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PS I think it was the charges for using Otterspool that killed it off. Which is a shame I as I vaguely remember racing there all the way back to the early 1990s 😮
Good job he doesn't stay on his wheels or I'd probably get lapped twice 🙂
Scottish Championships at Dundee.
Really good course and some great racing. 👍
Has anyone read "the cyclocross Bible"?
I'm trying to find an up to date training book to help.
Good time at the Welsh league today. They had to redesign the course yesterday cos of tree falls in the strong wind but was a really fun course anyway.
Managed to pull a spoke and nipple out of the rim on practice lap but thankfully the wheel held up ok.
I was enjoying trying to hold onto @shedbrewed ‘s wheel for the first half lap till he punctured.
Ended up inside the top 10 which I was happy with. Looking forward to Welsh champs next weekend now
Can't share but some impressive pics from the Markeaton round today. Especially when an inch of snow fell in the final hour or so.
Was that the northern champs? Saw a bit of vid in the snow on Instagram
Good result @ferrals well done 👍 Yesterday definitely wasn’t my day. Feeling ropey from a hangover wasn’t the best start. After the sighting laps I changed front wheels to give me a larger tyre (48mm) to deal with the rough. As said I punctured the rear halfway if that into the first lap when catching the seniors. I rode as much as possible with the rear flat but lost all the field unsurprisingly. My lap time was 4:40 minutes slower than the rest for that first lap. Wheel changed at the pits and then I set about making up what I could. Was going well until penultimate lap the front tyre rolled and burped on the pump track section and pitched me off the course over the bars. It had lost too much pressure to ride on and with the pits at the other end of the course I ran the final lap, the whole course. My last lap time was twice my quickest lap time. I am not a natural runner! Managed to finish with a result and wasn’t last. Hurt a lot today but whilst I was concerned about a broken rib I think it’s just nasty bruising. Why was finishing so important instead of dnf? Because all points count and even though only 4 of the 5 rounds will decide overall league placings it’s always worth having as many as possible banked. Currently 3rd in the league but expect that to change. See you at Penbrey 👍
@ferrals, Markeaton was the East Mids champs. Started snowing heavily just as the women were starting and carried on right through the S/J men.
We've had a couple recently over in these parts.
Weekend before last was the 3rd round of the North Wales league on a fast but bloody hilly course in Brymbo near Wrexham.
In the kiddies fun race the little one decided to race without his glasses for some reason, so ended up riding into a tree, then the course tape and then smacking his jewels on his saddle and pulling out. The middle and eldest were in the combined U12/10/8 race and it went pretty well, the middle one was 2nd in the U8 and the eldest was 3rd overall and 1st U10 until he launched himself into a big tree - we didn't see it, but it was the kind of crash where several parents were asking if he was ok afterwards, so it must've been bad - still he picked himself up and raced back to 2nd U10 and 5th overall.
I faired pretty well after getting caught up in a first corner crash and under a couple of other bikes to get back to 8th V40 and 20th overall in the open field. Best bit was the bikes didn't need washing, in November!!
Next up was the NWCCA at Betley Court Farm at the weekend, man it was baltic and all the kids froze, there were a lot of tears right through the U8, U10 and U12 races due to numb fingers and faces.
The little on couldn't hack it and pulled out, the middle one in the U8 went really well until the last corner on the last lap where he literally fell off his bike as he couldn't hold the bars anymore, hurt his leg and ran across the line to come 2nd overall and 1st league points. The eldest had a good race again but struggled with cold feet and raced to 2nd overall in the U10, again for great league points.
I was marshalling wrapped up in about 20 layers to keep the bitterly cold wind out, was meant to race but forgot to enter!
@steve_b77 Thanks for marshalling duties on Saturday, it was a bad day to be stood about pointing out directions! My daughter managed third in the U10 girls with no tears and a determined look on her face. It was really tough going not just the wind but the course was just firm but sticky, like plasticine. I had the wrong tyres (X One Bites, t much for that course) (that's what I'm telling myself!) Had a good start but just seemed to drop backwards. My power output for the 40 minutes was the highest I've ever done and set a new FTP, so there were no issues in that department. A great venue though, although didn't get chance to sample the delights of the tearoom, it was in the car and off as soon as the race was over!
