Huka XL 2010 - yay, i made it three in a row

what a day! i got up at 4.30 am to be in Taupo for the 7 am race start , not quite my preferred waking time but it had to be done. to be honest it was great to start early as at least for the first part of the race it was still cool, as it got rather hot later on and with more and more trees missing along the trails there are unfortunately less shady sections around too. luckily i was well hydrated thanks to Elete tablets that i took the days before the race and Elete drops while racing, so i only needed 2 litres of water for my 4 hours and 20 minutes of racing over the 82 + km course. Elete rocks!

previously we started through the same start gate as the roadies and therefore started just after the main race but this time we had our own start gate right next to the main one on the other side of the road. with this set-up they could start the round Taupo Cyclechallenge and the Huka XL both at the same time. the roadies had one side of the road and the mountain bikers the other, racing alongside each other separated by just the traffic island. it was an awesome feeling to be gunning it out at the same time, despite the fact that us mountain bikers on our fat tires had no show to keep up with the roadies.

the race starts off with this nice steep climb out of Taupo so you have to be ready for the pain right away as there is no time for a good warm up as everyone lines up as soon as they get to the start, so you either going to be hot on the start-line but have to start at the back or you are starting off with cold legs. most riders opt for the better starting position so did i. my plan was to try and get into a good position in the field right from the start. the course takes you into single trail very early on which makes it harder to pass other riders so you can easily find yourself in a place where you lose contact with your competition and that's not a good position to be in. i attacked from the start line trying to keep up a good pace for as long as my legs could cope with it, starting off cold makes this a lot harder. i couldn't see the other girls other then Karen Hanlen who snuck in front of me towards the top of the start climb. i rode behind her for a short while before i decided that i was better off getting to the front, i put in another effort and scored myself a more suitable spot in the field. i was sure Karen would try to stay on my wheel. i know that she is very strong and fit and doesn't mind pushing her body hard so i was sure she was not just going to let me go. another rider i knew was going to give it a good shot is Nic Leary, i didn't see her after the gun went off so was pretty sure she was behind me but you never know how close the other riders are as you cannot see them behind you. it's good to know that someone is chasing you as there is more reason to push ahead, especially on a course like this where you constantly have to work hard to keep momentum as the trails are so windy and tight and the surface is often loose. i was riding by myself for a while and then i caught up to some rider and rode with them for a bit before being alone again, it was nice to have some space and enjoy riding the trails while trying not to ease off.  i was wearing my brand new Louis Garneau womens bibs for the first time and i was so stoked i did as they are super comfortable and made my ride so much more enjoyable, it was not a bad thing to be thinking about while i was racing. 

i unfortunately made a stupid mistake and came off my bike, landing on the very same spots of my body that i had injured only just 2 weeks earlier (i do need to work on my riding skills!). this was about 55km into the race. luckily i didn't injure myself too badly and my sturdy and reliable bike got away without any damage i just had to turn the handle bars/front wheel back 90 degrees. so i kept pushing ahead trying not to let the other girls catch me, cursing myself for making silly mistakes and wasting time. 

my body was feeling pretty good all through the race, i kept getting rather sore legs but that's to expect when you are racing and is fine to deal with if your legs manage to recover a bit in between. it's also a sign that you are pushing hard and it's therefore good reassurance. 

it was good to have done the race before because i was ready for climbs that keep popping up and  i kept a bit of reserve for the last bit of testing single trail right in Taupo with its pinchy climbs that sucked the last juice out of my already screaming legs. it was not until i was almost at the finish line that i was fully confident i had the win in the bag. it was a great feeling to role over the finish line and to keep the title for the 3rd year in a row.

many thanks to everyone involved in making this great event happen, to everyone cheering me on and to the other competitors for making it a hard race :)

if you have not done this event and like mountain biking then make sure to do it next year,  you can also do it in a team. 

Photo by Nick Lambert

how stunning is this view!?! almost makes you want to ride around the lake on a road bike instead of doing the Huka! hm... no, still not quite ;)
i have been trying to convince Gaz (Gary Sullivan rider in black in the pic) to do the Huka at least for once instead of doing the road race year after year, but he's very stubborn and does not want to have more fun. maybe one day i will be able to talk some sense into him :)