Southern XC Round 1 is the first proper season race of each year, and this year we were back to the same location as R1 in 2015, Black Park. The course is notorious for its flat, fast and tight racing. The winter training has gone to plan (almost), as i would have liked to have got a few more hours in each week. But such, life gets in the way. Whilst sat on the M3, all that was running through my head was how exited i was, the sun was shining and it hadn't rained all week.
The morning practice lap was complete and I knew it was
going to be a full body work out, what with the flat, bumpy and really twisty
course. The twists certainly did suit my riding style and I knew I would be
faster through those sections than some of my rivals but was going to have to
hop onto a wheel on the fast fire roads.
I lined up on the first row after a strong finish to the
2015 series, next to many familiar faces from the past Southern XC series’.
With these races you get to know who you’re going to be racing, who’s going to
kick your butt and who you may stand a chance against. The whilst went, the
first mile was a hard, smooth and fast surface which quickly strung the field
out. The usual culprits were on the front pushing a fast pace along the fire
roads and through the single track.
The first lap came around and I found myself in the first
group of 10 riders and we had managed to pull a gap on the second group. I sat
pretty comfortably at the back of the group trying not to get carried out.
The racing progressed and the laps ticked by, but I was
slowly losing sight of the lead group I was originally with. Lap 3 and 4 were a
real struggle, this I think was due to not having raced since November. The 5th
lap came and after a couple of gels I managed to find a bit of strength and
pushed on to ensure I didn’t lose any more places.
I crossed the line in 13th and found somewhere to
lie down. I was happy with the result and know that with a few more races under
my belt in 2016 I can start to push for top ten at these events. The next race
for me is now Round 1 of the British National XC Series at Pembrey where the
course is flat, technical and fast.
