A great turnout today for this notoriously tough venue. The views of the castle and surrounding countryside are stunning, but the site catches a chilly breeze, the outfield is lumpy and that's before you've got to the sloppy mud and the brutal hill they call "The Wall". By the time I arrived our U10 team were warming up and getting themselves prepared, shortly after the Youth A's and B's arrived all raring to go.First off were Albert, Ivo and Betsy in the U10's. They got off to a cracking start and rode well. Albert battled it out with the leaders to finally take 4th place (although I notice the first two were tied, so maybe 3rd?), Ivo managed a classic KVK manoeuvre by being lapped by the winner a couple of metres before the finish to take 9th place and Betsy came 10th after an unscheduled dismount on her last lap.
Hope, Ellen and Polly now all start in the same race, although Hope is a Youth B and Polly and Ellen are Youth A's. The older riders race the full course, so after leaving the start there is a section in the park land which looks innocuous but is pretty bumpy which makes it amazingly hard going. Before dropping down the valley, there is a smooth fast section that takes you into the off camber turns which require a combination of skill and confidence to negotiate at a decent speed. A couple of short climbs follow, the last of which didn't seem to be rideable. Next up is the "moat", recreated by a couple of large hurdles, either side of a stream (AKA mud bath). Once this has been negotiated there is a short but slippy climb up to the base of "the wall". This requires riders to shoulder the bike and climb the virtually sheer face. Once at the top all you need to do is hop back on, ride a bit further to cross the finish line, then do it all again!
Our riders were brilliant and took 1st, 2nd 3rd across the two age groups. Hope didn't manage to beat Polly and Ellen this week, think she might have shaken them up a bit last time ;-). What skilfull and plucky riders they are, which is what I kept telling myself when it was my turn to race.
It was a brilliant day for our riders, and thanks of course to London League and Dulwich Paragon for hosting Round 8.
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