today i completed my second XC race at wsmtb home track – yellomundee – i had the best time and drove – all be it only 1.5km up the hill – home after the race with the biggest smile i have had on my face for quiet some time. i came in 5th place against a field of 23 riders, but best of all i cracked the 30min mark on the first lap.
d-grade is the lowest grade and only requires 2 laps of a 7 km track. i am quiet sore on my left leg, and a little graze on my right, as i had two falls. i push hard, and have the injury’s to prove it. both falls weren’t bad and i was up and on the horse again with in seconds.
before the race i was quiet concerned that the LBS hadn’t done that good a job of the re-alignment of the front derailleur but i can now say he did a great job at the grand total of $10 so scottie performed like a master. he had no technical issues what-so-ever, just the wally pedalling. gears ran smooth as silk.
i went into the race with a plan again and it did come together almost completely as planned. the main thing was to focus on gear changing and to really try to be a lot more forgiving on the drive chain, timing my changes so they didn’t cause a lot of stress on the mechanics.i planned on starting in the top 10 off the line and to at least keep in contact with them. i did so comfortably until i had the first fall. a few guys went past me but i did recover ok and caught them on the climbs. i was also held up a couple of times due to the track being very much single track and not allowing for “comfortable” passing. i would rather pass safe for both of us involved then push through under stress. i would estimate this cost me around 30-40 sec in total.
i know i was catching the 4th place rider when i had the second off. this was the worst of the two and it was caused by me trying to read the track ahead of myself. i was looking for a passing point for a rider who was running in c-grade when i turned in a little hard on a slight corner with sand, front dug in, i stacked. the guy i was trying to pass immediately yelled out “you ok mate”. thats the best thing about racing, everyone cares.
unreal day, and now with the raleigh purchase serious training is on the cards. more pics here