Dale’s Cycles SXC Series Round 3 - Aberfoyle

 

On Saturday 22^nd May, I headed to Aberfoyle with Allan Clark to do pre-ride the course for the 3rd round of the Dale’s Cycles SXC hosted by Squadra Porcini. The course was totally different to last year`s and the weather the opposite; scorching sunshine in the mid twenties. I tried to take it easy during the practice laps which proved impossible due to the heat and the steep climbs including the appropriately named “heart attack hill”. I did two laps and then got out the sun. Allan decided to do another lap as he wouldn`t be racing the Sunday on the advice from his physio. Very sensible, especially for a mountain biker!

The course had really dried out and I was contemplating running faster lighter tyres. I don`t normally get caught up in worrying about tyre choice however getting a puncture at Wasing Estate at Round 2 of the British Series 2 weeks ago was making me really paranoid of another puncture. On the drive back to Edinburgh I drove Allan mad about my tyre dilemma. Then it was Becs`s turn to hear about it for most of the evening.  At 10pm I found myself going for a short ride in the woods behind my house to ensure the tyres that I had finally decided on had sealed properly! 

Race Day – Sunday 23^rd May

It is great to be able to stay at home before a race with only a short drive on race day. Despite the day starting a little overcast, it soon warmed up. The race arena looked great and there was a really good atmosphere. It felt like I hadn`t done a Scottish race for ages having missed the 2^nd round which clashed with the World Cup at Dalby. It was good see familiar faces and catch up with everyone. 

I was getting reports from the morning race that the course was getting churned up due to the amount of traffic and unknown to me, the rainfall the night before. I started to wonder if I had made the correct tyre choice!? I did a brief review of the situation, subjected Becs to a bit more tyre chat, and then stuck with what I had decided on the night before. 

I headed off to do my warm up and it didn`t take much to get a sweat on. During the warm up my legs felt good which is always a good sign. While lining up at the start, I knew there was some tough competition, however, my training has been going well so I was just going to dig in and have some fun.

 

I had a good start, taking the lead along the fire road. Rab Wardell (Kinesis Morvelo Project) went into the front going into “heart attack hill” and pushed hard up the climb. I dropped off his wheel on this first climb but then bridged the gap on the fire road climb. I stuck with him for the rest of the lap and came into the race arena right on his wheel. We had created a gap between us and the others riders. During the second lap, I took the lead on the climb and had a 45 seconds lead heading into the third lap. I felt strong and my Anthem loved the course. I paced myself in lap 4 as the heat was incredible and I needed to make sure I had something in reserve for the final lap. Going in to lap 5, I realised the gap had closed slightly as I caught a glimpse of Rab. I was still feeling strong so I put in an effort on the climbs and enjoyed the descents for the last time to take my first win of the season!

Full results can be found HERE.

 

It is always great to win a race but it’s even better when it is on a course as good as Aberfoyle! This weekend I`m heading to Margam Park, Wales for the third round of the British Mountain Bike Series.

Thanks to http://www.torks.co.uk/ for use of the pictures.