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Tassie devil: The Sid Taberlay diary 2004
24 year-old Tasmanian Sid Taberlay is a man on a mission. The current Australian and Oceania mountain bike champion, Sid is, like so many athletes this year, striving for a berth at the Athens Olympics Games. But his never-say-die attitude, down-to-earth deameanour and a desert-dry sense of humour - not forgetting a bloody big motor! - puts Sid in the best position possible to realise a life-long dream.
XC World Cup #2 - CDM Houffalize, Belgium, May 30, 2004
A hard race day
It's been a fast, long week on the road, with lots of time spent travelling, unpacking and packing again.
Anyway, to the race report: World Cup #2 in Belgium. Riding the course on Friday, I started on the course from 2002, only to soon realise it was no longer the course. After a lap, of what seemed like all climbing, joined by dusty, technical single track descents, I knew I was in for a hard race day. Did four laps and a start loop, which really sucks. 3km of bitchin', gradual uphill drag, bugger, I get a front row start and I've got to put in the hard yards, so I don't get swamped from behind.
I put in the hard yards to enter the first section of single track in third. I got held up on the downhill and Paulissen (World #3) was off the front. Next climb, everyone was going across to him; I lost half my legs here, drifting back to sixth. The rest of the race I kept drifting back, to find myself in 13th with a lap to go. Last lap dash, got to 10th with just a downhill finish left. The heavens opened up and I hit a wet wooden bridge sideways with 500m to go, the bike slid under the handrail and I hit the deck. Bugger, it's now a sprint finish for 10th, my legs where gone, lost 10th by half a wheel. Guess 11th isn't a bad day :-) Regards, Sid.
