I was really excited for this event as I have always enjoyed competing in them. My mum dad and sister were also racing which I was pleased about.
I woke up at 7am again and packed my drink and equipment in my Osprey bag, which I was going to wear for the race. My calf was still a a little stiff but the previous night I freezed it, warmed it up and stretched.
I made my way over to the team tent and to find out that my team mates (Cait Elliot) and my bike had been stolen that night!! At first I thought they were having me on, but the look on everyones faces told me different. I didn’t know how react so I went back to my parents and just burst into tears. I was angry and upset. These thieves don’t know how much these bikes mean to us riders. I then found out that at least 8 other bikes had been stolen that night.
There was a whole different atmosphere around the arena which was fair on the organisers and competitors.
My mind felt so exhausted hearing the news.I was definitely not in race mode. 20 minutes before the race my coach and James from Weldtite the teams sponser found both me and Cait a bike to race on!!
I was really pleased and excited. It was a last minute rush to get ready but I managed to get a position very near the front. The gun went and so did all of us riders. I had a really good start and stayed up there for quite a bit. There was long steep rocky climb near the beginning which I knew I was good at so I passed a few people who decided to walk up it.
I was riding with two juniors at this point Nat Jarvis (Colnago Skins) and Bruce Dalton (Sherwood Pines). I was quite chuffed to be riding with them as they are pretty nippy riders. There was one female I was aiming to beat (Ruby Miller, Forza Race Team). I was quite near her around the course and at one point passed her on descent. She is a very good climber and passed me on the final long climb which took you right to the top of the mountains. There were a few really good descents were I could gain on her which I did. Unfortunately Jarvis had my problem on the first lap, his chain snapped to had to stop which was a shame.
When finishing my first lap of 25km I could see that Miller was only about 30 seconds to a minute in front of me, which pushed me on. Dalton had stopped to get a second bottle and by this point I was quite a way ahead. I stayed slightly back on the first climb but could see that she was tiring. Once at the top descending down I passed her again. A
fter that there was no sign of her. On the climbs I stayed behind a male that was good so that I could gain a little bit of time.
Once reaching the summit of the last hill it was the point where I accelerated and I had about 20-30 minutes to go. It was the hardest part of the lap but had a huge adrenaline rush because I was in 3rd position. I didn’t want to get too overconfident so concentrated on my riding all the way to the finsh, going hard on my strengths and even harder on my weaknesses.
I got to the finish in one piece and was so pleased with my performance. I definitely made up for the previous days race, but that was now out of my mind.
I woke up at 7am again and packed my drink and equipment in my Osprey bag, which I was going to wear for the race. My calf was still a a little stiff but the previous night I freezed it, warmed it up and stretched.
I made my way over to the team tent and to find out that my team mates (Cait Elliot) and my bike had been stolen that night!! At first I thought they were having me on, but the look on everyones faces told me different. I didn’t know how react so I went back to my parents and just burst into tears. I was angry and upset. These thieves don’t know how much these bikes mean to us riders. I then found out that at least 8 other bikes had been stolen that night.
There was a whole different atmosphere around the arena which was fair on the organisers and competitors.
My mind felt so exhausted hearing the news.I was definitely not in race mode. 20 minutes before the race my coach and James from Weldtite the teams sponser found both me and Cait a bike to race on!!
I was really pleased and excited. It was a last minute rush to get ready but I managed to get a position very near the front. The gun went and so did all of us riders. I had a really good start and stayed up there for quite a bit. There was long steep rocky climb near the beginning which I knew I was good at so I passed a few people who decided to walk up it.
I was riding with two juniors at this point Nat Jarvis (Colnago Skins) and Bruce Dalton (Sherwood Pines). I was quite chuffed to be riding with them as they are pretty nippy riders. There was one female I was aiming to beat (Ruby Miller, Forza Race Team). I was quite near her around the course and at one point passed her on descent. She is a very good climber and passed me on the final long climb which took you right to the top of the mountains. There were a few really good descents were I could gain on her which I did. Unfortunately Jarvis had my problem on the first lap, his chain snapped to had to stop which was a shame.
When finishing my first lap of 25km I could see that Miller was only about 30 seconds to a minute in front of me, which pushed me on. Dalton had stopped to get a second bottle and by this point I was quite a way ahead. I stayed slightly back on the first climb but could see that she was tiring. Once at the top descending down I passed her again. A
fter that there was no sign of her. On the climbs I stayed behind a male that was good so that I could gain a little bit of time.Once reaching the summit of the last hill it was the point where I accelerated and I had about 20-30 minutes to go. It was the hardest part of the lap but had a huge adrenaline rush because I was in 3rd position. I didn’t want to get too overconfident so concentrated on my riding all the way to the finsh, going hard on my strengths and even harder on my weaknesses.
I got to the finish in one piece and was so pleased with my performance. I definitely made up for the previous days race, but that was now out of my mind.
My team mate Cait got 2nd! Two podiums in one weekend...oustanding!
No comments:
Post a Comment