Round 4 Cyclo Cross – Bangor
CX Round 4 – Bangor by John McGuigan
Rather mundane report for this round of the Ulster CX Race Series as it was quite uneventful for me, either I am getting better at dealing with these muddy races…or just being more careful !
After riding the course during warm up I certainly didn’t fancy it much, thought the course was very technical ( for me ) in places, and very slippy with lots of mud, roots and humps, was worried if I would be able to stay on the bike at all. ( Note to self – ride the course more than once and do a more thorough check of the lines to take, and where is quicker to run ) Mr BVK did gave tips before the race and we practiced the 1st hill but ended up running ( well, fast walk ) during the race.
Was surprised to get gridded ( they must gave points for just turning up ? ) so instead of starting at the back of the field, I found myself in the middle. That didnt last long as 30 yards from the start after a right hander we encountered a mucky hill. This was ridable during warm up but with all the bodies about at the start it was quicker to run as I found out when nearly everyone went past me as I struggled to avoid others and ride it. Then on to what should have been an easy part of the course, the grassy field at the top of the hill. However, today the wind changed that, as it was a real struggle to make any headway here before entering the forest.
Surprisingly I managed the course OK ( at my own speed ) and stayed upright through all the difficult sections, but did come a cropper on a relatively easy corner ( just bad judgement ? ) Why do I always fall off where there are briars !
I knew there was still 5 or 6 rider behind me so kept up a good pace to make sure I wasn’t caught, but didn’t really have any chance of catching those in front after a couple of laps as the gap was too big. Finished the race without being lapped and was feeling really pleased with myself, but later realised that this course was longer than usual so that might have been the reason, rather than me riding better. ( note to Martin, can you make a nice long course for next week )
Was fortunate to follow Lisa a few times during the race, learnt a lot about taking lines and being smooth through the technical bits, if I can only put it into practice next time out.
Unfortunately a couple of boys I had targeted to beat just proved too good again, and another couple I had in my sights didn’t ride today. I did have an enjoyable moment when I rode straight into Mr BVK’s brother and knocked him off his bike ( reminded me how I used to play football )
As for the other Dromara riders, Lisa was riding well but had a mechanical in the last lap. Had to run with the bike but still managed to come in 2nd lady. Richard Cowan had his first outing and rode well finishing a few places ahead of me, just wait till he gets the hang of this. In the A race BVK took off like a rocket and was first through the 1st turn, and continue to ride well finishing in the top 10 ( I think he had a few incidents, can’t wait for his full report )
Roll on next week, much planning and practicing to do !
Report by BVK
Good report John. Every time I seen you in your race, you had that grimace pained expression that only comes with cyclocross hurt. So at least you were giving it loads!
Yes, I was winning the A race, for about 6-7 seconds. Decided before the whistle to run that first hill, which was sound. As you can see in the wee clip below everything was going ok, but I was surprised Matt Adair is as fast running as he is on his bike and he ran past, not even carrying the bike right! Unfortunately I continued to run when everyone else had scoped a nice grippy bit of the hill to remount so I lost a lot of places straight away and really struggled up on the wild windy plain John Mentioned.
The top 4 guys broke away and were riding at an alarming pace. I definitely couldn’t have maintained that anyway. A group of about 7 of us formed early on, I was doing well enough before completely losing it on Ice Rink right hander. I’m sure you’ve all seen it on facebook by now! Not much time lost as a few went down on the next corner. Eventually the group splintered with me being stuck between the split, caught out and not able to catch back up. Myself, Cathal Doyle, Alex Donald, Aiden McDonald and Junior Rory Maguire were left to tussle for the final top 10 placings after James McMaster and Graham Boyd bridged across to the lead men.
A few more dabs on slidey corners and one off on the last lap as Cathal Doyle was closing in, but managed to fend him off by a few seconds. A great race against the Carn Wheelers man for the last 2 laps. Good close racing all the way through, so another excellent workout.
As for the others cyclocrossers, well done to John, looking steady and strong the whole way through. Richard Cowan was bent over his bike gasping for 10 minutes after the B race so he is doing it right. Lisa Running, what? Half a lap? With her back wheel hanging out banging her on the back of the head for most of it. Fighting spirit!
Bring on Moira, My nemesis. (Have never finished it!)
