This was the final mountain bike race before the last round of the national series race. My aim was to win it and become Southern Champ for the 3rd year running. I had already won the series but this would be a great bonus!
I travelled up Friday, camping and pre rode on Saturday morning. The weather could have been better...but have raced in much worse conditions then that so I wasn’t to fussed.
I did one lap and decided to change my tyres to Kenda Nevegal. It was a little muddy in sections, which needed a bit more grip. I then did another lap after changing them do see whether I made the right decision, and it was.
The course was the same as the National Champs, apart from one bit, so I remembered it quite well. I really liked it; it had a mixture of single track, hills and technical sections, which was good.
After pre riding I had my breakfast and slowly prepared my race equipment.
My preparation was really good...I didn’t have to rush around last minute. I had a good descent warm up and was ready to start the race.
I wanted to have a good start and lead the riders out..., which is what I did. One of the expert riders passed me before the single track, but I knew I could stay with her. When riding up the first fire track climb a masters passed me and slowly made a gap. I gained on her when descending a fast section and then passed her when she got stuck on one of the roots.
I was confident I could ride harder and gain more of a lead. I pushed myself on my strengths and worked even harder on my weaknesses, which seemed to go down quite well.
By the 3rd lap I was still in the lead and many of the riders would be finishing as I had an extra lap to do. I did notice I slowed down slightly as there were no other riders ahead of me to chase, so I used the men to push me instead.
Climbing up the steep grass hill to the finish I was exhausted. I was the Elite Female Southern Mountain Bike Champion!!
It was a great course and race and was really pleased with how it went.
Now its time to prepare for round 5 of the British Mountain Bike Series in Plymouth- 25th September!
I travelled up Friday, camping and pre rode on Saturday morning. The weather could have been better...but have raced in much worse conditions then that so I wasn’t to fussed.
I did one lap and decided to change my tyres to Kenda Nevegal. It was a little muddy in sections, which needed a bit more grip. I then did another lap after changing them do see whether I made the right decision, and it was.
The course was the same as the National Champs, apart from one bit, so I remembered it quite well. I really liked it; it had a mixture of single track, hills and technical sections, which was good.
After pre riding I had my breakfast and slowly prepared my race equipment.
My preparation was really good...I didn’t have to rush around last minute. I had a good descent warm up and was ready to start the race.
I wanted to have a good start and lead the riders out..., which is what I did. One of the expert riders passed me before the single track, but I knew I could stay with her. When riding up the first fire track climb a masters passed me and slowly made a gap. I gained on her when descending a fast section and then passed her when she got stuck on one of the roots.
I was confident I could ride harder and gain more of a lead. I pushed myself on my strengths and worked even harder on my weaknesses, which seemed to go down quite well.
By the 3rd lap I was still in the lead and many of the riders would be finishing as I had an extra lap to do. I did notice I slowed down slightly as there were no other riders ahead of me to chase, so I used the men to push me instead.
Climbing up the steep grass hill to the finish I was exhausted. I was the Elite Female Southern Mountain Bike Champion!!
It was a great course and race and was really pleased with how it went.
Now its time to prepare for round 5 of the British Mountain Bike Series in Plymouth- 25th September!
