Justin Leov's Diary Episode 4 - EWS Samoens

EWS Samoens

July 2015

The Weekends You Have to Fight

Preparations for Samoëns couldn't really have gone much better for me. I've had plenty of good riding in Finale both on and off road and temperatures have been in the mid to high 30's every day so it's been great for getting used to the heat.

Family life has also been great with Tory and Luca settled into our apartment and getting into the Italian way of life. We have had the opportunity to experience a Sagra in the village and plenty of local experiences of both food and culture.

So leaving for France I was in a good head space and excited to be back into the Alps on the longer more demanding courses. These are typically my favorite courses of the series and my preferred racing format for Enduro.

The weather was looking good once we arrived but forecasts suggested we could be in for a thunder storm or two over the weekend. From previous time spent in the Alps I've experienced this all too well and knew what to expect. It was going to be important to have both dry and wet weather eyewear ready to go at all times. I've been caught out without the right eyewear before and it can be a costly mistake so I had my Roll Offs, ID2 goggles with the dual lense to handle the cold or hot conditions and my Evil Eyes Evos all setup ready on standby for what ever was going to be thrown at us.

Being able to walk only one stage of the course this year was a new aspect to this style of racing for me. The stage we walked would be raced without a practice so again a new format which would be an interesting challenge.

I felt a bit rushed actually when race day one came around. I'd spent the day before running about the town getting organized and the day seemed to disappear quicker than expected. Actually finding stage 3 to walk took longer than planned and then hopping into bed knowing I needed to be at the pits at 7:15am was all a bit rush rush rush. I was running a million miles an hour in my head and sleep wasn't coming, one of those nights you wished to have an on/off switch.

Up early for the first day of racing and on the lift for a practice run on stage one. This would be a physical and demanding course, but I was excited as it would be a tough one on the body and serious time could be made. A totally dry course which had rocks, roots, fast and slow sections a real mix. Looking at the sky it was black and temperatures just started to drop...I knew what was coming!

Yet before I left the pits for race stage 1 the rain started and as we were half way up the gondola ride the lift was shut down as thunder and lightning began. Waiting in the lift when you see that kind of activity around is always a bit of a nervous time. They won't run the lift until the storm clears and you could be waiting a long time. We were lucky this time and within 10 minutes we were away again and the sky looked like the storm would be passing soon and fine weather would follow. A bit of a course delay would also hold up things so to get everyone through the day, one stage was cut from the race.

Dropping into stage one I started on the attack. The roots in the dry were slippery and having not practiced in the wet there were some bits you needed to hold on for. I felt really good and my run was going to plan when I came to a wooden bridge which prior to an uphill section. As soon as my wheels touched the bridge I knew I was going to crash and I hit the ground hard. My saddle was twisted and I had to knock that back straight before taking off again. Due to this bring before an uphill section I had no speed and was forced to run it. Now the heart rate was on red line and I needed to be fast and clean for the rest of the run. Coming out of the woods for an open section of grass there was a helicopter picking up the injured rider that had been our course hold. It was extremely windy and the course tape and grass was blowing everywhere. Slightly distracted for a second wondering what was happening I misjudged the next corner and could see I was either going to clip the marker pole or go through the tape. Aiming for the pole I hoped to shoulder it and carry on but it jammed between my forks and bars and I was thrown over the handle bars and onto the ground. Getting up I noticed my stem and bars were twisted so I kicked the front wheel to try straighten it out. Nothing with the first two kicks, and the third buckled my front wheel so I jumped on and tried to finish the run with it twisted. I was gutted, it was almost impossible to ride and I was a lot further from the finish than I thought. I didn't hear a rider catching me coming into the finish but Jerome had caught me and he was third off so that meant I had lost a minute!!!

Riding back to the pits I was totally gutted, my weekend had gone from hero to zero on the first stage! I needed to ride fast in every stage now and there was no chance to crash again, and the body was feeling the effects of the tumbles. I pressed the reset button and went up for a practice on stage 2. This was a shorter more DH style stage, I really liked the dropping turns and it was a lot of fun to ride. You needed big brakes and clear vision on this one! With the sun now out again the conditions were also improving and it would be less slippery for the race so things were looking up!

The heat had returned for stage 2 race. On the line it would have been around 30 degrees and I was keen to push on for a fast run. Things went to plan and crossing the line I had put in a solid stage to finish 4th. This was a much better effort this time but still some work to do.

