2011 XC National Championships - race report

I just got home from the 2011 XC National Championships hosted by Team WORC. The race venue was the famous Killruddery Estate close to Bray, Co. Wicklow.

I got to the place early enough in the morning just after 9am when the gates opened. I still needed to have a practice lap before the race and I normally need time to get all the gear (clothing, bike, bottles) and myself ready before the start. The first thing I have seen when I arrived is the start/finish area started to turn into this lovely centre of the race with flags and numberous tents. The riders and organizers have created a brilliant festival type centre for the race. I think this was great, I liked it very much! :)

After I got the practice lap done I was supper happy with the course: I have to say it was very well designed and was possibly the best XC course I have raced for many-many years. Techical trails, switchbacks, steep climbs and some crazy sections along the way. Exactly like a proper XC course should be. I really liked the way the organizers named the most unique sections of the course such as Pheasant Forest Ledge, The Luisiana Bridge, Stinger, Bombhole and Tombstone. Obviously each of them were perfect names for the sections, especially the lastone. The Tombstone was a massive super-steep drop towards the end of the lap. Honistly I did not take the risk to crash on it 'cause it did look pretty nasty from the top...



The mighty drop called Tombstone (photo by Cieran Maunsell)

The elevation graph of a single lap

 

Ready for action :)

After all the preparation and practice lap the time has passed quickly and it was time to race! The S3 category start was at 12:02 pm so all the riders started to gather around 5-10 minutes beforehand.


Waiting for the start (photo by Cieran Maunsell)



So there was I: at the start line of the biggest race of the season that I was waiting for all year. START!!! Off we went, I did have a fantastic start.

Go! Go! Go! (photo by Cieran Maunsell)

I took the first turn at the 1st position and started to set my own pace right after the start. It was great to avoid all the hassle that can happen after the start and got away nicely from the beginning.

Shortly after the start I got settled into the 2nd position and cycled along the course with a good speed. I loved the way we passed through all the tricky sections with no bother, build up speed on the fire road. I felt very strong and confident in the race. 



During the race, still in the leading group (photo by Michael A.)



I enjoyed it as much as I could until we hit the back of the U16 field... and I run into an issue that I am sure all of us want to avoid: I got stuck in behind a rider very badly.. This situation is absolutelly normal of course, but normally the riders let pass the faster riders especially if they are not even in the same category. I mean I allways let faster guys pass me because I am in their way.  I am also expecting the same when it's the other way around. Simple as that!

But this time it wasn't the way...I just could not get him to let me pass, no matter how I have asked & tried. So I decided to get into a risky overtake but during that a spindle got wrapped around my front hub inbetween the disc and the hub. This forced me to stop and took quiet long time to get rid of the spindle and get back on track. 

This little incident got me dropped back good few places, possibly about 10-12 (or even more) riders passed me while I was struggling on the side of the course. So technicly the rest of the race for me was all about fighting my way back up towards the front as much as I could. I did get good few places back but the final result was way behind my expectations...

Shortly after I crossed the finish line.

    

     Distance: 15.88 km (3 laps)

     Time: 1:09:41
     Result: 16th out of 65 riders (results are here)

After I finished the race I went to the massage tent straight away to get a well needed massage on the distroyed legs. It was great to get massaged right after the race, this should be the way every time. I think we all can thank the organizers to invite Conor Kelly and set up the massage tent.

After all I did have a great race today and I was happy with the form this time. It is such a shame my result couldn't get as good as it ment to be because of the lack of the race etiquette from other riders. Well, plenty more races are still to come so lets focus on them instead of being dissapointed. :)

Thank you Team WORC and all the organizers for putting on an excellent race and Robin Seymour for designing this superb course for today. 

I also would like to say a big thank you to Marcin Wrobel for handing my the bottles with perfect timing! :)