Langdon Hills - Joanne Clay

Can't believe it, the last race of the season! Gone so quickly. I was as keen as usual though and couldn't wait to get stuck in.

It was a bit of a change to race on the Saturday this weekend, what was i going to do with my free Sunday! 

Checked out the track on the Friday, was very straight forward and nothing to worry about. Few little hills on the course and a flowing little decent. The weather seemed fairly stable so put the bike to bed and got ready for race day.

Feeling as nervous as ever I was on the start line and ready to go, the bike was great so was focused. The start wasn't as fast as normal but I wasn't concerned as i didn't want to burn out too quickly. Lee Cragie and Jessie shot off and I didn't seem to have the speed to stay with them this time, so i kept pushing and found myself comfortably in 5th. Not feeling threatened I was happy to keep speed and carry it through to the finish... but it wasn't to be... I came down with severe cramp and was forced to get off the bike. I tried everything I could think of to alleviate it but couldn't, I had no choice but to get back on the bike and ride with one leg, I'd only got maybe 800meters left to go but the 1min 30sec gap I held soon disappeared and I got passed by Ruth, as I went for the sprint finish to the line I slipped a gear to top it off! Missed out on the 5th I'd held for the whole race! I was totally gutted.

Now time to have a little rest before the national hill climb championships in October, then hit the winter training on and off road to establish a good base and help to eliminate the cramp issues I've experienced this summer. Looking forward to seeing what i can achieve for next year. 

 

 

UCI MTB World Cup R7 Val D’isere, France

Experience By Carla Haines

Day 1-Wednesday 25^th July

After a short journey on the Channel Tunnel Tuesday night; it was a very long journey from Calais to Val D’isere. However with scenery like this to wake up to I was easily distracted!

Today was spent setting up base in the Team Expo area...with next door neighbours  such as Cannondale Factory Racing, Orbea, Colnago- Suditrol, Subaru-Trek, and Lappierre….. I can’t complain!

Looking forward to riding the course tomorrow…with sections like this:

I sure am going to have some fun! J

Day 2- Thursday 26^th July

Myself and Stephania rode down the road to the course-again the sun was shining all over the mountains it was great. We were joined by Maxine Filby, so was nice to have a good chatter and inspect the course.

Climbing up the first climb I found it difficult to breathe-took a while to get used to being at altitude! We descended down a single track section and along another before reaching the first technical descent. Maxine had already ridden the course yesterday so she rode down ahead; she made it look pretty easy so it was my turn…I made it down fine with no problems at all. Stephania had a crash near the bottom which shook her up a bit, but after a rest she was back on her bike.

After the board walk (above) it was time to climb back up the curbs and on to a gravel section. I found these a bit difficult; need to work on wheelies!!But I managed to get up ok just a little messy. Another climb zig zagged to the top before descending down the ‘slalom’ section and back through the feed station. The course then went over two big wooden bridges back through the start again.

The first lap was good fun. I managed to ride another part of the course until I crashed at the bottom of the rocky descent. I clipped the crash mat wrapped around a tree and went straight over the handle bars; I ended up sat upright on the floor! I was in agony! I started shaking like I was in shock which made me kind of nervous. The French guys who were marshalling were so great. They helped me down the rest of the descent to sit in a bench. Next minute the paramedic guys came to pick me up in the van to take me down to the emergency tent!!My leg was wrapped in a support and everything! I really wasn’t hurt that much but they just took over, carrying me here and there. A bruised, sore and stiff knee was the outcome, nothing broken thank god.

After a sit down and an ice pack on my knee it was time to ride back to the hotel to get showered and make tea. I wasn’t the only one in the wars…Steph had a painful wrist so she got it checked out; a suspected fractured scaphoid! Whether she’ll be riding Saturday…knows?!

Day 3- Friday 27^th July

Another beautiful sunny morning to wake up to! J My knee was fine, just slightly bruised and a bit stiff but nothing serious. My Team mate Claire Oakley and I pre rode the course again with Maxine. Today was a much more fun day-no crashes or anything just some smooth riding on all sections of the course. I was a little nervous before hitting the rocky descent I crashed on yesterday, but I rode it nice and controlled. Steph stayed on the road for today with her wrist strapped up to prevent too much stress on it.

Most of the day was sunny until later in the afternoon clouds started to accumulate and the heavens opened with thunder and lightning with it! I made sure I kept my feet up for the rest of the day before the race tomorrow.

Day 4-Saturday 2th July

Race Day!

After three days of beautiful sunshine I woke up to very wet and miserable weather! It made me feel a little more relaxed because I really like racing and riding in the mud and wet so I was hoping it stayed like it for the rest of the day. My race wasn’t until 4.30pm so had quite a long wait! I prefer racing in the morning as my body is used to that so I have the rest of the day to relax but for this case it seemed a long wait.

