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About Matt

As well as being a professional artist, Matt has always been a keen cyclist, using his time away from the studio to fix, build, ride, race and generally mess about with bikes.

Matt won the London & SE Cyclocross League in 2011/12 and the Central Cyclocross League in 2012/13.

Matt is now riding a 2013 Kona 'Major Jake'. Big thanks to Kona Bicycles UK.

Reports & Stories

2012/2013

07/04/13
MTB - Spring Series Sprung

Round four of the Gorrick Spring Series finally seemed to be living up to its name, as the sun beamed down on Frith Hill at the weekend, giving everyone a taste of what we all hope is to come over the next few months..

The fantastic course was bone dry and super-fast, although my bike was not playing the game, rattling in and out of gear, seemingly at random. One day I'll learn that what works in the driveway at 5 miles an hour doesn't always keep working when you are shifting at full throttle. Hope integrated single-ring, here we come.

Former Masters category series leader Kim Little went hard from the start and I couldn't match his pace, but I knew that I only had to finish in the top 10 to win the series, so I concentrated on tree-avoidance and some careful shifting. I'd even packed a tool kit, in case of mechanical issues on the trail, something I don't normally do, but something which seemed like it might come in handy today...

But the bike rattled on and all I had to do was put in the extra legwork required to climb in the big ring! I managed to keep things moving all the way to the finish line and crossed it in second place, a long way behind the winner, but far enough ahead of everyone else to win the series trophy as well as a Saddle Skedaddle cycling holiday. Bonus!

Thanks to Gorrick for another great series, despite the tough conditions. Check out their website for forthcoming races, which are always worth a try, whatever your biking abilities.

Thanks also to Hackney GT, Push Cycles and 9bar.

25/03/13
MTB - 9brrrrr!

With the 'cross season done and dusted (there wasn't much dust) it is time once again to turn to the mountain bike for a fix of two-wheeled fun. It's how I got started in cycle sport and it is my favourite way to keep the fitness up over the summer months.

It felt a very long way from British Summer Time yesterday as I donned my new 9bar kit in my snow-covered car, and headed out into the bitterly cold woods of Deepcut in Surrey for a warm-up lap.

This was Round 3 of the Gorrick Spring Series, a series I try and participate in every year, although I usually miss a round or two due to cyclocross calendar clashes. The first race of this year's series was cancelled due to heavy snow, so I've managed to take part in every race.

I started today's race with a 2nd and a 3rd place under my belt and, with the winner of rounds 1 and 2 absent from the grid today, I had high hopes.

In spite of the terrible weather, the course was surprisingly fast, although some sections were cutting up badly after previous races. It took me some time to get the measure of the shortened course, but I started the third lap on the wheel of 1st place rider Phillip Webb (PMR Racing) with a decent gap back to third.

Phillip signalled for me to pass on the long climb up into the first bit of singletrack so I took the opportunity to get ahead and try and make some ground through the trees. I managed to get a few metres lead and tried to stay smooth and vertical as I began the series of climbs back up to the start/finish area.

A series of undulating switchbacks close to the end of the lap had caught me out on previous attempts, but this time I got it right and I made it into the final section of singletrack with a good lead, luckily good enough to allow me one last mistake as I misjudged a bend and wound up the wrong side of a tree.

Rapid reverse, a final push and I crossed the line with 5 seconds to spare, clinching my first ever Gorrick race win. Ths is also my first race win under the Hackney GT/Team 9bar banner, and it gives me the chance of winning the Gorrick Masters category title for 2013. One race remains...

 

04/02/13
CX - A Grand Finale

Hackney GT celebrate a big day out at Mistley. Rach made a cake

Matt and 'Jake' heading for the win at Stanmer park in November.


Matt and 'Jake' digging in for the win during another hot, dry race, this time at Reed Court Farm in October.

Photographs courtesy of cross-crazy and Oskar Scrasbrook

It's all over.

My final race of the season* was an assault course of singletrack, mud and roots on a hillside in Essex - a mountain biker's course, really, which is probably why a mountain biker won it. I clung on for a lap or two, but a cyclocross bike is unforgiving in these conditions and I quickly found myself relegated to second spot.

