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NT Round 3 Durham
Durham is a long way. So long in fact that by the time you see signs for Bishop Auckland, you start thinking that perhaps you missed a turn somewhere and ended up in New Zealand. However, the course at Durham is brilliant, and this explains why so many from Eastern and London leagues make the journey to this far flung venue. The forecast was for an overcast day, but by the time we started gridding up, the fog was breaking up and sunshine started to assert itself:
The ground was quite firm, despite the NCXL racing that took place on the same course the day before, but with a thin layer of very slippery 'peanut butter' on the surface, which meant that the racing was fast but precarious. At this level everyone is so on it, that you have to ride on your limit the whole time, or you are out of the running. Here is Ian Taylor, current series leader demonstrating that even the best can get it wrong:
He wasn't the only one to make mistakes, although this particular one cost him the win, as the ever opportunist Nick Craig drove home his advantage from this point to take the win.
Having earned some precious Trophy points at the previous round, I was gridded in third row, a big advantage over my usual 5th or 6th row, and while I did not have the greatest of starts, I was able to maintain position with regard to the racers around me, and avoiding any major mistakes finally crossed the line in 28th place, boosting my Trophy points by a further 3, and hopefully securing a decent gridding position for the Milton Keynes round in two weeks time. My main objective for this season was to break into Trophy points at least once, and to accumulate some experience racing at this level, and I have to say that I am delighted at the progress thus far. Here are a few pics I have found of CCA kit in action - obviously due to the distance involved they are all of me
Hopefully we will see a lot more blue at MK in two weeks time!
The ground was quite firm, despite the NCXL racing that took place on the same course the day before, but with a thin layer of very slippery 'peanut butter' on the surface, which meant that the racing was fast but precarious. At this level everyone is so on it, that you have to ride on your limit the whole time, or you are out of the running. Here is Ian Taylor, current series leader demonstrating that even the best can get it wrong:
He wasn't the only one to make mistakes, although this particular one cost him the win, as the ever opportunist Nick Craig drove home his advantage from this point to take the win.
Having earned some precious Trophy points at the previous round, I was gridded in third row, a big advantage over my usual 5th or 6th row, and while I did not have the greatest of starts, I was able to maintain position with regard to the racers around me, and avoiding any major mistakes finally crossed the line in 28th place, boosting my Trophy points by a further 3, and hopefully securing a decent gridding position for the Milton Keynes round in two weeks time. My main objective for this season was to break into Trophy points at least once, and to accumulate some experience racing at this level, and I have to say that I am delighted at the progress thus far. Here are a few pics I have found of CCA kit in action - obviously due to the distance involved they are all of me
Hopefully we will see a lot more blue at MK in two weeks time!
Comments
Stuart - the pics are there, maybe your browser needs updating?