Gorrick Spring Series R3 - Expert Win :)

Sunday the 3rd of March saw the 3rd round of the Gorrick Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series held at a warm Crowthorne wood. The expert race kicked of at just gone 10am with a strong field of riders including ex National champion Jody Crawforth and young gun Steve James. Not the best start from myself but managed to get onto the front group on the 1st long fireroad. A small group of 3 riders including myself, Jody and Steve started to appear with Scott Chappell following not far behind. Me and Steve got a very small gap on Jody on the first lap which meant we still couldn't settle into a rhythm and had to keep the pace high to prevent Jody from latching on again. During lap 2 we continued to keep the pace high and got a significant gap back to Jody which was around 15seconds. Me and Steve continued to keep the pace high with a few events along the way firstly a couple or riders pulling out of a turning from Swinley forest with a loose dog then a rider crashing in front of us coming into the arena which lost us a few seconds. During lap 3 i slid out on the windy section after before the corkscrew giving Steve either a chance to try and get a gap or take a quick breather. I worked for a short time before i latched back onto Steve coming out of the corkscrew where he backpedaled and dropped his chain. I continued to keep the pace constant and knew Steve would latch back on the way i did. We continued to work together until lap 5 where the race was on putting in a few little bursts for good measure, neither of us was being dropped until Steve dropped his chain with around 1/3 of a lap to go which gave me an opportunity to get a gap on. I continued to keep the pace high knowing he would have to work very hard to get back to me after his minor problem. I knew i had done enough to hold the win coming into the start arena and started to celebrate in my head but still needed luck on my side to prevent any of my own problems from occurring. I crossed the line and could keep in my emotions and yelled "Yes". Without Steve having his chain problems the outcome of the race may have been different, I ended up winning by 34seconds back to Steve and a further 8seconds to Jody in 3rd. With 4th Place a fair distance back at nearly 4 minutes adrift.

Great race with a few minor bike tweaks to do before the first National on the 24th of March at Sherwood Pines. I may also race the Black park Xc the week before the national but am Undecided as of yet.

Results Avaliable Via the Link - http://timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=232CrowthorneWood03/03/2013#Expert%20Male 

As far as i am aware there wasnt any photographer at the race last Sunday so no Pictures.

Thanks to Aw Cycles once again for a superb bike and race kit. Check out there site at www.awcycles.co.uk