First Few Days in Austria for the World Champs!

I made it!!! After a year without racing the World Championships it feels amazing to be back! I have been here for a few days now and have spent most of my time getting used to the time change and getting my legs back under me, but it has been a great few days nonetheless. (When reading, we usually means Haley and I)

 

I arrived in Munich in the morning on Thursday after an overnight flight from Toronto. I suprisingly got quite a bit of sleep on the plane, so the 3 hour bus ride with Team Canada to Saalfelden went pretty smooth. We arrived in the evening at our accommodations and after a quick grocery shop I was off to bed for a much needed 12 hours.

 

Friday we woke up to 5 degree temperatures and pouring rain. I waited until the afternoon when it had cleared a little to go out for a spin through the town, leg warmers and all. I wasn't feeling up to doing much else so we opted for watching a movie and getting rested for the rest of the day.

 

Saturday the weather was a bit better with no rain but still some chilly temperatures. We took a spin to the course to check it out but the rain had made it a bit slick so we finished up on the miles and miles of bike paths around town. We figured out the bus schedule for Saalfelden and wandered around downtown until we could find our way around. Most of the town seems fairly new but there were some cool old buildings and walls in the older part of town.

 

Today the weather took a 180 and it was 25 degrees and sunny all day. I went out for another lap of the course which had dried quite a bit overnight. The course has a bit of everything, with a couple longer climbs and a few steep descents. I'll be getting in some more time on course in the next few days to get all the lines dialled in for my race Friday morning. I'll update again in a couple days but for now here are some photos from my trip so far.

 

 

Street downtown Saalfelden

The local bike shop tube dispenser

A little chilly and cloudy in the mountains

Some sheep lawn mowers

A cross cut into the cliff (if you have good eyes)

Some amazing weather on Sunday

The view from our house

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get here! It has been an amazing experience so far!

Austria Tomorrow!

I'm leaving for Austria tomorrow and I can't wait!!! It's going to an amazing 12 day trip, flying into Munich and taking the train to Saalfelden where the race is being held. I was in Austria a few years ago to race the World Cup in Schladming and it was one of the coolest places I have ever been.

Saalfelden

A Look at the XC course

 

A huge thank you to Sally at Sigvaris for these new compression socks! They will be a lifesaver for the overnight flight!

 

 

My last couple weeks have been busy, with a week long trip to Wisconsin for Trek World and the US Pro XCT Subaru Cup in Mt.Morris. I had never raced there before but it was a great course with lots of short, punchy climbs and some fun rock gardens. It was great to have a few Canadian teams (Team Quebec, 3 Rox) head down to do one last race before Worlds. I ended up with a 9th in the XC and 8th in the ST.

 



 

This past week I also had the chance to hook up with Andy from Trailburn.ca and he put together a great piece on me and my travels. Check it out Cayley Brooks- Globetrotter

I also want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me fundraise for my trip to Austria. Your generosity is very much appreciated! Thank you! If you would like to make a donation the website is www.indiegogo.com/cayleybrooks

Buckwallow Ontario Cup

 Yesterday was my last O Cup of the year, but it was a great one. I didn't get to race Buckwallow last year and its always one of my favourite courses, so it was nice to be back. After a few days of rain, the course had to be closed on Saturday for prerides so that the trails wouldn't get ruined and everyone was worried that the course would be changed to all doubletrack. After the first lap my worries were gone and it turned out to be an amazing course! I had a strong race and finished 2nd with my third O Cup podium of the season.

I also want to say a huge thank you to Chico Racing for a generous donation to the Ontario athletes who have been selected to race at the World Championships. It is so amazing to have the support of our province to help us reach our goals. We couldn't do it without you!

Thanks to the Bailey's for the pictures!

Big News!!! And some ECO 2012

I got some super exciting news the other day that I'll be heading to Austria this September to represent Canada at the World Championships! This has been one of my main goals this year and I am so happy to have achieved it. Last year I had a tough season and wasn't where I wanted to be in my racing, so it is extra special to have improved enough over a year to compete for Canada again.

I have started a fundraiser for my trip to Worlds Here. Please donate if you can or share with your friends! There are some cool perks for donating like hats and t-shirts!

Here are a couple pictures from the East Coast Open at Blue Mountain. Peter and I both finished up in 3rd place.

Racing and some more racing (Windham WC and Sudbury OCup)

So I have a couple more races under my belt now. I managed to better my 9th place at the Mont-St-Anne World Cup with an 8th place at Windham World Cup. The course was very similar to last year, all on the side of Windham ski hill, with one long climb and descent back to the start. It was another hot race day, which I've started to get used to, and the course was bone dry. It was an easy bike choice for this race, with the fairly smooth course the Superfly was the bike for the day. Overall I'm very happy with my race and I was glad to have improved on my result from last week.

Heading up the climb

Apparently I was too sweaty to hug

After one week home I was headed up North to the new Sudbury Ontario Cup. I had never raced there before so I drove up Saturday morning to check out the course. I made the decision before-hand to bring only my Superfly hardtail (which ended up not being the wisest choice). The course ended up being the roughest, rockiest course in Ontario and my back would have appreciated a full-suspension. That being said, Mitch won the Elite Men's category on his Superfly Pro and Mikaela Kofman won on her hardtail 26", so I can't really use that as an excuse haha. I finished up 3rd and I'm looking forward to the Canada Cup there next year.

Mont Sainte Anne World Cup 2012

After a disappointing Nationals last weekend, I was looking to have a strong race on the very challenging course at Mont Sainte Anne. I had a solid week of preriding and learning the course and I was ready for the punishment MSA always dishes out, and it’s a good thing I was. Just before our 4:30pm race, it poured rain and totally soaked the mostly dry course. I luckily had time to change my tires and the race went really well with no huge crashes, but lots of slideouts and some running. I ended up 9^th and got my first top 10 in a U23 World Cup, which I will hopefully be able to improve on this weekend at the Windham World Cup.

On the startline

Check out more photos and our team report at www.trekcanada.ca

Canadian MTB Nationals 2012

Back on the road for our second roadtrip of the year, we made the 1000km journey up to St. Felicien in northern Quebec for Nationals. This was my third trip to St. Felicien and not much had changed since I had been there for Nationals in 2009 (it's still a small northern Quebec town with a zoo). The whole week leading up to the race was hot and sunny which made for a great, dry course. It was a similar course to the one we raced in 2009, with a some new sections and a few sections taken out to shorten it to 5km. My race was a tough 4 laps and I was disappointed with my 6th place position after having a great Canada Cup season, but it was definitely a learning experience and I will be building off this race for the upcoming World Cups.

U23 Women Start

Mitch had an amazing race, finishing 2nd in the U23 mens race after a tough battle with local Leandre Bouchard. Peter also had a great race finishing 6th in the elite mens category. Jon Barnes won his 2nd national title in the Master's 30-39 men category on Sunday after a very close 5 lap race.

Champagne showers

 

A huge thank you to Trek, SRAM and all our supporters! Check out Trek Canada for more updates and photos!