It Came Like A Steam Train

boy onabike
Mar 31, 2023
2 min read

XC Season Is HERE!!!

Two races in and its going, well, great. In all seriousness I could not have asked for a better start to the season.

Following winning the British Cyclocross Champs in January, there was not much time to build for the XC season. So, I had a week off the bike then I slowly resumed training in the form of base miles, lots, and lots of base miles. And that’s pretty much all have I done apart from some VO2Max sessions in the last couple of weeks ahead of the XC season. Because of this I wondered how my performance would be and I might be a bit undercooked.

Importantly, I managed to make it through pre-season without breaking a bone as I did in the last two years, and this allowed me to get some proper XC training in with my new team, Scotia Offroad Race Team. Unlike the last two years, where the first race was virtually my first outside ride.

We started in Comrie Croft at the first round of the Scottish XC series on the new whip, my new Canyon Lux which arrived on the Friday before the race. A quick reconfiguration of the handlebars and install of the dropper and then it was onto a very wet Saturday practice on a greasy, rocky, and hilly course.

Up next was the British National Series at Tong up with a strong field, including the current British Champ Max Standen. It featured a very muddy and the most technical XC course I have ridden, and after seeing an impressive win from Max in the short track the previous day, I will admit I was feeling the nerves.

After a poor start where I slipped a pedal, I felt I was on fire. I made my way into the lead just before the first A line, a technical steep muddy chute into a stream leading onto a short technical tricky little climb. I had nailed this feature in practise and rode it clean and, with mistakes by the riders behind me, I gained a small but substantial gap and I never looked back.

Thanks to the consistently technical and muddy style of course it made closing gaps challenging and I used this to my advantage, finishing the race with an almost two-minute gap to second. I already mentioned my worry about my performance level and although it did not impact the result, I felt that my top end was missing, and it will be something to work on moving in the few weeks ahead of the next round in Margham Park.

So, in summary, a solid pre-season, no broken bones, a new whip, and two wins from two. Things can all change though so I just need to keep some focus especially with my exams coming up immediately after Easter.