2nd Race of the year, when will the next one be?
After all the hard work throughout winter (ok having fun but this has to be serious right?), training, sponsor talks, preseason racing, kit design, bike builds and everything else that it takes to get you ready for season, it was time to get it all together and head on over to round one of the Midlands XC championship at the awesome Dudmaston woods venue. My preseason training has been going well, the race I completed a couple of weeks ago put me in a very positive frame of mind, I was ready for the challenge, I never take anything for granted and a new season equals new competition and unknows.
The timetable for 2020 has been shuffled about, as a result I race now much later with a scheduled race time of 2pm. We headed over early as I wanted to watch the youth categories, catchup with friends, walk the course and generally soak in the atmosphere and get ready for my race. The weather was ok, fairly warm and only a little bit of rain in the air so it was all good, surprisingly given the weather we have been having lately the course was in excellent condition, slippy in a couple of places but hey this is MTB!
I headed off to walk the course, it was the same as the final race last year so I was happy with the layout, it’s always a good mix at Dudmaston, fast, flowing with some good climbs to get the legs and lungs working, racing was still continuing while I was walking so it great to see line choice and how people attacked the different sections. After I walked the course I headed back to the van and had my lunch, got changed and took my bike for a ride and counted down the time to my race.
Racing time! Annoyingly due to running late we ended up riding a much shorter course than planning but it was the same for all, due to the course change we had to complete a lap of practice so I headed out early and got back and setup on the front row. The whistle blew and I pushed super hard and got myself upfront with the lead boys, I chased them hard, by the end of the first lap I had pulled a 24 second lead over the 2nd place female, with lap times around the 3 minute mark I knew I had to be consistent and keep pushing. As we entered the 3rd lap I was still pushing, on each lap I was increasing my advantage by a comfortable margin over 2nd place. As the laps ticked away, I continued to push hard, after 6 laps the chequered flag went out and I took my first win of the season!
I really enjoyed my day but with the current situation I’m really not sure on when the next race will be, I will keep working hard in my training room and looking forward more than ever the return to racing circus.
Stay safe people, see you on the other side!
As always, a massive thank you to my sponsors/supporters, during these difficult times if you’re looking for spare parts or kit then please support my sponsors, everyone is being affected;
Bell Helmets
Full Throttle Racing
Halo Wheels
Mitas Tyres
Nudo Sock
Squirt Cycling Products
links can be found under the partner's tab.
Thanks for reading.
Mazie Moo Moo