After the heavy down poor on Friday, I had the sickening feeling that it was going to be a mud bath of a race. After completing a practice lap I was amazed at how quickly the water had drained and the ground had dried up - not quite time to break out the summer tyres but the course was rolling fast and it soon became apparent that this was going to be a shorts and t-shirt race!!!

I was feeling quite strong but more than a little nervous as I have not done a lot of off road since the lovely sunny weather we had in September and early October. Fitness wise I had no problems as I have spent the winter out on the road bike but I was worrying more about my technical ability.

On the start line the sports and the master categories started together and soon as the whistle went we were all sprinting for our lives. After the first corner carnage (rider in front went straight down in front of me) the pack began to settle into the single track and I began to look around to see who I was actually racing against and who was in the masters group. As we went into the second sector of single track I heard a crack and realised my saddle had moved, a loud oh crap could be heard as I knew I was now in for a long back ache 7 laps.           

Buy lap five I had moved up a good few places and had tried my hardest to keep with the elite guys as they flew passed me and lapped me but I was now paying the price of the slipped saddle. Although I seemed to have lost none of my bike handling skills it appeared I had lost the punch on the fire road sections and I was losing time on them, this could just be an area I need to improve on or maybe it was just being sat funny on the bike I’m not sure but time will tell.

On the last lap I went for it hard to see if I could catch any stragglers who were beginning to blow. Although I felt strong I was having a hard time sitting on the bike as it was so un-comfy but I hung on in there and finished 21^st and my highest placing in a sport category race ever. Not quite the top 20 I was aiming for but I felt it was the best race I have done to date, I still felt strong at the end of the race even having a sprint to the line. I do feel I may have be a little too cautious in my pacing but that's something I can work on for the next race.

Kris
bucksmtb.co.uk

Black Park XC 2010 Race Report 2

Black Park (Denham) XC 2010
Date: Sunday 14th March
Type: XC Race
Result: DNF

Going into this race I was quietly confident of having a good race and getting a good result. My winter training has gone well and in terms of fitness I felt I was in probably my best form ever, the only question mark was going to be how my technical skills would fair under the pressure of the first race of the season.
 
The race started in its usual fashion for me, starting mid bunch in the scramble for the first bit of single track and then try and spend the whole race moving through the field. The first lap was spent catching groups of 2 or 3 people at a time in the single track, and then burning past on the open fire road sections. By lap 2 some gaps had started to open up and I was able to find a bit more of a steady tempo to settle into. Things were going well, by the start of lap 3 I was running in about 10th place and steadily catching those in front of me. 3/4 of the way through the lap though and it all went wrong, a stick got lodged in my rear mech and bent the lower cage. It was game over for me, with my gears ghost shifting and skipping with every pedal revolution there was no way I would be able to successfully complete the other 4 laps.
 
A disappointing start to the race season, but on the plus side I felt very strong and I am confident of being able to get some strong results this season.
 
As ever West Drayton MBC did a good job in putting on a good race (even if some competitors lost count of how many laps they had done causing some confusion) and providing a fun and twisty course.


Mark
bucksmtb.co.uk