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| there is a bike in there somewhere |
Once i had signed on practice got underway. What I like to do is to go very slowly so i can stop and practice any of the technical sections to make the most of any extra speed I can gain or to find overtaking places. Next lap was to link all these together and up the pace. This time I sprinted/ rode as fast as I could through every hard section and rest on the flats. This is to get my heart rate up without tiring myself too much.
Start time; on the grid 5th row back and ready to go. Looking around, there were a lot of people here lined up. More than I can ever remember at a cx race.
The whistle blew and we were off. There were some tight turns and tricky sections coming and I was trying to make sure I was ahead of the main bunch before the first very tight technical section. I figured if I didn't get stuck behind loads of people, it would make the rest of the race much easier. So off I sprinted, diving into any gap I could and got to the first corner on the inside and took some more places. Took a quick look around and noticed how many people where behind. I found myself running in 5th, behind, what looked like, some elite dudes. And that's how it stayed for 20 + mins. I found myself starting to struggle along the bottom field that was boggy and energy sapping. I kept finding these guys getting away every time. Trying to catch up every lap started to take its toll and i was feeling the burn, so I decided to drop off and go at my own pace if I were to make it to the finish. 30-40 mins in, I found my self running at the high end of the top 10, biding my time and fairly comfortable, waiting for that bell lap and lay the hammer down. I passed the pit and into the tight off camber tech bit I explained early and as I dropped from the high part of the ledge to the lower and I must have caught my tyre sidewall because it started to make that dreadful and soul destroying hissing. Shit... I got off the bike as soon as I could rotating the wheel at an angle hoping the tyre sealant to work its magic and block the hole but with absolutely no luck.
Having just passed the pits I knew I had a very long run ahead of me if i wanted to change the wheel. I had two choices. Firstly, I could give up and face the fact that I was going to get a crap result if I carried on. Or I could man up and decide its only the first race and need more practice. Soo of I ran, bike on shoulder. As I was running I saw a lot of people overtake me. I was surprised how well I was running. It might have been because of race mode and blood was flowing and stuff. But it was almost easier than riding which was weird but made it a bit more fun. Definitely slower though. I finally got to the pits. Off came the rear wheel and on went the spare. As I tightened up the qr skewer I heard a cracking crunchy sound. The lovely noise a thread makes when it is being stripped. Arrrgh. What a nightmare. So I fiddled taking the other one off and putt it on my wheel. As I got on my way, I noticed the group that I had previously been riding with just lapped me.
The bell being rung meaning 1 lap left, so I gave it everything. I must have overtaken 8 people on this lap but it was all in vain as I was soo far behind. Still, my pride was intact despite feeling pretty gutted at the result.
So one race down and a lot to take on to the next race. It's only 1 race and there are loads left. So not the end of the world.
So to conclude. My race went brilliant, then good, then full blown shit, then a bit better.
I'll be back next week to try again.
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