IT may mostly have been downhill over mud-soaked terrain for Jason English at the weekend, but the world champion mountain biker continued the ascent to his personal peak, with another big win.
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The 29-year-old endurance specialist pulled off a remarkable victory in the curtailed JetBlack twenty four hours Sydney race, but he reckoned the performance has proven to be not so much a confidence-booster as a timely reality check.
“This weekend was a bit of a wake-up call, actually,” English explained.
“It made me realise I really need to do more training and fine-tune my riding.”
Heavy rain over the Wisemans Ferry track had forced organisers to reschedule the race as a 12-hour event.
Setting off on the first of his two new bikes, courtesy of his sponsors JetBlack Cycling, the high school teacher’s first uphill task was to get used to his machine – tweaking the saddle height and acquainting himself with the suspension.
Then, with a level of fitness he believed was some way below his main rivals in the race, there was the small matter of some difficult climbs to negotiate.
English said one would normally expect to be pedalling for 10 hours of a regular 24-hour race, the rest of the time freewheeling and braking.
He explained it was the ability to find the right racing lines downhill that was integral to performing well.
The muddy conditions soon put paid to the notion of an easy ride this time, however, with pedalwork required down the bog-like slopes.
Getting under way at noon on Saturday, the field of 450 riders was spared the prospect of racing right around the clock, instead turning in at 8pm and resuming at 8am on Sunday.
With meals taken “on the run” and entrants swapping bikes to allow for the replacement of brake pads and other repairs, there was little let-up in the pace.
English eventually took the honours, having completed more laps than any other solo competitor – notching up a gruelling 28 circuits of the track.
The Hastings headline act can now aim for gold at the Australian Solo 24 Hour MTB Championships to be held at Majura Pines, Canberra, in early April.
English will compete in two events between now and Easter to prepare for his next shot at landing another major title.