It was a good appetiser for the MTB season ahead and an enjoyable challenge, but I still love the particular opportunites for skinny-wheeled fun that a few rolls of course tape and a school playing field provide, and there have been plenty of those this year.

For a round-up of the last few races, please keep scrolling. Meantime, a few thank-yous:

Thanks to Russ Jones of Hackney GT, Ben Gaby at Kona Bicycles UK, Mike at Push Cycles in Stoke Newington, Ben Chamberlaine and Nick Freilich at Chamberlaine Cycles in Kentish Town and 9Bar for the nourishment.

Thanks to all the Hackney GT crew for a great season and thanks to Maureen Jones for the cold-weather coaching.

Biggest thanks of all to Rachel and Connie for putting the air in my tyres, metaphorically speaking x

Season Stats:

League: Winner of Central Cyclocross League 2012/13
Races: 28
Wins: 8
Podiums: 19
DNF: 2
UK Ranking: 6th senior

* Hackney GT can be spotted at one final event - the London & South East League's Team Championships on Sunday 10th Feb

24/01/13
CX - Almost Done...

Webber Wins in Wilmington White-out

The last few weeks of racing have taken their toll and I'm feeling particularly bruised and battered as I sit down to write. The snow and ice that characterised the last 2 races certainly suited me, and I managed my first ever weekend double, but the races were not without incident, and I hobbled away from Wilmington feeling like I'd done some serious damage.

It's amazing what an ice pack and a warm bath can do, but I definitely feel like my forthcoming family holiday will be a time to properly recharge and recover. It seems wrong to be heading to Tenerife without a bike, but I think it makes sense...

...

The National Championships in Bradford were a wake-up call for the second year in a row, and have made me more determined than ever to have a proper go at 2 or 3 National Trophy races before I line up again against the nation's best, on what felt like the nation's toughest course. Thick, sticky, wheel-sucking mud meant bike changes every lap and I found that I never really got into a flow.

An early crash also threw me off my stride, and although I started on the 2nd row, I seemed to spend most of the race going backwards. I'd been hoping for a top 20 placing, but 25th seemed like a respectable result in the end and I wasn't too downhearted as we packed up the mud-mobile.

Ian Field was on imperious form once again and seemed to have the race sewn up from the start. Sadly, Kona's cx ace Helen Wyman, wasn't quite able to make it 8 times in a row, but I'm hoping she was just saving her legs for the Worlds next week. Good luck Helen!

Big thanks to Carl Pritchard, Ian Cunningham and the mysterious Captain Cross for their invaluable help in the pits, and congratulations to fellow HGT, Ben 'FullOn' Lewis, for an excellent ride to 36th.

...

I've covered a lot of ground over the last 6 months, most of it in the ever-faithful 'Morrie', our 27 year old VW T25, the perfect home-from-home on those Sunday morning journeys to such far flung venues as Fowlmead and Luton. Oh... the glamour!

I've raced in several different leagues during the season and, although I won the London & South East League last year, this year, through a combination of bad-luck and bad timing, I have not fared so well in the LL races.

So, quite early in the season I decided to concentrate on the Central League, getting good results each time I raced and winning the final two races, thereby securing the overall league victory.

The Central League events have a great atmosphere, the courses have been superb and the level of competition strong. Big thanks to Graham Macnamee, Keith Perry, Paul Thomson and everyone else involved in running the league and organising the races. Thanks also to Siobhan Butler and Graham Robins for some fantastic photos of some memorable events, and to Duncan O'Reilly for his sterling work on the microphone.

...

Without doubt, the most exciting development for my racing this season has been my involvment with Kona, who provided me with one of their top of the range Major Jake cyclocross bikes through their Grassroots programme. Big thanks to Ben Gaby at Kona, and Nick Freilich and Ben Chamberlaine at Chamberlaine Cycles. It's a fantastic bike and it is making all the difference.

My Kona blog posts for 2012/13: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Thanks, too, to Russ Jones, the Hackney Globetrotter whose team I joined at the start of the season. Already, the spotty green jerseys of the Hackney GT crew are dominating startlines across the South East and I know that Russ has big plans for 2013.

