Justin Leov Episode 2 2015 EWS Round 3

It’s Not Over 'til it’s Over!

With back to back EWS weekends I think everyone knew it would come down to who could recover the best from Ireland. It was in Peebles last year where I managed to score my first podium ever and with two days of racing so much can happen, so it's an exciting race. Coming from near perfect conditions in Ireland it was almost a given before I checked the weather forecast that we would see some typical Scottish weather over the week. It was pretty much what we expected but with extreme changes, we would see everything from blue skies to sideways rain with ice, axle-deep mud to fresh dusty loam! The week would see a lot of woollen clothing, rain jackets and waterproof gloves and our nutrition requirements would be huge this week.

So with the Tweedlove EWS there are basically two aspects, day one on the Innerleithen side and day two at Glentress, a few kms up the road. The first day at Innerleithen would see the more DH style trails; we would start with a physical stage but once through that it would be tight trees, tree roots and who could stay on. Day two on the Glentress side would have a mix of technical stages in the woods and flat out hammer to the wall endurance stages. This is where I learnt last year the race is won or lost and carrying speed while being in top physical condition would really make the difference. With these facts I had a simple game plan. Get through day one without any major dramas and then put all my energy into day two where the freshness would pay off.. Hopefully!

Practice this time around was over three days, it allowed a day on each side and one day of ‘choose which ever stage you want’. Learning these courses requires energy and there is always the fine line of how many times do you want to climb back to practice versus saving the energy with a single run. This time around we chose to ride both stage 1 and 2 twice and then a single on stage 3 and stage 4. For a first day of practice this was around 2000 meters of climbing. Getting the morning done with mild conditions we soon got to experience our first weather patterns coming in and rain showers to play in.

For the second day of training we would see rain on and off all day. This would break into blue sky moments at about a ratio of 20mins dry to 10mins wet. The climb back out from stage 5 would also show us sideways rain and being blasted by ice which felt like being on a windy sandy beach! Today we opted to start with a single on stage 6 , then ride stage 7 twice then stage 8 and finish with a couple of stage 5. This meant we could learn the fresher DH style courses and save energy on the longer more physical stages by only riding once.

After our morning roll down stage 6 it was evident this would be a key stage. It was nearly 13 mins long on the camera footage and had three decent climbs which would totally break up the field. I knew there would also be some controversy about this stage. It was so physical and basic in terms of technical aspects that some people would be struggling to be able to handle it. None the less I was happy, physical is what I train for as well as technical. We're not just racing Downhill, Enduro is meant to be in my opinion a mixture of both. With another 1800 meters climbed today in the rain I was starting to once again feel the body.

The morning of the last day of training I was feeling quite tired so I canned my original plan of a run on stage 1, 3 and 4 and opted for a single run on stage 1 and then put the feet up and rest the remaining day. It was the right call for me and by evening I was feeling human again and ready for the abuse I was going to get the following days.

Race Day 1: Innerleithen 4 stages with a forecast of blue skies! Happy days.

With around 7 hours from start to finish, this would be a stress free day in terms of liaison times. Each stage would allow us to cruise up and not have to drop the hammer at any point in the day to make a start time. Beginning on Stage 1 this would have us pedal straight out of the gate and then hit awkward speed zapping rocks before settling into the run on freshly cut wooded sections and steep chutes. It was a bit of shock to the system for first stage of the day and for some reason I felt a bit flustered. Crashing on right hander near the top of rocky section I instantly swore to myself and pushed on for the rest of the run annoyed. Not the start I had hoped for.

Stage 2 was wide open fast and some bar grabbing trees which were damn close at high speed. I liked this stage a lot and felt good in training going fast. This time around I threw down a fast run without crashing and slotted into 2nd for the stage behind Richie Rude. Back on track.

With a timing check and a feed station I didn't bother refilling my bladder as there would be water 30 mins up the next climb at another feed station (well I thought there would be at least) arriving there I was gutted to see all the water had gone and I would be on my own for the next hour before they hopefully refilled the water if I was lucky!

Stage 3 was flat out fast up top above the tree line then a moment of darkness as we entered the woods Clear and sharp vision is essential in our sport, in such conditions even more. High quality lens is a must. I had a clean run with no mistakes so another one checked off and happy for the final stage of the day. Climbing back up for stage 4 had us pass the previous empty feed station once more. Luckily for me this time there was water and I was a happy man. Neglecting fluid is something that you never want to do in these races.

