The 2012 Southern XC series started on Sunday at the classic
old school Checkendon course near Reading.
Despite a dry week the rain came on Saturday so the woodland
course was a slippery maze of shiny roots. While most of the UK basked in
spring sunshine, a torrential downpour just as the Vets got underway dampened
the spirits. It also made certain sections almost unrideable as there was simply no
grip. I can’t remember having to walk a climb on the warm-up lap before!
After shivering on the start line amongst the shaved legged
racers, I got away well onto the grassy opening loop. The guy in front of me
dropped a chain and for a second I thought I was going to tangle with him, but
I squeezed through and he then did an excellent job of holding up those behind.
The mad dash to the first singletrack got the heart beat racing and my
breathing was soon struggling to keep up. I tried to recover as we wound our
way through the trees but once out of the wood and back onto open trails
several stronger riders surged past as I heaved for breath.
Then we plunged back into the wood and the nastiest section of
the lap. A series of tight twisty off-camber climbs littered with greased
roots. Everyone had to take it easy as we fought for purchase on the slimy surface. I cleared the worst section and was probably still holding onto
the back of the top 10. Maybe I would be alright!
At the top of the hill I rounded a bend onto a short little
upward slope and the front wheel caught a root. The bike slithered out from
under me and I was forced to dismount and run the next few meters until I
reached firmer ground. Three or four riders came through including Alex! I
spent the rest of the afternoon chasing him down but he finished 13th
and I was 15th. Next time!
Ian continued his good run of form with 4th
place, and Steve put in another strong performance for 6th in the Vets. In the
same category I spotted Doddy off the bike wrestling with his rear mech, so I
assume mechanical gremlins hampered his route to 12th.
All in all lots of series points in the bank for the team as
we look forward to the season ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment