- Go Ride at Kingdom, Penshurst
- National Trophy Cyclocross hosted by Crawley Wheelers at Ardingly
We are still really getting to know the site at Kingdom and exploring all the possibilities it has to offer. This week we spent more time at the top of the circuit on our 'Start Loop'. First of all we ran Marymoor Crawl races, in waves, ending at Andrew's Finish Line. That gives us a good run off and return/recovery route which brings riders back to the start to race again.
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| Marymoor Crawl racing: Harry, Oliver, Albert & Mathias |
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| Next up Lucy, Ella and Betsy |
After that we worked on riding over bumps, which was just that for some of our younger riders but progressed to bunny hopping for a few of the older ones. After a quick biscuit break (Maryland Choc Chip Cookies this week ;-)) we split into three groups and practised mounting and dismounting. Our final challenge of the morning was a set of three full on hill efforts on Heart Break Hill. I think it's fair to say that all the riders worked really hard today and are thoroughly enjoying stretching their legs in Penshurst.
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| Albert practising his bunny hops |
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| Briefing before the hill efforts, preparing the riders for pain.... |
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| Darcey, Huw and Fraser racing hard |
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| It must be biscuit time, everyone is very attentive! |
National Trophy Cyclocross
Well done to Hope who competed in this weekend's National Trophy. Thanks to Claire for her report on the weekend. Results are now confirmed; Hope finished 13th in a field of 30 of the best U14 Girls in the country. Nice Work Hope ;-)
Hope headed down to Ardingly on Saturday afternoon for the open practice session. After heavy rain through the night and with more showers forecast, she wasn’t sure what to expect. The course was muddy in places but was holding up well and apparently the muddy bits just make it more fun. She was definitely having lots of fun and spent two hours practicing the tricky technical sections as well as riding laps. She had a dramatic unscheduled dismount at one point but after that very close inspection of the mud, she was soon up and riding again. We eventually left when the riders were all kicked off the course because it was getting dark. After a busy evening trying to get everything clean and ready to do it all again on Sunday, we went to bed listening to the sound of more heavy rain.
So, by Sunday morning and despite some bright sunshine, conditions had changed and some parts of the course were virtually impossible to ride. She set off gleefully to check it all out though and came back from the practice laps with a race plan. She lined up at 11:15 after everyone had observed the silence of Remembrance Sunday. She carried that moment of calm onto the start line but once the whistle was blown, the calmness was gone. She was determined to get a decent start and gain places in the dash to the first corner. By the time I saw her at the first technical section she was looking strong and confident. Hope likes mud and she tackled it bravely, letting her bike find its own course and only slipping over once. From the look of her though, you would have thought she had laid down and rolled in it! It was a tough course and the heavy conditions zapped her energy so she had to fight hard on the last lap. She came over the line exhausted and barely able to speak but she was still smiling. Provisional results put her 13th and she is pleased with that. A good result in a tough race.
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