I was able to watch the Elite Females and Males; they made it look so easy it was very inspiring and motivating! It was great to see Annie Last pick up a Bronze medal; a great race before she heads to the Olympics next week.

The weather had cleared up a lot, even the sun came out so the course dried out a lot. Now it was my turn. I was very nervous but excited; it was the final round and I wanted to do well.  The same preparations were made prior to my race so my mind was focussed and ready.

On the start line my heart was racing; I was full of adrenaline. The horn went and I hit the pedals. It was an elbows out mass start before hitting the two steep climbs up. I was in quite an alright position. My body began to tighten up slowly and breathing was becoming very difficult. The further up the ascents I got I was gasping for air. I was struggling so much I wasn’t concentrating on how I was riding; I just seemed to get slower and slower and my lines were very messy. By the time I got to the Zig Zag climb I couldn’t carry on any longer..I stopped in the feed zone and collapsed on the floor in misery! Loads of negative thoughts were spiralling through my mind. It’s not like me to not finish a race but I felt I couldn’t go any more.

Pre riding the course the past couple of days I felt ok but at race pace it’s a different story.

Looking back on this race and others, I have learnt a lot about my riding. The journey home I wrote down all my thoughts that went through my head pre during and after the race. I then analysed myself fitness wise. From this I can now draw up what I need to do to be a real competitor on the world stage. It will take time,the patience, commitment and will power... it’s not impossible.

I would like to thank hugely WXC World Racing for their amazing support through this experience.

2012 National XC MTB Championships

2012 British Cross Country Mountain Bike Championships

Wasing, Berkshire

Race Report By Carla Haines U23

With last weeks Round 5 of the British Mountain Bike Series postponed due to waterlogged fields, it was a miracle to see the sun beaming for this race!

Last year I was the U23 National MTB Champion, so It was time to defend my title. I was very nervous for this race as I really wanted to win it and have another national title to my name. There were six riders starting, two of which were competition for me.

A similar course to Sherwood Pines; sweeping single track, short fire track power climbs and a couple of slightly technical sections, it was going to be a pretty fast race! For me Wasing wasn’t my sort of course, but there’s nothing I could have done to change that.

My race wasn’t until 14:37 in the afternoon; where the temperature was high but a nice cool breeze to ease things down. I’m used to competing in the morning so it was kind of a shock to my body that I was waiting around a lot. This made me more nervous and I couldn’t sit still for 5minutes!

As it was a hot day, a warm up was essential but not too much as I didn’t want to overheat before I started. When we were finally called for gridding I was able to switch my mind into race mode and focus on what was about to happen. A whistle start and I hit the pedals as hard as I could, sprinting out of the saddle for as long as possible. I was leading to start with all along the fire track, until we hit the climb and I slowed down. Katy Winton and Annie Simpson both passed me at this point but I hung on in there as much as I could. The gap slowly got bigger and I was starting to lose sight of them. This agitated me but didn’t want to let it override my mind and start worrying, I just focused on what I had to do to chase them down. Racing on your own is the most difficult part but as long as you do what you have to do, you forget your by yourself.

To be honest my riding was all over the place on the single track; my lines weren’t right and I just felt messy! I was still there on 3^rd spot which was a podium, but I really needed to get further up. It just didn’t happen for me. It was good that the Elite Women went off a couple minutes before; I ended up catching the back end of the riders which gave me little goals to catch the next one.

So there it was a 3^rd spot in the National Championships. Not what I was expecting let alone what I wanted.

I was very disappointed in myself, I felt I let myself down and a complete failure it took me a while to actually think of one positive from the race. Winning last year to 3^rd this year felt painful and heart breaking. Its one race and it didn’t happen so I just have to learn from it and think about what I have to do next.

I want to thank WXC World Racing for their backing over the weekend and the sponsors who support the team. J

Next weekend (28^th and 29^th Aug) is the final round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series in Val D’isere. Keep an eye out on how we are doing.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Liittl3_L3gs

WXC World Racing are delighted to announce that British watch company, Breo, has lent their support as Official Timing Partners to the WXC World Racing Team as they strengthen their foundations as a creditable British UCI Women specific mountain bike team. Both WXC and Breo excel in supporting and giving the opportunity to up and coming talent in the UK.