@BenjiM yeah she did really well, and you're right about the ground, very sticky indeed.
I reckon they could've made more of the bit in the middle of the kids loop between the start / finish and the pits, a few zig zags and a bit of off camber might've been a nice addition.
I was bloody cold and got worse as the day wore on, the soup & sandwich from the tea room was ace though. Can't say I blame you for scarpering straight away, there was barely anyone there for the Seniors race.
Welsh champs at Pembrey yesterday (no idea why it always seems to be a different date to the other regionals). It was an excellent course in a different area of Pembrey to past races, using the area by the national road racing circuit. Definitely the best couse I've ridden this year (I've only ridden 2 others) and one of the best courses I remember riding in a long time. They managed to fit in sloggy mud, offcamber mud, tarmac, standard Pembrey hairpins on fast flat dry grass, some wooded sections, a decent runup and a few steep but rideable ups and downs. Nothing crazy technical but requiring a lot of concentration.
When I saw the mud sections, I was slightly regretting file tread on the rear but actually was a good choice.
Had a good battle with @shedbrewed for a few laps till a combo of lack of fitness and back pain forced me to slow up. Trying to work out now if I'm going to race any more this season - this was going to be my last but just starting to feel in tune with cross again.
Well our cross season has come to rather abrupt end! Due to the high incidence rate in this part of Germany all races have been canceled. 😞 Shame as I was lying in 4th overall with one race less completed than the others ahead of me. Should have been Bundesliga race yesterday incorporating the state championships. Oh well.
That sucks @RotorStern bummer.
@ferrals kept me honest yesterday along with one of his clubmates. I was also on dry tyres after trying them and intermediates in sighting and finding the grip levels about the same but with the dry tyres flicking up less clag and also being better on the part of the course I expected to be riding not ambling. It was a good course but I’ll be glad not to see the off camber running sections for another year. My chest still hurt after last weeks otb so I was glad to get around and really pleased with 10th.
You've had a good season mate, well done. All those crazy audaxes paying off!
Realised I beat the guy who was one place ahead of me the last two rounds so that's a minor win. I'd have liked to beat my team mate but he was 30s in front of me. Would have been a lot closer if I didnt keep crashing on that one tiny offcamber out of the woods and onto the road!
Shame Rotor Stern, guess it will be increasingly common the way things are going. Makes me think I should do the last welsh race unless races accross the boarder are cancelled in the new year
Yeah who’d have thought that just riding my bike a long way and up loads of hills would help my racing?! 😄 Now if I could just lose 6kg from all the cake and pies… and stop crashing! Be good to see you at MVBP mate. My lad is entered for the under-6 race so if he decides he wants to do it I’ll probably be asleep by the time our race comes around!
Now if I could just lose 6kg from all the cake and pies…
I popped down to Pembrey to watch, but didn't hang around to chat at the end because I had a promise of coffee and cake (and a toboggan ride!) You didn't look 6kg overweight, shedbrewed. It was good to cheer people on for an hour though and the course looked great.
*Puts @IdleJon back on the Christmas card list* 😉
Cheers buddy I thought I heard/saw you and the family at the top of the lumpy run up? I know the areas I need to focus on if I want to get close to a stripy jumper and dropping some weight is part of it. Along with the not crashing bit. How was the coffee, cake and tobogganing?
Coffee was cheap machine crap that cost a small fortune. I decided against cake because I'm munching my way through my daughter's b'day cake. (I am pretty much the only person in the house who eats cake. I don't know why we have to buy a cake at every birthday - just to make me fat? - but this cost £45 and it's not going to waste. 😀 ) Tobogganing was fun. A nice day out.
Oh, just a small point @shedbrewed and @ferrals. We spent a while standing at the end of the course - the cambered bank up the hill with the hairpin back onto the tarmac, at the side of the road circuit.
Somebody had knocked the last stake down at the hairpin, and it was lying where it had fallen. Plenty of people took it to mean that they could cut the corner and step over the fallen tape,cutting the course rather than go around the stake. Worse still, there were people stepping over the tape as they were climbing, off the muddy bank and onto the road, so they were basically walking on the wrong side of the course into oncoming traffic to get better grip on the tarmac. (Difficult to describe in text!)
