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Crash, burn and shine in Italia

Mountain biking
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Oli Beckingsale at action in Fort William

Oli Beckingsale, is one of British Cycling’s two Olympic Podium Programme riders in men's cross-country mountain biking.

The 32-year-old Commonwealth silver medallist from Bristol will be competing in his third Olympics in Beijing.

The first peak event of my season, the world championships, has been and gone and I achieved my aim of a top 10 finish.

I had a less than perfect day and run-in and I’m left wondering if I could have finished higher up, but then that’s sport. Having had a good day and a personal best ride at the World Cup race in Scotland (that’s me in action at Fort William above) I was confident that two weeks later I would be even better, with some specific preparation and a training taper.

Things started to go a bit wrong the day I travelled out to Italy 10 days before the race. I had a sore throat all day and night, and then the next day developed a full-on cold, which meant that instead of training on the amazing local road climbs I was lying in bed feeling grumpy.

After three days out of action I was back training but it was too late to train too much. It was not the end of the world, but not ideal.

By the start of race week, things were looking up and the course was good, with some long steep climbs - which are my strong point - and some good technical sections. A couple of crashes and a reaction to the local pollen was again not the end of the world, but I was starting to think that my luck was up.

On the Saturday it was downhill final day and every year I try to get down to the finish area to watch the last dozen men come down. Myself and Nick Craig always used to do this and now it had become tradition, although these days I am on my own as Craigy has hung up his wheels.

Earlier in the day the Brits had been on fire with a 1, 2, 6 finish in the junior men's and a 1, 6 finish in the women's with Rach Atherton winning. It was now left to the men to keep the winning streak.

I could not make a fast bend and went flying speedway style into the bushes. I was well and truly jammed
The MTB legend Steve Peat, came down fastest with seven men to go, then last year’s champ Aussie Sam Hill was seven seconds up, but then binned it in sight of the line to go second.

The atmosphere was mental at the finish with only Gee Atherton to go - he had a great run to take it and make a brother/sister double!

It was eventually my race day and it was going to be a hot one at 30 degrees. There was not much need for a warm-up, other than to get everything going, and then the 105 men field was off for our seven lap Sunday ride. I got an average start and had a good second lap moving up to the top 10. I did not feel great, but I don’t think anyone does in these conditions.

On lap three, things started to go a bit wrong and I was getting some serious brake fade. The combination of a small rear disc rotor, the heat and my riding style was the cause and the result was a big crash.

I could not make a fast bend and went flying speedway style into the bushes. I was well and truly jammed, but some spectators got me and my bike out. Other than some shredded shorts and some cuts I was OK and on my way.

For the next half a lap I was a bit shaken and grumpy, but after I gave myself a talking to I got my head screwed on and focused again. By now I was back to 20th but over the next four laps I got stuck in and got back to a decent 10th place.

The Swiss rider Christophe Sauser, won comfortably. I have known Susi since we were juniors (he outsprinted me for 12th place at the 1994 worlds) and it was great for him to win his first worlds after a few second places. Fellow Brit Liam Killeen also did one hell of a ride finishing fourth, after struggling for the last year Liam got it all right and was flying. With two Brits in the top 10 it was the best senior XC worlds since 1993.

The Olympic Games are only a few weeks away, but after such a tough training and racing period I was rewarded with a week off the bike, as sometimes to go up you must first come down. It was great to spend some proper time with my family and we headed down to Cornwall for four days, with no bike, no lap top and no mobile coverage.

Come Monday it was back to a three hour ride and e-mails, as I have eight weeks to get the form of my life.

Check out here on BBC Sport and www.olibeck.com for latest news.

Oli Beckingsale is just one of the 2008 Olympians and 2012 hopefuls appearing regularly on 606. Find out more.

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comment by mummieslittlesolider (U9608155)

posted Jul 7, 2008

Yeah good result Oli and great article again.

