A rather wet and windy first round of the WDMBA series this weekend, Track was amazing technical and wet just what we like! Saturday was unreal I was having so much fun just getting loose on the tech sections I was even pushing back up just to hit the good bits again.. Sunday came and it lashed down which made the track even better and more grippy. Two rapid practice runs in the morning which made me feel confident to pin it in the race.

First race run was bit of a mare had a crash in the (STARWARS) section and a faulty rear brake but still managed to come down 10 seconds up. In the final run I was confident that my first time was probably enough to get the win so I just got wild! and despite a few mistakes and a rear brake that was really S**t I still managed to pull off a time of 3mins 35secs, six seconds faster than my first run which was enough for the top step!

A great confidence boost ready for Rd2 of the Halo BDS at Fort William  in just 2 weeks, now it’s time to get my head down and train real hard.

Cheers Tay.

As fun as the track was I was not really feeling it all weekend. Saturday it was very damp, slick and a real problem to get going on. Fortunately a change in the weather for the Sunday made the track dry out and roll a lot faster for the racing with only enough time to get two practice runs completed seeding seemed come around fast and I was well excited for it. I made a few silly mistakes coming down 2nd fastest and 2 seconds back from the leader.

Being last but one to down the hill and the track constantly drying and getting faster I felt very confident that  I could improve on my seeding time if  I really focused and got a clean run.

With just a little time to go before the race runs I got some food and drink down me and did a quick warm up on the turbo trainer before setting off back up for the Youth category race. I must confess to being super nervous for it though and my riding  just didn’t feel right but still I got a fairly good time and ended up finishing 3rd place and a good solid start to the series which I had hoped for.

Well happy : )  Tay.

May have changed the Racing Ralf to a Rocket Ron but I dont think the Ron would have really been that much better on the exposed clay climbs. I certainly would have made sure my (unused for a long time) granny was working. Over 2,000 ft climbed in an XC race not usual for me.

So to the race, this was the second race in the series so everyone from race one (I wasn’t one of these) was gridded. I line up about 45th, so lots of work to do on lap one. Other than missing my pedal I got a good start and skipped about 20 riders. Over the next half a lap made up more spots getting in to 10th as I crossed the line for lap two. I could hear two riders coming up to me and held them off for the majority of lap two we traded places and I got back in front keeping my position.

Lap three things start to go a bit wrong, build up of crap on the gears leave the front mech rubbing and chain sucking every time I switch gear. I had a plan that running certain sections was quicker than slipping and sliding with the Ralf, this was detrimental to the back twinge. Another slip of the back wheel and a right foot dab sends shock waves through the spine. I loose focus with the nagging pain, 3 crashes later I’m really cheesed off. Perhaps I’ve come back to racing too soon. The final lap was a coast to the finish, at points I was ready to can it and go home but I suffered through and finished the pain fest in 13th. Not to bad as I only dropped an extra spot after duelling for 10th. The final lap was 9 minutes slower than my first. Time to be sensible and get well and strong.

My lesson – recover fully and then train before racing. Otherwise it will be a longer road.

Thanks to the team, Euan and Mike for pictures and the shouts

This weekend I raced the first round of the MIJ Downhill Series, Opting not to do the Saturday practice due to a tough week before and with the British Downhill Series coming up we want to keep the bike and myself fresh.

Not really knowing what the track was going to be like, for the first practice run I just chilled out and  had a browse at the lines and where the track layout went. I quickly got  a few more practice runs in and started to get a feel for the track but to be honest I did not feel 100% confident that I had hit race speed yet.

Being a late entry I was placed last man down for the first race run….  I pushed hard and  it did feel like a good run with only some small mistakes to come down in 2nd place just  just 0.972 seconds down off the leader.

For my second race run I felt confident I could make some improvements in my riding to go faster, but true to form for the Taff Buggy track the weather changed very quickly bringing some very strong wind with it for us all to the point where I was pedaling so hard but it  felt like I was not going anywhere resulting in myself and almost every other racer going slower in the final run. Overall my time was 3.45 seconds off fastest time of the day so not bad.

