British NPS Round1 - Master Women XC Race - Saturday 12th April 2008
Whyte Enduro Series - 75km Open Women Race - Sunday 13th April 2008
Race Report by Ruth Mordaunt, Altura Patterson Training
Leading up to the first of the British NPS I was struggling to fight off a cold. I was determined not to be ill, and got in plenty of rest and vitamin C just prior to the weekend. I have had a consistent and structured winter's training coached by Andy Patterson, and wanted to get a good result for the first major event of the season.
The 10km flattish course was fast and furious, incorporating speedy singletrack snaking its way through Thetford Forest and crossing the wider fire roads. The course also swooped into a couple of bomb holes. The Master Women's race was three laps.
There were nine Master Women on the start line, with a couple of new faces joining this category. The race started at a fast pace with Niki Humphrey leading the group down the opening straight into the first corner where Michelle Bergstrand made her move to the front. I quickly joined her and stayed with her during lap one. There was even an attempt on doing some through and off, blasting down the fire road to create a gap between Caroline Goward and the rest of the group behind. By the end of lap one Michelle was just in front and making her move.
After refuelling with a Powergel, I needed to give it a huge effort in the hope I would get back to Michelle. She was in my sights for another half a lap but during the latter half of lap two Michelle pushed on and fatigue was beginning to set in for me.
During lap three I attempted to maintain a good pace and thought I would have to settle for second place. How wrong I was, as during the finishing drag, Caroline came flying past me. I stayed with her as we both approached the finishing straight. I knew it was going to be a sprint finish and as soon as she went I reacted, but unfortunately for me, she finished in front.
Although a little disappointed with my positioning, I was very happy with my performance at this stage in my training. Undoubtedly, my new Endorfin VP-4 Lady full-suspension bike allowed me to attack the demands of the course with speed. This is one seriously fast bike, and I love it.
The 75km Enduro on Sunday was my next challenge. The previous day's XC course had been tweaked to an extended 12.5km per lap, and four women riders waited at the start line in the glorious sun for a six lap race. This was intended as training for me, rather than a goal to
win, but I could not help myself when Abi Greenaway (Expert winner) rocked up to the start line. My race plan was to take each lap by lap, keeping my heart rate and lap times consistent. From the gun I got a good fast start and pushed on keeping a check on where Abi was. I rolled hard over the bumps and sensed that I was pulling away from her.
Out alone, fatigue started to set in during lap three but by working with a few of the other riders I regained my focus and got into a steady pace, riding every section well. During lap five, I was flying and enjoying the race, but as my mind wandered for a second I lost concerntration and the next thing I was rolling on the ground in pain. Whilst switching lanes I had caught my wheel on a grassy edge and came to an instant stop, with my knee planting itself into my pink Hope stem. Ouch! My knee was fine but I just felt sick and had to sit there for a few minutes until the sick feeling subsided and I could get back on my bike. I took the rest of lap five at a slower pace until I saw Abi out of the corner of my eye going through the feed zone. The final lap was back up to race pace as I did not want a repeat of yesterday's sprint finish, and I knew the last lap was going to hurt. I rode hard and was delighted to cross the finish line and take my first win for the season. Thanks to all those wonderful riders who stopped to see if I was alright and helped me to get back on my bike.
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