Default podiums FTW!!

So the Strongest club in the country was slightly down on numbers for the Club Champs in Wainui on Sunday, what with the highlander on up in Vegas, and lots of dirty multisporters doing the grand traverse. But never fear for the better looking bushlovers were on hand to partake in the fantabulous Wainui trails. Ash lined up and took 2nd in snr women, she's getting faster and lippier by the week. Angry became the Masters 1 club champ after the Yoga Master and I slid up to Pro on the start line.

Lining up at the start and Marco was trying to get more people into Pro as only 2 people were lined up. Big Gav and the BGA. My arm was twisted and upon realising I would get the 3rd place by default, I lined up for an extra lap of pain. Yoga, then put the kaibosh on that by lining up too. Buggar, have to actually make a race of it.

Struggled to figure out my front gears for a second, but after like a pedal or 2, I was a million miles off the front. I think the others all started in granny or something. Thats the only reason I can think of why they were so slow off the start. Of course as soon as it wwent up, Gav, BGA and Yoga cleared off. My back was feeling a tad tight, with it still suffering from the last month and a half ( an afternoon of digging and moving massive rocks didn't help either), so I let them take off and set into a nice pace with old man whippet Marco tailing me up the hill. As soon as it went downhill I think Marco stopped for a cuppa or something, and I opened up the taps, knowing that Gav and Yoga would be long gone, but BGA would be struggling as the gradient was steeper than 5 degrees. Felt a bit gumby going down Labyrinth for bit but got my flow on soon, and opened the taps a bit coming down Beeline. Passed Yoga holding a breathing and stretching class with Tryfan and Jude, and the back up Jungles, heard BGA up ahead on the switchbacks, but never saw him, and at the start of the ECNZ climb he had approx 30secs on me. Saw him well up the road. Coming down spponhill and well opened up the taps and crept up on Al near the bottom, much to his horror. We held hands back past the school for another lap of suffering on the crazyman climb. Once more he took off, but I kept seeing him on the same bits on the climb as I had on the first lap. Back down the hill again and had good flow and pace, All the slower riders were awesomely fantastic at letting us faster riders thru. Back onto the ECNZ climb, and BGA had about a min on me, which was going to be big ask to pin back as he's pretty feirce on that sorta climb, and I was starting to feel the pinch. Back at the top of the last downhill and I just let her Rip. Hickie let me trhu nice a kindly like, and I chased a young flat pedaled Grom on a low seated reign down the bypass, on my high seated 29ér. Got past him when he pulled up for some slower riders and I snuck a sneaky inside line. Ripped past a few other riders as well. Flew past Callum Dunn on his mum's bike for the day, but rode the last 2 switchbacks like a gumby. Hitting the final grass feild and I saw BGA jumping the fence at the other end, so had caught up at least 40 odd secs on the DH . EAsed thru the last road section as was well ensconced in my place.

Found out a tthe end, that not only had Yoga had a mechanical but had fully fluffed the course up on the second lap so gifted me 3rd regardless.

Teh tracks up Wainui have always been good, but at the moment they are riding super sweet.

Nice wee medal haul for the bushlove crew at this race, 3 medals, outa 3 riders. Mine was pink and matched my "not ghey at all" bushlove wrist sweatband.