First ‘cross race of the year and we’re still only in May.
Although more rain in the runup to the race meant this was muddy enough to feel
like the ‘cross season proper.
When I’ve raced this series in the past there was barely a
couple of dozen riders, so it was good to pull into a packed carpark and line
up with what must have been over 50 others. Cyclocross does seem like it has
benefited in particular from the cycling boom in the UK, although for a middle
of the pack rider like me, it does mean I find myself further down the (bigger)
field than I used to five years ago!
The first row was gridded so I got myself a spot on the
second row, on the very outside. Unfortunately the guy I was behind got the
worst start of anyone on the front row, or possibly even the whole race, and I
had no space to get round him so his terrible start became my problem and I
slotted in well down the pack. There was a fair amount of climbing per lap for
a ‘cross course so I killed myself uphill on the first lap and managed to pick
some people off. As we started a descent all this work was undone as the rider
in front of me crashed on a fast and slippery (like everywhere) descent. His
bike landed directly in my path, and there was nowhere for me to go, nothing to
do but scrub off as much speed as possible before I hit it, and brace myself to
hit the deck. Somehow, I rode over the rear of the poor guy’s bike – right over
the top of his rear mech I reckon – but stayed upright, albeit off course and
halfway into a hedge by the time I came to a stop. By the time I has extricated
myself, checked the downed rider was OK and set off again, most of the race was
long gone.
 |
| Find a happy place. Photo by Richard Lewton |
I was now racing for nothing but the hell of it, but mixed
fortunes continued. I steadily picked a few people off until a lap with
terrible stitch pegged me back, and when that cleared the bike started playing
up, with ominous-sounding and increasingly frequent chainsuck. It took me a
while to work out that it was chainsuck, but then the solution was obvious –
ride everything in big ring, which meant some grinding up the slippery climbs
but at least I was able to keep moving. As corners cut up and got slippier I
also managed to have a couple of minor offs by myself to add to the earlier
travails.
I’ve no idea where I placed in the end (if anyone knows
where the results of this series are published, I’d love to know!). Overall it
was a stark and fun reminder of the muddy, chaotic hell that makes a good
cyclocross race.
No comments:
Post a Comment