Welsh Cyclocross League round 1: Llanishen High School, Cardiff

Down to business then. The first proper race of the season was met with anticipation and a certain amount of anxiety. Despite being as well prepared for a cyclocross season as I've ever been, you don't know where you are going to slot into the pecking order until things get underway. The weather forecast added another layer of complexity in the run up to the race; playing a game of "will it rain or not". In the end conditions were dry, and the ground fast, with the rain conveniently holding off until just a few minutes after I'd got home and unloaded the bikes and kit from the car. Round 1 being all of 3 miles from home did mean a nice gentle introduction to the Sunday morning pre-race routine, and a little extra time in bed before heading over for practice. The course was looking fast, but reasonably technical, with no forced dismounts but a few sections that would be tricky to ride and, for the likes of me anyway, meant playing percentages and running with the bike rather than lose time attempting to ride them and making mistakes. Away from those, I managed to crash hard on a fast but fairly straightforward section of the circuit, getting tangled up in the course tape and coming down hard on the back of my head. This was only a few minutes before the start, and at that point I was pleased just to get up and be able to make it to the start line with my ears no longer ringing. It was only after the race that I realised I'd cracked the back of my helmet in the process. Around 140 people signed on, but the organisers had wisely chosen a starting circuit where we could start 20-abreast, meaning I got the luxury of a front row start! I got off the line well, perhaps even a little too well; I was about 10th into the first corner and soon losing touch with the faster folks ahead of me and coming under pressure from riders behind. I therefore slipped backwards a little on lap 1, but still avoided any major bottlenecks.

AJAX team photo post-race. Massive crack in the back of my helmet not pictured.

The pace was blisteringly quick, quick enough to allow for a little drafting on the straights as things settled down. I spent much of the race yo-yoing in and out of a group of three; the other two riders carrying slightly better corner speed than me, whereas I was clawing my way back up to them on the straights and the couple of drags uphill on what was largely a flat circuit. I started the last lap a handful of seconds down on the two of them, and despite emptying the tank on the last lap I couldn't close the gap. I finished 15th overall, exceeding my expectations a little.