WORLD MTB-O CHAMPS – AUSTRALIA

Pedal to the Medal

Contributions from Blair Trewin (VIC), Bob Mouatt (ACT) and other correspondents.

Adrian Jackson on his way to a Gold medal. Photo: Bob Mouatt

In October, the 2004 World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships were staged in Ballarat, Victoria. For Australia, it was a week to remember, not just because of our successful hosting of the event, but because it brought five medals. Prior to 2004, there had only been four Australian medals in any form of Orienteering at international level. To more than double that in a single week was exceptional, particularly so for Adrian Jackson, who claimed a gold medal and two bronzes, but the spoils were shared around with seven of the twelve team members going home with metal of some colour.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM

Men: David Baldwin (ACT), Anthony Darr (NSW), Adrian Jackson (Vic), Alex Randall (Vic), David Searle(ACT), Tom Walter (ACT); Reserves: Paul Darvodelsky (NSW), Grant Lebbink (Vic). Women: Belinda Allison (ACT), Mary Fien (NSW), Carolyn Jackson (Vic), Anna Sheldon (Qld), Julie Quinn (ACT), Emily Viner (ACT/Vic); Reserve: Elsie Northey (Vic).

LONG-DISTANCE Qualification: Viner wins – Finn’s title defence derailed

Highlights of the Long-distance Qualification races on a sunny day at Creswick Forest were Emily Viner’s win in the women’s event and the elimination of reigning World Men’s Champion, Jussi Makila (FIN), who finished a tantalizing 1min 42sec away from the last qualifying place after puncturing about two-thirds of the way around the course. He lost six minutes attempting to repair the tyre and eventually had to carry his bike. Emily was closely followed by French favourite Laure Coupat who appeared to be a real danger for the final but, as the event unfolded, we found there were some dark horses in the forest.

Jackson takes Bronze - Viner’s medal hopes punctured

The serious business came next day at Wombat Station & Bell’s Reef, near Daylesford. Competitors and spectators alike were treated to a perfect day. The large open, panoramic assembly area provided spectators with an excellent view of competitors as they passed through the paddock for a map exchange roughly half-way through the course. Emily Viner, a silver medallist in 2002, entered the day as a serious Australian hope. Emily started well, making up over 4 min on Laure Coupat in the first loop. She was right in the contest for much of the race, with her most serious challenger being the German, Antje Bornhak, and Finn, Paivi Tommola, who led in the middle stages. Emily regained the lead momentarily before Tommola came back to lead Emily by a few seconds with three controls to go. Both struck trouble in the closing stages, with Viner suffering a puncture in the last few kilometres, and that opened the door for another German. Anke Dannowski had lost three minutes in the first three controls, but rode a magnificent race thereafter, taking the lead at 12 and eventually winning quite comfortably. Tommola pipped Bornhak on the line for silver, whilst Viner had to settle for fifth. Dannowski’s medal was the first gold won by a German in any form of Orienteering. The men’s event was a race in three from fairly early on in the course, featuring Mika Tervala of Finland, Alain Berger of Switzerland, and Australia’s Adrian Jackson. They were never separated by much more than a minute. Tervala often had the edge, but his loss of 44 sec to Berger at 12 was crucial, setting up the race-winning break. As Berger said after his win, “Today was perfect”. Berger had already become the first orienteer to win World Championship medals in both foot and mountain bike events with a MTB-O bronze in 2002 (following his foot-O bronze in 1999, as well several relay medals), but this time it was a gold. Jackson never quite got to the front, but his bronze was the highlight of the first day for the Aussies. The good news for Australia did not stop there, with Belinda Allison and Tom Walter both making the top six after consistent races, and three other women making the top 20, Mary Fien finishing 13th, Julie Quinn 14th and Anna Sheldon 19th.

