CCOMTB Round 1

Given this was my first foray into XC racing I thought I'd post a few scribbles on how the day went. Overall it was great fun.

I planned on using this round as a 'no pressure' toe in the water to learn the course and see how the pace was and if I had the fitness to do it. I figured C grade was about right based on the distance. Suprisingly I was quite nervous before the start, more nervous than before the start of a race in my other sport which is motorcycle road racing, but that settled as soon as we got rolling.

I'd received a lot of advise to run at my own pace and not to get caught up in the first lap frenzy. I took that a little too much to heart and took a few lazy options when people invited me to pass I'd stay behind and follow. My avge HR was 163 with a max of 177 which is pretty slow for me, at one point it was even into the 140's down around the bottom section. The good news is that means I can push a lot harder next time without fear of blowing up

I was happy that I could ride all of the course (if you count taking the chicken run) which gives me confidence for the next round. It's a fun track which keeps you on your toes, I'll have to head up there before the next round to master the drop-off. The new bike was perfect for the job, light and fast, and the tall 1 x 9 gearing didn't pose any issues as there weren't any monster hills.

Results wise I have no idea where I ended up but I passed maybe 10-15 people and didn't get passed by anyone so I'd imagine top 10. My goal for the year is to get at least one top three position which I think will be achievable with a bit more training and by setting a bit more aggressive pace.

I caught up with Paul (PS) and was parked opposite Ant but didn't realise it. Maybe next time we need to be a bit more organised in advance so we can put some names to faces. For the record I was on the all-black carbon framed 1 x 9 hardtail wearing a pale blue Scott jersey