Another month has passed and so has my final race in the U16 category. On Sunday the 27th I won the Scottish Champs which was also the final round of the Scottish Cross-Country Series.
The race took place at Ae Forest on a good course with a hard technical muddy climb up to the top and a tight rutted technical decent. After a competitor pushed me hard up the first fire road climb, I got away on the next single track and increased my lead through the rest of the laps. Winning the race, Scottish Champs and Scottish Cross-Country MTB Series.
Earlier in the month Scotland was lucky enough to host the first all-in-one “Super” World Cycling Championships and it was incredible to be able to watch the best in the world race on the roads and tracks I have ridden myself. My personal favourite highlight was seeing Scottish rider Charlie Aldridge win the U23 XCO World Champion, with a close second being watching live in Glasgow as Mathieu van der Poel attacked and rode to victory with a close second. It was incredible seeing such a big race so close to home.
During this week Scotia Offroad Race Team (SORT) hosted a joint XC ride with the members of the Welsh Offroad Academy (WORA) who were up for the racing. We followed parts of the Marathon World Championships course designed by the late Rab Wardell as a final tribute to a man that had worked as a mentor to a few members of the team including myself. Over the years Rab acted as a technical coach while working with Dirt School as well as a racing mentor, he was an important person to my and many others development as cyclists and will always be truly missed.
Being so local I was able to see many of the smaller World XC Champs races including the Junior men's race, seeing the level of these riders only a little older than myself has helped me realise how I could become like them. Because of this I have reflected on my training and changed it and I hope will lead me to becoming a rider of the same strength and ability as them.
Although this month has been the majority of the off season between the XC and CX season it's safe to say it's still been packed with cycling related events.
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