I reckon that if I'd been a commissaire then I'd have DQ'd at least 20 people because of it. 😀
I know the bit you mean @IdleJon and I made a point each time of going around it. I know a couple of riders didn’t. As for the lower sections, again I know where you mean; I was running those parts and where possible had the bike tyres on the tarmac, or right next to it.
Yeah, likewise I was going all the way up which was a bit frustrating when people directly behind weren't.
It probably needed a double stake at the top for security.
The tape had moved by the later laps so some of the tarmac was on the cambered side of the tape.. not that it made much difference by then as running had changed to trudging and riding was definitely out of the question
Yes yes, I was definitely over-egging it when I said running a few posts back 😄
https://flic.kr/p/2mP9Gs7
@ferrals is the rider just behind me so I’m guessing about 40 minutes in. He was always like a terrier. I’m the ginger bearded rider 😬
Reckon the camera is shortening the distance in that one! Looking at the lap times we were neck and neck till the end of lap 3 and then you put about 20s a lap into me for the last three to finish a minute ahead... next year!
I think I'm doing Macclesfield Supacross, so I guess I need to switch to some mud tyres.
Any suggestions? No room for anything wider than 35mm.
Mick
Macc never becomes a swamp, it's generally wet mud or just a slippy layer so you don't need a mega-mud such as Limus, Supermud or Rhino.
Baby Limus or Michelin Mud (which are less aggressive than the originals) a good option and come in both tubular and clincher so suitable no matter your setup.
Should get away without full muds for Macc. Great course usually too. It's not going to be like Broughton Hall yesterday, here's a few pics I took - https://www.flickr.com/photos/186650888@N06/albums/72157720239893607
Did anyone watch the Val di Sole races yesterday, in the snow? Showcase for the bid to include cross as a winter olympic sport.
Thought it was an enjoyable spectacle (honestly looked awesome in parts) but hard to overlook the bogosity of it all. There's a difference between a normal cross race where it has snowed, and a cross race at a ski resort. I understand how governing bodies are mandated to grow the sport, though, so feel compelled to pursue Olympic recognition.
I thought they were a couple of good races. More entertaining than watching Essen on the Saturday anyway! Visually spectacular too. Agree it's a trying a bit hard to shoehorn cross into a criteria.
Morning all. Did anyone do the North West league race at Stoneyhurst yesterday? It was only my third race but think it's the one I've enjoyed the most so far, seems like a great venue.
I'm in V40 and noticed the pack seems a lot thinner in Stoneyhurst and Horwich last week. Think there were about 30 in both of them but more like 50 when I did my first one at Stadt Moers.
Wondering if that is normal every season and the attendance fluctuates as the season goes on or is it just this year?
Yep I was at Stonyhurst (Excuses incoming). We helped set up on Saturday, a couple of us thought it may have been a bit on the long side, but with the hardpack sections it was just right and had somehting for everyone, it really was an excellent course in a great setting. I had my booster on Friday and felt like crap on Saturday and not fully recovered by Sunday. I had a great start on the front of the grid, but just couldn't keep up the pace. Found myself wheezing when I wouldn't normally do. Also too many mince pies haven't helped. There were 41 in the vet 40's quite a few more had entered but didn't start. Could be all sorts of reasons, clashes with National Trophy last weekend for a start, covid family time at Christmas etc. 14th in the end, hopefully we'll get to see Macc and Salford at the beginning of next year!
Props to Tim Lawson for organising a great race.
I was there but only marshalling and course clearup. Great venue and think it would suit me so hope we can go back next year. Just finished a very stressful few weeks of house moving (waves to "neighbour" BenjiM) so was in no condition or mood to race (our belongings are scattered everywhere - I think cx bikes are at my parents....)
I would have been at Stoneyhurst where it not for covid +ve result. 🙁 I wonder if quite a few in the same boat?
Pretty gutted! Isolating but feel absolutely fine and looking forwards to the 2 remaining races in Jan
Sounds like it was a good course then?
