Southern XC 1, Checkendon



Not going as fast as it looks



Well that was a bit shit! I've been pretty confident all week that I could get a good result this weekend. The rain came on Saturday morning and it made the course very slippery, and quite draggy in places. Half way through the lap the course dropped down a tricky descent and the following climbs were very slippery making it almost impossible to ride in places. I used the practice lap to get used to the bike and how it handled in the conditions and by the end I felt like I was getting to grips with it. I definately felt the benefit of the big wheels in the singletrack because you can just take a direct line through the roots at cut off corners which would slow your momentum on a 26. I was still a bit concerned about the lack of grip on the front wheel in the mud though because I am used to a grippier 'Rocket Ron' as opposed to the semi-slick 'Racing Ralph' on this.



Can you tell who I'm riding for this year?



From the start I was second to the first corner of the short grassy start loop. From this point on it all went to pot. I started going backwards and my legs felt empty, I couldn't keep up with anyone on the flat tacky straight through the woods and I must have let at least 10 people through by the time the track next popped out of the woods. At this point I still couldn't hold anyones wheel and just tried not to slow down too much. Early in the lap I was already struggling with fatigue and started making basic errors and slipping on roots but somehow managed not to crash too badly. I said earlier you could just point the bike over the roots but unfortunately it still requires some speed which I seemed to have none of so every root was a death trap! By the second lap, sport and masters riders had started passing me and I just concentrated on getting to the finish without losing too much time. I couldn't even contemplate keeping up with them! I had none of the acceleration and power I had at the Gorrick races and just plodded around to the finish. I did manage to pass Chris Pedder from AW Cycles early in the 4th lap but this was scant concellation and I was pretty fed up by the end (and still am at time of writing!). The high point of my race may well have been the following encouragement from the feedzone:

Jack: Come on Tom, you're doing well!

Me: No, I'm not!

Jack: OK, you're doing shit! Sort it out!

Looking at the results, in a way I am pretty pleased because the result shows I was miles off the pace of previous races, rather than just being over confident and taking a beating from much better riders! Im not sure what I can do differently in time for the next race but hopefully an interval session on the mtb, followed by lots of rest before a gentle spin on Saturday. Other than that I just have to hope my legs come to the party when required!