2021 Popham CX
Round 9, Miche Wessex CX League, Popham
How did I sign off my last race post?
So, negative splits next time out? Let’s see when the adrenalin starts pumping and I forget everything I just wrote.
Well, would you believe it? I actually listened to what I said. I went with a solid start from a gridded position to settle into a pace I knew I could manage. I did get stuck behind a slower technical rider who was annoyingly solid on the open grass sections of the circuit. In the end I had to get on with it and put in a hard effort to beat him to a technical section and open up a 10 second gap which was held until the flag. The circuit suited me with some nice woodland technical parts but I still found myself slower on the technical stuff than my normal ability as I was so close to my top end effort. As I previous wrote, when you’re so close to the limit, basic stuff isn’t so basic. Plenty could be learnt from more experienced CX riders around me by watching their interesting lines and actually trying them on the next lap. The traction available really evolved during the race with some really strange lines offering more grip and ultimately speed.
In conclusion, I was really happy with the performance of myself. The bike was exceptional as always but hey, I am bias.
With the benefit of hindsight, I probably had more in the tanks as after the race I did another 3 laps to cool down as I liked the circuit so much but this wasn’t at race pace so it’s hard to say.
Result and time gap analysis
Result: 6th/82
Time from 1st: +2:09
Time from 3rd: +1:22
Time from 5th: +0:26
Lap time analysis
Time: 45:47.77
Laps: 8
Gap: +02:09.06
Lap1: 05:34
Lap2: 05:40
Lap3: 05:41
Lap4: 05:49
Lap5: 05:51
Lap6: 05:46
Lap7: 05:43
Lap8: 05:42
