The weekend was set for a cross fest; Saturday in Skipton and Sunday in Manchester. The event was Rapha Supercross, a 3 part series sponsored by a clothing brand no student cyclist has ever owned a single item of.
Saturday began well, with that stomach churning realisation that I had forgotten my shoes en route to sign up. No practice laps to be had, instead I, as a 20 year old, stood at the end of the under 12's race, eyeing up children who looked just the right size, to ask if I could borrow their shoes. It was successful, fate would have it that a boy (with the same surname as me!) had the same size feet as me. Result! The advantages of being tiny, eh?! As per our agreement, I now owe said 12 year a very large chocolate bar!
So on to the racing; the women were set off 1 minute after the Vets. The chase was on! My foot went in straight away and I found myself leading the race from the gun. Normally I would say GREAT, however my lack of practice laps left me charging through the course on the full gas without a clue of what was coming up! I kept my cool, slowing down plenty on the corners just thinking that I would have to make everyone slow down too, better safe than sorry.
I rode the steep hill on the far side of the course and managed to snap the elastic from the chasers as all the other women dismounted and ran. For the rest of the race, I just tried to ride safely, whilst trying to accelerate on the straights and out of each corner. It was really fun to hear the commentator talk about me all through the race, something I have never experienced before, but it made me dig deeper and go that little bit faster. This pushed me on to coming home 1st woman and 31st out of 60+ male starters - not bad given the staggered start!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_rollason/10409105184/
Day 2: Manchester
We arrived with plenty time before the race, (shoes in the car too!) and enough time to ride a practice lap (first time ever!) The course suited me, pretty flat only 2 steep hills, lots of 180 turns and not too muddy. I felt good on the lap and the tyre pressure felt good too.
When they called out the gridded riders, I was shocked to hear my name. An awkward shuffle through the men to the front row left me feeling a little nervous; miss the pedal and I may be killed in a veterans stampede!!
I started well and tried to stay with as many of the men as possible. I found myself 2nd, then I slipped to 3rd towards the back of the first lap. Midway through the second lap, I moved into second place. Jessica Wilkinson was in the lead and I knew she was incredibly strong after her 6th place in Wales the previous Sunday so I settled for taking second behind her.
However, I realised I was gaining on first place quite rapidly and I still felt ok. I caught up and I sat on her wheel for 3/4 of a lap. Eventually on one of the long drags I upped the pace and gained a couple of bike lengths. A technical off camber descent followed by the sticky mud section at bottom added a little more to my lead. With the realisation that I had two, not one, lap to go I made sure I stayed strong and most importantly stayed upright!!
Crossing the line in first place was awesome, but even more special because it was the second win in two days. I was particularly happy finishing 16th, my best ever overall result! I can't wait to check out the Rapha website and see what I can get with my vouchers!
Yours,
The soon to be first student in the history of cycling to own something made by Rapha!
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