I arrived on Friday in time to ride the course, was not expecting it to be quite so hilly. I had heard about the infamous pipeline section however and was slightly worried about how I would manage that. However got to the end and realized I had gone down it without even knowing and it wasn't too difficult. A few sections I rode over a couple of times to find a good line. It seemed ok, I just hoped I would be strong enough for some of the steeper climbs.
The start of the race was quite nerve-wracking. I don't really know many of the people who regularly race there, but I tried to look around at who was in my category. I was glad to be standing with my team mate Magali Jimenez and we wished each other the best of luck before going into our starting position.
The race started through the first river crossing, having started near the back people converged in front of me so I decided to run through this one. I climbed the first hill but saw several of the vet ladies disappear ahead of me. Trying not to be discouraged I continued at my own pace. I believed that one or two of the ladies in my group were behind me. Sometime later in that lap I passed a lady who had been next to me at the start. I continued at the fastest pace I was able, managing pretty much any of the technical parts and enjoying the fast downhill section towards the end. The second lap went much as the first although after a couple of the hills I was having a serious problem with sweat running into my eyes. At one point I was unable to see at all and my eyes were stinging, but removing my glasses for a while and wiping my eyes managed to clear them with the downhill breeze.
The final lap on one of the later climbs I recognised another of the very fast vet ladies as she smoothly overtook me on an uphill, so assumed she had had a mechanical of some sort. The descents at the end felt great now I knew exactly what to expect and tried to make up for lost time on the uphills. Overall I was pleased with the result having never raced at a National XC Race and only started racing this year. I had a great time, raced on a World Cup course and have something to tell the grandchildren (haven't got any quite yet!)
Thanks also to my husband for his support.
5th place vets
This blog will follow the training and racing activities of the UK based Women's XC Mountain Bike Team. We are the only such team in the UK and are dedicated to raising the profile of women's mountain biking through our enthusiasm and commitment to the sport.
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