Suffering a mechanical issue in the first of five laps didn't stop Leading Aircraftman Thomas Crigan walking away with the overall cross-country champion title at the ADF National Cycling Carnival in Victoria in November.
Leading Aircraftman Crigan's rear wheel smashed into a rock during the XCO race, breaking a spoke. With a wobbling wheel, he rode front-heavy and softer on the rear, lifting it up to keep it from hitting bumps and buckling it.
At the end of lap two he realised it wasn't working and he'd probably destroy the wheel and DNF (did not finish). He backed the pace off and let his main competitor, Chief Petty Officer Cameron Schmid, go past.
"I was trying to stay in front of him on the descent and I could hear the wheel rubbing on the frame," Leading Aircraftman Crigan said.
"So do I go for broke or do I play it safe by just finishing on the podium and guarantee the overall?
"I opted for sensibility and caution and just rode in a way to get the bike to the finish line."
While running coaching sessions before the carnival, Leading Aircraftman Crigan noticed many riders weren't used to the terrain and struggled on the uphill section. It favoured riders who were adaptable.
He was able to get up consistently, but noticed fit, less-skilled riders were at a disadvantage on the You Yangs course.
With more rock gardens compared to Canberra's Stromlo course, he said riders had to maintain speed through them, such as unweighting the bike at the right times to get wheels over obstacles, rather than hitting them or getting hung up and losing speed.
"There weren't many opportunities for them to just unload all the watts and power away from people. You very much had to work hard and use your skills, conserve energy and corner well," Leading Aircraftman Crigan said.
He was second in the gravity enduro race behind Chief Petty Officer Schmid, which Leading Aircraftman Crigan said showed they were both skilled technically more than just very fit.
'It is rewarding as a coach to have people say, "There's no way I would have ridden any of that stuff if it hadn't been for you".'
While also competing in most road events, his focus for the year was cross country and he worked with a fitness coach to be in top form.
Growing up doing BMX freestyle and downhill mountain biking, Leading Aircraftman Crigan constantly did drills to hone his skills. As a coach, what he teaches, he also practises.
"I'll ride difficult trails on my cross-country bike so I'm underbiked and have to work hard to make it through safely, or work on body and feet positioning and cornering," he said.
Meanwhile, Corporal Sarah Booth won the downhill and gravity enduro categories to place her as overall female gravity champion.
"Some people look at gravity stuff and think, 'I'm gonna hit something or crash'. I don't really think into it too much, except for 'just send it', like how kids do," Corporal Booth said.
She provided coaching at the carnival, drawing on nearly 30 years of competing globally.
"It is rewarding as a coach to have people say, 'There's no way I would have ridden any of that stuff if it hadn't been for you'," she said.
"If you don't know what you're doing, you'll just keep repeating the same dumb mistakes. But if you have the knowledge, you're able to self-diagnose, like 'So that's why the front wheel washed out or felt funky in that bit of terrain'."
Competing in downhill since 1996, achieving medals (and fake cheques insulating her shed roof), her proudest achievement was 12th in Megavalanche, a gravity enduro event held in the French Alps.
"Those Frenchies know how to rip down hills when you're just barely hanging on, especially on snow," Corporal Booth said.
Locally, she has been national champion in downhill and e-bike enduro, and recently, second in the UCI Pump Track Challenge for her age.
This year, the association provided training by two professional coaches for the roadies, as well as the mountain bike riders.
