Photo copyright of CWhat Photography
It
was a little while ago when I introduced the team’s new kick ass cyclocross and
criterium racer to you all, Megan Hopper.
Last weekend she debuted for the team on the CXNE’s Hetton Lyon Park
cyclocross event, sadly the Frank The Welder frame had not arrived in time, and
on the eve of the second round we’re still waiting for it, yes, I’m looking at
you Parcel Force! But anyway, let’s cut
to the chase, here’s Megan with her run down of the day……
I
wasn’t nervous that morning, I didn’t know who or what I was up against and my
off-season training had gone really well, fitted it all in perfectly with my
recent exams and work so I was feeling fresh and raring to go. We arrived at the venue noting there were
more female entrants to the previous season, this is good because it meant I
had more competition but bad for the very same reason and this is when my pre-race
nerves kicked in!
Photo copyright of Ed Rollason
With
no time to waste I jumped on my bike and rode a few practice laps of the
course, I was feeling pretty good. It
had a few hill climbs, tight right corners and some tough terrain but of course
these are the markings of a well thought out cyclocross course.
Photo copyright of Vicky Hopper
My
expectations for the race were to just do what I could and stick with who ever
I could as this was the first race of the season and I didn't know where I
stood in my category.
The
race kicked off, my adrenaline kicked in and I aimed to sprint forward until I
was the first woman. With hindsight this
was a bad idea, as I soon needed to even out my pace. It wasn’t long before I caught up with
another woman rider though and I stuck with her until the second lap where a
second woman joined the ranks. As I
tried to make my move past her I skidded off around a corner and came off the
bike, damn! Back on it within a flash
though however I reckon some mud had found its way into my bike’s cassette as
the gears were really messing up and making it harder for me to pedal smoothly
thankfully they soon corrected themselves and so the race went on!
Photo copyright of Vicky Hopper
I
stuck with the two other ladies through to the end of the race where I came
third. I was really, really happy with my result because the woman who came
second, Michelle Caisley, is a rider who I was nowhere near to last year and
there was never a race where I was able to keep up with her. This was
reassuring that my training had gone well and that I was improving.
Photo copyright of Vicky Hopper
Everyone
that is part of CXNE, all members and spectators, are really supportive no
matter what the result, you really do feel like you are part of something. Because of this my motivation is to train even
more over the coming week so I am prepared for the next race.
Photo copyright of Dean Reeve
I'm
really excited for what is to come and hopefully I will creep up to first place
woman as well as first place junior.
See
you all in mud!
Megan
x
