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National Cyclo-Cross Championships
CCA had riders competing at the National Cyclo-Cross Championships for the first time for a few seasons this weekend. The event was based at Moorways Stadium Derby which is where they are going to build the new Derby Velodrome. Like everywhere else in the country at the moment the ground was sodden and muddy.
First up was the new separate Veteran Women's race at 9:30am. Jackie Field was gridded on the front row of the 30 rider field and had a cracking start and led into the first corner. After a couple of slips she settled into mid pack but then started moving forward again as other riders tired. She finished an excellent 9th place.
Noah Field was next in the Under 14's category. The course was much tougher by now for the youngest riders. Even some of the flat sections were too muddy to ride so there was a large amount of running with mud clogged bikes. Noah probably had his best performance of the season finishing 35th.
I reckon the Vets 40+ had the toughest conditions over the two days on Saturday afternoon as things had dried out a bit by today. With nearly 100 starters, they really tore the ground to pieces. John Polak was also riding his first ever National Champs and was a very creditable 60 place.
A big well done to Stuart Field and Daniel Doncaster for sterling work in the pits. As I'm sure Will will be keen to hear, all tubs stayed safely glued on. I've got some video footage and photos which I'll post up soon.
Mark.
First up was the new separate Veteran Women's race at 9:30am. Jackie Field was gridded on the front row of the 30 rider field and had a cracking start and led into the first corner. After a couple of slips she settled into mid pack but then started moving forward again as other riders tired. She finished an excellent 9th place.
Noah Field was next in the Under 14's category. The course was much tougher by now for the youngest riders. Even some of the flat sections were too muddy to ride so there was a large amount of running with mud clogged bikes. Noah probably had his best performance of the season finishing 35th.
I reckon the Vets 40+ had the toughest conditions over the two days on Saturday afternoon as things had dried out a bit by today. With nearly 100 starters, they really tore the ground to pieces. John Polak was also riding his first ever National Champs and was a very creditable 60 place.
A big well done to Stuart Field and Daniel Doncaster for sterling work in the pits. As I'm sure Will will be keen to hear, all tubs stayed safely glued on. I've got some video footage and photos which I'll post up soon.
Mark.
Comments
In the Vets race alone, nearly 30 riders failed to complete the race due to mechanicals. Out of three CCA riders we had three mechanical-free rides, and an enormous thank you goes to the pit guys who kept our bikes going through the toughest mud conditions that I have encountered yet.
On the results side it gets a bit better still, as within our respective age groups, Jackie placed an outstanding 6th, and I was 26th.
Absolutley superb results ....and for anyone who didnt quite notice, this was the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! well done riders and helpers.
Jackie leading out the womens race
i bumped into John and Daniel at Leicester Forest services on their way back, and amazingly they weren't talking about tubs or glue
John's commitment to CCA branding was most impressive, and will hopefully show up on some of the photos...
Daniel
I've heard it said that some people remove the bicycle from the tub, fill it with warm water and get into it themselves. What ever next?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVM2wt6KN88
Video of the Youth will be posted on youthcyclesport.
Makes me appreciate the rider's efforts even more. Many congratulations to Noah, John and Jackie.
Daniel
I'm also glad that video gives a bit of flavour of what it was like for the pit crews. Every bike change, they had to run (well, slither) through a crowd of other pit crew, quite a long and exceptionally muddy distance to the bike washing area, all the time negotiating their way around other pit crew trying to do the same thing, identify their cleaning implements, often getting buried under mud, clean the bike as best they could and get back to the pits in time for their rider to come expecting another shiny clean bike.
When we recced the layout, we agreed that it would be impossible to clean bikes with any greater frequency than once per lap. On second lap I gasped at Daniel, ''next bike in half''. Without blinking an eye, he somehow produced pristine bikes in half the time we expected. Chapeau. Hats off to him and all the other pit crew there at the weekend.
Good video Mark. Interesting to see all the different approaches to each section. Watched a video of Helen Wyman - very efficient at moving through the mud and she got off at all the right places for a smooth transition through the unridable bits