Friday 5th May saw the start of this years FNSS MTB XC race series. For those that are not aware, this is the 32nd year this series has been running and is very much grass roots racing accessible for all abilities. The calendar (see below) has 12 rounds this year with a varied mix of courses, some more technical than others but all are a lot of fun and it’s a very sociable scene!
Delapre Abbey is my personal favourite, the course last weekend was modified and improved from last year to be 95% in the woods with a lot of single trail, it was relentless up, down, twisting and turning with the added bonus of incorporating the bike park style jumps in the woods.
I had a poor start off the line and had to burn half a box of matches to get into a good position over the grass field before entering the woods via some steps, which is a pinch point in the first 500m. I managed to slip into 5th place behind a Kettering rider and throughout the first lap of around 11 minutes stayed glued to his wheel, he was pushing hard and I was not going to let him get away. Fortunately no one else stayed with us so on the second lap we had a bit of breathing space and that’s when I realised a trend of him pulling away on the ascents and me catching him again on the technical descents. It was working well but I also had the added pressure of trying to pass the back markers after him, which is not always possible, so again I was having to close the gap. I looked down at my Garmin after 30 mins of racing and was horrified that we were only half way through. The laps passed by and the cat and mouse continued, I was actually happy to be holding position with no risk from behind, until the last lap when he dug deep into the climb and managed to gap me to the finish line. Every cloud has a silver lining though, it turned out that Ryan Henry, series winner in the last 3 years, had a mechanical issue which dropped him 16 secs behind me on the line and bumping me into 4th M40-49, happy days!
This week, we’re at Wibtoft which is by far a less challenging course but fast around the fields. Riaz has also signed up but it would be great to see a few more familiar KW faces at these races….
Provisional Dates:
MAY:
- Fri 5th – Northants Outcasts @ Delapre Abbey
- Fri 12th – Rugby Velo @ Wibtoft
- Fri 19th – CATS MBC @ Borough Hill, Daventry
- Fri 26th – Rocko Forest @ West Glebe Park Corby (to tie in with Corby Street Food Festival)
JUNE:
- Fri 2nd – NO RACE DAY
- Fri 9th – Numplumz @ Wadenhoe
- Fri 16th – Rugby Velo @ Wibtoft (to tie in with British Masters Cycle Racing MTB Champs)
- Fri 23rd – Rock Forest @ East Carlton Country Park – with BBQ afterwards)
- Fri 30th – Melton Olympic @ Melton Mowbray – New organiser & course
JULY:
- Fri 7th – Welland Valley CC @ Spanhoe
- Fri 14th – Ride Revolution @ Venue TBC – New organiser & course
- Fri 21st –
- Fri 28th – Treads CC @ Delapre TBC
AUGUST:
- Fri 4th – Rugby Velo – Team Relay @ Wibtoft – NON Counting round
- Fri 18th – FNSS – BBQ & Fancy Dress – Venue TBC
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