British Mountain Bike Series Round 4-Margam Park, Wales

BRITISH MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES ROUND 4

MARGAM PARK, WALES 26^th May

RACE REPORT BY

CARLA HAINES- ELITE FEMALE

I arrived Saturday afternoon on a miserable, gloomy day in South Wales! The weather leading up to race wasn’t great so I had packed my spare wheels with mud tyres on just in case.

It was very misty and murky but also humid as I pre rode the course. On the first lap my front tyre was Kenda Nevegal and my rear was Small Block Eight. It was muddy and slippery but really fun! I love it when courses are boggy, wet conditions, its what mountain bike races are all about!

I changed my rear tyre to a Nevegal as well- I had no grip whatsoever on some of the ascents. Good decision; my second lap I could ride every part of the course no problem.

Raced preparation in the evening after tea was the norm for me-bottles filled, tools out, and kit ready to put on in the morning.

Last year at Margam my mountain bike was stolen. Luckily this year mine was untouched, but still 4 other bikes were taken.

An early morning wake up call for breakfast was at 7am-enough time for my food to digest before the race.

I had a really good warm up on the turbo and was feeling very confident.

On the start line my heart was racing and I was getting a rush of adrenaline through my body. I had the best start ever-easily in the top 5. The course started to slowly climb and my legs felt great. It was like I was floating up the hills!

When it came to the muddy, wet, slippery sections of the course that’s where the fun began! Quite a few riders were all over the place, but I felt strong and was able stay on my bike.

There was a descent that was literally a mud slide. There was no line to choose it was just the case of see who could get down it with out falling off. My first lap I ended in the bushes which was quite amusing but for the 3 laps after I rode down well.

I have always struggled on climbs, but today was a different story. My legs didn’t feel fatigued for once and I was able keep a good cadence all the way up. It was an amazing feeling and my mind was fully focussed.

I held my 7^th position for the whole race and remained untouched by the riders behind. Coming into the finish I was exhausted by so pleased with my result! I ended up in 6^th position as one rider had pulled out and I was over the moon!! This is one of my best results of the season and my very first top 10 in the national series this year. From this result, I have more UCI points so I can race in the final two rounds of the World Cup series!

Thank you to WXC and sponsers for the support and encouragement through out the race and well done to my fellow team mates Cait Elliot who was 2^nd and Jessie Roberts who was 7^th (Elite).

Next weekend I will be competing in Round 3 of the South West Series in Okehampton.