After missing Round 2 of the Wessex League last week due to a pesky cycle show in London it was all eyes on the rough stuff once again, this time at the infamous tech fest that is Crow Hill, Ringwood. In truth, it was questionable if I should have really taken to the start line after a week on the Lemsip in a bid to fend off what appears to be my new best friend – AKA Mr Head Cold. Typical really, all that cool bike stuff at the show and all I pick up is an illness. Couldn’t I have come back with a new set of Mavic R-SYS Ultimate’s or something? Surely they would have been much more useful than blocked sinuses and a heavy head. I said it was questionable if I should have started. In reality it was more like – Question: Do you want to race? Answer: Yes. So there you have it. Game on.
Early in the season and I’m still working on securing a place on the front row of the grid, which always makes the start a whole lot easier. This time, from what would appear to be a rider lucky dip system, my name was called and I took a huddled starting position on the third row. In any cross race the start is essential. Having to work harder than the guys at the front, just to try and catch up, is a deficit you don’t want to incur.
I got away cleanly and tried to find any gaps I could as the pack thundered up the first fire road ascent. Picking up the odd place here and there wasn’t good enough, patience isn’t someting I have a lot of when the race is only an hour long. The course was heavily biased on the tech stuff with only a couple of good open sections to get past riders. Going into the second lap and I found myself up to 4th place, the red line work of the start had been done (or so I thought) and I tried to settle into more of an all out race effort. Tracking through one of the only boggy sections on the course I clipped a hidden root which threw my weight abruptly to the left. Initially I thought I was going to hold it, but unfortunately went to ground as the front wheel dug in and the bars twisted. Damn it, been in this situation before. Not happy. Hard work getting buried in the mud as riders come streaming back past.
The chain had managed to get itself wrapped over the top of the front mech so time (I didn’t have) was needed to get it sorted. Now, although we’re all friends on and off the bike, when the gun sounds it’s normally every man for themself until the final flag. Despite riding for different teams, I have to give my respect to Mike “the Badger” Warner for scrubbing some of his own speed & momentum and giving me a push as he passed when he saw I was having trouble getting the chain to seat on the ring. Trust me, I may forget birthdays, sometimes even Christmas, but I don’t forget gestures like that. Warner, you’ve got one in the bank from me, remember that.
Ripping it up in Ringwood
With only one bike change throughout the race my real head to head testing of Dugast Vs Stan’s No Tubes had begun, and this was a perfect course to give both a damn good thrashing. It’s known as a course that eats tubs for breakfast, littered with roots throughout, with many riders preferring to run a more standard set-up for the lower repair costs should they puncture. Both inflated to just below 2.5 bar pressure I was surprised at just how good the performance of tyre was. It felt supple under hard cornering and even when I hit roots full on and could feel the tyre deform to the rim there was no burping or loss of air. Very impressive. I’m keen to see how they perform with lower pressures, and in the mud, which is where the Typhoon’s & Rhino’s have built their reputation. So the first knock out round in the head to head goes to Stan and his band of merry tubeless men.
The bell lap came all too soon, following a race that was all about trying to stay smooth and avoid too many mistakes. Finally crossing the line in 7th place it was clear that my preference would be for a course that compliments more of a consistent and linear power output. Hmm, I’m not sure such a cross course exists. Oh well, guess I know what I’ll be practicing in the future…
