Midlands RD3 Hanchurch

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BY: phil Morris

Published: 15th July, 2011

Hanchurch woods, round 3!!

Having missed round 2 due to it clashing with the welsh champs, I was looking forward to this race. Having raced at Hanchurch before I knew it would be a good course.

With the race only a week away from the National Champs, It was my last chance to test my form!! I have not felt that good over the past few races, apart from Margam, where I felt not too bad.

We arrived midday and I quickly signed on, got sorted out and headed off for a lap. At this point the weather was being kind and it was pretty sunny and hot too!!

The start was on the usual fire road, which took you into a bottle neck corner, before entering the single-track section, containing the first climb of the day. The following section was the trickiest, a really muddy, slippery descent! This lead to loads of fun single-track, through the woods.

Next up was the climbs and the big bomb hole, which returned back to the start. The lap was going to take just over 20 minutes.

The race started at 2pm and so did the rain!! It poured down.

I wasn't gridded and lined up in the third row, so before I began it was going to be fun getting through the riders in the single-track!!

On the whistle the pace was bonkers, and I was blocked in so I hit the first bit of single-track in about 10th place! I decided not to try and stupidly overtake as there was a long way to go! The entire first lap was spent sitting on wheels and nipping past every time the opportunity arose! By the end of the lap I had managed to get into 3rd place behind Matt and Ed Moseley. I caught Ed eventually and decided to push on. Going into lap 3 I had managed to get to 2nd place. I felt pretty good, which was nice, so I couldn't see Matt in front but I decided to push on and keep going at the pace I was. The end of lap 3, Charlie the commentator said I was only 28 seconds behind. This spurred me on and I pushed hard as I haven't been that close to Matt this year yet!! Starting the final lap I caught a glimpse of Matt ahead. And with a bit of added ego from my cheerers, braving it in the very wet feed zone, I wanted to make the most of this race and come out top!

I managed to sneak up to his back wheel, where I think he was a bit surprised to see me! Matt was unlucky at the start of the climb and slightly overcooked the corner!! On the climb I managed to get a gap and gave it my all to the finish to hold onto 1st!!! Greeted by my tribe shouting full pelt and swinging their pom poms!!

Really pleased with this result, especially after such a bad start. This was the first time this year that I have managed to beat  Matt, even if I did have to sneak up on him!!

Cracking little prize as well, topped off with a pub stop and wacky warehouse fun on the way home!!

Big thank you to my support team for the cheering and watering.

As always a shout out to my sponsors, who get me this far!!

Phil Morris

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