MIDDLE-DISTANCE Adrian takes Gold; Belinda Allison collects Silver

A golden day for Australian riders on Old Quartz Hill, Castlemaine, the day when Australian Orienteering history was made. Riding in midfield, Adrian Jackson flashed around the course to post a time of 51:47 – for a while some six minutes ahead of second place. Later riders whittled away at his mark but could not better it. Closest was Switzerland’s Alain Berger, the Long-distance Champion, but even he fell short by 46 seconds. After the long legs, big hills and big route choices of the Longdistance, the Middle-distance was more technical (both in a riding and navigational sense) with many small tracks. Jackson set up his win in the early stages, establishing a gap by 3 that was never closed. Alain Berger might have been the one to close it, but an early crash put a severe dent in his chances, breaking his mapboard. He had to ride much of the race with his map in his left hand (which is harder than it sounds), and in the circumstances taking silver, after being outside the placings for the most of the course, was an outstanding effort. Russian Victor Korchagin, who had impressed in the Long-distance qualifying but made no impression in the final, completed the placings. In the women’s event, Belinda Allison, also riding in mid-field, posted a leading time of 53:22 which held up for all of 40 minutes. French champion, Laure Coupat, could do no better than match it and for a while she shared best time with Belinda. It seemed the title would be shared until Austria’s Michaela Gigon came thundering down the finish straight. Michaela had been missed by both radio controls and the crowd was not expecting her. She had a storming finish after a solid start, riding the second half of the course faster than anyone else to take gold by just 14 sec in 53:08. Gigon joined Lucie Bohm as Austria’s only Orienteering gold medallists. She represents Austria but rides for a Czech club team where she has gained invaluable training and tough competition in recent years. Emily Viner again came close to medalling but had to settle for fourth place. Julie Quinn completed an excellent day for the Australians with a seventh, whilst any remaining men’s hopes were dashed when Alex Randall punctured and Tom Walter missed a control.

Sensational silver

Belinda Allison in the finish chute for the Middle Distance event. With the look on her face, it seems she knew then that she had put in a fantastic ride that would earn her a silver medal. Photo: Bob Mouatt

A “Le Mans” style start was used to get the relays underway. Photo: Peter Cusworth

RELAYS Finns reign Supreme

Finland dominated on relays day at Mosquito Flat, Maryborough, where they won both gold medals by comfortable margins. The Finns, the only Scandinavian country with any significant presence at the event, were more at home in the flatter terrain and led almost from the start. The small women’s field of 12 teams didn’t really sort itself out on the first leg, with nine of those teams within three minutes of the pace. The Finns had opened out a small lead through Maija Lång, but prerace favourite Australia was still well and truly in touch, Emily Viner getting back to within 47 seconds of the lead. At the time no-one really noticed that Mary Fien had taken Australia No2 to second. Kirsi Korhonen took control on the second leg. Magali Coupat of France and Sonja Zinkl of Austria threw out challenges in the first half of the course, but both lost significant time at 9 and looked to have blown their chances. It was on this leg that the hopes for gold of the Australian No1 team vanished. Julie Quinn lost 7 min with a puncture at 8. The Czechs managed to avoid mishaps, and came back as the only potential challengers to the Finns, two minutes in arrears. The two Australian teams were still in the fight for medals, being amongst four teams within two minutes, but with a five-minute gap to the Czechs anything more than bronze looked beyond them. For the first half of the last leg it seemed that Marketa Jakoubova would threaten Päivi Tommola, twice closing to within a minute but never quite able to catch her. Her challenge ended definitely on 8. Jakoubova lost eleven minutes there, dropping from 2nd to 7th (she was inconsolable afterwards). The Finns were now certain gold medallists and the next group was fighting for silver. Anna Sheldon, riding the race of her life, was a clear second as the Australian No2 team upstaged the No1 team (gear problems ended any chance Belinda Allison had of challenging), but Michaela Gigon was finishing just as well for the Austrians as she had the day before. She caught Sheldon by the final radio control and was too strong in the end. Anna thought she only had 4th place and screamed with delight on realising her team had won a medal. A cry of “bronze bloody medal!!” came from the team as they hugged each other and danced around. In the men’s relay the Finns led after the first leg too, but it was their No2 team, just ahead of the Russians, with pre-race favourites Switzerland and Finland No1 dicing for third a minute behind that. Another pre-race fancy, the Czech Republic, looked like they might have blown all chances when Radek Tichacek lost five minutes at the third control, while Alex Randall came in three minutes down after losing some time (and his compass) early. At the second change it was now Finland No1 and Russia, Jussi Mäkila having his best ride of the week to take the lead. They were separated by only seven seconds into the last leg. The Czech No2 team were 2 min behind in third but no-one really expected them to hold it – less than two minutes behind them were the two individual gold medallists, Adrian Jackson and Alain Berger, after solid legs from Tom Walter and Simon Seger respectively, and three other teams were also within sight of bronze. The last-leg battle for the lead was over almost before it began – Maxim Zhurkin lost five minutes at the second control and was never in contention after that. Mika Tervala brought the Finns home to a comfortable four-minute victory, but the real action was for the minor placings. Alain Berger disappeared from the picture after a puncture at 7. That left an identical situation to the women’s race – Australia in a clear second place with half a course to go. Once again, though, someone behind was charging – this time Lubomir Tomecek for the Czechs. Jackson lost a critical minute at the second-last control, but still led – just – as the pair reached the last control. He overbraked there, turning a ten-metre lead into a ten-metre deficit, and in the sprint for the line Tomecek just managed to hold on for silver ahead of a desperation finish by Jackson. In winning both Relays, Finland took the honours overall with two gold and two silver medals. Australia was next best with one gold, one silver and three bronze, by far its best ever Orienteering World Championships. Five nations won gold medals and eight (one third of those competing) won at least one medal of any colour.