Final stage of the day and this one would race us further down the hill than stage 3. It would be a similar terrain with tight woods and plenty of roots to deflect the wheels off line. Unfortunately for me it wasn't to be a clean run and although I felt my riding was well under control, I misjudged my speed into a right hander and down I went for the second time of the day. Finishing the stage I was annoyed again with myself for giving up some more time to leaders. Official time check would show I was 20 seconds down for the day behind Richie Rude and in 9th position.

Frustration didn't last long though and my focus changed to day two and how I would need not only a clean day but there would be no way I could leave anything on the stages. #fullgas!

I woke on Sunday to read some really disappointing news. The event would be cut from four stages today down to two due to some predicted weather and high winds that could potentially bring trees down in the forest. I could totally understand the safety aspects and knew the call needed to be made but still, I was gutted. I thought at this stage I could bring back enough time in two stages to maybe get back to a podium finish but that would be riding the socks off it so to speak. I thought my chances of being able to win would be a far push.

Setting off for the day we had much colder conditions than our previous day of blue skies. Cold winds and rain showers reminded me of the practice days before and with only stage 5 and stage 8 it was going to be super short day in the elements. Stage 5 would be a short fresh downhill stage that finished on slippery roots. The ruts were deep in practice so everyone was going to have a mission of stage for the race. It didn't take more than a few corners and I realised this was going to be a tough one to stay clean. The mud was incredible, every rut wanted to grab your wheels and if you slowed your speed down too much the mud was so thick it could throw you off as well. It was one of those stages you had to go fast and hold on and whatever you did, keep your feet on while in the ruts! I managed a fast clean run and 3rd for the stage. Richie had had a real problem In this stage losing his lead and with my clean run I had moved up the ladder to around 5th. I needed to empty everything I had for the final stage of the day if I was to achieve my goal of clawing myself back into a podium position.

There was a couple of key points to stage 8. It started further up the hill than previously planned due to the day being shortened. It now would have about 2 mins of stage 6 on the start of the stage and this is all bike park style corners where speed carrying is really important. We then would climb a short section before hitting the wide open part of the run and where it got fun! The middle of the run was again all about carrying your speed through flowy turns before the most aggressive short climb followed by a fire road downhill and then grind up the last short hill to have a fast and flowy descent to the finish. I needed to be aggressive for this one and I planned to hurt myself massively on the pedalling.

I would say this run was on the edge for me, I had some moments where I was at the seat of my pants but just held it together and then the hurt I put though my legs was incredible. This was one of those runs when I was in constant fight between wanting to stop pushing so hard because it hurt so bad and the desire to want to win so bad it pushed me to hold it at the absolute limit. I remember the feeling of not enough oxygen as I crossed the finish line but with nothing left on the stage I was totally happy with my day and super exited to see how I had done with the weekend’s standings.

A short 10min ride back to the finish arena and with the final time check I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the timing board. I had bloody done it! I had brought back not only enough time to hit the podium but had just sneaked past Florian Nicolai and Greg Callaghan to take my first ever EWS victory! It was my biggest dream come true, speechless it didn't really sink in until the podium and hearing my name called out as the winner, I couldn't wipe the cheesy grin off my face. What a bloody weekend and what a bloody day!! Taking over the series lead from Jerome was another unexpected surprise and with a dominant ride from Tracy and another solid ride from Rene once again we were the top team for the weekend. You just can't ask for anything better than that!

I feel hugely proud to be series leader. It’s something to hold with respect and I've always looked up to the riders holding it. Heading into a short break it's now time to have a regroup and freshen the mind and body again. The next round in France will be another battle and will have its challenges but getting back to the higher mountains is something I'm really looking forward to and seeing some long stages again will be a lot of fun!

See you out there

Offseason Time Warp to Kiwi Carnage in the Rotorua Forest

(Words by Justin Leov)

I often find the offseason comes and goes really fast! This year even more so with an earlier round landing in our home land for once!

The offseason was a time warp blur for me. I had a lot going on as usual. Tory, Luca and I jumped straight into moving towns from Christchurch to Blenheim. This is where mountain biking first started for me as I grew up in The Malborough Regine, so this really is coming home! I had a lot of work finishing our house with a few weeks off the bike, and these turned into long days on the tools.

