Midlands 3 and Dalby NPS

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BY: Richard Jones

Published: 29th April, 2012

MIDLANDS Round 3. 

It's still odd to think that it's April and already the third Midlands round has come and gone.  This time the race was held at Birchall Golf Course just inside Derbyshire.  There was quite a reputation for this venue as a grueling technical course; I had never raced here before so I was really looking forward to it. 

As we arrived it became apparent that they had experienced some rainfall in the previous few days.  Much of the parking was water logged and the initial comments from people out on course were that it was boggy, wet and hard going. 

A quick pre lap showed that they were right; however I still loved the steep prolonged climbs and the fun descents.  The start/finish field was extremely boggy and made the beginning of the races look as if they were in slow motion. 

The afternoon quickly came around and fifteen elite riders lined up.  The starting shot was fired and we charged towards the bog, after a couple of seconds of slipping and sliding we had made it on to the hard pack and up the first climb.  I sat behind Lee Westwood and Giles Drake and followed them up the climb.  A quick glance over the shoulder showed that a gap had formed, I set about trying to hold Lee's and Giles's wheel however the pace was too much.  A gap had quickly formed and I was left. 

I knew it was then just a question of riding at a good pace and holding the next rider's wheel.  However fatigue quickly set in from the past weeks training and riders had begun to pass me. 

Last two laps I began to feel better. As we hit the largest climb for the last time I was in eigth with both seventh and sixth closely in my sites.  I pushed hard desperate to close the gap and join their wheels. 

Half a lap to go and disaster struck, the muddy course had clogged the compact rear triangle on the Anthem and chain suck had pulled the chain over my front mech and some how managed to develop a spectacular knot.  No amount of pushing and pulling was going to shift it.  A long jog back to the arena followed, however, there was still a sprint finish to be had!  Just as I turned the last corner for the finish Elite rider Paul Robertson had entered the arena.  There was no way I was giving up another position so easily so a sprint to the line guaranteed twelfth.  Unlucky but it can't be helped and at least I got a finish! 

NPS ROUND 2 - Forking Dalby!

In my opinion Dalby is just the best venue for racing: it's a course that truly challenges riders and requires skills from all aspects of mountain biking. However it was clear that this year's National was going to be different.  As we all know the week prior to the race had seen huge amounts of rain with only more forecasted for the weekend.  Discussions quickly turned to what conditions this would create and generally the view is that the course held up well but destroyed both bikes and kit.  The true extent of this later became apparent. 

Saturday early afternoon and my first prelap shocked me as the course was in great condition, a few puddles here and there but other than that brilliant.  All A lines were riding fast and even the fields seemed good.  A lap later and the heavens opened.  Within twenty minutes of riding the course in heavy rain it was clear everything was changing. 

Sunday morning saw even more rain.  The morning races were just getting underway and it was clear the course was challenging as lap times seemed a little slower than normal.  Annie Last showed her usual fantastic skill and took the win in great style.  The youth categories also showed fantastic rides from so many with lap times that would rank them high in the expert men categories.

It was time for the elite men's race and fifty four riders were gridded.  I was a little disappointed to find I was still 47^th on the grid.  This makes for some hard racing as it is inevitable that you will get caught up in the usual bottleneck come the first section of single track and this was to be the case. 

The muddy start field made for a great beginning as riders tried to negotiate each bend with out slipping into other riders or falling off themselves.  However we quickly made it onto the course.  I had seemed to manage to loose even more positions in the starting shenanigans and I set about making up lost ground. 

The course by this point was very cut up and the sandy mud quickly made up a bike destroying grinding paste that had engulfed everything.  By the end of lap one I had managed to make up some lost ground and was feeling good.  Shortly into lap two it became apparent that something wasn't quite right with the bike.  Every knock and bump on the trail could be felt and each rocky section was leaving my upper body in bits.  I quickly realised that my forks had seized rigid. 

This wouldn't usually be too much of an issue but with sections like the gully down Medusa's drop and the rocky trail that follows I was barely able to hold on to the bars let alone increase my speed and attack these sections.  At this point the game plan was to rest on the hard downs and use my newfound bike's rigidity to make up lost time on the hills. 

I began to enjoy the race again and had even managed to pick off a few more riders along the way. My five laps were completed in 2:07.  Not your standard national race time and I was a mighty twenty one minutes down on Liam Killeen who yet again took the win.  Still not really where I wanted to be this year but there's all ways next time…