Hackney GT is backed by Push Cycles of Stoke Newington.

21/12/12
9Bar Nourishment!

More sponsorship news:

My riding in 2013 will be fuelled by Wholebake 9bars as part of their exciting 'Team 9bar' sponsorship programme. More news soon. In the meantime, visit their Facebook page and, if you haven't already, give one a try. You'll love it!

17/12/12

My first win for a while at Round 9 of the Central League. Here's my write-up from the Kona blog:

"The run up to Christmas is always a busy time, but this year has been especially hectic. I’m an artist as well as a cyclo-crosser and, with exhibitions to arrange and paintings to finish and frame, there hasn’t been much time to get out on my bike over the last couple of weeks. The enforced break seems to have suited me though, as Sunday saw my first win since the end of September, when I travelled to Hillingdon for Round 9 of the Central League.

Another large field enjoyed perfect conditions at this penultimate round of the season, with the soft ground churning up nicely as the day wore on. The folks from Twickenham CC had laid out a great course that made the most of the undulating grassy infield of the West London cycle circuit, with hairpins and off-camber bends that really rewarded a well-chosen line.

I had a good start and led from lap 1, although I was very aware of a strong chasing group that never seemed to be too far behind. In the end though, I managed to keep them at bay, securing my first win in the Central League this season. It’s a Christmas double-whammy of races in London this weekend, so I’m hoping the good form continues!"

There's a Kona Major Jake under there somewhere

09/12/12

East and South East Regional Championships 2012, Bethlem Royal Hospital

The last time I raced at Bethlem back in mid-September this year, the South East was still enduring drought conditions, and the dry, dusty terrain made for some fast and furious racing in the evening gloom, as we battled it out in the South London Summer Cyclocross Series.

I won that race (thanks mainly to the mechanical misfortunes of two of my competitors) and I was excited to be returning to the sprawling grounds of the 600 year-old hospital to try my luck again.

I’m getting better at controlling my nerves when I arrive at ‘cross races now, but seeing the quality of the opposition that were gathered in the car park at Bethlem, I began to feel the usual nagging doubts about my fitness, my health, my prep, and I set off on my warm up lap feeling like this was going to be a bad day out.

I knew that there would be more mud than dust this time, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the swampy mire that I encountered as I headed onto the back of the circuit, where long sections of the course were pretty much unrideable. I detoured back to the start paddock to save myself from a pre-race jetwash and lined up on the front row, dreading the hour ahead.

In spite of these fears, my start was good and I settled in behind former National Junior Champion, Alex Paton of Team Gwb ActiV, clearing the technical section in the woods and digging in for the first assault on Swamp Row.

It was horrendous. Thick, boggy mud, churned up by the previous race and hiding deep, wheel-sucking trenches that threw the bike in all directions except forwards. The idea of going through this lung-busting misery 5 or 6 more times was too much to contemplate, so I tried to focus on the wheel ahead and getting the right line.

Although the subsequent wooded-section towards the end of the lap was mostly uphill, it was actually a chance to recover slightly and each time we emerged into the start-finish area, I felt like I was just about ready for another lap. Others were feeling the same way though and, by lap two, I’d been caught and passed by De Ver Cycles rider Taylor Johnstone, who also then overhauled Paton to move into first.

It quickly became a mental battle for me at this point. My strength was not good, and the two leaders had moved away, so it was vital to keep my head up and to try and stay clear of the chasers. I was painfully aware of Sylvain Garde, who seemed to be gaining fast, and I felt certain that Darren Barclay could not be far behind. The ‘Major Jake’ was clogged with mud and grass and I knew I’d have to swap bikes very soon, something I’ve never been able to do before.

Thankfully my Hackney GT team mate, Graham Freer, was in the pits and waiting with my spare, and I made a smooth swap with about three laps to go.

I love my ‘Jake the Snake’, but at this point I realised what a different beast the new carbon version actually is. It was good to have a clean, smooth-shifting bike, but I was very happy to get back onto the freshly-washed 1st bike a lap later, ready for the final push.