A Dream Come True!

Blake Gordon

Blake Gordon – Event Director

Back in early 2000 I had a dream about a mythical world mountainbike Orienteering event in Australia. It had all the hallmarks of reality. Silent start areas, colourful bunting, exciting finish chutes lined with spectators, “tent cities” near the finish on school ovals and recreation reserves. Results up on the board as the riders crossed the line, and as a final bonus, great excitement with Australians on the medal podium! Well the 2004 MTB-O World Championships has come and gone – and my dream turned to reality in October 2004! I would like to list several aspects of the organisation that I think should be noted. • The mapping program was managed by two young men - a 27-year old (Reuben Smith) and 18-year old (Andrew Slattery). In less than a year of part-time work (after a visit from Event Advisors in late 2003), five maps were updated and five new maps were made. • The volunteer crew (under Dick Barker’s direction) that ran the event did so in their holidays/or retirement. • A week-long training camp (managed by my wife) was organised with four maps harmonised to ISOM standards. The Victorian Longdistance Championships, in terrain similar to the Qualifying and

Long-distance WOC final, was a great warm-up event with record attendances. • Two course setters (Derek Morris and Keith Wade) worked tirelessly through the 2004 winter months to produce challenging courses.

Lindsay Thomas translated their efforts into many draft maps /draft courses that he sent to the Event Advisors via email for comment. • The Event Advisors (Tibor Erdelyi and Dave Lotty) checked many aspect of mapping and course-setting, made relevant changes, and printed digital maps one-week before the events. • Initial positive signs that the event would attract state government (Sport and Recreation) funding proved false. The event did attract just over $6000 in Events Ballarat and Tourism Victoria funding which help feed the athletes and advertise the event locally and internationally. • The best weather of the Australian spring – a week of sunshine in mid-October – was a perfect compliment to the infrastructure at the venues. • A steep learning curve experienced by Mark Valentine in transporting competitors (and their bikes) to and from venues, dinners, tourist visits, and the Melbourne airport. • The venues – from a bushland setting at Creswick, to the open

Daylesford paddock, and sports ovals at Castlemaine and

Maryborough – made for exciting places to showcase mountain-bike Some of key people that helped make the World Championships such a success: Blake Gordon (Event Director), Derek Morris (Course setter), Keith Wade (Course setter) and Dick Barker (Infrastructure supremo).