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Hopton NPS 2012 By Hannah Ferguson

For the first time this year I was packing a bag that didnt have any winter clothes. In May Scotland had been hit with heavy rain, snow and now glorious sunshine. I was not looking forward to the 6 hour van journey down to Shropshire for round 3 of the British series because the van would be really hot. Stocked up on pies and salads we hit the road at 7 oclock in the morning! Picking up some fellow Scottish cyclists on the way we started trucking down the motorway. 6 hours a few stops and a bag of mint imperials later we arrived at a grass field. After signing on I checked in with the WXC guys. We went back to set up our tent, us cyclists live the life of luxury at races. Practice wasnt till 5 as there were some races going on and I had a team meeting with the other girls to go over the race the next day. Tactics and a few tips under my belt I went to get ready for a pre lap. Even though it was 5 in the afternoon the weather was still so hot and to start with their was a 3km climb to the top of the hill, 30 minutes later I got to the top shattered and so hot, best make sure I dont blow up on the hill tomorrow as 3 laps up that hill will be torture especially in the heat. I was really hoping for some good decents after the long climb and boy was I in for a shock. The downhill was about 3km of singletrack back to the start; it was fast, flowed, smooth and so good. Finishing the lap I had a big smile on my face the decent was definitely worth it after the climb! Dad couldnt be bothered cooking so we went out for a meal and I tucked into a 8oz gammon steak...mmm. I certainly would need the salts tomorrow I convinced myself. Bed time was creeping closer and after some harmless banter involving piggy back and wheelbarrow races we called it a night and went to sleep. The tent was hot and light so it wasnt the best night sleep. But as long as I was rested it was fine.

Race day. The joy of camping is that you dont have to travel anywhere in the morning, you can be relaxed and eating breakfast with no fuss needed. The temperature was starting to pick up but I was constantly drinking my accelerade hydration drink so that I wouldnt dehydrate in the race. Warming up under the shade of the team tent was just what was needed before the start, something I almost missed as I got a bit lost. The main objective in the race for me was too not blow up on the first climb. By missing the gridding I ended up in the worst possible place for the start and when the gun went I found myself on a slight climb. Everyone was rushing around and flying off the front and I had to stop myself from trying to stay with them, I knew I needed to push myself on the hill but nothing positive would come from me using all my energy in the first few km of a endurance race. By the top of the hill I was in 6th and could see 5th not far infront, time to focus on my own race though. There were youth boys around me all the time and in the first singletrack, first corner I found myself on the floor. Not a good start to this race. Nothing hurt so I picked myself up and got going again taking the corners a little bit easier, not how I would have liked to have come down the hill but I would quite like to finish the race in one piece. Getting to the bottom I went to take a drink and realised I was almost out of water. I had made up a drink for my dad incase I did run out and thankfully he was in the feed station ready to give it too me. Being at the bottom of the hill again was a daunting feeling but the thought of some good decents at the top kept me going. I took a bottle of water at the top of the hill, some of which I drunk but most of which I poured over myself to cool down. At this point 5th place was even closer and I was catching. Pushing even harder on the pedals I was closing in. Now just to stay on the bike down the hill. Another bottle change and some more water to pour over myself I hit the climb for one final time. At this point I could see the rider infront, she was struggling because she was looking behind, although struggling myself I kept pushing trying to catch her by the top of the hill I was within a meter of 5th place but no matter how hard I tried I couldnt find the power or energy to get past. We were both tired going into the decent so I just had to get down in one piece and it would be a good race. Coming into the arena I made one final push to the line, it was over. The race was finished. A hour and a half of pushing your body to the limit made even worse by the temperature. I congratulated Yuka on making me work hard and for her staying away from me. After a cool down on the road and no actual showers Jenna and I went to find the tap. A freezing cold attempt of a shower after a hot sweaty race was just perfect. Shorts on and camera at the ready we went out to take some pictures of the boys race. Checking my times on the result sheet I found myself 11 minutes behind the leader which may sound like a lot but when you finished 27 minutes down at the last one its a great improvment. After the long weekend I figured I deserved a ice cream and had a nice conversation with the ice cream man over the weather I went back to help pack the van up. Stocked up with 'recovery' food we started the 6 hour journey home with a extra person. 5 hours and 30 minutes and a loss of £2.50 on a game in the service station we found ourselves back in the borders and dropping off Jenna and Ryan, it was the home straight only half a hour and we would be home. Back in the van we went to start and discovered we werent going anywhere, the van had broken down! So close to home and we were stuck. Having called the AA they told us that the van wasnt going to be fixed there and then but thankfully we had broken down next to our friends house and we swapped a few bags over and borrowed there car to drop Tom off. 7 and a half ours later we made it home.
Thank you very much too the WXC mechanics without you I wouldnt have had a bike to race or been able too cool down during the race, bet you enjoyed that more than me! Also to Accelerade for there sports drinks and gels which kept me hydrated throughout thhe whole weekend and stoped me from dehydrating. A weeks rest and its the Scottish championships, time to defend my title....

