Wessex Cyclocross Round 6
Basingstoke – Hosted by PedalOn
The week prior to Round 6 of the Wessex Cyclocross league
was wet, windy and generally pretty miserable. I tried to get out on a couple
of longer rides which inevitably ended up me getting soaked through, despite
layering up.
I was looking forward to this round, due to the diversity of
the course which was a lovely mix of fast grassy fields, high hurdles, steep
banks and off-road trails which collectively suited my mountain biking riding
style. Unfortunately a few days prior to the race I had developed a nasty head
cold (man flu/big baby whiny syndrome) and it still lingered on the day of the race. None the less I loaded up
the van with my Giant TCX with some new Challenge Tyres (which I know are
hugely popular) accompanied by some new Shimano road wheels before headed to
the venue.
With a quick spectate of a vast field of Veteran 40+ and 50+,
it was clear what sections were going to be tough and busy, and what sections
you could really put the hummer down to gain some places, especially on the
opening lap. The race was set to be just over an hour in length.
As we lined up on the start line I felt a mixture of nerves
and self-doubt on how well I could actually perform, but never the less I was
going to give it everything to get the best position straight from the word go.
As the whistle went and the hour begun and I quickly forgot about my cold and
settled into a comfortable rhythm, with 4 other riders including riders from
the Cotswold and Banjo Cycles. As more of the short 2.5km laps passed, the
lactic acid was settling into the legs and I was beginning to feel the effects
of racing hard despite only being half way through.
It is difficult to maintain such a solid pace as the race
progresses especially on the technical sections including the steep hills and
hurdles, as I quickly found out. With approximately 20 minutes to go I
approached one of the hurdle sections with 1foot high barriers. The run in was
fast and each lap I had been pushing my luck on how quickly I could get over them,
it seemed my luck had finally run out. I approached using the standard
procedure of one leg over the bike and dismounting with approx. 2m to go but
this time I didn’t quite lift my feet as high as I should, which led to me
tripping over the first hurdle, so to speak. I was sent head over heels over
the 2 barriers with the bike heading further in height than in length. I
quickly got back up and dusted myself off, it could have been a lot worse, and
re-joined the race having lost 2 positions. I quickly got back onto a group of
2 and we worked well moving into the final stages of the race and onto the much
desired final lap. The group diminished and we were all battling to hold the
final top 20 positions.
I crossed the line in 19th position out of a 51 strong
field, quickly looking for the closest place to collapse and take a
well-deserved lie down. I was pretty pleased with the result considering the
minor draw backs and could head towards the next race knowing I can place
higher when fully fit and get round without any silly glitches.
The bike was brilliant, a little on the heavy side from some
of the steep slopes but my new tyres meant I could attack the downhill sections
like I was riding my mountain bike, which was a great advantage.
Next race will be the inevitably wet round at Reading,
Prospect Park which is another course I find good fun and will be reporting
from.
Cheers,
Ryan.
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