Now onto stage 3 this was a 40min ride from the pits with no lift access to the start; this was the stage we walked yesterday. To be honest it was a stage I knew would be my weakest link for the weekend, it had some fun sections but I knew it wouldn't be a race winning stage for me. Being 1.9km in length I planned to ride it smooth and not let a mistake cost me with any crashes.

Dropping in things were going well but I was braking too much and fighting the bike in sections. Hitting my rear derailleur on a tight switchback corner didn't help either and now I had only had the biggest gear to deal with. Entering the main rocky area I braked quickly as there was someone on course walking up! With everyone yelling at her I actually thought she was trying to stop me as a rider has fallen. Not the case, she didn't know I was on course and soon jumped off. I finished out the run disappointed in my stage and losing another 11 seconds. What a day!!!

Going into day two I was sitting 17th overall and I had the series lead slipping from my grasp. My goal now was to attack and try get some positions back. If I could get closer to the top ten then maybe I could keep the series lead and that was my principle motivation for day two.

Stage 4 was a longer stage, a good mix again of everything and very freshly built. It would be a stage to push on but also one to respect as the tight switch back corners would be hard to ride on the limit without a moment or two. I set off smooth and made sure to be slow enough for the danger bits. One small misjudgment and I couldn't slow the bike down enough to make a corner....not crashing but I went through the tape. I pulled the bike back on course and didn't lose a lot of time. The rocks were coming out of the corners and the blown out lines were hard to push on without risking a lot. Another corner caught me out and this time my front wheel pushed and down I went. I was up super fast and able to finish the run without any more problems. I was able to still put in a top ten finish for the stage so with one more to go I needed to keep up the pace but be on two wheels!!

Stage 5 was a middle length stage and I liked the style a lot. Fast, some great rocky sections and a lot going on. I hit my lines all the way down and put in a good effort to be clean. Another top ten finish but not what I had hoped. I'd certainly fought some battles this weekend and came out second best a few times so to see I had at least pulled myself back to 12th overall was something positive to take away. Richie Rude put in an impressive ride to take his first overall victory so I was stoked for him, and I knew he would be getting closer to me in the series points. A quick math calculation would reveal I had managed to keep the series lead by 40 points so that was another positive for me to take away.

Heading to Colorado it's going to be some exciting weeks of racing coming up. France you have been a tough one to me!!

Words by Justin Leov.

2014 Ews Round 5 Winterpark Justin Leov's Diary

Next stop on the EWS Calendar was Winter Park Colorado. This round presented a few differences to previous races, such as the bike park environment, which saw the racing moving away from the European alpine terrain, also the racing at high altitude. Coming into this event I was nursing a couple of small injuries, which I had been working to recover since La Thuile and Valliore. A strain in my knee is awaiting diagnosis and treatment until I return to New Zealand in September, while ongoing tendonitis in my wrist was triggered by the long runs in Valliore. The weekend saw me relying on ice and kinesio tape to see me through the racing.

Once again we had a different format of racing for Colorado. Three days instead of the usual two. The format also saw us practice two stages, race them the following day, then the afternoon was spent practicing the following days stages. This meant that through the weekend you were either racing, practicing or sleeping!

There seemed to be a typical weather pattern, which was hot and dry in the mornings and around mid afternoon each day a storm rolled in. As a result of this the lift would shut down due to lighting. We were lucky for the first day of racing that our stages were to be raced in the morning.

Day 1:
Stage 1: This was a stage which was one of the longer bike park trails. Lots of berms, jumps, up hills and some physical pedalling straights. First stage of the weekend is always the one I find I’m nervous for. Generally after the first stage you settle into a rhythm or look at the areas you need to improve on. Before this stage I did a short warm up, my knee was sore so I wanted to save it as much as I could for the stages. Dropping in for my run and I was feeling tight. When I hit the first uphill section my usual power just wasn’t there. The jumps were fun on this stage but I finished off the pace in 11th.

Stage 2: This time less on the pedals and more of a Downhill Bike park stage. A couple of rock gardens and a section at the bottom where you needed to carry speed through rocks and flatter corners. A short but fun stage, a lot of guys knew this one, as it was the main trail of the bike park. With a stage already in the legs my body felt a lot better than the first stage. My knee felt good and I was ready to give it a charge! This stage seemed to flow a lot better, you could breath both of which contributed to a better feeling crossing the finish line in 5th place.

