This weekends race couldn’t have been further removed from the
non-stop shoulder to shoulder battle at last months Southern XC. Once we’d spread out I didn’t even see another rider for over an hour! In fact after
the initial skirmishes I only passed 4 other riders in my category during 5 hours
of racing! In part this is due to the longer 9 mile per lap format of the
Gorrick 100 and a smaller entry than previous years, which meant there was
plenty of room to spread out.
Riding on your own makes for a very different type of
challenge. Effectively I was racing myself, pacing my effort to complete the 7 laps as quickly as possible. With age comes experience, I’ve raced enough marathon
races now to know to reign myself in at the start. To use an analogy I read in
Geraint Thomas’ description of the Tour De France : Don’t waste all your
bullets at the start, it’s a long race.
From the gun the race split in two, a lead group of around
18/20 riders broke away while I was towards the front of a chasing pack. I could
have broken clear and chased after those ahead, but I bided my time and sat in.
Eventually I did find myself leading the group and as the first lap progressed
I eased clear and so began my lonely existence.
I flowed through the singletrack, and tried to carry my
momentum over obstacles and up inclines. Minimising my energy expenditure, not
stamping on the pedals or pushing the heart rate too high. Effectively riding
within myself, which actually takes a lot of concentration. It’s all too easy for
the mind to wander and suddenly you discover you’re going too slowly.
I didn’t think about the time or distance, just concentrated
on how my body felt, riding to feel. I ate and drank regularly when the course
allowed. Into the 3rd hour I finally had some company as the 5 lap
leaders slowly caught me. I took advantage of a bit of slipstream and followed
a wheel as they came through. This increased my pace, but I was wasting bullets keeping up and I made the conscious decision to let the wheel go and ease back into my comfort zone.
As I approached the
end of my 3rd lap I could see riders beginning to mass for the start
of the 3 lap race. I really didn’t want to have to work my way through the sea
of riders so now I did push on, hurrying to clear the start line just before they flooded the course behind me! Soon the first 5 or 6 came past, but
then I held my own, it was great to finally have some company after several
lonely laps and I really enjoyed being part of a fast moving train! It was good
for the morale to see them glance across and clock my 7 lapper number board as
we whizzed along. A couple even commented on my pace as I headed a group which was catching those ahead! This was confirmation that my pace was holding
up. The interaction was a nice distraction and despite the speed I was still feeling
comfortable.
It was around now I saw the first 7 lap racer for several
hours. He was hunting in the dust for a jockey wheel from a busted rear mech. A
reminder that it’s not just about having the legs, I needed to protect the bike
too if I was to get safely to the finishing line.
On lap four my confidence was beginning to build. Over half distance I was
still feeling strong and riding well. I pulled clear of the 3 lappers then caught and passed another 7 lap rider - one of those who had sprinted off
ahead at the start and was now paying the price. I could tell now that I had
the energy to make the finish and felt able to push a little bit more on the
hills. Although you feel strong and the perceived effort is increased fatigue
is actually setting in. This meant my laps times stayed very consistent. 45min 57sec / 44min 50sec / 45min
6sec / 46min 23 sec.
As the laps passed I started to learn the twists and turns
of the singletrack and it became easier to flow around the course and preserve
precious energy. Simple things like knowing if the course tightened around the blind
bend or where you needed momentum to get through a patch of roots etc.
I always like the penultimate lap! I rode every section
thinking to myself, I’ve only got to do this once more! I busied myself consuming
all the food and water I had left in my pockets while my body could still make proper
use of the nutrients before the finish. I’d been munching fig rolls and bananas
all race, but now also popped in a gel for that added boost of energy!
Topped up I rode straight through the feed zone into the
final lap and onto the back wheel of a 7 lap rider from Blazing
Saddles. I decided to attack straight away while I was feeling good, but he
came with me as I squirted the bike up the first climb. I was riding as fast as
I could now, but he was hot on my heels. What did I do? Another hour like
this was going to be a hellish world of pain. I was feeling confident I would win
a sprint up the final hill at the end of the lap, but that was a long way up
the trail and I wanted to remove any doubt well before then.
There was another grassy hill a minute or so further up the
trail so I sat up and cruised trying to recover a little. Unable to pass on the
narrow path the rider behind was tucked tightly up behind my rear wheel. I
rolled along trying to shake the lactic from my legs, he knew what was coming!
The path widened as we hit the bottom of the slope and I dug
deep. Probably riding it faster than I had any of the previous 6 laps! Not once
did I look back I just relied on the sounds behind to tell me that although the
gap may have briefly opened I hadn’t dropped him and by the top he was tight on
my wheel once again. Round the corner the course kicked up and I surged once
more. As we turned at the top I could see in my peripheral vision that I had a
bikes length advantage, maybe two, but nothing more. The elastic was
stretching, now I had to keep up the pressure and press home my advantage. So I kept the hammer down as we
dropped through some sweeping corners and began to climb slowly once again. We
passed some spectators, but I was in a tunnel of pain their calls of
encouragement just washed over me. I was all in and the gap was growing.
My mind was spinning as fast as my legs. How deep should I
go? Was this the correct plan? Could I keep this pace until the end of the lap? What would I do if he closed up again. It was almost with dread that I then spotted another 7 lap rider ahead! After
all that time on my own, now with only minutes of riding remaining I had a real
race on my hands! Through the singletrack I closed and closed on the man ahead,
with my pursuer still in touch behind. I began to picture a three way sprint. Was
this one going down to the final climb?
I made the catch and pulled alongside as the course briefly opened
up. He looked across and I knew immediately from the hollow despairing eyes he
had nothing left with which to fight. I simply rode straight past, he didn’t attempt
to even briefly follow my wheel.
Onto the final climb I knew I had a gap behind, but I
attacked it hard and approaching the top finally afforded myself a glance over the shoulder. Nobody
was in sight!! The adrenalin was still pumping so I concentrated hard to ensure I didn’t make a
mistake and overcook any of the remaining corners as the rain began to fall, adding a sheen to the well worn trails and roots. Totally spent I rolled across
the line in 16th.
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