MTB’less, Holidays & Cyclocross
I’ve been quiet on here lately so thought I would give you a little update, after the final round of the Midlands XC champs my MTB had to be returned to Evans cycles so I have been MTB’less now for 4 weeks but don’t worry I always have my road bike / cyclocross bike to play on.
Taking of my road bike I have just returned from my holidays, two and a half weeks in Cornwall and I have been clocking up the miles on the hilly yet stunning coastal roads, mix in running on the beach, swimming, crab hunting and everything else I got up to its been a good training session!
So whats next, hopefully I get my MTB back soon, the cyclocross season starts this coming weekend 8th Sept and I’m really looking forward to my first full year competing in this discipline, its going to be tough but I’m looking forward to the challenge!
Race report will be up after the weekend, thanks for reading.
Midlands XC RD5 - Dudmaston Woods
This past weekend I raced at the final round of the Midlands XC @ the excellent Dudmaston Woods nr Bridgnorth, the weather was super kind to us, forecast suggested rain all day but it was 27 degrees and sunny 😊
I headed out for practice and the track was identical to last year, it’s a lot of fun, fast & flowing with a mixture of everything, after practice I felt confident and I was looking forward to getting the race underway. As I had already won the championship there is no pressure so every race is just about pushing myself.
It was announced at the start that today’s race was going to be a long one, 4 laps of fun around a demanding circuit with the heat to battle. I headed to the front row and once the whistle blew I shot off the line, I pushed hard as I knew the single track would be difficult to pass on, I got my head down and tried my hardest, I pushed so hard I was about 25 seconds per lap quicker than my nearest competitor and by the finish I had pulled just under a 2 minute lead, I was really happy with my performance and I felt strong at the end. I was really happy to take the final win of the season.
At presentation time I collected my under 12’s title, I’m so happy to have taken the win in my first year of entering the class, at the start of the year I was a little worried about racing awesome racers that are two years older than myself but I trained hard and it all paid off, massive congratulations to all the girls who I have raced against this year, its been awesome and you’re all ace! Get well soon to Zoe who I heard had taken a nasty crash and is requiring surgery, sending you lots of healing vibes.
A massive thank you to my sponsors, Mitas Cycle & Full Throttle Racing.
See you at the cyclo-cross.
Having fun and training hard!
It’s been a bit quiet lately on the race front, I decided to sit out the HSBC MTB nationals as under 12 are not ranked or even scored on the day, I had a party invite so I took the opportunity to go and spend some time with Friends, not something I have many weekends to do. I have been out on the MTB training a fair amount since the last race, I was really disappointed with my result but not being well prior to the event, on reflection I should have sat out the cyclocross race and focused on my recovery 100%, lessons learned! Talking about riding, I have been out over Cannock Chase a lot but I have also been to FoD, Forrest of Dean is a great location, loads of stuff to ride, XC, Downhill and fun / skills section, check out the video below and come for a ride with me.
My next race is 4th August @ Dudmaston woods, I’m really looking forward to this and we have the end of season presentation.
Catch you soon.
Mazie Moo Moo
Midlands XC RD4 - High Bramley Woods
Round 4 was held at the awesome but private woods "High Bramley", over night rain created a very tricky and slippy course but it was riding well and extremely fun. I headed out for practice feeling a little flat, not being particularly well over the past couple weeks put my training on hold so my preparation entering this weekends race wasn't the best, I enjoyed the course but the climbs were taking the energy out of me!
Race time, I started ok and slotted into 2nd sitting on the rear wheel of the leader saving energy and looking for the correct opportunity to make a pass, unfortunately the leader slipped out and took me down, crashing into a thorn bush, I struggled to unclip and was stuck on the floor for a little while, after getting backup I was knocked down again by a passing riding! I remounted in 3rd and a fair bit behind, I got her head down and pushed hard in the tricky slippy conditions, by the finish I managed to claw back to 2nd so a fantastic result given my crash, fortunately I have already took the under 12's title at only 10 years old so no damage done to the overall results. Wel done to everyone who takes part.
Take a nose at my youtube video from the event, like and subscribe to my channel :-)