Sylvain had closed right up to me by this point, but the ‘new’ bike gave me the edge and I managed to get a gap at the end of the penultimate lap and finally seemed able to breathe a sigh of relief.

This is a dangerous moment in a ‘cross race. Without realising that you’re doing it, you ease off the gas a little bit and start thinking about the podium. Before you know what’s happening Darren Barclay is all over your back wheel and you’re fighting to stay in control. All your lines go to pot, your co-ordination deserts you and panic set in.

I gritted my teeth and pushed on for the last half a lap trying not to look over my shoulder every three seconds.

When we emerged onto the grass of the start/finish I felt certain that Darren would go by in a flash, but he must have been hurting too, because I made it to the double chicane with him still on my wheel. I hurtled into the corner through a gap between two lapped riders and sprinted past the pits for the final bend.

Still ahead. Hop the roots on the apex, hard right across the gravel, sprinting as best I can with lungs and legs burning. A glance back and I’m on my own with the flag in sight.

Up until now, I think my best races have usually been ones that I’ve won, but I think that this is one of the best results I’ve had so far, and a race where I really gave it everything.

Thanks to Graham and to Hackney GT! Thanks to Rach and Connie for all the cheering. Also, thanks again to Kona for the bike. It’s making all the difference...

2012/2013

01/11/12
Lots to catch up on in cyclocross-land, as the season continues to bring excitement, challenges and big surprises.

I'll get the best bit out of the way first.

Kona Grassroots

At the end of 2011, when my first proper season of 'cross was in full flow, I contacted the marketing team at Kona, wondering whether a rider winning races on one of their Cycle to Work-level bikes might be an interesting story.

Today, writing that first email seems like it might have been time well spent, as I have just collected a brand new Kona Major Jake from the good people at Chamberlaines in Kentish Town, given to me as part of Kona's Grassroots programme.

Christmas has come early in the Webber household, although I now kind of wish it was September again, rather than half way through the 'cross season. I think Rachel feels differently...

I'll report back when I've had more time to put the Major through his paces but, for now, I can report that today was the first time that I've actually enjoyed cycling up Camden Road.

Major, I salute you.

 

September already. Here we go again...

The cyclocross season is a long one and, at the end of last year's London League campaign, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to summon up the energy for another 6 months of racing, despite (or more accurately because of) a summer that was mostly spent off the bike.

It's easy to let your motivation slide and, with a new baby girl in tow, the idea of putting enough hours into my riding to get back on form wasn't that appealing.

Connie Webber 'enjoying' a recent private view

Funny how things change.

A fortnight with our friends Nikki and Gairy* in the Ardeche last month (and a very understanding and wonderful wife!) gave me the chance for some great riding and, with a few days in the Alps to really test the legs and lungs, I came back from France with a familiar feeling. Those nervous, pre-race jitters had returned. I couldn't wait to get back on the 'cross bike.

I don't know how long this run of good form will continue, but it's been a dream start to the season with 3 wins from 3 races. For a brief, golden moment at the start of this week I was the top cyclo cross rider in the UK - on paper anyway! I suppose it can really only go downhill from here...

But it's still going up for now and this great week of art sales and exhibition offers has been topped off by an invitation to ride with pro cycling team CyclePremier during the forthcoming Rapha Super Cross Series in October.

This is one of those cloud 9 type of weeks which I've had a few of this year.

So, here's to a great season of cyclocross adventures. Happy riding everyone...

Matt

 

*Nikki and Gairy (and their daughter Amelie) are setting up Simple Lodge, an eco B+B which, when finished will be an ideal base for riding and walking in the amazing scenery of the Ardeche. Gairy is also a budding 'Bikepacker' - you can check out his exploits here.

 

London & SE Cyclocross League Champion 2011/2012

This was my first full season of London League racing, but I wish I’d started years ago. I remember watching cyclo cross on Grandstand when I was a kid and thinking that it looked like fun. I’d head out on my Raleigh Arena looking for mud and hills, neither of which were too hard to find in rural Suffolk. I’d even set up the sprinkler in our back garden in the summer, so that my 50 metre lap of the flower beds was a bit more fun.

