XC Racer Blog Post
Knog Muddy Hell vs. Rapha Supercross
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterBY: JAMES HAMPSHIRE
Published: 1st November, 2011
October. The month of the year when racing cyclo-cross on your mtb can be fun. If the grumpy old men who make up the majority at most 'cross races had their way, the ever earlier start to their season would have to wait till the ground is saturated. For those of us who spend the winter doing base miles / aerobic endurance and are mentally scarred from any number of night laps in the pouring rain, then the chance for some autumnal off-road dirt crits is warmly welcomed. You'll recognise us from the smiles on our faces as we cut you up on the inside of a dry, dusty corner with at least one wheel drifting :-)
Hello sunshine. Better late than never.
With Newnham already a distant memory, the month started with the first round of the Central Cyclo-Cross League at Milton Keynes Bowl. Apparently everyone's favourite commissaire doesn't get an off-season either - this was Kelvin's 5th race in a week. He must have been feeling generous though because I got a slot on the 2nd row of the grid.
Cyclo-cross can be a bit too 'accessible' (think round and round the edge of a football pitch, with the course taped 1.5m wide) so the lap was a nice surprise with some singletrack and run-ups that were rideable on my mtb, balanced out with some long straights that favoured a 'Cross bike. A fun tussle with Paul Mace (RAF CC) kept the concentration levels up as I finished inside the top 10 and 6th senior.
Round 2 clashed with Dusk till Dawn (sorry to the plucky recovering survivors for bringing that name up!) leaving me with precious little series points and stranding me on the 5th row of the grid for round 3 in Hemel Hempstead. Bye bye decent result, hello overtaking practise. A fast gravel s-bend proving to be a particularly good hunting ground. It's probably best not to think about the number of people who use the woodland (that provides the singletrack) at M.K.Bowl for a toilet at gigs and likewise you had to wonder why there was so much 'behind the bikesheds' singetrack at this school based venue! Nevertheless, it provided an enjoyable course and I squeezed inside the top 15 and finished 8th senior by the end, helped by a new bigger prototype front chainring from BETD/Goldtec.
Happy, smiling faces.
Last weekend - the battle of the big guns. Rollapaluza and Knog vs. Rapha. 3 brands trying to bring some razzamataz to racing inappropriate bicycles over inappropriate terrain. I'm sure the commissaire would have a field day if you built a wall ride for an XC race and face a mutiny from riders if you forced them to dismount and clamber up a section of the course! Mtb racers - it's time to man up!
First up, Knog Muddy Hell at Herne Hill. The most fun you can have with your Exposure lights on. Fun trails around the perimeter coupled with lots of obstacles on the infield to keep the big crowd entertained, including a magic bridge that got taller every lap until you could only just get to the top. The cheers from the spectators every time Mr. Blobby jumped the barriers in the beer tent was unreal! After some fancy dress action in the ringers race last year, this time it was a chance to see how I'd fare on my mtb in the senior race.
With a decent start from the front row of the grid, the first few laps flew by and I thought I was going well - until Nick Craig drifted past me serenely after 30 minutes! Lapped by half distance! To add insult to injury the dreaded cramp then started creeping up on me, forcing me into self preservation mode and nearly getting out sprinted by a guy in a wolf mask on the line. Result: 21st place and a craving for some salt and vinegar crisps.
Yes, that is a picture of a kebab. Well deserved after riding across London on a Saturday night. Anyway, sums up the evening better than trying to take pictures of a night race with a digital camera - they all turn out like this:
The day after the night before. Feeling rather rough, but it was sunny so time for another beating! Last year, it was the number of cyclists I saw on the streets that had me exclaiming "**** me!" as I rode across London. This year it's The Shard. It's **** huge! There is no way they'd allow something that high to be built if it wasn't for the star-itect behind the scheme. Likewise, short of having Vicky P endorsing your event, there's no way you'll generate any media interest about a bike race short of getting Rapha on-board as a title sponsor. Nice work! Certainly papers over the fact that it was the organisers first event and ensured the sorts of crowds unheard of for a 'Cross race. 2 sold out 'cross races (on pre-entry alone) in 2 days, great stuff!
XCracer.com hasn't got deep enough pockets to pay the entry fee to get a team into the elite race, so support race it was. I was glad of getting to the start early. "We couldn't decide on a way to grid you, so we won't". I'm sure we created a nice aerial shot of 140 riders squeezed into the space of minibus. Wow, look how bikes ease traffic congestion. Yeah, and how we invent new forms of warfare as we try to escape unscathed!
Kids throwing marshmellows just out of shot.
After the man-made obstacles of the previous evening, the Supercross course offered up a 20% tarmac climb to the pits, swoop back down through the arena and artificial muddy corner, over a pair of UCI reg barriers (i.e. proper high), a long climb all the way up to Alexandra Palace just to force you to run up a flight of steps then zig-zag all the way back down ensuring you kept it rubber side down through "acorn corner". The lap was compact, but the climb blew the pack to pieces, ensuring overtaking was easy with minimal bottlenecks. Apparently the 'tequila shortcut' in the arena was only open during the novice race at the end of the day, probably a good thing! Thankfully Phil Moore's (Kinesis Morvelo) "so high they could be a triathlete's compression shin guards" high top socks didn't keep his legs fresh allowing me to swap positions with him from the night before squeezing into 19th place.
The marshals had matching pink bibs. Nice touch.
I went to London for the weekend and all I brought back was a cowbell. Best freebie ever?
And the quote of the weekend? "It's because of your team I'll have to ride a wagon wheeler next year!" :-)
Thanks to: XCracer.com, Exposure lights, Mt. Zoom components, Accelerade nutrition and Gateway Cycles for their support this year and Richard Harrison for the pics.
Also, thanks to Keith and Ellie for being perfect hosts all weekend and living so close to Ally Pally!
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JAMES HAMPSHIRE
Midlands XC coordinator and black collar racer.
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