The rest of the day was spent practicing stage 3 which was over the backside of the mountain, it was a big day in the saddle. An important piece of equipment for reducing the amount of runs we need to make is a helmet camera. Being able to study the footage of a stage is so beneficial and with limited practice time its a valuable tool. On top of being the world's lightest full face helmet my MET Parachute comes with a very handy removable support for the helmet camera. Cool stuff!

Day 2:
Starting day 2 we had another surprise to the format. We would be meeting at 8am to practice stage 4 and 5 after a pedal liaison from the paddock area. A good warm up for the day with a decent climb before we would then race Stage 3, 4 and 5.

With only the one run on stage 4 and 5 I knew they were going to be hard. The terrain on these two stages was natural with tight corners in the trees and small stop start corners in some places, which made it hard to keep the flow. You needed to watch your handlebars on the trees and keeping traction while racing would be a challenge.

Stage 3: The name of this stage was Mountain Goat. A rocky natural stage, technical up top and then sections where you needed to carry speed over rocks in the middle then finishing on wide open fast fire road. I liked this stage and felt good in my run crossing the line in 4th. The finish of this stage saw us have a small climb to get to the start of stage 4.

Stage 4: The shortest stage of the weekend, just over 1 min 25 of racing with awkward trees to catch your handle bars on and the loose tight corners which were hard to hold speed. I never got into the flow this stage and fighting my bike and the terrain I was happy to see the end of it. 18th position, was a kick in the teeth!

Stage 5 was the final stage for day 2, a longer version of stage 4 but more physical. The terrain was in a forest which had been cut down so logs and stumps were everywhere. Care needed to be taken not to clip the pedals, it was easy to make time costing mistakes. As I sprinted off the start line I caught something with my back wheel and nearly had a big crash. Somehow I managed to stay on my bike but it was one of those moments when your heart nearly jumps out of your chest. The rest of my run was a mixture of small mistakes and fighting my bike again. I was frustrated to close the finish line but happy at least the stages were over. 13th place.

I couldn’t help but feel frustrated as I sat on the lift to go and practice stage 6 and 7 for the afternoon. I needed to make up some time on the final day and to do that required a big effort in both stages. I worked hard learning the final stages and when I got back to the Condo I could feel the efforts of the day. An ice bath and stretch to recover.

Day 3:
We started stage 6 and this would be the most physical stage of the weekend. This stage had some really long flat sections in the trees, while it also had the challenge of catching your handles bars, especially when you were tired. It then had a big flat pedallly section in the middle of the course which basically finished you off before a fast fire road to the finish where your really were just hanging on your bike. The unfortunate surprise of this stage was that once we got through all the pedalling and to the fast finish we came across an accident. It was awful to come across one of the women riders who had injured themselves. People were on the course trying to stop us but in such a fast section and without any sort of warning flags myself and 3 riders were past the accident and finished the run before all the other riders were stopped. Back in paddock there was discussion as to what should happen, re run all or just the riders who were stopped. It was one of those moments when you didn’t want to go up for a rerun but the sporting thing to do was to go back and do one to be fair to all the other riders. I made the decision to go up and so did the other 3 so I was happy to see everyone pushing for a fair race.

The effort in the second run was equivalent as I dropped in for the rerun. My legs didn’t have the same power any more and I was having to ride a gear lower. Without any warning I lost the front wheel in a turn and down I went. I was a bit gutted because it was not the stage you could afford to crash on and I was trying to make time not lose it! I finished out my run with everything I had left in the tank and crossed the line in 10th.

Final stage: This was the downhill stage of the weekend and all I wanted to do was to leave nothing on the hill and really go for it. With a tire change and a few adjustments to my Remedy I had little time for a warm up, I was straight off the lift and into the start gate. My run seemed to fall into place this time, I was able to carry good speed and hit all my lines. The final stage went great and I had held it together to finish 3rd. A good way to close the weekend.

It has been a mixed race for me this weekend, some up and downs for sure but keeping the consistency going with a 5th overall finish has kept me in 3rd in the points series.

A big thanks to my Sponsors/team/coach/ and wife for all the help to get here this weekend. Without all this support I just couldn't do it!

Trek Factory Racing, Fox Racing Shox, Shimano, Bontrager, MET, Bluegrass, Adidas eyewear, Stages power meters, CNP.

I now have two days testing with Trek and Fox Racing shocks so come Whistler in 2 weeks we should have some more time out of the bike and suspension.

- Justin -