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| First podium of the season, and grinning like an idiot |
By the time this
weekends race arrived it’s been about a month since I last lined up on a start
line, and in that month I couldn’t exactly say I have been able to do the
highest quality training. A Stag do (my own to make it worse) and illness
combining to make sure any confidence I had from my ride at Rendlesham was long
gone and I was lining up at Carver wondering if I could avoid being the
lanterne rouge. I had a reasonable amount of home advantage for the race
because the hosting club is Walden Velo and I have had the opportunity to ride
every one of the 999 iterations of the course set out by Andrew Riley prior to
the big day. Before Thursday I was happy with the course but when I turned up
for my final practice I was confronted with Andrew grinning from ear to ear and
a new gap jump! Jumping has never been my forte so I was slightly concerned
about the prospect, especially with Callum riding it and showboating. After a
bit of coaxing I finally grew some balls and managed to ride it. To my surprise
it was actually far easier than it looked; I actually enjoyed riding it and was
disappointed when the MSG organisers asked for the big hole to be filled in!
Race morning came and
I realised my front tyre has still not managed to seal properly so calls were
made and a loan wheel was organised. If I was on the usual 29er this would not
have been an issue. However, I am now on my shiny new 27.5 anthem and spare
wheels are in short supply! Fortunately Liam came through for me and donated a
very nice carbon number from [one of] his bikes.
The other benefit of
it being a home race is that I could turn up at the venue after lunch and be a
bit more relaxed than usual, even with the last minute tyre drama. On arrival I
set up my rollers in the Newdales Pro XC gazebo and went to work warming up.
After the warm-up I rolled around the runway before turning up at the start to
be gridded, which I had missed. Obviously just too relaxed! I took up a place
amongst the juniors on the second row and hoped my tardiness wouldn’t be too
costly with the course quickly turning in to wooded singletrack.
I got away Ok but Rich
Dunnet slipped a pedal in front of my meaning I had to ease up slightly before
getting around him. Fortunately as everyone concertinaed up for the first
corner I kept off the brakes and swooped around the outside moving up to about
4th in the mixed elite/Expert/masters and Juniors field. I felt comfortable
through the first wood section but when Andy Cockburn came past me with a
couple of riders in his wheels I tried to latch on but there was no power left.
As I drifted back I rode with Ian Mockett for a bit but early in the second lap
my gears started to jump and I couldn’t keep up with him. The rest of the lap
was spent trying to twiddle with the barrel adjuster trying to sort the problem
out and I think I lost quite a bit of time. By the 3rd lap things
had not improved so I pulled over to see if I could see what was wrong. True to
my reputation for maintenance, my rear wheel was loose and about to fall out!
After I re-tightened it and undid all of the adjusting I had done earlier I was
back under way. I had dropped behind Glen Stanford (CCN) but not lost too much
time faffing. Fortunately my legs had recovered a bit and I soon reeled in
Mockett and Stanford. I rode away from Ian on the start finish straight but
still had Glen For company. We didn’t make a very cohesive partnership but we
were still together going on to the final gap. I made a few kamikaze overtakes
in the first section of woods using some local knowledge line choices which got
me a gap that I held to the end. I didn’t have a clue where I had finished so
was pretty chuffed to hear I was 1st Expert and 3rd Elite.
Some good points collected and a cheeky podium appearance alongside teammate
Callum and Rich Jones (XCRacer). The result should prove a nice little
confidence boost and some added motivation leading up to the Marathon Champs in
about a months time.
With my parents
visiting I couldn’t desert them to help marshalling or final course set up/take
down in the morning which was convenient but I did feel a bit guilty about
considering how much time the Newdales and Walden Velo lot had put in to the
event. All of the feedback that I have heard from the event has been very
positive and I think it was a big success. I’m sure Andy is already planning
what he can build in the woods for next time!
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