XC Racer Blog Post

Wet & windy 1st Round of the Welsh

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BY: phil Morris

Published: 13th February, 2011


Well where do I start! The long awaited 1st round of the welsh at Pontypridd. Unfortunately I had to work the night before, and sods law we had the busiest night we've had for some time! So I arrived at the event at about 9:40, to be welcomed by gale force winds and driving rain (well it was bloody windy, maybe not quite gale force).

The entrance to the car park was starting to struggle a little bit with a few needing a bit of a push. I parked up and saw a few familiar faces and had a chat and the main topic was the course! Which I will explain later.

I could see sign on was very busy so decided to go have a power nap in the car as my race wasn't till 1:00.

At about 11:00 I decided it was time to start sorting myself out and went and signed on and got very wet in the process!

The next hour was spent trying to get dressed and get the bike ready without getting to cold or wet. Just as I finished getting ready my team mate (Matt Lewis) arrived and we had a quick chat about how insane we must be riding a bike in the monsoon conditions!

On route to my warm up I saw Mel and Claire, another two team mates who had just finished there race and they were a bit muddy to say the least!!

The race start soon arrived and the masters lined up behind the sport riders. As always there were some strong riders in the mix!

When the whistle went for the start I had a good start managing to get the lead, but my team mate Matt nipped past me on the second corner. Once the course straighten up I decided to go for it and see if I could get away. I managed to pass Matt again and by the first decent I had a small gap over 2nd and 3rd. I pushed on hard from this point trying to increase my advantage. Which I managed and by the end of the lap I had opened up a good lead which I managed to extended on each lap! I had a good race feeling strong throughout despite having to do a fair amount of running which I really do not like. I have to say I was really pleased to see the finish!

(Gotta love those white tyres!!)

The course was different to say the least. There has been a lot on the forum about the course which I would generally have to agree with I'm afraid. I've gone though 2 sets of new pads in one race the gritty water was a nightmare!

 

  

The course could be described as an extended cross course. Which I personally think is a massive shame, as Wales has so much to offer in terms of great XC race courses. I don't want to be negative and look as if I'm having a dig at the organisers but the course was just not up to the mark I'm afraid.

Having said that a big thanks to the organisers who I'm sure realise the problems they have encountered in using a venue like this, and with a few improvements I'm convinced we can have a successful welsh series. A bit of help from the weather would be good to!! I'm planning on giving my opinion on the forum, hope it can be seen as constructive feedback on the things which maybe didn't go so well and the things which did!

(The cleanup after!!)

Finally a big thanks to my support team Donna, Hali-Rae and Ryley who braved the conditions to cheer me on!

As always massive thanks to my sponsors
XCracer.com
Gateway Cycles Abergavenny
Accelerade
Exposure lights
MT Zoom





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phil
 

phil Morris

Fireman, dad, racer and team stalwart...

www.xcracer.com

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This blog post was written by a third party and their views do not necessarily reflect the views of XCRacer.com

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