Southern XC Round 1 Event
Report #1
Wasing Estate 11th
April 2010
Finished: 15th
Round one of the southern XC was at the new venue of Wasing
Estate.
The course was a brand new build being run in for the first
time at this event ahead of the second round of the NPS on the 8th of
May.
The Estate provided an idyllic venue and a challenging
course, however being such a newly built track and the bad weather we have been
experiencing it was a tricky course to get to grips with. A lot of earth that
has been dug was holding water and had no time to dry and with the area not open
to the public Sunday was the first chance to bed the track in with mixed
results. There were some areas that were completely unrideable that resulted in
a lot of running.
With the weather being warm for the week before everybody
was opting for a dry set up me included but this was not an easy option as for
80% of the course this was fine but the other 20% a mud tyre would have been
very welcome. However credit to the course builders for building a very fast
paced course with lots of technical riding, big drops and lots of areas for
passing. The start of the course is very well planned out and there were no
obvious areas that caused bottle necking which makes the start of the race a
much more relaxed affair.
While out on our practice ride we had to slow for a
paramedic team who were recovering one of the youth riders from the mornings
race. It seems that one of the many water features of the course had caused him
to go over the bars which led to him being airlifted to the nearest Hospital. We
were all informed later on in the day that he had suffered severe whiplash but
was ok. We hope he makes a speedy recovery. The earlier races highlighted some
areas that were obviously causing the organisers concern because by the
lunchtime races there had been a large number of changes to the course.
Hopefully the dry weather will stay, if so the NPS round on 8th May is going to
be very fast indeed.
As for my race I started on the 3rd row and got
a lightning start moving up well through the group. I managed to hang on to the
leading pack until the first technical descent, where a crash in front of me at
the bottom of the pit slowed me down, before I had to get off and run the steep
and muddy climb on the other side. I lost contact with the front group and was
fighting for position with the guys behind me. After re-mounting my bike I got
my head down and concentrated on dropping the guys behind me. By the end of lap
1 I was on my own but on lap 2 I had a moment on one of the large puddles - I
was looking for a quicker line through the mud and my front wheel dug in
throwing me over the handle bars and I had to dig the bike out of the thick mud.
All the hard work that I had done was wasted as riders came back past me. Lap 3
I dug in deep and started to make my way back up the pack. With under a 1km to
go I could see the 14th place rider in front of me struggling in the
large puddle I had crashed in earlier. I found a line through it and then
hammered the climb to catch him, but on the descent the other side I stopped
looking ahead and was fixated on the rider in front and then on the way into a
fast right hander my front tyre lost grip and I went down again. I jumped
straight up and re-mounted the bike and sprinted like hell to try and catch him
as we entered the arena. I was busting my lungs but he held on to pip me by 10
seconds. I was very annoyed that I didn’t keep my cool when I spotted him.
Without the crash I’m 99% sure I would of had the place off him even if it had
come down to the sprint as I was feeling strong. However 15th is a
personal best for the Southern XC series with my best result last year being 23rd
- so a big improvement over the winter.
Best Regards,
Kris
bucksmtb.co.uk
Photo courtesy Joolze Dymond -
http://joolzedymond.com/
More photos available at
http://joolzedymond.com/
Southern XC Round 1 Event
Report #2
Wasing Estate 11th
April 2010
Finished: 2nd
View from the pack:
Wasing estate is a new race venue for 2010, hosting the recent round 1 of the
Southern XC series and Round 2 of the NPS series at the beginning of May. The
most notable features on the course are the numerous bomb holes and the wheel
sucking stream dips (although they were more like gloopy mud sections than
streams). At present the course is still quite raw having only recently been
completed and therefore needs a bit more bedding in before the track can deliver
is full potential as a fast and twisty course (By lap 3 the course was running
much better).
The Southern XC series is probably the most well established regional race
series in the Country, and as such you know on arriving that the event is going
to be well organised and that there will be plenty of competitive racing. Throw
in the surprise appearance of Olympian and current National Champion Liam Kileen
and Round 1 was set to be another great event.
Going into my race I wasn't quite sure what to expect of my own chances of doing
well - I had completed a road race the day before and notched up my first ever
road win in the process so wasn't sure what my legs had left in them. My legs
felt good the morning of the race but I wasn't sure how they would respond to
being pushed in back to back races the first time this season. Added to this and
I was unsure about the course, the practice lap hadn't really inspired me. There
wasn't anything on the course I couldn't ride or was specifically worried about,
I just hadn't really found my flow, or quite got a measure of the course.
Come race time and I had put thoughts of yesterday's race and niggles as to
whether I liked the course or not to one side, it was time to once again focus
on the inevitable fast start. The whistle blew, and away we went, with a fairly
long fireroad drag before the singletrack. Sprinting off the line seemed less
hectic than usual. I got a better start than I have done previously and entered
the first singletrack in about 10th place. For the 1st half of the lap there was
about 10 or more of us in a train weaving through the singletrack, mid way
through the lap the group split slightly, never totally out of sight but a front
group gained a 20 second gap. Over the 2nd half of the lap I worked hard to move
through those in front of me and catch the group that had got away. By the time
I entered the 1st bit of single track on lap 2 I had caught a group of 4 other
riders, the group consisted of 2 riders from Pedalon.co.uk and 2 from 1st gear
cycles. I knew I was somewhere in the top 10 by this point but wasn't entirely
sure where.
I took advantage of the 2 teams battling with each other and sat in on the train
for the next lap. Towards the end of lap 2, one of the 1st gear cycle riders had
dropped off the pace and the other 3 riders had a 5 bike length advantage over
me (I had lost traction in one of the mud dips and therefore lost contact). As
we went through the arena I was back in contact with the group, and as we passed
through the arena I had thought the commentator had said we were 3,4,5,and
6th. With my legs feeling strong and what I thought was a chance of fighting for
a podium spot I decided the slight drag in the first part of the lap would be my
time to try and put a gap in on the other 3 riders. For the first time in the
race I was on my own and had a clear run at the singletrack sections, and I have
to admit despite my reservations after the practice lap the course was growing
on me and I pushed on trying to stay clear of the riders behind me, although I
was out of sight of them, I wasn't going to take any chances.
As I crossed the finish line I was fairly sure I had done enough to secure my
first ever podium position (thinking I was hopefully 3rd), and then it was
announced I had finished 2nd. 2nd; one place better than I had thought and one
step further up the podium. My first ever podium, and achieved the day after my
first ever road race win. It was an unbelievable result, hopefully the first of
many.
Best Regards,
Mark
bucksmtb.co.uk
Photo courtesy Joolze Dymond -
http://joolzedymond.com/
More photos available at
http://joolzedymond.com/
A video of some of the days events can be found here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYPB1ztFpvQ
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