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| Hopton in the sun, what a lovely sweaty place to be! |
The first part of this blog is a little late as it is now over a week since the 3rd round of the national XC series at Hopton Castle in Shropshire. The fact that I am lumping my 2 most recent races together works out quite well though as it emphasises the massive change in conditions between the two. Only 7 days separated these 2 races and yet the temperature difference was about 20 degrees. This, along with a not inconsiderable volume of rain meant these two races could not have been more different. No prizes for guessing which one I enjoyed more!
I got to Hopton on the Saturday and did a couple of laps of the course. It bodes well when everyone you see in the arena is grinning from ear to ear. There was one 'small' downside, which was the upside, or in other words, the massive bastard climb which took about 18 minutes on the first practice lap. It started off on steep loose double track before a flatter section and a couple of switchbacks using some of the local trail center red route, then returned to steep double track, this time of the grassy variety. Once at the top the rest of the course was almost all swoopy singletrack with a couple of rooty sections and a slatey section. Although there were a few sections marked as hazards, there was nothing particularly technical, and certainly nothing scary to worry about. That didn't stop parting company with my bike half way down when my front wheel tucked in and I went over the bars superman style before sliding down the track on my knee, elbow and back. No serious damage done but confidence certainly bruised. Before the second lap I put more air in the tyres, as much so I had something to blame for the crash than anything.
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| Steve Corbyn (Derailed Racing) at the top of the switchback climb |
On race day the weather was again baking hot and by the time it was time to grid it was pushing 27 degrees. Drinking at every opportunity would be vital to prevent dehydration and hellish final laps. From the start the pack accelerated past me as is not customary, but not at the usual speed and I was still in touch with a large group after the first section of climb. I think everyone was as wary as me about the climbing and the conditions. As the first climb wore on the group thinned and I managed to pick up a few places. By the top I had caught Mark Davies (CCW) which surprised me as I never normally see him after the start straight. On the descent I rode like a fanny, still clearly suffering from the crash the day before. I was holding Mark up and when i overshot a sharp right-hander, he got passed and disappeared in a cloud of dust. By the bottom he had got a good gap but I again caught him on the climb, and repeated the descent from the first lap, including the overcooking of the corner, queue loud expletive. On the 3rd time up the climb I caught Mark on the switchback section of climb and managed to pull a good gap on him quickly. I caught another group at the top of the climb and managed to not overcook the corner this time so didn't lose any places on the descent. I was still feeling pretty strong on the final lap and closed down a couple more riders on the climb. On the final descent I had Ian Mockett (Thetford MTB) breathing down my neck and when he kicked past me on the final section of fireroad near the bottom I didn't have the reserves to keep up with him. I rolled home in 21st which was lower than I had hoped but i was happy with how my legs felt. I just need to work on my descending and build up that illusive confidence again.
After my race I wandered back up the course and took a load of photos of race 3 which you can find here.
Mud Sweat and Gears XC, Codham Park, Essex
Since Hopton I had spent only a handful of hours at home. I was working in Hatfield for the week so I had to pack everything I needed for this race while it was 27 degrees on Monday (so I didnt have much in the way of warm clothing - mistake). Because I was working away I also didn't have the opportunity to do any training. I managed a recovery ride with a few Giant Radlett customers on Tuesday and a couple of sprint intervals on Friday. In between I did little other than work and gauge myself on hotel cooked breakfasts and steak. It didn't really matter though as short of a training camp in the battlefields of Vietnam, very little could really have prepared me for this race. It only really started raining on Saturday evening but then it didn't really stop until... well, i don't think it has really stopped yet. The practice lap proved that if you are willing to run up the climbs, you will probably gain time on those who try to ride. Eventual winner Dieter Droger (Dirt Wheels Cycles) proved this to me throughout the practice lap. I am not willing to do this. I have never done a cyclocross race, and I didn't really want to for precisely this reason. I am certainly not willing to do it in the middle of summer, however bloody English it is. I managed to ride just about the whole lap so I was happy that this could be done 5 more times as long as the conditions didn't change. Unfortunately it continued to rain less and less was ridable. I had also started to get chain-suck with my chain getting stuck between my frame and my chainset caused by the excessive amounts of mud and grass collecting around my front mech. By the start of my 3rd lap it had got to the point where I couldn't put any power through the pedals without getting chain-suck so I had a few tantrums and eventually decided to call it a day, as much for my sanity as the survival of my bike. This was the first race Emma has come to for almost 2 years and I think she was glad I decided to quit so she could get out of the rain and back to the warm fire! My mood was lightened somewhat when I saw that only 2 of 8 riders finished, and only 1 did the full 5 laps. Well done to Dieter and Steve Wood (Sherwood Pines Cycles) for their perseverance!
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