Mud, barriers, wet grass, slippery corners. Yes, it's that time of the year again, bring on some cyclocross! To be able to race today was a bit of a last minute surprise thing, I only got the news about me havin' Sunday off for the race on Wednesday, so hopped on to the organizer's website and signed up for the Fixx Supercross Cup Round 2 in Bray.
I was mega excited about the race! We got tons of rain during the week, so I was expecting some sweet cyclocross conditions with mud up to me knees. :)
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| Ready to go |
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| Wow, what a nice place to run a bike race, hah?! |
After the short drive out to Bray I arrived to the coast there and got a parking spot nice and close to the registration. I cycled up to the start / finish area to pick up my race number and after that I was all set to have a sneaky practice lap before the race.
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| On the way up to the registration tent, what a nice view! |
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| Ready! Let's race some 'cross! :) |
So, me and my team mates (Garry and Joe) took off for our pre-race practice lap to check out the race course. After the easy spin around it I have to say it was simply brilliant! It was tough enough now, but brilliant! Long grassy sections, nice and tight switch back turns, little burst climbs, long steady climb, little drops-offs and plenty of mud to make all this more exciting! I really think the organizers put a great race course together today!!
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| Great view |
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| Trying to chase Joe & Garry down |
After the first lap I managed to settle into my own "comfort"
zone and started to make my way up towards the front group. I felt
great and gain lots of positions during the first 3 laps. Until...
...I got a front puncture at the end of the 3rd lap. I was pissed off, I was pissed off big time... But luckily it didn't go down straight away so I decided to take my chances and kept riding. I didn't have any spare wheels at the pits, so this was my only option anyway...
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| Racing with punctured wheel. Ah sure, at least it's sunny :) |
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| The best spot on the course: got the best cheering here, no doubt about that! |
It stayed up kinda ok (very flat, but still ok) for the 4th and the 5th lap, but after that it went down altogether. So, I was riding pretty much on the rim for the last 2 laps of the race that made my work even more difficult. The bike felt super heavy on the climbs and it was all over the place on the downhills. I even ended up running some of the more techy downhill bits towards the end to avoid some nasty crash.
Luckily I was in positive frame of mind and somehow managed to maintain my position. Now, I dropped back few places alright, but it wasn't as bad as I expected earlier on. Anyway. I finished the race (all 7 laps) and crossed the finish line with 48 minutes racing time. This was enough to scoop up the 11th place out of the 60 riders. This also means I picked up a top 10 position in Senior B Category. Am I happy with this? Sure I am!! I'm freakin' delighted!! :)
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| After the race, another one done & dusted! |
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| :) |
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| This made my race quiet challenging indeed |
Chat with the lads, sharing some race stories, get cleaned up quickly and off to home. Today's race was great buzz, I had brilliant time racing my bike! And even with the fact I could give as much as I wanted because of the puncture, but it still has been an excellent day out! Even the weather was nice & warm with plenty of sun, so there's a nice little bonus for everyone! :)
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| My reward after the savage race today |
Big thanks to the organizers for putting this great race together. Also thanks to John, Casey, Murt, Chris, Adrian and Eva for the excellent cheering today, it did help to stay happy! :)
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