Nice tip GC - will have to try that the next time my sniffles get out of control - although not sure that Mrs MLS would appreciate all that garlic though. I can image the hoodie and big socks combination being very comforting - should they be matching colours or would that be a bit sad

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comment by GordonCummings (U12408680)

posted Jul 7, 2008

Hello again MLS.

Theres no need for the colours to match as in my experience comfort is the key factor. Tea and Cake is also a great comfort in such circumstances. Remember though thin slices makes the cake last longer.

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comment by mummieslittlesolider (U9608155)

posted Jul 7, 2008

Hello GC

Been out much on the Grifter recently?

You're right comfort is the key sadly in my case my comfy red socks would match my comfy red hoodie - its a kind of grubby chic.

"Thin slices make the cake last longer" very frugral : Are you Gordon Brown or Gordon Cummings? Bet you even scrape on the tiniest piece of margarine before scraping it off again.

Thin slices are all well and good but you do need a really good quality, well balanced knife otherwise you'll be eating crumbs

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comment by GordonCummings (U12408680)

posted Jul 8, 2008

Hello MLS

Was out on the Grifter this weekend, as I tried to replicate my own version of Le Tour by cycling up the hill to the Chip Shop. Unfortunately the Handle Bar Gear shift got stuck in 3rd gear making it a rather tiring trip.

Anyway enough of the idle chit chat we need tips from the man himself. Oli are there any tricks that can make even the most amateurish of cyclists faster, I'm not trying to cut corners just want to slice a few minutes off my times?

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comment by mummieslittlesolider (U9608155)

posted Jul 8, 2008

Hello Again GC

I agree yes "IT's TIME" we heard from the man himself. Some tips from Oli would be very useful. After our discussion last week I decided to dust of the old wheels, so chucked the bike into the back of the old Renault Broadway (my second car honest!!! I use it mainly for taking the bike places but I've not used it for so long that I got a letter from my landlord asking me did I know anything about the car which had been DUMPED in my parking spaces - the cheek of it)
Anyway I took quite a few tumbles on the bike, so some tips from Oli would be much appreciated and maybe I could be the cycling version of the Stig!

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comment by Andy Nicolson - BBC Sport (U6807082)

posted Jul 11, 2008

Hi all,

I've asked Oli if he can pop in to reply to your comments and questions, and I'm sure if he's got the time he'll do so

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comment by Oli Beckingsale - GB Mountain-Bike Rider (U9537641)

posted Jul 13, 2008

Getting over cold is just a matter of time, but keeping exercise easy, keeping warm, taking some vitamins and sleeping as much a spossible helps.. Oli

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comment by Oli Beckingsale - GB Mountain-Bike Rider (U9537641)

posted Jul 13, 2008

Hello MLS
A good cycling tip would be to learn how to bunny hop, where you hop obstacles like logs or tram tracks on the way home from the bookies etc. Super useful on the trail. Pull up on the bars and push your weight back then as the front wheel clears push your weight forward and pull on the pedals. As you get better you will get higher and higher.

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comment by GordonCummings (U12408680)

posted Jul 16, 2008

Respect Oli, thanks for taking the time to reply to the message. Andy thanks for getting him to reply!

A close friend of mine is the cycling legend Norman Brown, he's well known in the Sheffield Area for his MTB cross country and off - track activities. He's also managed to put a controversial race corner cutting incident behind him. Anyway NB always say's to me; "It's not all abart how fast thi go, it's about tactics. Also shave thee legs lad that'll mek thi go faster". Is there any truth in this before I take the bic to my legs?

Good luck at the Oliympics (can you see what I did there).

GC

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comment by mummieslittlesolider (U9608155)

posted Jul 16, 2008

Hello Oli

Thanks for the tips. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'll give the bunny hop a try although I'm a bit worried I may injure the family jewells, which I have a habit of doing on the bike. I suspect thats an ocupational hazzard of being a cyclist.

Oliympics - Nice one GC almost choked on my tea. Seriously though GC shaving legs is a bit extreme, may as well wear tights - at least they'd be nice and warm!

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