MudSweatGears RD2 Henham Park 2018

@mudsweatandgears RD2 Henham Park 2018

Although it was a freezing cold day and windy i enjoyed the race at Henham. The course had a good mixture of fast flats, sharp climbs and technical sections through the woods. I was very happy to get 2nd place and am looking forward to the next race.

It was RRRREEEEAAALLLYYY cold out there. I managed to grab 6th place but I was literally FROZEN :( Many thanks to my fab coach Steve for putting up with the cold AND being a really really REALLY good and fun coach. YYYYAAAAYYYY. 

The course isn't a favourite of mine but it was fun fast (except the headwinds!) and kept you honest in the loose. I was happy to come away with another 5th place and it keeps me on track. Looking for some more form for the next race, XC National's @Sherwood pines. 

We decided to make a weekend of it and left (with the kitchen sink!) on Friday evening. 

Facing the beast from the east head on was less than fun! Freezing weather and a wind chill to match mean the trip to the beach was short lived.

Nothing a warm hot choco cant fix!

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basilthorntonphotography U9's

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Results 

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MudSweatGears RD1 Hadleigh Farm 2018

@mudsweatandgears RD1 Hadleigh Farm 2018

What a start to the MSG series! Cold, dry and fast..

Ali had an 'efficient' start and didn't panic seeing the leaders take on the Hadleigh hills first lap. This was to pay dividend as the two Epic Orange leaders were gradually caught and passed on lap 3. With super consistent lap times for the total of 4 laps. Thanks to our friends @1EpicOrange cheering Ali and other racers on all the way to the finish line. 

Under the watchful eye of Steve the head coach a challenging course using some of the Olympic trails was setup for the under 9's. Coaching comprised of sections of the circuit being used to develop skills prior to moving onto the next coaching element. Following the same format as the adults rider briefing, gridding and race starts are controlled. The race went well and Nate finished a respectable 5th place and Nate said it was fun to!

Having completed the practice and failed on the uphill A-line more times then I care to remember, I decided to give it a miss during the race. I had an average start but luckily tagged onto the leaders through the fast sections and discovered some 'unconventional' line choices that proved invaluable.. My 1st lap pace is a bit off the pace at the moment but once I settled into my rhythm and slowly picked off the places. Having a rare old battle with PaulG @pushsportltd and PaulW. My only other area of concern was another uphill stone step-up 90 degree right-hander that I had a 50% success rate on :( .. a last lap duel with PaulW ended well with myself finishing in 5th place .. Worryingly I had never heard of the top 4 finishers but encouragingly I managed to stay ahead of last years MSG eastern top 3 finishers :)

My Photos
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basilthorntonphotograph AM
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Results
timelaps.co.uk
rootsandrain