CHCH CX round 4 Halswell Quarry

I'm going to make this short because I'm so tired after the race today. Dayle made a burtily fun course. I was on the limit form the gun. I rode well and felt strong but never managed to run the whole hill. My legs were screaming at the top begging me to stop but all they were getting was walking pace. I lead from start to finish and held a good cap the whole race. Looking forward to next weekend for the Christchurch round of the national series. Hope I can continue with my form and get some good points towards the series lead so I can finish on the podium after the final race in Blenheim.

                                                         Suffering at the top of the climb

Cyclocross National Champs - Napier

I made the trip up to Napier for the main event of the CX season. It was well worth it. I finished first U23 and 3rd in the elites. Feels awesome to say I have a national tittle. Technically I crossed the line in 4th but the 3rd placed rider was an Australian so I could still clam 3rd place in NZ. I had to battle so hard for that 3rd place. I pushed myself further than I ever have before. Which is another good point to take out of the race. I was riding with Dan Warren for most of the race. Only edging him out for the 3rd spot on the last lap up a quad burning step section. I was on my limit the whole race. I don't know where the energy came from that pushed me through that last lap but I'm glad it was there. The course was super hard and had a bit of everything. A perfect course for a national event. The event was also run great. It was better and more official than our mtb nationals and this is only the first time cyclocross nationals have been held. I'd like to give Andrew and Gaby Barlow a big thanks for organising transport for me while I was up there. And also to Dave Molloy for lending me his carbon wheels and tyres. I definitely need them!

Round 2 CX national series Queenstown

This was the first race of the national series for me. I was really looking forward to it and hoping for a good result after a 1st and 2nd place in our CHCH CX series. I couldn't get the day off work on Saturday so I had to fly down on Sunday morning before the race. It worked out well because Dave Molloy was able to take my bike and gear down then pick me up from the airport. Thanks Dave! The race was run well and it was a fun, windy and technical course. It was very cold and frosty. So to start off with the ground was rock hard and slippy. And with the sun coming out and riders out on the course it was giving us even less traction. Also there were two icy stream crossings which created some good mud bogs. We all did a timed hot lap to get a seeding for the start of the actual race. My plan was too go hard but save energy. All I wanted was to get a front row start. I got the 3rd fastest time which I was happy with. Especially seeing I lost the front wheel once and slipped on some ice which rolled my ankle abit. The race came up fairly quickly after that. I had an ok start, holding my seeded third position for the hole shot. From here I found myself switching places with 4th while only being a couple of wheel lengths off 1st and 2nd place. Pro rider and husband of Katie Compton, Mark Leg Compton had set the pace and pulled off the front on his own. Soon he was hunted down by Wellington rider, Alex Reval. Who caught and past Mark then stayed there to finish first. At about the halfway point I was riding with our national champ, Dan Warren. We weren't too far of Mark who was currently in 2nd place. Through one of the more technical parts of the course, the "Specialised spiral" I managed to get a cap on Dan. In this section there were two boards. I was hopping these while the others I was riding with were running them so I could carry a lot more speed through the section. This helped me throughout the race. After getting past Dan I kept the power on and bridged the cap to Mark. I stayed with him for a half a lap. Then knowing I only had one more lap to go I pushed past Mark and again opened a cap through the " Specialised spiral". So now I was 2nd and I held it to the finish. I am very happy with that result and it gives me confidence going into National Championships this weekend in Napier. So far this week the pre and training was gone well. Really looking forward to racing my first cyclocross national champs!