Unfortunately, it was 25 years before I finally got myself a half-decent bike and started doing it properly, but it still feels a lot like it did when I was twelve.

Last year I started my season late and spent each race trying to fight my way through from the back of the field, learning the limits of my bike and myself as I went. This year I was lucky enough to be gridded from the first race, which made a huge difference to my racing experience and to my results.

I’ve never been a great starter though, and the difference between the gradual starts of last year and the full on sprints of 2011/2012 has been stark. No time to recover and no second chance if you make a mistake; the opening lap of a ‘cross race can be a thing of painful chaos. Beastway has been a good training ground for cyclo-cross, that’s for sure, but the struggle to stay upright on a ‘cross bike, especially when there’s three inches of snow on the ground, adds a new layer of panic to the drama of the off-road experience.

But it’s not just the start that you need to get right; with the 14 race calendar that we are treated to in the London & SE League, consistency is key. That’s not to mention the occasional Trophy race, or the Nationals (let’s *really* not mention the Nationals), or a quick foray into the Eastern or Central League. An ability to stay healthy and out of trouble are extremely valuable assets.

You don’t need the best bike in the world, but it does need to be set up right for you and the conditions, and you do need to look after it.

Six months ago, the idea of spending £100 on a solitary tyre seemed like madness. It still does. But there is a method (probably Belgian) to that madness, because the wrong tyre or the wrong pressure really can be the difference between the podium and a DNF.

I’m still learning about this, and I don’t really have the means to be fully prepared for every eventuality, but I take a spare bike to the races when I can, I have 2 sets of wheels and I take a lot more care of my bike than I ever did before.

When the mud finally arrives, the bad tyre choice and a fragile set up finally makes itself known, and you spend the race wondering why you didn’t quite get around to gluing those new tubs, as your arch rival glides around slick corners that see you sliding into the long grass.

In some ways it’s a levelling sport. Your average legs will be compensated for by your awesome skills or vice versa. Team tactics and drafting don’t come into play, although having a bunch of like-minded club mates will help you out no end. You can practise just about any place where there’s grass/mud/obstacles, and having some local training buddies will make it even more fun. Even if you’re not scuffing the podium with your studs every week, you’ll almost certainly be rubbing tyres and banging elbows with folks who ride at the same kind of speed as you do. You’ll have good races and bad, and so will they, but you’ll line up every week knowing who you want to beat.

Then, when your hour is up (although it doesn’t seem likely during the race, the hour *will* end eventually) you can compare notes with your friends and rivals, kicking yourself about those extra psi or marvelling at the properties of Hog Hill mud, or the perils of Penshurts (sic) hairpins.

It’s been a long season but, retrospectively at least, I’ve loved every minute. Put a cheap and cheerful bike together. Take it out in the woods. Prepare to be smitten.

I can't wait for the end of the summer.

UK National Championships, Chantry Park, Ipswich: 7th/8th January 2012

This time last week, I was quite looking forward to adding this report to my web site, but my performance on Sunday was not much to write home about. Luckily I don't have to; I grew up just down the road from Sunday's fantastic venue, so several old school pals, as well as my parents and girlfriend, were there to witness the wheels coming off.


I'd been feeling fairly unwell all week, fighting off some sort of bug that struck over the New Year's weekend. I stayed off the bike and hoped for the best, trying to eat right and rest up as much as possible, only going out to test the set-up and stretch the legs on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning came around and I was feeling better, still coughing and a bit achy, but much better than earlier in the week. We got to the venue, watched the under 23 race and then I got stuck into my pre-race routine.

My warm-up laps went well - the course seeming well suited to my strenghts - and I loved the carbon wheels that I'd borrowed, which made everything seem about 10% quicker.

So, when I lined up for the start (next to Roger Hammond on row three!) I was feeling pretty good; nervous but ready to race.

The start was a disaster.

I'm not sure what I was trying to do, but when the gun went I remember pawing at the ground with my left leg like an angry bull, trying desperately to get myself moving. When I finally did set off and got a chance to assess my situation, I found myself fairly well back, with both of the straps on my left shoe undone and flapping about in the January breeze. It's all about the preparation.

