Soutern Area Champs - Magali Jimenez, Masters Bronze medallist

Pre race preparation

Having injured myself at home a couple of weeks before the Southern XC Champs, I wasn’t sure I would be well enough to race. But Pippingford being such a great venue and being only two weeks before the next round of the BMBS I thought I would give it a shot.

We arrived at Pippingford a few hours before my race start so that I could go for a practice lap to familiarise myself with the course. The weather wasn’t great but having my two year old daughter jumping up and down and playing next to me while I was getting ready helped me keep my mind busy so I didn’t even notice the rain!

I went for a practice lap with my co-team member and elite rider Carla. She obviously knew the course very well and was warning me of any potential hazards on the way. It was nice to be looked after for a change! I immediately found it more technical and challenging than my local rides and thought to myself that it would be a tough race. I had raced parts of the course at the 8 hour Muc-off earlier in the year but the Southern XC Champs course also happened to be the course of the National champs so it had to be a tough one. The hills were demanding, especially the long grassy one at the end that never seemed to end. There were lots of slippery roots, a river crossing and off camber corners, i.e. a great cross country course! There were also good downhill sections where I could get a good speed to compensate all the hard work on the hills.

Although I am not as clumsy as I used to be when I started mountain biking a few years back, I crashed on my practice lap but thankfully I didn’t do any more damage to myself other than few cuts and grazes. Carla was here to pick up the pieces and we were ready to finish the lap. I wasn’t sure what to think about the course especially after my crash but I tried to stay focused and relaxed before getting on the turbo for a warm up.

The race

A few words of advice from coach Trevor and his usual “don’t worry you’ll be alright” and it was time to go to the start line. We were six ladies in the Masters category on the same line all waiting for the whistle to blow. At that time I was just thinking “don’t mess up your start”. And when the whistle did blow we all pedalled as hard as we possibly could on that grassy start before entering the single track. I thought I had a good start up until the first hill when few girls started passing me. I was going flat out but my flat out was not as fast as theirs so they left me behind and I was the last one to cross the line after the first lap. However, I tried to stay positive and remembered what Trevor had told me just before the start and I kept on pedalling even harder. I knew at that point what he meant by racing hurts. But thankfully I had lots of support from my daughter screaming “go mummy” every time she would see me and from Trevor who was always appearing somewhere in the woods to a shout few words of encouragement.

And so I kept going until I could see in front of me a girl who had passed me on the first lap. She was skidding on the roots and looked really tired. I knew they couldn’t possibly all keep up with that pace! I passed her and heard her for a while in my back wheel going uphill. Then I looked behind again and she was gone. I then got to the point where you could either go down a few drops or take the alternative route. I decided to be reasonable and went for the alternative route - which was not so easy by the way – and I passed another girl who was coming from the other way. I couldn’t believe it I was back in the race! The training was obviously working and I was thrilled! The last hill was very painful but I was feeling a lot better as I could see the finish line. I finally crossed the line and took the bronze medal with a big smile on my face. That was a great race and I’m glad I did it.

The aftermath

Soon after crossing the finish line I was congratulated by the gold and silver medallists which was nice. We had a quick chat about the race, children, etc and agreed that we were happy it was over although we really enjoyed it.

This race was important to me not only because it was the Southern Champs but also because I had the opportunity to race a good course with strong riders who I usually race with at the BMBS. So in a way it was a good rehearsal for the next round of the BMBS. I had a good and smooth race with excellent support from family and at the feed zone from Keith. It was a positive experience which has helped boost my confidence for the end of the season and for many more races to come.