late.  Peter Hatton is a classy bike rider and when given a sniff of the finish line he is very hard to beat. He held on for a second consecutive stage victory, but more importantly took more time out of his rivals to move up the GC to 4^th. I came across alone in 2^nd with Craig Cooke popping English for 3^rd.

The race leaders

Stage 4
The final stage to Dunsborough is renowned as being fast and I can see why; the majority of the stage is on dirt roads and with GC positions up for grabs the stage was the most aggressive of the race which ended up with an average speed of 28kph…not bad on a mountain bike! With only a handful of seconds separating 2^nd and 4^th, Hatto, Craig and Jason had a titanic battle to decide the make up of the final podium. Hatto and Craig were super aggressive, with Hatto in particular launching an unrelenting barrage of attacks on Jason in an attempt to bump him off his 2^nd place overall.  The constant surging kept splintering the main field with some lulls and the odd wrong turn seeing it come back together again time after time. With about 8km to go Hatto finally got away for good and a couple of kilometers later I attacked in an attempt to solo across to him.  I was able to join Hatto with about 5km to go and the two of us worked together; him for a GC result and me for the stage.  Having had a much easier stage than the super aggressive Pete, I was able to take the stage with him on my wheel stopping the clock for his anxious wait to see if he had gained enough time to make the podium overall.  Lewi was next in with English on his wheel doing enough to hold 2^nd overall, but Craig Cooke came in an agonising 18 seconds too slow and dropped back to 4^th overall.

Hatto setting the pace in the final stage

I certainly left my first Cape to Cape with some very fond memories; good company, scenery, wine and food, new & old friends, fast & fun racing and a lot of laughs.  Thanks heaps to the Bennetts, the Kennedys, the Aubreys and my Swell-Redshift team mate Bosch, for all the support and good times. I can’t wait to get back over to WA for the National Series opener in November.

A win in the West and a great finish to a fantastic event

All photos by Travis Deane. To see and buy photos from the Cape To Cape 2011 Go Here

The full race results for 2011

The end is in sight

Boelen and Huber driving the pace

Stage 7 was daunting on paper: 151kms and 43 degrees forecast. A break went up the road with Haselbacher, Mulkens, Sokoll, Griffin and Hsulmans early in the race and it was reasonably sedate except for Urs Huber attacking through the feedzones (a no no) and mayhem when we had to open farm gates. Eventually things settled down and it was a long hot day in the sun. The group was whittled down to about 15 as the breakaway came back to us one by one. The last 20kms were brutal corrugations and I got disconnected from the group with 5kms to go but minimised my time losses.  Very happy to have backed up from the horrors of the day before.

Huber battled on in spite of a nasty tumble during Stage 8

Stage 8 was eagerly anticipated as it was the shortest and flattest stage. What it lacked in length it made up for in pure speed. This stage was the most unbelievable display of riding I have ever seen. Urs Huber got on the front at the start and wound up the pace to warp speed from the get go. He was angry – at what we weren’t sure – but for the first 30kms he sat on the front at a pace that rode all but 12 of us off his wheel. He attacked at the feedzone (again) so I didn’t get a bottle but there was no way I was going to miss his train. At the 40km mark my average speed was 36kph on some of the roughest corrugations we had seen so far. Then, inexplicably, when we got to a relatively smooth bit of road he eased off to 20kph. No one dared to come around him and we all caught our breath. Then a kilometre or so later we hit rough corrugations and sand and he wound it up to 50kph. And this pattern continued for the rest of the stage. Slow on good road, lightning fast on the rough stuff. If someone dared to attack Huber would chase it down and then counter attack to make it hard for them to get back on. At 85kms into the stage Huber moved off the front for the first time – and we had averaged 32.6kph. There was a rift in the bunch with one of the highly placed riders who hadn’t done any work in the previous week despite sitting third. Huber then sat on this rider’s wheel at a painfully slow pace and the attacks started. Three riders got away and we basically just sat there in stunned silence, knowing it was the winning move but not being able to do much about it. I came across the line in 9^th and watched Huber slump on the ground with blood all over him. He had been bleeding since the second feed zone we heard and I shook my head wondering what the hell I had just witnessed.

