As this round is local to Cardiff, I took the opportunity to ride up and take a look at the course on Saturday. This turned into something of a cyclocross clinic, as I was joined by another David from Ajax. He was entering his first cyclocross race, and I'd promised to go through the basics with him. What I didn't realise until we were chatting on the short ride to the course is that he'd never ridden off road before! He coped admirably, with only a bit of falling off in practice (better then than in the race).
The course meandered slowly downhill across open ground, then briefly into some woods, returning to the finish gradually uphill across an old section of golf course, taking in some fun drops in and out of bunkers on the way. It was a hard slog in practice, and promised to get harder by race day. It was a dry and crisp morning on Saturday, and some of the ground was firm from a frost. However, it was clear that it was going to be very heavy going - parts of the ground were already very wet, and rain was forecast overnight and into Sunday. I didn't mind this, and part of me was even relishing it - we hadn't had a really wet race all season, and I didn't mind getting muddy one last time. In fact, I don't mind at all getting wet and muddy during a race, it's the trying to stay warm and dry beforehand, and then sorting out a nightmare of wet and filthy kit afterwards (and of course trying to get yourself warm and dry). All very well if you are a pro with a motorhome waiting for you; somewhat different when you are getting changed in a car park and have to clean your own bikes and kit.
Race day indeed dawned wet; not chucking it down, but on-and-off rain blown along on a brisk breeze. Compounding this was the fact that the course was on top of hill and a bit more windswept. As I expected, I arrived to see that the course hardly resembled what I had ridden yesterday: everywhere that had been green was now brown! A quick recce revealed that the bottom, wetter half of the course had cut up about as much as I expected - it was all still rideable, but parts would become quicker to run during the race - whilst everything else, on better draining ground, was muddier than yesterday but holding up comparatively well. It was still muddy enough to mean changing every scrap of kit, and washing the bike after practice. I decided to forgo my usual last-minute ride of the course before the race in the interests of keeping the bike clean, and headed off for a long road warm up.
It was soon time to head to the line - a 100m charge across grass and straight into the boggiest section of the course. I got an OK start across the grass and then the next few hundred metres were chaos. Everyone bogged down in the mud, some trying to continue to ride while most ran; I stayed stubbornly on the bike a little too long before cutting my losses, shouldering the bike and sprinting through the mud for all I was worth. Another short stint back on the bike and then off again for a corner that was quicker to run, nearly ending up on the floor as one of my mud-clogged cleats refused to release smoothly as I swung myself off the bike. Another rider then slipped in front of me on a short rooty climb, forcing me to dab. All in all it took half a lap before I felt like I had any breathing space at all, as opposed to being shoulder to shoulder with someone. Nevertheless, I felt like I was moving forward rather than backwards, and was pleasantly surprised to have Claire count me through as 18th at the end of lap one.
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| Quintessential cyclocross. Photo by Howard Goldberg. |
The race settled down remarkably quickly. By the end of the third lap I wasn't really in touch with any other riders but seemed to be alone. However, I couldn't relax, and knew I had to work hard to maintain my position in the top 20. The course was now in such a state that lines were changing every lap, and two sections that had been rideable earlier now forced me to shoulder the bike and run. As happens in bad conditions the race was also becoming one of attrition; I made up a few spots as riders pulled over with mechanicals from mud-packed drivetrains. The mud didn't seem to be affecting my bike too badly (I've finished races on bikes where the wheels would barely turn anymore), but I had the luxury of a pit crew today, so I made use of them and took a clean bike about two thirds of the way through the race.
It was then just a case of grinding on until the bell. In fact I never heard the bell, as I got lapped by the race leader on my final lap, cutting my race one lap short. Fine by me.
Across the line and straight into a waiting warm jacket, then into one almighty clear-up operation. The weather was getting wetter and windier, and by the time the car was packed my hand were numb. The cafe next to the course was a godsend; everyone piled in there for end of season presentations and some well-earned hot food.
Just the small matter of the results then. I was pretty sure I'd made the top 20, but was very happy to find I'd equalled my best rest of the season with 14th. In terms of the overall standing in the league, this was enough to mean I hung on to a place in the top 20 (20th, to be precise!).
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