Fully Sussed SW MTB Series R1

Fully Sussed South West Series MTB Race

Round 1-Woodbury Common

Race Report by Carla Haines Elite Female

First MTB race of the season had come around so quickly-it didn’t feel long ago that the season was over!

The weather was pretty miserable-cold, rainy and windy but to be honest that made me more excited to race; it was going to be a muddy one!! My preparation was pretty poor; I had the final round of the spring time pursuit on Saturday so was tired by the evening to even think about getting stuff ready for the following day.

Race start was 10am so it was an early morning wake up call to get there. I pre rode the course and used it as a warm up. The course was very muddy and slippery which made it great fun; I knew I had a very good chance of winning in those conditions!

I had a slowish start but soon upped the pace to stick on Janes (South Fork) wheel. We were riding for most of the first lap together-slipping and sliding on the way round! I took a line which ended up being very time consuming and getting stuck behind other riders which gave Cummings (South Fork) the chance to make a gap.

At this point I was at least a minute down. Cummings appeared to have a mechanical when I caught up so this was an opportunity to gain some extra time. From then on I lead the rest of the race. I felt pretty strong on the climbs and rode quite well along the muddy single track and down the descents.

My first win of the season and I was really happy! Considering I raced Saturday I still felt fresh in the race. I felt that the hard works training throughout the winter had paid off.

Looking forward to the first round of the National Series at Sherwood.