Dalby NPS 2012 By Hannah Fegruson

Dalby dalby dalby, of all the courses in England this is the one that is the best comparison to any of Scotland's courses and this weekend had some typical Scottish weather as well just to make us a little bit more at home. RAIN!!! Rain is a bit of a understatment to the weather we had when we first got there, it was more hail (that was laying like snow) followed by downpours. Nevertheless the training kit was out on and it was time for a practice lap. A lot of Dalby is man made which is great for a person coming from Glentress but parts are natural or not quite a man made trail, by the time we got to the famous Worry Gill the gully was a river, I decided against practicing Medusa because the weather had turned the course into a bath and I didnt want to crash either in my race or the day before, chicken run it was for me. The one thing that I dont like about the dalby course is that you do most of the downhill in the first half of the race, others usually have the hill at the start, so about 3km to go there is a really long hill that feels like it lasts for such a long time. Ive done it myself when I have been chearing my friends on but the last km (contary to what anyone says) is not flat and one of the hardest slogs ever that you feel like you are turning the pedals but not going anywhere. The course finished in the same field that we started in and desperate to get in to some clean, dry, clothes we decided to only do the one pre lap rather than two. A quick change and we headed of for our accommodation, thankfully my dad had looked at the weather prior to leaving and decided not to camp (great decision dad!!!) so he booked a backpackers barn, which was literaly a matress on the floor but there were showers and a roof so as far as I was concerned so much better than a tent.
THE SUN WAS OUT!!! Oh no that was just my dream. Race day. After, supprisingly, a good night sleep we set off to the race course. And the water had started falling already, and I thought England had a water shortage... Thanks to Keith my bike had been cleaned after practice so I just needed to lube the chain and we would be ready to race. Before I knew it warm was done, under the shelter of the WXC tent, and we were standing on the startline ready to race. I must have picked the worse possible line to start as I seemed to be traveling much further. By the time we reached the first singletrack I was already wet and muddy but was done in last place, the pace was a lot slower that what I would have wanted but there wasnt much I could do about it. When we reached a little climb I took a different line and jumped up a few places, I could now see 4th, 5th and 6th infront of me but by the time I got to the start arena again they were just in sight. The chances of me catching them soon were small so I tried to get into a rhythm and see if I could pull them back over the whole race. By the time I got to medusa I had caught the girl in 6th and kept going at my pace rather than get intimidated by the people around me. But for the remainder of the race I didnt see anyone in my category. The long climb was harder everytime I got to the bottom of it but the bit I disliked the most was the last bit of singletrack and the grass field at the finish, with all the women and younger males having already gone through by the time I got to the finish every lap it was a boggy wet muddy slow field. But I amused some of the people watching by almost crashing a few times. By the 3rd lap I couldnt wait to finish my legs felt like they were going to give in very soon and a few times I came very close to giving up but I finished the race which for me was a great achievment considering I gadnt wanted to even start the last lap. Race finished and the sun comes out, typical. Everything was soaking wet and filthy my mum is going to love me when I get home. Rather than stay around the start we went to watch at worry gill and the elites and juniors made the course look easy compared to how I was riding it. 
Thank you to WXC for there continued support and enthusiasm towards racing, and a especially big thank you to Keith for cleaning my bike afther practice!!!

Glenifer Braes SXC 2012 By Hannah Ferguson

Nothing worse than standing on the start line and you realise you arent racing anyone. This is bad because you dont have positions to fight for but also kinda good because you can race your own race. A good thing about the Scottish races is that all the girls start together so although I wasnt directly racing anyone I could still have a good race with the people around me. My start didnt go to well, I think I actually went backwards, but I got going and started to settle down into a rhythm, the back break pads had only recently been replaced so the back wheel was a bit stiff and everyone went passed me at the start of the road climb nevermind the top was in sight. Having not pre ridden the course the first technical decent caught me off gaurd and I hit a stone wrong and went over the handlebars. Another steep decent shortly after which was longer and steeper but I folled the pperson in front down and stayed on the bike. The course ventured back into the start arena and I thought that was the lap finished but as it turned out that was only about half way!! There was a short steep climb that I didnt even attempt to ride and chose to run up but when I junped back on the bike my legs seized up and I had to change into a easier gear to try and spin off the lactic acid in my legs. A short quick decent lead to a water crossing, no one told me about this, and it was. Yet another race where my feet were wet and cold. I had made up some time on the people around me and it felt like I was more involved in the race. For most of the second lap there were people around me so I continued to push on trying to get equal lap times, managed to finish the lap without crashing this time. At the start I had been told to do two laps but for the first time in my life I asked if I could do more because it didnt feel like a long enough race, I didnt regret my decision either going into the third lap if anything my legs felt like they had just warmed up. That feeling had gone when I reached the top of the climb. There was no one else around me and I was starting to lack motivation but some moral support from people round the course kept me turning the pedals and pushing all the way to the finish. The race had finished and I came first and last, makes a difference to the last race I had done by myself as I got disqualified in it. My legs were tired by the end of the race and I was glad that I did three laps and finished in one piece.