Cant wait for next week as I am at  Combe Sydenham Devon for Rd1 of the Halo British Downhill series…

Cheers Tay

Opting only to attend on the Sunday and getting just three practice runs in before race runs, I had to scope and dial in any of the track changes fairly quickly before my first race run that turned out to be a real ordeal due to a red flag incident on course just in front of me. Having only just started my race run the commisaire told me to start pushing back up the course rather than cruise down and get uplifted back up for a re-run, by this time I was all flustered and my anxiety resulted in a real hard crash at the top to be placed in 4th

It was not that long before I was back on course pushing hard for the win on a well blown out sketchy track, I came down 11 seconds quicker than my first run that was just enough to steal the Youth category win and place me 7th overall on the day.

The worst part of the weekend was not related to the race at all. On Friday Nicole’s Grandad passed away, and all thoughts of the race were quickly forgotten as we visited  her parents and Nanny to support each other. On Saturday we decided to travel to the race, not arriving until about 9pm.  Luckily my parents were there with the caravan and we were soon tucking into Spaghetti bolognase before getting an early night.

I got up early on Sunday to get a quick lap of the course in before the first races of the day began. The ride revealed a classic Sherwood course, flat but with miles of tight twisty singletrack. While I ate and put my feet up, dad changed my tires and made sure my bike was running perfectly.  Not long after the back tyre was flat… No worries, a quick change and all will be good, or not. Dad couldn’t get the tyre to seat, no matter what he tried. It was then he noticed a bulge in the rim, not good an hour before the race began!  Quick change of plan required… Pedals on dads bike, number swapped and time to warm up! Not surprisingly, most of the warm was spent adjusting the position instead of actually warming up.

I lined up in my new Juice Lubes top which, although too big, certainly stands out from the crowd. Once the gun went, I got off the line well, but that is about where the good ends… And  the suffering begins! My legs were just not firing on all cylinders. Try as I might, the power was just not there and rider after rider came past. I could hang on to them for a minute or so before they slowly pulled away. On the first and second laps I had some trouble with my saddle, as it tipped up at the front as I went over a bump, I bounced on the front and managed to force it too far the wrong way! At the end of the second lap I stopped in the pits to tighten the clamp before setting off again. As I got going I finally settled into my own rhythm and started to make up a few places. I was still going much slower than I would have liked, but at least I was going forwards. With a lap and a half to go I took an Accelerade 2nd surge gel and it was like a rocket boost! My last lap was only one second slower than my first and I made up about 5 places to finish in a very lowly 51st place.

I am under no illusions that the lead up to the race affected the result, but being there to support the people I care about is more important than a bike race. Even so, the feelings in my legs were not great, and I was a long way down on even what I would have considered a bad result before the race. Maybe working away from home is taking more out of me than I realised with the extra hours, travel and early starts, who knows? I will keep working hard and hope the legs come around in time for Pippingford in 3 weeks time.

Thanks to all at Juice Lubes, Koolstoff, Accelerade, Ergon, Magura, Kask and Strada for their support for the year.

Ross

After a quick pre ride round with my brother Ross it was time to hit the start line, after a long wait we were off. I had a good start despite being on the 2nd row and tucked in behind Ross in about 7th but as soon as the track went up I was breathing out my arse! And it stayed that way for the rest of the lap, with more and more people coming past me. I spent most of the 2nd lap riding with Trevor Allen from Topeak Ergon, where he had better legs on the climbs but I had the edge on the flat. Towards the end of the lap I managed to get a gap and slowly closed in on the chap in front of me, catching him on lap 4 and finishing strongly to take 13th. Not the result I was hoping for but its very early in the year and the end of a tough block of training.

Below is a cracking pic by Joolze Dymond on the penultimate downhill

Euan at Round 3 of the Gorrick Spring Series

I have now got just over 4 weeks to do my dissertation testing and write up before hand in, so training is gonna have to take back seat for a while. Next race will be the Southern XC at Pippingford on the 15th of April.