Mike Blewitt, Team marathonmtb.com, gathering first-hand knowledge of the Croc

Stage 9 we awoke to the news that Urs Huber had withdrawn from the race citing sickness. The riders were a bit bemused at his lack of respect for the race leader. There was a sense that he knew was beaten and didn’t want to race for second.

I had decided that without Huber there I was going to try a break. This was a daunting prospect given that this stage was billed as the most difficult of the race, with 148kms and long sections of unrideable sand. The first rider to go was Haselbacher (13 year pro) followed by Ash Hayat who gradually worked his way across. I was marking Hsulmans whom I was certain would want to be part of the action and sure enough he went. I was straight on to his wheel and he pulled a monster turn to get us within 250m and I was able to do the rest. The four of us worked well together and we started to get encouraging time checks that topped out at 7 minutes at around the 70km mark. We had averaged 33kph into a headwind on corrugated roads and so was certainly feeling it when we hit the first section of deep sand. Ash was straight out the hoop and Kevin, Rene and I oscillated between riding in the sand or up in the bush on the side of the road. The going was incredibly tough and after 5 or 6 kms Kevin started to pull away. Rene and I rode well together and then, amazingly, the race leader hit us at 95kms. He had basically pulled back 7 minutes in 20kms and Rene and I were straight on to his wheel. I was able to follow Jerone for about 7kms (despite him going at about 80% to make it easy for us) and then popped. It was ages before I saw another rider, and then another, and I worried that I was going to get completely swamped. At this stage I had been out there for close to five hours riding at high intensity and was hoping things wouldn’t go pear shaped. The sand was ridiculous – completely unrideable – but I was able to use my mountain bike skills to work my way through the bush parallel to the track. I had now passed all of my breakaway companions and was sitting just inside the top 10 but being challenged from behind. I was able to respond in the last 20 kms to hold off the challengers and secure the final top 10 spot. A very satisfying day – particularly given that I had been able to creep into the top 10 on the general classification and extended my lead in the M2 category by 25 minutes.

Jess Douglas being congratulated on her win by race leader, Jeroen Boelen

Stage 10 promised to be interesting. I asked Jeroen – the race leader – how things would pan out as he had the power to determine how it would pan out. “We will go slow until the feedzone at halfway. A few guys want to get on TV so we will let them go but they will come back to us no problem.” Jeroen asked me to tell the other Australians not to chase the break and enjoy the easy pace.

The final river crossing of the race.

Winners climbing close to the end of stage 10

True to his word, this is how it panned out and the pace only lifted at the 50km mark. I had just three minutes on my nearest competitor so he was the only person I needed to mark, though I had not given up hope of a stage win. I decided to roll the dice 25kms from home and attacked solo. I got a gap of one and a half minutes and none of the pros were chasing given I had been aggressive all week and they were happy to give me my chance. Inexplicably some Czech guy who had been nowhere all week decided to make a name for himself and chase me down. He was apparently the only one working and brought the bunch close enough for other riders to start to think about their own attacks. At that moment – after 15kms solo – the effort was clearly doomed. The last 10 kilometres were frenetic with continuous attacks. Justin Morris – a few minutes behind me on the classification – started to attack and each time I was able to bridge and respond. I had learned enough this week to know that I didn’t have to work with him and just played the defensive role. The front group splintered into small groups and I rolled across the line in 8^th spot – very satisfied! I had also won the M2 category and finished 8^th overall. Big thanks to Enduro Magazine and Giant / Bicycles Inc for making it possible.

The chasing group set a fast pace throughout Stage 4

Stage 4 consisted of three laps of a 28km circuit and I had a great day. The front group was down to 10 guys when I got popped at around 50kms but managed a 5km time trial and got back to the leaders. I was able to stay with them until 10kms to go when I went out the back with two other guys I have been riding with a lot – Justin Morris from Sydney and Kevin Halsey from Belgium. I rolled in in 7^th spot and very satisfied with a hard day. Safely consolidated in 8^th overall.