orienteering. The logo (Peter Cusworth’s design) helped to unify and advertise the event. • The SportIdent system and timing-on-the-line SI technology (managed by Ian Chennell, Terry Haebich, Bruce Paterson) worked without any failures and provided feedback to competitors. • The result board (linked by computer to the finish line) produced results within less than a minute on the colourful result display near the finish banner. Special thanks to Pam and Peter Prime,

Peter Searle and their motivated team for the best results ever in the field. • Best performance by an Australian Orienteering team – 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronzes (two in relays) – in the 35 year-old history of

Orienteering in Australia – was a terrific bonus. A few moments which are etched in my memory… • The “look of gold” on Adrian Jackson’s face as he neared the finish line at Castlemaine. • The “just in the nick of time” dash by the station wagon to the start triangle at Daylesford. • Screams of joy at the finish of Anna Sheldon’s (with Carolyn

Jackson and Mary Fien) third-leg in the women’s relay. • When the New Zealand team “took to the stage” at the final banquet. • The laughs of the internationals when Sandra had to “verify” their final night entry to the pub. • And the “silver” smile on Belinda Allison’s face from the moment she finished at Daylesford. It does not get much better than this! This might be the “Last Gasp” for World MTB-O 2004, but there’s sure to be something else soon.

PROFILE – Belinda Allison Age: 31 Club: Red Roos, ACT. Occupation: Manager, Australian Natural Resources Atlas, Dept. of Environment & Heritage. First orienteered: A long time ago when I was very young. Training for WMTB-O: Interval work both on the bike and in the gym. Hill reps; power sprints; weights, etc. and rode events on weekends – both orienteering and cross-country racing. I was helped a lot by the cycling coach at ACTAS on mental preparation and nutritional aids. I was taught to concentrate on all the little things so there would be no surprises on race day. Hobbies: No time for other things at present but I do like handicrafts and house renovation. Next: Take a mental break. I’ll decide whether to aim at Slovakia early next year. In the meantime I’ll compete in mountain bike races during summer and also some foot-O events, though it’s difficult to train for both. Achievements: 2004 World MTB-O Women’s Championship – silver medal in Middle-distance.

Belinda Allison – Middle-Distance Silver medal Adrian Jackson – Middle-Distance Gold medal

Adrian Jackson – Long-Distance Bronze medal

Men’s Relay Bronze medal Alex Randall, Tom Walter, Adrian Jackson

Women’s Relay Bronze medal Mary Fien, Carolyn Jackson, Anna Sheldon

Interview - Emily Viner

(after Long-distance Qualification race)

? When you got your map at the start and saw the first leg was about five kilometres long, what was your immediate reaction? (Riders receive the map 60 seconds before their start time).

Emily: I started looking at the route choices but I knew I had to get my map onto my mapboard with all the possible route choices showing on it. That was a tricky task in itself. Once I’d done that, I knew where I wanted to approach the control from and which track I wanted to come in on - that decided my route choice back and I could start to work with the map. I was looking at the route choice a lot while I was riding, thinking: Is this the right way? Am I still on the right track? Should I alter my course?

? Did you pedal off straightaway? How long did you spend?

Emily: From the meeting last night I knew the map was bigger than A3. I decided it was better to spend longer folding the map and making sure I had it right even if it meant I was slower out of the start triangle. I think I folded it and got it quite right.

? One of the German girls I was talking to about that leg described it in just one word, “Langweilig” (boring).

Emily: I don’t think it was boring. I haven’t found anyone who took the same route choice as me. I think there were lots of route possibilities and lots of possibilities for coming unstuck.

Emily qualified fastest for the LongDistance Final. Photo: Bob Mouatt

If you’re in it, you can WIN

All you have to do is take part, and you are automatically in the draw to win: All Australian registered orienteers who take part in three or more official MTB-O events in Australia June 2004 – Queens Birthday weekend, June 2005.

