XMTB Spring League Rnd. 2 (Belfast) - race report

I got back home only couple of hours ago from my second XC race of this year. This was my first UK event of the year, hosted by the famous XMTB McConvey Cycles. This race was the XMTB Spring Series Round 2, in Ormeau Park, Belfast.

We've had a little ThinkBike squad for today, three of us travelled for the race to represent  the ThinkBike.ie Cycling Club:  Richie Felle, Nigel Glynn and myself.

Basicly the race had only one adult category, so all the riders were in this big mixed group. It means we were racing against each other also, what made things even more fun!

This race course was probably the fastest one that I have raced on for a good while. It was only 1.4km long with very little climb. Based on the GPS app I use we had as little as ~ 70m of climb in each lap. 

The profile of the coure (recorded during practice lap)

The race started at 1pm from a straight tarmac road. After the short tarmac bit the singletrack section was very narrow, so everyone sprinted to get the best position before the whole group gets pushed through the tight turns. Because the organizers picked the park as a location, the terrain was very easy and fast. Kind of like solid forest type trails with lots of roots but no rocks at all. It was nice and a little bit muddy, the type of mud that still gives good traction but wouldn't make life hard. We were doing super fast pace without any place to rest. I have stayed on the big ring for the whole time to keep up the insane speed. The course was going through forest and it was full of tight turns and switchbacks, so it wasn't too easy to pass people. But some other sections were opened with a good bit of lenght, so there was the possibility to outsprint riders before the we hit the next narrow bit. It was awsome!
The only bit more serious climb was brilliant: we hit the sloop and after couple of meters there was a 90° left turn just around a tree. This bend was full of roots and a bit slippery as well. Then after about 25m we had another 140° muddy right turn with many roots. After this the rest of the climb took us back to the tarmac road. So the whole thing was a big "S" shaped climb, I loved it!

We had to complete 8 laps which was absolutely my type of XC racing: I really like when the riders pass by the start/finish area more times. It is good for my mind I believe it makes the race more enjoyable for all the spectators.

I had a great race day today and I felt very good on the bike today. I felt strong and I could keep the pace the way I wanted. I hope I gonna have the same feeling for the rest of the season. It is allways a little bit difficult for me to race in open category such as this one because it's difficult to judge my performance but as long as I push it as hard as I can, I am happy! Very well organized race, thanks for everyone from XMTB.

We have recorded a short video footage also during our first practice lap, please click here to watch it!

Distance: 9.8km (7 laps)

Time: 42 minutes 16 seconds
Result: 12th out of 62 riders (full results)

Ready for the race

The last fine adjustments on Richie's bike

 In action (photo: Überdog Magazine)

During race (photo: Überdog Magazine)

Taking a sharp bend (photo: Überdog Magazine)

 Getting close to the finish line (photo: Tomek Michalski)

Myself after the race

ThinkBike squad for the day, well done lads, congratulation for both of you!!!