Southern XC Round 4

I know I said I was going to take a mid season break, but Sunday morning came and I realised I would regret it if I didn’t race. I was keen to defend my 5^th position in the Southern XC Series points table. Crow Hill in the New Forest near Ringwood was the venue so if Baby Ben did decide he wanted to make an appearance I would be close enough to rush home!

The dark threatening clouds looked menacing overhead but the track was still bone dry and very dusty! The warm-up lap revealed an undulating course linked by a maze of woodland switchbacks which created a fast and punishing circuit.

Despite being gridded on the front row I had learnt the lesson from the previous round and let the field flood past off the start. Towards the end of the lap I spied Alex Taylor about 30 seconds ahead. As you’ll know from my previous blogs I’ve been racing Alex all season but have become frustratingly familiar with the sight of his rear tyre.

As we crossed the line vocal encouragement from Jon and Ian alerted Alex to my presence. I saw him glance back as we rode down through the switchbacks, and for much of the lap all I saw was the occasional glimpse of the green South Downs Bikes shirt ahead.

However, as we climbed up a leg stinging grassy slope I closed the gap and then pushed down the opposite side, inching my way towards Alex’s rear wheel. Again sensing my presence he was able to frustratingly stabilise the gap at a couple of bike lengths. We continued through the trees, twisting left and right until we emerged at the base of a steep climb.

On the hill I pushed past and pulled ahead. Now it was my turn to be chased! The gap grew slightly and I started to relax but I should have known better. A quick peek over the shoulder showed that Alex was actually closing in!

I pushed on but I could hear from the brakes and crunching of gears that my pursuer was close behind! As hard as I tried I couldn’t drop him and then my worst fear was realised as a front wheel appeared and then inched past. But it wasn’t Alex! The great thing about MTB racing is that Alex's family offered me encouragement every lap and we shook hands and exchanged stories after the race. I'll defintely miss the camaraderie over the next few months.

After 4 rounds I am now 7^th in the series. With the next round coming the weekend after my wife’s due date this will DEFINITELY be my final cross country race of the year. I will have to wait and see if those behind in the table can close the gap at the final race.