I began the arduous process of working my way up through the field and managed 24th by the end of the first lap. After tangling with a couple of riders during a foolish overtaking maneouvre (apologies if it was you I cut across) I once again found myself several more places down with a lot of work to do.

I ploughed on, getting up to 22nd place with about 3 laps to go.

On my day, I'm pretty sure I could have squeaked into the top 20, which, considering the field (including the Field) I would have been delighted with.

But on this day I soon realised that trouble was brewing, as my legs began to fail. Two riders who I had been keeping at arms length started quickly making up ground and my momentum was lost. My vision began to blur and flash, my head went down and the idea of riding, or even walking another lap became a pipe dream. I crossed the line with the bell ringing and only 2 miles left to ride, but I couldn't go on. I dropped my bike, sat on the floor and waited to feel normal again.

It was a very disappointing end to an exciting day, but a bad ride wasn't entirely unexpected, given the way I'd been feeling during the previous week. The most annoying aspect of this ignominious end, is that it has put me out of contention for a top 20 overall in the BC rankings for the season, something I was keen to achieve.

I'm still feeling bad 5 days later as I write, but I had a blast with Hackney GT's Russ Jones in Epping Forest yesterday and I'm looking forward to LL R13 next weekend at Wilmington.

It's been a long season, but it's almost done. Here's to next year...

British Cycling Report and Results

 

UKCyclesport interview

John Mullineaux, an omnipresent fixture at bike races across the South East, came to visit my studio late in 2011 to talk about art and bikes. See the interview here.

 

London and SE Cyclo-cross League 2011/2012: My season so far

Round 1: Muddy and reasonably technical - windy too. Bad start meant a fight back through the field. Sprint finish against Sylvain G - just beat him to 3rd.

Round 2: DNS. Wish I had.

Round 3: First race on tubs. Raced day before in Eastern League but legs were pretty strong. Went away early and stayed clear, although Steve Adams (Sigma) was gaining after a mechanical. 1st

Round 4: Very hot race at HH. Mechanical led to bike swap; realised how heavy my old franken-bike is! 4th

Round 5: Flat and technical course played to my strengths. Battled with Record, Garde and Sybrandy, but shook them off and finished well clear. 1st

Round 6: Good race at Fowlmead. Dry and dusty, but also flat and technical. Leading for most of race, but then stuffed up final run-up on last lap. Should have done better! 4th

Round 7: Away with two Corley riders from the first lap, which meant we got a good gap. Couldn't match their roadie ways and they outsprinted me on the last quarter lap. 3rd

Round 8: Perfect race. No major climbs, pretty technical in places with some really nice singletrack. Good start and a strong first couple of laps; away on my own for 90% of the race. Good gap on Sylvain by the end. 1st

Round 9: Marshalling for London Phoenix at Gunpowder Park. Nice to be watching others suffering for a change!

Round 10: Super-tough race at Penshurst. Massive climb, lots of mud, very technical and a fall on the first lap. Sylvain on strong form and I couldn't stay with him. 2nd

Round 11: My luckiest race yet. No strength and picked the wrong wheels. Crashed on 1st lap and lost 5 or 6 places. Fought back to lead group but it cost too much and I began losing them soon after. Sylvain punctured and 2 other leaders also dropped out. Taylor Johnstone takes off and I can't follow. Should have been 5th or 6th! 2nd

Round 12: Another good one for me. Flat and mainly dry with some singletrack, although VERY bumpy. Energy sapping... Good start, hanging on to Jody Crawforth and Simon Richardson.Mainly on my own though after lap 2, trying to keep Taylor and Harry Franklin at bay. 3rd

Round 13: Wilmington is a MTB'ers dream course. Loads of single track and technical features. The first race where I've been pleasantly surprised by the number on a lap board. Hanging onto Darren Barclay's wheel for 50 minutes. Dropped on the last lap. 2nd + definite overall league win!

Round 14: The final round went my way. Wet snow meant a slippery course, but one that I felt at home on. Got ahead of Darren Barclay and managed to get a decent lead by race end. 1st

London League