KHS MBC 1500 Technical Features: Light weight 7005 Alloy frame, Shimano XT

27 speed, Hayes hydraulic disc brakes, Rockshox Judy SL travel adjustable suspension forks, double strength alloy wheels, all alloy components.

MELBOURNE

CENTRE

This is a MTB-O dream bike. It features the most powerful and low maintenance disc brakes available from Hayes, the premier brake supply brand. A must for those last minute navigation changes of direction. The latest Shimano XT 27 speed gear offerings with full Shimano drivetrain with sealed bearings for long wear. To improve the bike’s handling it is now equipped with the latest Rockshox suspension forks. One major bonus feature of the shockers is the "on the fly" ability to adjust the amount of travel available from 80 mm to 100 mm at the turn of a dial. Brilliant for changing event conditions, from open or fire-road blasting to skilful single track control. Top to bottom this bike is oozing with quality alloy parts and the attention to the little details is of particularly high standard. The model is a special edition designed by Warren Key at Melbourne Bicycle Centre in conjunction with KHS USA for cross country racing and, of course, MTB Orienteering. Special offer to orienteers, just $1000 including free freight to anywhere in Australia

GENUINELY LIMITED AVAILABILITY

see MBC catalogue RRP $1799

All Australian registered orienteers M/W19 or older in 2005 who take part in both the Australian Individual Championships 2004 and in the Australian (Easter) Three Days 2005.

5NL Turbo compass

Competition baseplate model with quick needle dampening. Hand contoured baseplate with sure-grip rubber feet. Front end map scales, !:10000 and 1:15000. Valued at $68.

4 back packs

22 litre, padded harness, padded back, adjustable waist belt. Zippered opening, front pocket.

PLUS

Map Board RRP $139

Map reduced to fit on page.

Alain Berger from Switzerland winning the Long- Distance Gold medal. He also won silver in the Middle-Distance. Photo: Peter Cusworth

PROFILE – Michaela Gigon (Austria)

Age: 27 Club: rides for a Czech club; lives in Vienna, Austria. Occupation: Currently works on contract with the Austrian Army as a mountain bike rider. Her contract expires in November. She is hoping that her gold medal will help her gain an extension of her contract. First orienteered: Started Orienteering in 1990. Achievements: 2004 World MTB-O Women’s Champion in Middle-distance; silver medal in Women’s Relay. In 2000 she developed a severe ankle problem and was advised to give up running and to stop Orienteering. She then switched to mountain bike Orienteering. She crashed during her winning ride, but it did not have much impact on her. She started the race slowly and safely, in terms of navigation, and relied on not making a mistake to ensure a fast time. Other achievements: Represented Austria at JWOC in 1996 and 1997 and at WOC in 1997 & 1999.

Note: Map has been reduced in scale to fit on this page.

Mother and son celebrate bronze medal wins in the World MTB-O Relay Championships. Carolyn (47) and Adrian Jackson (21) were both in the Australian relay teams which won bronze in the men's and women's events. This must be the first time that two generations of one family have competed in the same national team at any world Orienteering championship – and they both won medals as well. Another unique double was that Carolyn is the only person to compete at both World Orienteering Championships held in Australia. She was also a member of the Australian Foot-O team for the Worlds at Bendigo in 1985.

PROFILE – Adrian Jackson

Age: 21 Club: Melbourne Forest Racers, Victoria. Occupation: 3rd year Aerospace Engineering student at Monash University. First orienteered: When I was 10 or 11 years old my parents took me on foot-O courses. Training for WMTB-O: A lot of interval work on the bike – three or four sessions each week. At least one long (2-hour) ride and also cross country mountain bike racing in “Expert Class”. Hobbies: No time for other things besides study and training. I intend to concentrate on MTB-O for a while but I’d also like to represent Australia in foot-O some time in the future. Unfortunately it’s impossible to combine training for the two disciplines so MTB-O will come first for a while. Next: More mountain bike races during the summer. I’ll also go to the Australian 3-Days foot-O next Easter. After that I want to concentrate on making the Australian team for the WMTB-O Championships in Slovakia next September. Achievements: 2004 World MTB-O Men’s Champion in Middledistance; bronze medals in Long-distance and in the Men’s Relay.

