Cross country mountain bike racing is something the whole family can enjoy, say supported riders Jane and Peter Squires in their latest race round-up. Read on for more on the North East Cross Country MTB series, which features races for everyone from kids to Super Vets (60+).
Last Saturday was round three of the North East XC series hosted by Hetton Hawks Cycling Club in Hetton-le-Hole. Known as NEXCMTB, the series was formed by local cycling clubs and individuals who have a passion for cross country mountain biking and noticed there was a lack of mountain bike races in the North East, especially for the development of youth XC MTB.
These events are very welcoming and also cater for all ages with races for the under eights through to juvenile and youth categories, so a great way for the whole family to get involved.
The course was superb as always and the same as the previous round two weeks prior, perhaps an advantage as at least you’d know your way around?! Except on this occasion the sun was shining and the ground had dried out. It was all chat and smiles until the start whistle blew, then a mad dash as riders did their best to be first into the singletrack.
We hadn’t raced cross country for 10 months so it was a bit of a shock to the system, especially with the short sharp efforts needed due to the nature of the course and that it ended up being 1hr 40 minutes for both of us. I was really pleased to have the confidence to ride all the A lines and pass a few riders in front. Both of us being Grand Vets, we start at the back. Peter finished 6th in class and I was 2nd senior/vet female.
I had a really good race with a female Vet and kept seeing glimpses of Peter catching but I was determined to keep my place and not get lapped by him. Success by 30 seconds!! There were some really fast riders out on course and with a lap lasting 10 minutes or so, only 11 riders weren’t lapped!
What is odd with nearly 40 riders, including juniors, on the course at the same time, you can have periods when you are riding on your own, having fun in the woods and have to remind yourself you should be flat out and not playing. To be honest, that is what racing is all about for us, making sure we still enjoy the riding and not taking ourselves too seriously.
The encouragement around the course was fantastic, with marshals and spectators cheering everyone on. Without all the volunteers and hard work behind the scenes these events wouldn’t happen so we are very grateful to them all.
It has made us dust off the Madone and Domane to try and pick up a bit of fitness for the next events and of course get some more laps of Dalby on our Trek Top Fuels.
You can find out more about the NEXCMTB series on the series Facebook page.
