Winter training in Spain.

Spain training trip to Malaga.

During the month of Febuary I was lucky enough to be able to go to Malaga in Spain for nearly a month to help get ready for the fast aproching World Cup season that starts next week in South Africa. I went to Spain alongside Matt, Joe and Matti for Team CRC and also Rob Smith and Perry Gardener. After a long drive and a very long very crossing we arived at out villa greeted by this sun set.

Here is our awesome villa. This thing sleeps 10 with loads of space and it was perfect for three weeks for training. If you’re interested in staying at this great place please go to http://www.stunningvillalucia.com/

I wasted no time and headed straight out for a ride on my new Norco Sight. I got the bike just before I came away but didn’t get time to ride it before I came away so its madden voyage was to be on the rocky, dusty tracks of the Spanish mountains. Perfect terrain to test out the bike and my new Sun Ringle Black Flag wheels. After a nice hour and half’s climb Joe and I arrived at the top, ready to hit the 15 minute downhill track back to the town. It was a clear day so we could see the Strait of Gibraltar in the background.

Nigle Page (Team CRC manager) and Michael for CRC came out for a week’s riding and to see how the guys where getting on. Dinner time was a big thing as there was always a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

The newly named “Gingers” track was a very popular track to ride. Fast loose and rough, it was a great track for setting bikes up. I was really starting to feel great on my Norco Aurum and getting her set up perfectly.

We were lucky enough to be able to use the CRC Vito for uplifting and it made for a quick turnaround with the 3.0 liter V6 under the hood.

One of the best step-up’s jumps I have ever ridden. The jump is at the bottom of the Dusty Valley track and Punchers Paradise (didn’t live up to its name this trip) and is a joy to jump after riding 3 minutes of rough gnarly rocky track before you get to this point. Here is a video of me and Joe riding the (Very) "Dusty Valley" track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAdmFbsRKns

Such a great trip. Big thanks to Salva at The Bike Shuttle for sorting us with a gym, taking us to all the tracks and uplifting as well. Check them out for the best Mountain Biking experience in southern Spain. http://www.thebikeshuttle.com/