Nasty rocky climbs aren't the best way to start the day and this climb was loose and sketchy all the way and fast and scary on the way down

Stage 5 was always going to be brutal and the start was particularly nasty. We have been told about an almost unrideable section at 20kms with lots of loose rocks and steep gradients. I decided to go on the attack and see if I could get a gap by the top of the climb at 20kms and hopefully stay with the leaders when they had shelled most people. Three others had the same idea – all of us top 10 overall – and I spent the first half hour of the race at my limit but unfortunately the chase occurred in earnest behind and we had a maximum 30 second break. We got caught three quarters of the way up the climb which was disastrous, but I managed to hang in and then make up a bit of time on the tricky descent down the other side. The four leaders were away and there were four of us in the group behind, including my now good friend Kevin Halsey who is an absolute engine (and was Tom Boonen’s lead out man for 7 years).  We averaged 31kph for the race and I was able to give Ash Hayat a lead out to win M1 for the day and I rolled in 6^th. A couple of other contender dropped away and I had moved up to 7^th place.

Jess Douglas rode strongly through the heat of Stage 6, retaining the leaders jersey

Stage 6 was massive on paper at 189kms and it didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately for me it was a disaster. I was riding well at the 95km mark when the group was down to a dozen or so and my rear tyre let go. I rode for a kilometre uphill trying to stay with my group on a flat hoping that I could crest the climb, give a quick blast of CO2 and continue riding. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and I had to change a tube. I chased manically trying to get back on and was making good ground before I punctured again. I managed another quick change and put in another big chase but just as I was coming to depot 2 the same tyre went down again. I fixed the tyre at Depot 2 and a group rolled with Carl Maroney (mate from Melbourne) and my old friend Kevin who had also punctured a couple of times while in the break.

Rolling into the dust on a very hot Stage 6

The pace of the front troup was brutal on Stage 6, as they charged through tempertaures in excess of 40 degrees for amost 200 KM

All the chasing had sent me deep into the red zone and I had forgotten to keep drinking in between tyre changes. The temperature hit 42 degrees and I as out of water and completely cooked – but with 70kms still to ride across some incredible rough track and deep sand. I stayed with the group for 50kms but was getting dumped on all the hills and would bridge on as it flattened out. I then punctured again – and then once more for good measure – and waved the group goodbye with 20kms to ride. I was in full survival mode for the last hour and told myself not to do anything silly. I had vomited a few times and even though I had lots of water I was struggling to keep anything down. I rolled across the line in 7 hours 30 and a good hour behind where I expected to be. My overall position will have been obliterated and I will have to reassess my goals for the race from here on in. I will have to take it easy tomorrow as I am bound to be cooked and we have another 150kms in the same heat. I am incredibly disappointed but that’s racing. I am determined to finish the race and find some new objectives. I have become friends with the current race leader Jeroen Baelen from the Netherlands as he had a great day today. He had given me a tyre last night and I had given him some CO2 after he had an early puncture today. I might try to recover tomorrow and then help him any way I can. I am potentially still in the hunt for Masters 2 overall but not sure whether to make that the objective or try to help Jeroen win.

The author, at the end of an extremely brutal day. Definitely another one scratched off the "Bucket List'

All in all definitely one of the hardest days I have done on a bike but happy to have smiled (grimaced)

Riders were suffering badly as the heat took it's toll

After acclimatising to the heat of the previous week, the torrential rain was a real shock and totally unexpected by the riders and organisers alike.

The Croc Trophy has started in a way that no one expected: monsoonal rain. The race got underway in downtown Cairns in torrential rain and it’s been with us ever since. None of the competitors or organisers are prepared for the weather – some people don’t even have a long sleeved top to put on at night!

Stage 1 started with a 12.5km climb and the pace was high from the gun. I managed to find myself in the second group – with 7 guys up the road – and was really happy with how I felt and my position. As we got to the top of the climb the organisers screamed at us to stop (in German, no less) as the 4WD lead vehicles hadn’t been able to clear the sections of track that had become a deluge. After waiting at the top of the climb at an info centre for about two hours the decision was made to neutralise the stage. We still had to get to the finish which meant another 90kms in crosswinds on mountain bikes – far from a leisurely ride. I was going OK until I punctured with 40kms to go and had to stop on the side of the road for some running repairs. As frustrating as it was I was happy for it to happen on this day not under race conditions.

