team inov-8 17th male, 2nd MU23, and 2nd female at the 2009 3 peaks cyclocross race

There were 3 members of team inov-8 present at the race. Morgan Donnelly, Heather Dawe (who was the first Female in 2008 and this was her 8th start) and me (Matt Brown) which was my first attempt at the race.



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Sunday 27th September saw the start of the 47th 3peaks cyclocross race held in the Yorkshire dales.

The race is 61kms in total with 28kms on the road and 33kms unsurfaced, 6kms – 8kms of which is unrideable.

The 3 peaks is a race on cyclocross bikes around 3 hills/mountains in the area which are Ingleborough (723m), Whenside (736m) and Pen-Y-Ghent (694m).

Most of the off-road sections are over footpaths and/or private land. This means that no training on a cycle is allowed on those sections - it is illegal to ride on there except on the day of the race.

There were 3 members of team inov-8 present at the race. Morgan Donnelly, Heather Dawe (who was the first Female in 2008 and this was her 8th start) and me (Matt Brown) which was my first attempt at the race.

The day was grim with the race organizer making a waterproof mandatory. The weather was supposed to clear later on with temperatures around 17degrees C.

The start was a free for all and I ended up losing a lot of places starting close to the back end of the field. There was a 5.5kms road section before starting the climb up Ingleborough. I took a few places and passed Heather just before starting the climb.

The climb was nasty and soon everyone was running/walking with their bikes on their backs. It was very steep, wet and muddy. My legs were burning already so I decided to hold back and take it easy. I knew the up hills were going to be my worst area and that I could make up the time on the downs and flats.

There was a flat section over the top and then a quick descent onto the first road section.

Next was Whernside. A walk up the rocky path to the summit and then the harsh descent down to Ribblehead. This seemed to be the descent that claimed the most punctures. It was long, hard, and busy.

We then hit the road again where I took on some gels and another bottle. It was quite a good road section catching quite a few people before hitting Pen-Y-Ghent.

The track was ride-able until half way up when it got a lot steeper and rockier. This was good as I’m better on the bike rather than off it. I took another few places (overtaking someone in the MU23 taking me up to 2nd overall!). I was starting to feel it when I got to the top but a quick descent took me back onto the last road section. I could see a rider in front of me so I tried to push to catch him. I started to feel like I was getting cramp in both legs so slowed down slightly and it soon went away. I soon caught the rider in front and rode with him on the last uphill section where I felt like I could do no more. Luckily the other rider bonked also and by the top he was a way off so I pushed it to the finish in a time of just over 4 hours.

I was hoping for a little quicker than this but I suppose it was my first attempt and there’s always next year!

I ended up getting 2nd MU23 overall.

Heather finished 20minutes after me and was the 2nd female rider.
Morgan finished 17th overall in a time of 3hours 20minutes.

My set up for the race was;
Zepnat aluminum frame 52cm all white
4za python forks
Ritchey pro biomax 44cm bars
Hope 90mm stem
Sram rival gears
Fsa gossamer 36/46 170mm
Fsa seatpost and custom inov-8 carbon saddle
Stans 355 29er rims with hope pro3 hubs and dt revolutions
Schwalbe racing Ralph 35mm tyres - tubeless - 50psi front and back

Next year I’ll be riding a single 42t ring up front to simplify things and maybe going for a 36/11 sram xx rear same as Nick Craig’s winning bike. I’ll also be changing my brakes from froglegs to some tekro as they will let me use my trusty old mtb pads and will be easier to set up.
I’ll also run 40/45psi front and back. I usually run 30/35/40psi but decided to go for 50psi to stop the tyres coming off the rim. After seeing the course, it was no worse than what I ride at home, just I didn’t know the course, so now I know what it’s like, 40/45psi should still stop me hitting the rim on most things but will give me more speed on the downs and more traction on the ups.
The tubeless set up worked really well. Not one puncture and I was running 50psi whereas most ran at least 60psi some running 80psi!!!
I’ll be using some thicker bar tape instead of my usual thin ultra grippy stuff. My hands started to feel it after the last descent.
I’ll also be selling my 3 pairs of crank brother sl’s (1 pair brand new and 2 pairs used if anyone wants to buy them?) and switching them to shimano xt/xtr after having a nightmare with clipping in with the new cleats and shoe plates.

All in all, excellent race and I’ll be back again next year as I’m sure Morgan and Heather will be too.