Sunday morning came and we went down to Sherwood Pines early to get a practice lap in the morning 9am session. We were running slightly late and missed the morning practice but managed to get out for a lap during the next session. The course was running well considering the amount of slow that had fallen over the past few days. During practice our lap times were around 22minutes and knew racing it would be much faster than that. Onto my race now which started just after the Elites at 12.02pm. I wasnt in the best position from the start because this was only my 2nd national, I was gridded in the forties on the 4th row back. This made getting to the front a real struggle because of the snow either side of the racing line. I got an ok start having to work hard to get to the front of the race which took me over 1/2 a lap. I finally caught the front rider Aaron marshall of Sherwood Pines cycles 3/4 way round the 1st lap. As i caught Aaron the pace was kept high but i managed to catch my breath and went to the front. Shortly after this i got a gap on Aaron causing him to make a mistake which gave me a springboard to extending my lead on him. I continued to ride hard during lap 2 & 3 which worked and i continued to pull a considerable gap on Aaron and the rest of the field. During these laps my gears started playing up because of the Ice caught in my cassette only giving me 5 of 10 Gears!. I also slid out on a corner during lap 2 and lost a good 15+ seconds because of this. This wasnt the last of my problems either, during lap 4 an old injury started agging me and had to sit up for a while to stretch out my leg to try and prevent it from getting any worse. Coming back towards the arena on lap 4 i got caught behind the back end of the elite field and was forced to go off line which lost me time as i was slipping and sliding in all the mud/snow. I continued to ride as hard as my knee would let me and was more than enough to take the win. I rode him with a Margin of 65seconds to 2nd place Aaron and 75seconds to 3rd.
All in all the race was a success but i wouldnt say it was one of my smoothest of races by any means. Many other riders are suggesting that i speak to British Cycling and try to move up into the Elite category which i think is an option. I have had a think and am going to ride Expert at R2 in Cornwall and see how that round goes and then decide what to do from then on.
Results avaliable Via the link - http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=235SherwoodPines24/03/2013#Expert%20Male
Pictures Avaliable Via Joolze Dymond's Link - http://joolzedymond.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1325&q=184#image=186280
Big thanks to Steve Jones and Aw Cycles for all the help making things possible. Check out there website via the link below
www.awcycles.co.uk
Next race for me will be either the Gorrick at Frith Hill on the 7th of April or the 1st round of the Southern XC Series at Matterly Basin on the 14th of April.
Onto Steve Jones Grand Veteran Race which was during the afternoon. Steve was gridded on the 2nd or 3rd row back if i remember rightly getting a very good start sitting in 3rd position for most of the race not far back of the leaders. Steve was lapping at 23/24 & 25minutes which was very good considering the conditions were worsening lap by lap. During the last lap steve dropped from 3rd to 4th which was a real shame as he was on for a podium finish. During the few last switchbacks of each lap steve was passed by Mark Pilcher coming in a few seconds back from him to take 5th Postion. This race was a real Slog and was an achievement to finish let alone finish in the top 5 of a very competitive category.
Results Avaliable the link - http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=235SherwoodPines24/03/2013#Grand%20Vet%20Male
Pictures once again from Joolze Dymond - joolzedymond.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallerhttp://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=235SherwoodPines24/03/2013#Grand%20Vet%20Maley=1325&q=571#image=186705
This is the bike both me and Steve rode during last sundays race. The bike held up very well considering the conditions it had to put up with. The frame felt super stiff when required ie fireroads and has a good level of comfort ie when shredding through singletrack over bumpy terrain. The bike retails at £3250 which is very reasonable considering the kit it come with Ie Carbon wheels, Fox forks, Carbon Bars, Drivetrain and Xtr/Xt Gearing and Braking.
The bike is Avaliable from ww.awycles.co.uk . Below is a picture of the Race Winning Machine.
No comments:
Post a Comment