Race Report by Jenn O'Connor
This weekend in Crow Hill was an important part of the training programme for the Altura Patterson Training Team. For Annabel and Ruth, this was the final overload before they begin to taper off towards the National XC Champs in Innerleithen on July 19th, while for myself and Andy it was the mid part of our overload in preparation for the Intermontane Challenge in Canada at the end of the month. The goal was two hard days of racing, and we got what we came for.
As I'd decided to treat this race as training, I ramped up my training in the days prior to the race instead of tapering off. I completed a four-hour hill session on Wednesday afternoon and even beat my PB up Long Hill (by 6 seconds), then followed this up with a couple of hours of minute on, minute off intervals on Thursday. On Friday I was off the bike, which is not ideal but with work from 8am-5pm then a five-hour drive straight to the venue, I had little choice. Despite all this, I felt surprisingly good on Saturday morning, which confirmed my long-held belief that my body responds well to a good battering! Up to a point, that is.
The women were first off, and I lost a few places off the start (got everything right, just wasn't quick enough) but managed to take the places back pretty quickly and established myself in third spot less than a minute behind Kate Potter (Cotic Bontrager) and Jenny Copnall (Look RT) in the first lap. The course was a relentless singletrack affair with a lot of exposed roots, and soft sections that got loamier and sandier as the race went on. Not much climbing, other than a few short power climbs, but it was a really tough course that required constant braking then accelerating. Kate and Jenny were tormenting each other in a close battle up front, and that pushed the pace right up. I had my own battle with Mel Spath (Cycleways Torq) only about 30 seconds behind me, but I held it together and maintained my third sport, keeping my lap times consistent for the full five laps. Given the strength of the competition and my own approach to the race, I was happy with my performance and my spot on the podium.
Nadine and Annabel finished in 7th and 8th respectively, despite a very strong start from both. The training overload, which started with six hours of racing apiece at Mountain Mayhem last weekend, had obviously hit them harder than it hit me. Annabel, our youngest rider, was completely exhausted after five hard laps around the Crow Hill course. Ruth held up pretty well, and even picked up the pace in the third of her four laps in the Master Women's race, moving from fifth up to second, behind Nina Davies (Ogmore Valley Wheelers). Andy also had a good race, finishing 12th in the Master Men's race.
The English Marathon Champs on Sunday was the second installment in our hard weekend, and Andy and I had signed up for the full 100km, while Annabel and Ruth entered the 50km event. Nadine took the day off racing to work in the feed zone for the team for the day.
Our 100km event went off first, and I went straight to the front of the group so I could set a steady pace. My fellow competitors, including Elite racers Mel Spath and Maddie Horton (Certini) seemed content to stay with me and keep to the easy pace while we found our way around the first of the additional loops that had been added to the course for this eight lap race.
I was dismayed with the new course. Whilst the XC sections from Saturday had been left in, they had become the easy part. The new sections comprised a couple of trips back and forth across a rutted, bumpy field with no discernable track, a mucky river crossing followed by bog, and rough fire road strewn with broken up concrete. It was a nightmare. Mel and I battled over the bumps together at a steady pace, and soon had a gap on the rest of the group. Mel dropped back a couple of times but was never more than about 30 seconds behind, and soon caught back up. I was happy to sit on her wheel for a bit as we made our way together into the third of the eight laps.
It was in the middle of the third lap, through the singletrack section, that the ground started to sway and I couldn't see straight. I recognised the tell-tale signs of a migraine and pulled off the track to pull myself together. Mel disappeared, and I made my way slowly back to the feed zone, thinking I could sit down for a spell and get some more fluids down, then carry on. But by that point I couldn't open my eyes to the sunlight, even with my Adidas Evil Eyes on, and the screaming of young children in the feed zone was making me squirm. I headed back to our car and took a Zomig (migraine medication) and sat behind the tinted windows for a bit. The Zomig seemed to work and kept the worst of the headache at bay, but by that point I'd completely lost the will to race and decided to call it a day. As I mentioned, my body responds well to a battering, but only up to a point, and it knows how to tell me when it's had enough.
Mel went on to win the women's 100km, whilst Maddie Horton in second took the English Champion's title and jersey, which she was chuffed with. Annabel pulled out of her 50km race after only one lap, but I couldn't fault her for it. Whilst Andy, Ruth and I have full-suspension Scalpels, Annabel rides a full carbon Taurine hardtail, and the bumpy field would have crippled the poor lass. Ruth finished, and won, the 50km, getting us the best result of the day, although she was ill afterwards. Andy went on to complete the full eight laps and finish eighth in the 100km, to everyone's suprise including his own, although he suffered through it and is still complaining of his various pains now.
And for all of this, we will be strong, we will be fast, and we will be on peak form in a few weeks' time. It will all be worth it!
This week it's back on the road bike for another battering in the hills tomorrow, then our team heads to Blackpool for the Grand Prix Des Dames nocturne crit on Friday evening. Stay tuned for some fast racing by the seaside!
Above: The Elite Women's podium from left Jenny Copnall, Kate Potter and Jenn O'Connor
Below: The Master Women's podium from left Ruth Mordaunt, Nina Davies and Emma Bradley
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