JWOC MTBO

[gg]

Seems like Emily was 4th today in the sprint - lost a minute to first radio, then riding at the winners speed for the rest.

[Stodgetta]

Looks like the first part of the courses was tricky. In the senior Euro Champs, quite a few have lost alot of time there (including Stodge who's going to be ) and several have been DQ's for punching the first radio control towards the end of the course. Will be interesting to see the maps/courses.

[harry]

Well done Emily!
Also rrrespect to my pal Marte Renaas (who won first leg of Venla last week and is interviewed here: http://www.nopesport.com/podcasts/episode-3) did her first MTBO race today and came 7th in the European Champs. Not bad. There are a couple of Norwegian ski-orienteers competing in the JWOC too.

[harry]

Looks like a solid 6th place today for Emily at the middle distance, just over 3 mins back. And those Norwegian ski orienteers seem to be getting the hang of it, a silver and a bronze in the JWOC. Marte had problems with her bike today and jacked. I thought fixing mechanicals was part of the game in MTBO? (One of the many areas I would have problems with in this crazy sport)

[Becks]

Marte had problems with her bike today and jacked. I thought fixing mechanicals was part of the game in MTBO? (One of the many areas I would have problems with in this crazy sport)

With you on that one! What's the fastest you MTBOers can change an inner tube?! Does that happen a lot?

[brooner]

Most probably ride with tubeless tires, then you don't have to worry about this problem! (although you do then have other difficulties to worry about).

I guess fixing problems is pretty dependant on what the problem is, whether you can fix it, and how far through the race you are. If you get a problem in a sprint or middle then its likely that you're chances are already gone, whereas in the long you've still got the opportunity to make up time...

[mharky]

Tubeless tyres still get punctures. It's not they don't have a tube of air in them,it's just that the inner-tube and tyre is the same piece of rubber. If you flat on one of them you can roll a bit further a bit faster, but you still have a punctures. Thing is, you can't repair it, the tyres are glued on and you can't carry spare ones. You'd need to have a spare wheel. That doesn't work in MTBO.

You can fix a flat in a minute of you are rapide. A snapped chain might take a bit longer. Not much else you can fix.

[ifor]

Tubeless MTB tyres are not glued in... The rim and tyre are specifical shaped to get an airtight seal and you have liquid sealant inside which will cope with minor thorns as well. If you do get a puncture trailside the normal repair is to put a tube in to get you home. A broken chain is not to bad with the corect tool to remove broken link and and an sram power link for a tempory fix probobly quicker than a puncture. The main thing of course is to have your bike in good shape befor the start to aviod these issues. E.g. Emily fitted a new chain and casset befor heading out to Denmark.

[gg]

5th place today for a very disappointed Emily. Still sounds pretty damn good to me!

[awk]

You can fix a flat in a minute of you are rapide.

I know this sounds naive, but how?!

[awk]

5th place today for a very disappointed Emily. Still sounds pretty damn good to me!

I know she was going for medals, but three top 6 places is still very impressive, and remarkably consistent. Well done Emily.

[madmike]

5th place today for a very disappointed Emily. Still sounds pretty damn good to me!

I know she was going for medals, but three top 6 places is still very impressive, and remarkably consistent. Well done Emily.

Very well done indeed Emily and if you are feeling a bit disappointed about not medalling then remember how many times Paula Radcliffe finished 4th or 5th before she went on to shatter world records!

[Stodgetta]

I know Emily will be really disappointed, but feedback from the team has been that it has been the most technically challenging mtbo they have ever done, & that there is nowhere in the UK with the intricate path network available to ride and practice on.
This is Em's long race part 1 map from yesterday



I think there's a few people in the team who feel very disappointed & they have a point to prove to themselves when they compete in the World Champs, but Israel in August is going to be tough!!

[EBenham]

The Italians like to change inner tubes...... 2 minutes is more do-able than 1...
A good way around tubeless tyres is to get Schwalbe inner tubes, take the valve out, wack in 50mls of joe's no flats, and then it works the same as tubeless but sealing up any small punctures. I got glass in my tyre in the middle race, and it held all the way round. I only realised when I finished because 30mins later the tyre was flat. Once the wheel stops going round the fluid stops having its preventative effect.

I did however, get my chain stuck down the back of my cassette in the middle race losing 90secs..... but this had nothing to do with my repairs I made before the races! Well, it partly was as I removed the spoke protector which stops this happening!

Thanks for your support guys