@mick_r I remembered to ask how the move went on the last lap but I'd passed you by the time I did. Hopefully they'll have us back next year as it's a cracking spot and has a proper continental feel to it with the all the variations in terrain. The fact that it's ina safe riural spot helps as well.
@bill-oddie hpoe you're well again soon, the course was great, just the right length, suffering and comedy slide fests!
Yeah I really liked the course and the more concrete/hardpack the better for me as it allowed me to shed some mud each lap (especially as I'm transporting the bike in the boot of my wife's car at the end 😯)
I made it down that steep chute/slope thing 3 out 4 times but stacked it on the 3rd time down I think?! I've got tubes in at 30psi though so probably not ideal. I don't weigh loads so might risk going a bit lower next time.
I really like the racing and going to a proper event even though I'm pretty rubbish, but finding the cleaning a bit of a challenge, think I'll need to invest in a proper bike carrier for the car if I do more next season.
Bill-Oddie- hope the recovery goes OK.
Rounded out the Welsh league with a 6th place yesterday at mountain view bike park. A beautiful day for racing and a good course. I went too hard for the first two laps and couldn’t hold onto 3rd. Legs and lungs just not up to it getting over a cold. It was enough to finish the league 4th overall which I was really pleased with.
https://flic.kr/p/2mRwEV4
Yeah I was at Stonyhurst in the V40 too, flying solo this weekend as the eldest has Covid and the middle one didn't feel like it.
Despite not being much of a runner type I loved the course, got my best result of the year at 22nd and didn't get lapped by the leaders, which is nice, although I did manage some very stylish dismounts on various sections 🤣
@mick_r you forgot to add polite heckling to your role at the weekend 🤣
Shedbrewed- that is a great result, well played.
Curious to know if you guys finishing high up the field specifically practice CX type skills or do you just get better at the style of riding from experience getting the race miles in?
@Duggan thanks. I don’t specifically practice cross stuff anymore. I had a coach back in 2015 and focussed on lots of cross and time trial sessions aimed at threshold improvement. This year my endurance has improved due to lots of longer distance Audaxes (200/300km) and also lots of hilly routes. I am lacking in my recovery from threshold spring efforts and that’s been noticeable in crit racing and in the cross races where I’ve gone too hard too many times. That’s something for me to work on for next year. Equally I’ve had mechanicals; rolled tubs, punctures and crashes which have dropped me down. My technical riding is ok but could be better sometimes and I need to work on my off camber mud riding as well as running. BUT I do it because I enjoy it and I don’t want to go too far and remove the enjoyment.
@shedbrewed, well done a great result!
@duggan Our club (Red Rose Olympic) run CX coaching courses prior to the season start at Moor Park in Preston. We'll cover mounts/dismounts, cornering, off-cambers, starts, bike changes, blocking, running, carrying etc. Always helpful to keep polished up on skills. We'll include breakdowns of races, share experiences with kit etc.
Race experience will always help however!
@duggan - I definitely recommend joining in club training sessions, my club hold them and when I used to attend It made me a lot faster. Plus it’s great fun in itself.
However, I find the difference between training loads in the past to doing very little now is 2-3 places (admittedly gone from senior to v40 during no racing covid year) and zero difference to fun. The worst difference is that @shedbrewed is now definitely faster than me 😂😂
Thanks all, that is interesting to hear. CX skills/training sounds great, I'm not currently in a club but not averse to joining one as I've finished studying alongside my job now, so have some spare time.
It is weird, CX on the one hand seems so accessible but on the other, there is so much to learn.
On the training front I was doing quite a few Vo2 max sessions on traineroad leading up to November/December but, it sounds weird to say, whilst I'm sure they did me no harm, I'm not really sure how much difference it really made in the end. None of the races for me felt like repeated max efforts but more like a threshold slog for 40mins.
Think next season I'll try and show up with tubeless tyres so I can get some properly low pressures in and also work on faster mounts/dismounts.
Just caught up on Namur. I reckon they ought to get DCC in to sort out some of those descents.
None of the races for me felt like repeated max efforts but more like a threshold slog for 40mins
Feels a bit like that to me too. I'm fairly sure that's simply because I lack the ability to recover after repeated max efforts (it's maybe one overtakey "burst" per lap for me, otherwise I'm just destroyed)