Midlands XC Ashby - 19th February 2012

Hi, this is my first post of the season for my new team WXC World Racing. My name is Joanne Clay, I am 26 years old and live in the Peak District in Staffordshire. I'm an Elite category XC rider.

First race of the season and i was itching to get going, It was great to see a large field of 33 female riders at Hicks Lodge. It was all a bit off a squeeze at the start line, i didnt have the best start i could have had, missed a pedal  and had to pick my way though the field on the first lap. I was feeling fresh and stronger than last year so was pleased to find myself in second place on the first lap, which is where finished. Things were flowing ok, stumbled on the third lap a couple of times and got some mud jammed in my wheel on the last lap where i had to get of and free it up but first race of the year and i was happy with the result.

My next race is in two weeks time, im looking forward to really building some race form. Winter training has served me well and my base fitness is good.

Joanne Clay

Spring Time Pursuit R1

With the Mountain Bike Season drawing very close it was time to give my lungs a bit of a blast in a Pursuit Race on the road! To be honest I didn’t really have an action plan but just to see what will happen. I was feeling pretty good, after some long winter months of good quality training with Elite Velo I was expecting to do quite well.

The weather forecast wasn’t looking very good for the Womens or Mens Race so jackets were thrown in just in case. However it managed to stay dry, with only one patch of drizzle so we were very lucky indeed! The course was mainly flat with a couple of undulating sections so I assumed it was going to be pretty fast. 

A good turnout for the Women’s field; 14 riders in total split into two groups, setting of 2 minutes apart. I was in the second group which went off at 10.32am. The first couple of laps we were working really well together, keeping up a nice even pace. Primes were on lap 2 and 4 so was hoping to get in a good position for these. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough sprint in me on the 2^nd prime so eased up a bit.

Once we caught the first group things started to get a little messy. With a mixture of newbies and racers some were unknown to the formalities in racing. It was quite frustrating not knowing where people were wanting to position themselves I got boxed in a couple of times.

The final lap the pace started to pick up slightly and a couple of women trying to break away. There were quite strong headwinds which lead up to the finish line which did make it a lot more difficult for everyone; as long as you were tucked in you were fine.

I was in just the right position for the final sprint; although we were still in quite a heavy bunch at the front it was a bit of a squash for the riders behind. Myself and Miriam (Hope Factory Racing) were pretty much level when sprinting for the final 10m; but she just got it by a fraction.

I was a bit gutted but happy with 2^nd position for my first road race of the season and now knowing what exactly what the course is like I will have a much clearer mind on how to properly race it. Two more of the series left, fingers crossed it’s a top 3!

British Cycling Annual Awards 2012

BRITISH CYCLING ANNUAL AWARDS 2012

                       After receiving tickets for the British Cycling Awards I was quite excited! It’s not something that I would normally get invited to but being the 2011 U23 National Mountain Bike Champion it was expected. I have been before; 3 years ago when I won the National Mountain Bike Series as a Junior rider.

The awards ceremony was held at the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, so not a hard place to get to…..so I thought!! The weather conditions in Plymouth compared to Birmingham was out of this world!! It took 2 hours to get from Bromsgrove (where my parents and I were staying) to The Hilton at the NEC; what was meant to be a 20minute journey turned out a lot longer than anticipated. We got stuck in the snow on a hill and then crashed in to a curb on another road; things weren’t looking too great!

To be honest I was expecting to miss getting my award and turning up all hot and bothered. Luckily the call up for National winners was after the main meal; which we arrived just in time for! I was really nervous about walking up in front of all the other cyclists on to the stage, where EVERYONE could see you. When it was my turn, all I kept saying to myself was ‘please don’t fall over in these heels!’, I just kept smiling and walking as best as I could!

All the award winners had there photo taken around the back of the main hall (as shown above); most riders looked different without their  kit on- it was quite strange seeing familiar faces scrubbed up nicely in suits and dresses!

It was a really nice evening and enjoyed mixing in with other cyclists I only see in photos or on the BC website.

Even after driving through the traitorous conditions to and from the awards, it was well worth the journey.

By Carla Haines

2011 U23 National Mountain Bike Champion

WXC World Racing.