XC NPS Rd. 5 (Belfast) - race report

It has been a rough and a bit unlucky day for me and me performance was way under the expected. But lets start from the beginning. We have travelled to Belfast last Sunday to race the Irish NPS Rd. 5 in the famous Lady Dixon Park. The journey was smooth and very quick, so we got there in time and strated my regular race preparation.

Getting ready

After a quick sign-on I got changed and went out to get my practice lap done before the S4 guys are off at 12 o`clock. I was riding nice and slow just to see how the race course has been changed since last summer. I do have to say: the track was brilliant! Wouldn`t ride it if you want to have a good XC spin but to race on once in a while was excellent. :)

After the slow practice lap I got back to the car and I got ready for the start but unfortunately during my warm up I got a front puncture. Extremely quick repair and I was ready to go... but due to some crash on the course our start was delayed by 30 minutes... 

I haven`t race any NPS this year so I did have about 30 riders ahead of me at the start so my first lap was sacrified to get up towards to the front.  Didn`t quiet worked out the way it was planned, I got stock in badly...

Coming into the technical zone

But I di not feel quiet right on the bike during the second lap so it has been a bit of a struggle for me. But luckily I got better and faster in the last lap and gained couple of places.

During the race

In action (photo by Cieran Maunsell) 

On the race course (photo by Michael A.)

Crossing the finish line

I have finished only the 19th position in S3 category out of 50 riders (full results). This result is disappointing for me and definitely a sign to get my act together for the next race! I have plenty of time for that because I will skip the next XC round in Killaloe due to the Wicklow 200.

But hey, this is racing: I guess it has been one of those days when thigs are just not going right. Next time will be better! :)