Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Geoff Kabush (Rocky Mountain / Maxxis) on a rocky descent.(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) arrives in the tech zone on foot.(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Geoff Kabush (Canada) seemed to get stronger towards the end of the race. He finished eighth(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
The 2010 mountain bike season is done and dusted. It wasn't the most spectacular of seasons for me but I definitely enjoyed it and had some great experiences along the way. The world championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne were a unique opportunity, and they were on my radar all season. Although I dreamed of doing something a little more special, I had to be satisfied with my eighth place finish. I banked several good memories from the Championships weekend; both from before and after the race.
I think everyone can agree that returning world championships to the final race on the calendar is a good idea. After fighting it out all year in spandex, it is fun to go "fighting in the dance war", to quote Frank Black, in a more relaxed atmosphere.
The season got off to an inauspicious start after running straight into the Volcano mayhem trying to get to the first World Cup and European campaign. That travel nightmare, a bit of sickness, an bio-mechanical DNF, and a forced DNF ended the short six-race World Cup season with a relatively low 31st ranking.
I am definitely looking forward to making amends next year and getting a clean shot at the Dalby and Windham World Cup courses. They both seem like great additions, and it is nice to see a World Cup back in "Amurica" finally.
Besides the World Cup Campaign, I did mix it up with some different races to fill in the gaps this year. In addition to cleaning up with four second places in the US Pro XCT and second overall, I also really enjoyed getting a few second place finishes in Belgium. It was my first time doing some national level events in Europe, and I had a great time. I got well taken care of, it was on National TV, and the races also gave me a great excuse to hang out in Belgium and drink beer.
Perhaps the other highlight of the summer was the BC Bike Race. My teammate Lea (Davison) was out of action so Catharine Pendrel stepped in, and we had a great time riding the sweet singletrack the race has to offer. It is a rare opportunity to get to ride around BC in the summer, and I also got to fit in a return to competition at the legendary Test of Metal race in Squamish. Along with a quick visit to Hornby Island, it was a perfect mid-summer mental refreshment.
I managed to win Canadian Nationals again, my seventh senior title, just before the second European campaign of the season. (Max) Plaxton and (Derek) Zandstra put up a fight, but I am not going to give up that jersey easily; "Old School" prevailed against "New School" for at least another year.
The second trip this year was a bit of a mystery with an average race in Champery followed by a DNF in Val di Sole; my first World Cup DNF in about four years. Maybe it was a bit of a bug but I was pretty happy to be heading home for three weeks to train before the World Championships.
I was happy that I was able to turn things around for the world championships as I can now head into cyclo-cross season with a little better motivation. This year I have a couple week break which is pretty nice compared to the two-day break last year. I am out on the west coast and heading to Hornby Island for a little more relaxing before it all starts again at Starcrossed. Hope to see some hecklers there in the beer garden.
Popular Canadian mountain bike racer Geoff Kabush races for Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain. He's a regular on the mountain bike World Cup circuit and at Canadian and US national series races. You'll also see him in some occasional mountain bike stage races during the season and on the cyclo-cross circuit in the fall.
