My Cycling Year So Far - Cyclocross

Gee, I can't believe it's May already. Time marches on so fast, I barely know where I am!

Massive apologies for the silence on these airwaves. I was too busy riding my bike! Talking of which, here's a bit about what I've been up to.

In January I took part in the National Cyclocross Championships, vets race. I wouldn't normally do a race at such a high level, but I just couldn't pass on the opportunity given that it was taking place locally at the Cyclopark near Gravesend, Kent.

Now that I am well and truly a vet, I don't have to worry myself racing with the elite racers though, knowing that at least if I get lapped I won't be pulled out of the race. Having said that, I did have a moment in the race where I really wanted the commissaire to tell me my race was over - instead he told me I had another lap to go - much to my despair and my screeching legs!

The course was harder than I have ever raced on. It was a real assault course of a lap, with a flyover, steep drop-offs in rapid succession, steep off-cambers, steps, thick sand, a steep descent onto the tarmac and a fast bit of tarmac up to the finish line. That was the best bit!

The flyover at the Cyclopark for the National Cyclocross Championships

For once I had the time to get myself properly organised and go to the venue the day before race to do the course recon and pick what my racing lines would be. It went well, even if I did feel pretty pooped after three laps.

But when race morning came, all the nerves set in and I was falling all over the place during the warm-up lap. By the time I was on the start line, I was covered in mud from the times I had fallen over during the warm-up lap! On one of my crashes on an off-camber I tangled with a young girl who was also warming up. I felt bad about that, as she looked as if she was going to cry.

When I got back on my bike I noticed that my handlebars were bent, and also my derailleur was locked into one gear. I feared I would have to race the course on a single-speed bike! Luckily, I was able to get help from a mechanic in the pits, who was working for the Jewson team. That was so nice.

I also went through a freaky moment of feeling like I couldn't ride and wondered how I was going to get around the course without trashing myself, or my bike even more. As I had arrived at Cyclopark in good time I was able to practice the tricky off-camber section several times.

A guy from the Velobants team who had seen me struggling came over and gave me tips on how to ride that section. Silly me, I had also forgotten to let air out of my tyres. Because I had cycled on the road to the train station at Bromley South, and then again from Meopham to the venue I had high pressures in my tyres and forgot to deflate them when I was warming up.

Suzi Wise and myself, so relieved that we got round the race okay

 Once I reduced the tyre pressures by half, everything came together and I felt so much happier riding the tricky sections.

I probably rode my best cyclocross race in a while, and really felt emboldened to ride like I had nothing to lose - even if I still took a couple of tumbles.

It was great to have Fran from Velovixen, and who also rides for Velobants, cheering me on. In fact there were a lot of people around the course cheering us on - more than we ever normally get. I even ended up in a dual with a Twickenham racer.

Then the next day I watched how it was done when the elite women raced, and I managed to see number one cyclocross racer Helen Wyman fly up the hills that I could only walk up during my race. She came third in this race, though seemed in good spirits, chatting to all her fans. It was a great weekend of cyclocross, and I actually feel like training properly for the nationals for next year.

The elites showing us how it's done on that hill - Helen Wyman (right)

That has been one of my memorable experiences on the bike this year. I have had others, such as my ride at the Tour of Flanders and a riding into France and the Paris suburbs. We have also just had the Tour de Yorkshire and I managed to ride stage 3, from Bridlington to Scarborough, which was lovely and tough in equal measures! More on that in later posts.


Related Posts
Cross is boss at Crystal Palace

A weekend in Yorkshire at Cycle Expo, doing cyclocross and running

My Moment of the Week - 1

National Cyclo Cross Championships

Since returning to the UK I have slowly been getting back into competitive cycling. I haven't been particularly prolific about it. I just wanted to do a few races that would be fun and without worrying too much about my result.

The cycling that matches these criteria is cyclo cross! It's always fun - even when the course turns into a mudbath! These were the conditions we were faced with over the weekend at the National Cyclo Cross Championships in Derby.

My race, the female vets, was the first one of the day. Already that was tough enough. At some moments it was like riding through treacle and you had to really push hard to turn the pedals and get the bike moving - and that was just on the flat sections! As well as that there were lots of adverse cambers to ride down and around. Well, they were too slippery for me to ride so I ended up running those sections. I also had to run up the steep banks and through the sandpit. I didn't feel confident that I could ride through the sand, and I didn't want to risk falling and getting a horrible mixture of sand and mud into my chain!

Given the conditions I would have done well to have had an extra bicycle in the pits. I was at a distinct disadvantage to my fellow competitors, most of whom had two bikes and a pit crew. I didn't have the best race. I finished in last position out of 29 women. But hey, I am glad I went and I had a good day. Even though our race was first thing in the morning there was alot of crowd support and lots of folks cheered me on.

As well as this race being memorable for being the first national championships I have ever done, there were other stand-out moments.

Firstly, I only went to these national championships because it was the first time ever that they were holding a separate women vets race. Normally all women race as one big group with the elite/international riders mixed in with vets.

For someone of my ability it would be pointless doing this race as I would be lapped within 15 minutes by the likes of Helen Wyman and that would be my race over. But this year British Cycling agreed to put on a separate "older woman's" race, mirroring what happens with the men. They also said that if they had at least 20 women enter the race this year then they would stage it again next year. I wanted to support the initiative so I entered the race.

In the end we had 30 women sign up for the race, which is great news. I may have come last, but I don't mind that too much as I know I didn't have a great race and I can certainly improve on my performance. And now I know that there will be a women vets race next year so I have something to aim for, and I can get involved in a race that was as exciting as that between the two frontrunners!

The other noteworthy aspect of this event for me was that I spent the rest of the time interviewing the winners of the different races for Cycling Weekly magazine.

I always find interviewing fun, and it's also a great to learn about the different riders. I had been a little anxious about doing the first few interviews because I was going to have to interview the winners of my race immediately after racing myself - barely after getting my breath back, covered in mud and in the cold.

In fact, I was more preoccupied with my strategy for doing a coherent interview while staying warm and looking presentable than I was about my racing!

Things worked out ok in the end and I managed to interview everyone. I particularly enjoyed meeting young Megan James, sister of World Track Cycling Champion Becky James.

I was also very honoured to interview Nick Craig. He won the male vets race on the Saturday and went on to race the elite race the following day, taking 3rd place in a stella field. Impressive bloke, and very pleasant too. So, all in all it wasn't a bad weekend for me. Photos by Aodan Higgins