Even the four wheel drive support vehicles struggled in the slippery conditions and weren't able to stay ahead of the lead riders

It was a relief to be on bitumen for some sections as many of the trails were severely flooded

Conditions at camp were best described as a flooded mess. It would get worse during the night when our tent started leaking on to my bed (apparently we were not alone). The stretcher beds were the most uncomfortable contraptions I have slept in. It was impossible to sleep on your side so I assumed the coffin position and underwent 8 hours of water torture with intermittent sleep.

A new day broke but the rain didn’t relent for us. Jess and I tripped over each other in the tent as we tried to get our stuff organised including bottles that have to be placed for collection at various points during the day.

The camping has been a very soggy affair with no let up in the torrential downpour

Stage 2 started with a neutralised 17km ride into the town of Atherton where we were greeted by lots of locals, schoolkids and you guessed it: rain. When the flag dropped the pace was amazing – 50kph along a fire road for two kms until we hit the first climb of the day which was the best part of 20kms with a few downhills thrown in. I was slightly off the pace of the leaders and settled in with Ash Hayat and a Korean guy in about 15^th spot. Just as we finished the climb we were joined by a couple of MarathonMTB riders and formed an efficient working group. We rolled turns consistently for 50kms and could see a group ahead which we finally caught at the last feed zone. Ash and I didn’t bother with bottles at the last feed and were able to get some food and water in as we waited for the others to catch us.

This group turned out to be the second on the road with four guys up ahead. All the riders were strong and clearly experienced road riders as there were little surges from these big Dutchies and Swiss riders when we crested the hills or hit a crosswind. We gradually lost guys in our group and were down to 7 for the last 20km run home. The riding had been a mix of asphalt, mud, hardpack gravel and loose stones and it was a tough last few kms. I managed second in the sprint to claim 6^th spot – much better than I had hoped for – and some decent time gaps on other guys who had been with us.  Pandemonium greeted us at the finish as we had beaten our luggage here so the afternoon has been spent trying to stay dry and warm. I now have two sets of kit that I am not looking forward to washing (nor do I know when I will get the chance to)…. Wet shoes for the morning for sure….

Jess Douglas is in fine form and leading the GC in the womens category

Waking up for Stage 3 we weren’t sure what to expect. Rumours had circulated the night before about potential for a) neutralised ride to Irvinebank, b) short race and neutralised on the highway or c) a race of 93km through to Irvinebank. They decided on c) and there was a mixed reaction – there had not been a single minute of non-precipitation.

The author, on the rivet and chasing down those 'quick euros'. Having English as the 'mother tongue' is normally an advantage in Australia, but not in this bunch

I was awarded the Masters leader jersey for the race and took up position near the front. The race started with a massive turn of speed and straight uphill. Within two kms we were down to 9 riders and I had just managed to make the selection. The heart rate was in territory I hadn’t seen for a long time and I was chewing my handlebars at the crest of every climb. We started working turns and gradually the gap to the group behind opened up and I hoped that I would be able to stay with the leaders for a while. I was the only English speaker in the front group and a lot of jibberish in Flemish, Dutch, German and Czech kept me guessing what was being discussed from a tactical perspective.

The asphalt section down the highway consisted of full working turns at 60kph – all of us were at the limit of our mountain bike gear ratios. We turned off the main road into the bush and it instantly got harder. The Korean guy in our group was dangling off the back and for the next 15kms I was on the rivet. Eventually an attack from Huber caused a selection and five guys were away. Three of us regrouped and worked well together and the Korean was back in the dust. With 5kms to go I was feeling toasted but comfortable with my compatriots when I got a puncture coming out of a deep river crossing. My worst nightmare. I was able to do some emergency repairs which cost me a few minutes and enough for the Korean to catch and pass me. I rolled into town in 9^th spot – a great result –but felt cheated by the puncture. I’m not exactly sure of the time gaps back to the groups behind but hopefully still preserved 5 minutes or so on the next crew.

Not sure I will be able to repeat the efforts tomorrow as it’s incredibly hilly around Irvinebank but will give it a shot. Great first few days of racing for me and let’s see if the form can be maintained…