Medal winning thoughts

Adrian Jackson - Long:

I was unsure of how I would go over the distance, so I just went fast! Made bad choices on the first legs on both maps, each costing almost a minute. Also lost 30 sec getting into the last control, easily the difference to silver. The bronze was totally unexpected; I thought I had a better chance in the Middle-distance, so a medal in the Long was absolutely amazing.

Middle: after the Long I knew I had a chance at another medal - no mistakes was the key. My race was basically perfect, I was reading ahead well, picking good routes, felt strong and was riding on the edge of my ability. The whole way down the finish chute I couldn't hear anything Blair (Trewin) was saying, but as soon as I stopped and heard my time I couldn't stop grinning. I knew the later starters were going to go very close to my time, and I was most worried about Alain Berger and Mika Tervala. I was just lucky Alain hit my strategically placed stick which then broke his map board, as he would have almost certainly beaten me. Relay: Our team members were all quite calm before the race, knowing we would have to have three mistake-free rides to get into the medals. After Tom had an awesome ride to come back in 4th position, I knew it would be close at the finish. I kept seeing the pack behind me going out of controls. I made a couple of mistakes, losing about a minute through the middle part of the course. Nearing the second last I turned down the wrong track for a few seconds, and by the time I got back to the control the Czech guy was on my wheel. He just trailed behind, and after my poor punch at the last control it was all over. I had nothing in the sprint for the line, but in retrospect, bronze was a pretty good outcome. Carolyn Jackson - For me, an incredible roller-coaster of emotional highs and lows. Absolutely shattered that I got sick - but then Adrian’s and the teams’ success made it seem not to matter. As a mum, the pride I felt at what Adrian achieved is hard to describe - it was huge! (Ed: Carolyn was spotted at the medal ceremony, thumbs in the air, going “YES!”.) I felt I navigated incredibly well in the Long and Middle-distance races considering how I felt, but I was also very angry at my mistake in the Relay - I felt at the time it cost us silver... I suppose I should be pleased that I made it round. Of course I was absolutely dumbfounded, but delighted to win the bronze medal, but I also felt incredibly sorry for the girls No1 team.

Belinda Allison – Long:

I was very excited to be starting the Long-distance final but also really nervous! I was glad that I had been training my navigation 'processes' and I really focussed on navigating well to the first few controls. I took a conservative route to control 2. Although this cost me some time, I felt much more confident after that and was able to relax into the course more and really push the speed.

I got quite tired towards the end and it was very hilly, but I just kept on going hard, telling myself “it's only pain, it will go away soon,” in an attempt to make myself feel better. I could see the Finnish girl who started behind me a few times as I was leaving controls, and decided to try and get to the finish before she did. While I was disappointed to see her, I kept thinking that I just had to keep going as she might end up winning or something. Turned out she was the 2002 World Champion and did come 2nd today! So the moral of the story is just keep going! I didn't know really what to expect on the result board, I just wanted to have the best ride I could. I did that, and getting 6th was just so excellent! I was so happy, and felt quite teary going up on the podium. It was something I had dreamed of since doing foot Orienteering, and seeing Annichen Kringstadt win WOC in 1985 at Kooyoora. Middle: my favourite race is the Middle-distance, so I was really hoping to do well. I didn't dare think after the classic that I could get a medal, but again just tried to focus on my own race. I had a great ride, navigating well, and felt strong on all the hills, and I was so happy to get a silver medal! It was pretty nerve-wracking waiting at the finish, as I'd had quite an early start, but it was also exciting. I couldn't stop smiling! (Ed: yes, we noticed.) I think one of the things that really helped me was that I was well prepared. After the Easter trials in Qld I wrote a list of things that I needed to sort out before WMTB-O. You may as well eliminate any likely problems to give it your best shot! I practiced changing my tyre and pumping the tube with CO2 canisters. I worked out what energy food to eat while riding (I can't eat the gels) and tried a few different things in long rides and races, then settled on flat coke. I made two gear lists and laminated them - one of what to take to an event and one for when I go to the start. I used these lists at all MTB-O events and training sessions, so it wouldn’t be a "big deal" at more important events. I also spent a fair bit of time on the mental side of things, and husband Jase (Jason McCrae) helped out here. I looked at courses at least once a week from about June, and practiced my thought processes. I included a few courses with spectator controls in them too. Of course I trained hard too, but I really think that it was a lot of those smaller things that made the difference to me. Even though I was really nervous, I knew I had prepared as well as I could. The two podium places were just an awesome bonus after achieving my goal to race to the best of my ability.

