June Catch-up
Welcome back internet people, I hope you are all splendid. Following on from last race report I am moving to monthly updates on my Website, this will enable myself to focus more on riding but also it means you only need to read one report per month, my Instagram and Facebook pages are always the best place to get the news ASAP.
Since Cannock national, June was made up of training and training only, no other races had been scheduled so it was full focus on Woodys Bike Park.
We arrived at Woody’s on Friday morning but due to some ticket / camping issues we had to head elsewhere for the night, this was a little frustrating as I wanted to walk the course and have a good scope before practice but it is what it is.
We arrived correctly on Saturday morning, I had a quick look at the course, the layout was the same as 2021 so nothing was too much of a shock. I headed out for practice and had fun out there, the downs are so much fun but the climbs are absolute killers. I had been training hard for this round so it was not from a lack of fitness but something just did not feel right, the hills were a real struggle. I raced back to the pits to have a quick tyre change to see if this would improve things, I had a quick test and it seemed to be a bit better, so at that I just got ready for race day.
6am and the Alarm went off, I really didn’t feel great, not illness just total nerves, I needed a good result to claim 3rd in the championship and I really wanted to back up my 2nd place from Cannock Chase. I could not eat breakfast and I just really struggled to get ready and be focused for the race. Looking back this was all obviously silly now and I really should have just focused on the race.
I headed down to call up powered on half a cereal bar and a mouthful of water, I generally felt sick and deep down I was dreading the next hour of racing. The whistle blew and I got a good start, I tried my hardest, the lead group would drop me and I would real them back, I even took the race lead at one point. As the laps ticked away I really started to hurt, the lack of food and hydration was starting to kick in.
I was being passed at what felt like everyone on the course, I pushed to the end and crossed the line in 5th place! At the time, I was super disappointed in myself and it is my worse result of the season but upon reflection for 5th to be your worse result at the highest level of racing in the UK is pretty good.
Disappointingly I lost 3rd in the championship but to fair, Daisy she absolutely smashed it a woody’s so congratulations to her. I must say well done to all the competition this year it has been a great season. Also a big thanks to all the organisers, commissionaires, first aid and everyone else who makes these events happen.
Big thank you to everyone who supports me, next event is Midlands XC at Eastridge.
As always, a massive thank you to my sponsors;
Bike Guru Derby
Full Throttle Racing
Halo Wheels
Recoil Suspension
Squirt Cycling Products
Links can be found under the partner's tab.
Thanks for reading.
Mazie
Photo credit sharperfoto