Having a blast @ the Willo

I did the Willo back in 2012 a week after the convict when I'd had a fairly big stack and was still feeling the effects. The time that day was 2hrs 50 so I was hoping for an improvement on that.

My plan was simple - it's a short race so just go hard the whole way! At the start I was a couple of rows back and as the gun went I saw Matt (SXC) racing up the outside so I decided to follow him as best as I could. I chased hard and by the time we hit the first bit of single track I was one rider back. Unfortunately Matt washed out on one of the corners and I went by. The pace was pretty quick and I wasn't sure if it was sustainable for the entire race. I was still fairly confident that Id be able to pass a lot of the riders in front once on the fire trail and up the KOM hill. This proved to be the case and I made good work on the trail pushing hard and not resting after the climb.

At some point early on I had passed Gazza on the side of the trail holding a rotor, wtf? As the K's went by I was pretty much riding with two others, I made efforts to try and shake them on the fire trail but they were quicker than me on the ST. This continued all the way to the end of the first lap. I was surprised to see I had finished the lap in 1hr 10. I stopped to swap water bottles and then carried on. Soon after Jenny Fay came by and I made a bid to grab her wheel, it didn't last too long but soon we were back at the ST.

The two other riders I had been toying with previously came back and we repeated the first lap in parts. Eventually one dropped away leaving one rider to dispose of. I went past him on the fire trail half expecting him to sit on my wheel and follow but he didn't so I decided to kick on. 5 mins later I look behind and there he is. It was just before the final bit of ST that I finally managed to break the elastic and get clear. I was looking over my shoulder the whole time expecting him to re-appear but he never did. I rode home looking to complete in under 2hr20 but the second lap turned out to be a little quicker, possibly due to less traffic on the ST. I was absolutely buggered! After the CP last week it was so nice to have a rear brake, it definitely saved me a few times especially on the 2nd lap.

Overall very happy to get my first top 10 in category and feeling motivated, just a shame it will be a while before my next race. Well done to the other SXC guy's (Dave and Matt) for their results.