XC Racer Blog Post

Thetford Winter Series Round Up

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BY: Richard Jones

Published: 29th February, 2012



Last Sunday was the final round of Thetford Winter Series., however this race was anything but wintery.  The sun had worked its magic on the fantastic flowing Mayday Meadow course and conditions were brilliant. 


The course consisted of six miles of fast flowing single track over typical flat Thetford terrain, yet as always the organisers had managed to create a fun, enjoyable course with a bit of everything making for a tiring four hours of racing. 


Being the last round of the series there was everything to play for.  Mike Jackson had managed to tie up the win in my category; the four hour senior; Paul Ashby as always had thrashed out a win at every round resulting in him securing the four hour vet win, yet all other categories where up for grabs.  


I however had so far only managed to turn up to two other rounds.  Although in these races I had achieved a first and second place, so I wanted to try for another strong result to secure the second place in the overall series.


As we stood ready for the starting shot I was stunned to see that the Garmin was reading a temperature of 18C!  After seeing that I couldn't wait for a day of good quality racing in some fine weather. 


The starting shot was fired and I led the charge down the fire road.  The usual competition quickly settled around me, however for once in a lifetime Paul Ashby hadn't disappeared into the distance, instead he sat comfortably a couple of riders back.  A couple of turns and a small climb later and our group had formed and moved away from the chasing bunch.  As per usual we 

then settled down and took it in turns at the front maintaining a good pace. 


My new Giant Anthem seemed to perform flawless around the course, absorbing every bump and constantly feeding my rear wheel with traction when others seemed to struggle.  With the sun beating down and the perfectly dry trails, it really did feel like a fantastic day to be out racing. 


Very little happened for the first two hours up until the rocket ship, Stephen James, stormed past us at great speed.  Our group made the assumption he wasn't racing in the 4 hour category and instead he was finishing his last lap in the two hour race.  We watched as he gradually made off into the distance.  As we came through the arena we looked around expecting to see him standing on the sidelines but instead he had carried on riding and was storming into the distance. 


The time had come to pick up the pace and rejoin his wheel.  For roughly three miles the pace was sky high with the machine that is Paul Ashby driving the group.  Mike and me dug deep and stayed with the pace whilst Nige crippled with the speed and dropped off.  As time passed it was clear we were both in pain and we could see no reason to chase as it was Steve's only round so he had no chance of altering our overall positions.  Not much of a race mindset I know but…well no excuse's there. 


We settled back down to a more sociable pace and carried on with the plan and that was just to finish and secure an overall position.  It later turned out that Steve had no intention of riding for the whole 4 hours and finished after 2.5 hours.


Time quickly passed and before we knew it the final laps were here.  My past weeks of training started to show as my legs became heavy and an unsettled stomach began to cause even more problems. 


As we rode through for our final lap Mike pulled out the pace and began to ride away, as with many of these events I had little more to give and was happy to just hold second place for a final lap. 


Finishing was the best feeling and I was pleased to be off the bike after an exhausting fast 4 hours.  I don't train for these long races so anything I get is a bonus! 


Mike Jackson is currently in his final weeks of training in preparation for the monumental Cape Epic race next month with Lloyd Bettles, best of luck to both of them. 



The second position was enough to secure a second place overall.  One position higher than last year, perhaps we will try for that top step next year. 


A huge thank you to the Thetford organisers who work tirelessly to put on these events.  They do a great job and always manage to give us some brilliant races. The end of this series for me marks the end of the winter, the longer rides dwindle and the torturous interval sessions return.  That can only mean one thing… XC racing is back and I can't wait! 


Richard Jones


XCRacer.com






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