With the house finished we moved in just before Christmas and my next challenge was to get stuck into recovering the knee and wrist injuries I was carrying through the latter part of the 2014 season. With the help of the All Blacks doctor and my coach we were able to figure out what was going on and put to work a plan to correct my weaknesses in the muscles which were contributing to these injuries. Back into the training and some work to be done!

My training has been strong this offseason but it was touch and go if I would be able to even race in Rotorua when 2 weeks out I crashed while out on a training ride and tore my calf muscle. This is a painful injury and it came at the worst possible time in terms of where I needed to be coming in. Skipping the NZ Enduro event to focus on physiotherapy and recovery was all about getting strong enough to be able to race the opening round of the EWS! These are the type of things that do happen in our sport and managing them is something I've had plenty of practice with during my career of racing.

Looking toward EWS #1 and building up a fresh rig for the season I decided to ride my old trusty 29er. This year I have stepped up to the 160mm fork up front (up from the 150mm that I ran last year). With a little time on the bike I felt ready and rearing to go!

Course maps were released which I really liked the look of but with the forecasted weather I knew this race would be a tough one and that it had the potential to take out a few people.  It's always gutting to see your fellow racers with injuries and when the current Enduro world champ and good friend of mine Jared Graves announced he would be sitting out the race due to an injury he sustained at home I was really disappointed for him, and also for the race to not have his presence. See you in Ireland buddy!

I woke up on race day feeling excited, being a home race I had my wife, son and coach all trackside and I was pumped for the event. We had our most technical and dangerous stages first up so I had a plan to ride it smooth and try to keep the wheels on the ground. 

I started my day messy but with no crashes and a 4th place stage. With short liaison stages there wasn't time to muck around so straight onto stage 2 and a more flat out and go stage. I nailed this stage and felt happy to have a good feeling on the bike. I ended up winning this stage but I wouldn't find this out until after the race (a bloody good surprise!) with another "pin it" stage coming up my consistency was there and I rode clean. 4th stage of the day and this would be a physical one. I was just pipped by Jerome and I knew he had been training like I had in the offseason! Now it was time for a sketchy stage, stage 5. A short stage but deadly roots and commit or die type sections. I had nailed this stage in training every time but I had respect for it; it could bite on any run. Unfortunately my luck ran out this stage and I hit the deck, knocking my head hard enough to put my full face to good use. I knocked my visor back up and re-adjusted my goggles, as perfect vision is key in a fast sport. With a final whack to my brake levers I could then finish the stage. With two stages remaining I knew I needed clean runs now to make back some time. Stage 6 was a DH stage and I knew that would be a good one to ride clean. I managed to piece together a solid run. Now to get back to the pits before the final stage which was going to be in front of the Crankworx crowd and live on TV. This stage had a good mix, super tech up top and easy to crash, then wide open on the DH track with space to let it go, then a pedal in the middle which would spin your gear out and some good sized gaps. Leaving the pits I forgot to tighten my pedals and as soon as I got on the hill I remembered but being the last stage I didn't take any tools with me. With the TV broadcast we would be held some extra time before dropping in and the light was starting to fade especially in the dark wooded section right off the start this was only going to add to the already tech woods!

Dropping in I struggled in the first corner or two. I had my game face on but it required a settled approach so I backed it off just a little bit. Hitting my lines I got out of the first woods clean and set out to attack the DH part of the course. Boosting the upper jumps felt like my DH days and I had the 29er humming. With clean riding I was making up time but my cleats were loose enough to be giving me a few wild moments. Coming into the finish line I was trying to hit a gap I knew only a few people were clearing but I had to pull the pin when I lost my foot out of the pedal and nearly threw myself away. Finishing in 3rd for the final stage I was surprised to see I had finished 4th overall but only 1 second from Wyn Masters who had bagged himself his first ever EWS podium.

I was stoked to see how close the racing was, it was a battle not just with the times but with the conditions and the terrain. Surviving was a good feeling!

With round one in the books I’ll now be working hard for the next round in Ireland. There’s plenty to do with planning and training but I'm totally happy to have begun the season once again. See you out there!

Photos by Ale Di Lullo

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 -