How they prepared

Kay Haarsma – Australian MTB-O Team Coach

I’ve been to a few World Championships in my time. This time I was really confident we would get medals and it actually happened! And Adrian Jackson even got that coveted initial WOC “gold” medal. How exciting was it to see both our teams score bronze medals in the relay, and it could have been better with a few less than 5 punctures! But was I satisfied – mightily. Couldn’t stop smiling for a week. As Coach, I had great riders, navigators and people to work with, and they enjoyed their job! Many factors contributed to the team success. Emily’s 2nd place at the Worlds in 2002 and Alex’s 2nd at the World Cup gave our riders the confidence that we could race at the pointy end of the competition. Standards in a new sport will always rise initially but we felt that we had improved too. The Queensland trial at Easter saw a number of new potential squad members come to the fore putting more pressure on our highly ranked riders. The final trials in Bendigo were well timed (just 5 weeks before the Champs). Everyone was eager to make the team for a “home” World Champs, had trained hard, and therefore we had great depth. All riders had groups or training partners to provide support and encouragement. Many had individual coaches (athletics, triathlon, cycling or foot o) who were happy to take on training suggestions from me or their riders and make modified programs. The team was a happy one and supported each other well. This was a big factor. Physically we maintained health and fitness throughout the week of racing by: providing bananas and electrolyte drinks at the finish line; warming down considerably; providing massages as desired; wearing “sport skins” after the event for recovery purposes. Wind trainers were used for warm-up and cool down as much as possible. We had a team mechanic (Fred Ledger from NSW) to work on the bikes each day. These are some of the important 1% er’s that help. Team management put the rider needs first, were consistent and efficient, so there were no surprises. I always went to the pre-start to provide a familiar face and carried a set of all equipment (compass, water bottle SI attacher, etc ..) for emergencies. On race days I tried to shield riders from extraneous news. Andrew Rowe (manager) and Paul Darvodelsky (assistant coach) were the welcome home party, either at the finish, or in the “corral”, the roped off area where the early riders waited until all had started. My main concerns were: the relative lack of races in Australia, and the fact that we had little experience in racing head to head against unknown and very capable riders.

The Australian team leads the procession to the Opening Ceremony in Victoria Park, Ballarat. Photo: Bob Mouatt

Kay Haarsma with Australia’s individual medallists, Adrian Jackson (Gold and Bronze) and Belinda Allison (Silver).

Due to some great sponsorship the team both looked and felt good. Many thanks to: Netti (riding clothes); Macpac (rockover” pants and “interwool” tees); Skins (recovery tights); Silva (mapboards and compasses); PSD (water bottles); and Hammergels (energy gels). I urged the team to only ride as fast as they could navigate, because errors in MTB-O are paid for very dearly. You must backtrack rather than cut through the forest on an angle, as in foot-O. In the Champs, as each day went by the areas got increasingly technical so riders had to use more caution. Psychologically our success of four on the podium in the Long-distance event inspired the rest of the team. Kay at the Long-Distance Final Pre-start with Emily Viner. Photo: Ian Baker