|
|
|
|
West
Drayton MTB Black Park XC Race March 2011 Event Review Well the first MTB race of the season came and went and as ever it has taken me far too long to write a report but here it is... For the past 3 years the Black Park XC race has acted as the season opener, the first chance of the the year to blow the cobwebs away and test the form for the 'serious' races that will soon be upon us. The Black Park course is pan flat but has multiple sections of tight twisty singletrack. The course has no particular major technical challenges making it ideal for beginners wanting to get into racing, however don't be fooled by thinking this is an easy race. In the Sport / Masters Race Chris was set to ride 7 laps, and in the Elite / Expert Race 8 laps of hard racing lay before. Off the start line I got a pretty rubbish start as my foot came unclipped, but I soon managed to settle into a rhythm riding in a group of 3 behind the lead group of 5. By lap 5 and the group was down to 2 of us to duel it out after the 3rd rider had accelerated away from us; taking it in turns to lead through the single track we kept the pace high. On lap 6 we were caught by an elite rider riding for Pedal on who had started the race 5mins late and was playing catch up, the Numbplumpz rider I was with managed to briefly hold his wheel, but the change in pace was enough to shake me off his wheel. Over the last 1.5 laps I had to fight through a cramping back (the effects of a hardtail and a lumpy flat course) and ride for home, eventually finishing 9th. Fairly respectably for my first expert race but there is much more work to do as I progress towards the more important races this season. Chris had a eventful race, crashing twice, once on the opening lap as the riders pilled into the first section of singletrack and later in the race when attempting to overtake a back marker from the female categories. Beside the crashes Chris rode a consistent race putting to good use his form he has been building with a more structured training program in the second half of this winter, overall placing 17th, his best ever result at Black Park, and places him in a strong position to get some strong results this season when he is racing against only sport riders. Other notable mentions go to Adam and Bernie, two of our regular group ride attendees who rode in the fun category, finishing 18th and 24th respectively. Best Wishes, Mark, BucksMTB Pictures: http://www.simonslaterphotography.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerry_...133045937/show/
|
|
|
[Forum]
[Contact us]
[About us]
[Website Links]
[Bucksmtb Race
Team] |
|
