British Mountain Bike Series Round 3 Hopton Woods, Shropshire Race Report By Carla Haines-Elite Female

The third round of the British series was already here-sun shining and not a cloud in sight; it was going to be a very hot race!

I have never raced at Hopton before but knowing that Shropshire has lots of hills, I was prepared for a tough course. Saturdays pre course inspection was good fun. The climbs weren’t as big as I anticipated and the single track descending back to the arena was awesome! I practiced a couple of starts just to get my legs working a bit more and ready for the next days race.

Staying hydrated was essential over the weekend; with little wind and hardly any clouds there was not a lot of shady places to sit. Due to the heat carb intake was slightly reduced for fuelling in the race.

Other preparations for the following day were made so I could spend the rest of the evening relaxing and focussing.

Race Day

The sun was beaming again in the morning; even at 6.30am it was very warm!! Breakfast eaten and kit on I was ready to get my groove on! My preparations I keep the same every time which helps me focus and ease my mind.

I was gridded 3^rd  so I was on the front line at the start. I was kindly allowed to wear my National skin suit for the race thanks to the commissaries; I felt privileged being able to wear it at a British round.

With 30s to go I could feel my nerves kicking in but not so much as they used to. When the gun fired I hit the pedals as hard as I could out of the saddle. I had an amazing start; in fact it was so good I lead everyone out of the arena. Until it hit the climb I slowed down a bit as Id idnt want to blow yet. A few other riders passed me, which I didn’t mind I just kept focussed on my race and how I wanted to ride it. My climbing is my weakest aspect so I really wanted to work hard and keep a good consistent pace going. 

The first 2 laps I was in 6^th , just off podium! I was feeling great and my mind so relaxed I kind of felt like I was flying. On to the 3^rd lap I did start to tire but not a great deal. The only part that let me down was my gears; constantly changing whatever I changed them to so my pacing up the climbs was very inconsistent. More riders started to pass me; which was frustrating but there wasn’t a lot I could have done so I kept riding the best I could for the final 2 laps.

Descending down to the arena every lap was so fun I sometimes forgot I was racing. Me and my bike flowed around every corner, I truly felt great! The course was so fun I even enjoyed the climbs!!

I came in 11^th, just off top 10 which was disappointing but I know in my mind what I am capable of.

Team mate Zephanie came in 5^th; podium position before she flies back to USA L Well done to her. Joanne, myself and Natasha came in 10^th, 11^th & 12^th so pretty good going there.

Final exams at Uni this week then I can ride my bike as much as I like! Next stop is Southern XC at Crow Hill, 3^rd June.

Racing the World Cups--Zephanie Blasi

Hi again :)  I can't believe it has already been a month since I posted last!!  I was able to get over my sinus infection from the last post, but now I have a cold :|  

In the past month we have had a couple weeks off racing, then two back to back World Cups.  There has been lots of travelling, lots of fun, lots of hard work, some crashes and a ton of experience.  Being able to travel with a team and race world cups is amazing. I never thought I would have had this opportunity. I'm bummed I leave in a week to fly home and miss out on the rest of the World Cups, but the experience I have gained will help me in the upcoming Pro XCT series events in the States.

The World Cups are very exciting with the enormous crowds, all the top athletes in the world around and the tough courses. I felt like I was at a football game in the States when I was at the Czech World Cup. The spectators were so loud, there was a ton of people everywhere along the course--even the climbs, there were bleachers with a massive screen to watch the race.

The courses are usually muddy with roots, rocks and steep climbs.  I haven't been nervous about a course since I used to race some downhill events years ago.  Normally preriding a course consisted of learning when to go hard, when to recover, when to refuel the body and learning a couple lines.  With the world cups, it is all of that but a lot more time is spent on learning technical descents/ascents--overcoming fear, learning lines and learning new lines the day before the race because lines change after thousands of people use them.

I had a great Czech race, started in the last row and moved up with only a few mechanicals.  For the France World Cup, I had some really severe cramping issues along with a cold. The only real mechanical I had was during practice I kind of ran into a tree and snapped my RockShox lockout, which luckily SRAM travels to all the World Cups and was there to fix my lockout.

Next stop is this weekend for the 3rd British National series event in Shropshire.  Then Tuesday, back to USA.  Thanks for reading :)