They came, they rode, they conquered
And the men did crap.
We went, we raced, we had a laugh (oh, and we won a major haul of medals).
The DH
Saturday started thick with fog, tempting us to take lights onto the downhill course. Still, it cleared to reveal a magic course, seemingly covered in most of the 370 riders, all trying to practise their lines.
The quality course was set out in three parts. From the ramp at the top,
it plugged into a sticky slow section, with slimy tree roots and two
vicious mini-doubles. After that the course opened up and speeded up. Two
jumps led into a loose corner then straight into a monster berm that could
be taken flat out. The course hacked down the hill, through rough stony
ground with plenty of roots to kick you off line. Keeping the speed up
took strength and bottle. The final section twisted back into the woods,
tight hairpins over more roots then a last jump into the field and sprint
for the line. Most definitely a nerves course, the top part taking power,
the rest skill.
The atmosphere was incredible, hundreds of spectators standing in the centre of the course, from where maybe half the course could be seen. Anyone going down got a cheer, anyone going fast got a big cheer, anyone crashing got major applause. The most sounds went to anyone who crashed, got back on their bike and finished their run. Mind you, there were far too many fashion victims, combat trousers and bimbos cheering for their boyfriends but it made a nice change from doing time trials. (Not that any of us would...)
Anyway, the comp began with the first of two runs. From Cambridge the women where first down, all three looking like some of the smoothest of the 14 ladies.
Ailsa stacked on a practise run, landing gut-first on her bars. Despite
major pain, she stayed and booted it down the course with a flying first
fun. For her second run, puncturing and losing her chain still didn't stop
her. After the presentation she went straight to hospital, hospital takes
one look and gets the consultant, consultant goes "ooh dear" and keeps her
in all night.
Andrea flew down the course, looking very focused. Her first run placed her third, just behind a Bath woman. A storming second run, of 2-35 pipped the Bath woman by 0.4 seconds, for the silver medal. First was Tracy "European Junior Womens Champion" Mosely in a time of 2-02, which would have placed her 25th in the men's event.
Despite the best efforts of the patronising announcer, the DH team prize went to Andrea and Ailsa, with Kate just behind Ailsa. In fact, our second and third women still beat the first two women from the best of the other teams. A damn fine performance.
The men did, umm, okay. We had less style than the bloke who did his run on a chopper bike with a DJ, but we had fun. Results, if you can dare face them are all provided by those nice people at UEA.
The XC
Sunday's cross-country started bloody cold and stayed that way. Due to the huge entry (~450 riders), only 200 competed in the championship event, the morning being taken up by a sports event for everyone who didn't get in. With no chances of proper prizes, silliness was in evidence for the sport race, ties, jackets and DJ's in much effect. Definitely against RTTC regulations! Mike Dencher (riding as Mike Dencher) stormed around for a deserved tenth place, Cory finishing well up and Tom having a good ride for the first two laps then dying horribly.So 200 hundred of BUSA's finest men hacked off at one p.m. closely followed by the women. During a comedy start, with pile-ups everywhere, my skate hockey skills came to the fore and picked up vast numbers of places before the first long drag around the fields that separate the race start from the fun parts of the course. It was a course of two halves, the first tight twisting Thetty-style wooded singletrack, the second tight-twisty and scary steep singletrack with three desperate descents and the corresponding three slogging climbs.
Rob and Duncan flew off, Duncan holding a top ten position for most of the race. I steadied away behind, taking things carefully and picking up plenty of the time on the technical parts, though I should confess that I know the course throughout, having helped set it up five years ago. Still, the climbs were slaughtering me, with the third and harshest (up the downhill slope) right at the end of each lap. At the start of the third lap, I was feeling grim and quite frightened of what would happen on the fourth lap. My saviour appeared in the form of Adrian Lansley, well in the lead and passing me on the second climb. Thus, being lapped I only had to do three laps and the climb became the second-to-last climb. The rush of energy this created in me lasted, ooh, at least five seconds.
I rolled over the line in 110th and waited for everyone else to arrive. Rob finished 12th in pain, a fine result considering the strength of the field, so maybe crap is not the right word. Duncan faded in the second half of the race to 27th, but still a good performance and John came in at 65th.
The three lap women's race was dominated by Wendy Cushing, as ever. Kate happily finished an excellent sixth place, Andrea arrived later, lips blue, skin white and feeling like death but still pushing it to the line. Kate's sixth and Andrea's 15th (from 30 starters) placed Cambridge on the podium again for silver in the women's team XC, just after Birmingham, and winning as much beer as Kate could carry, which is a lot.
So, rock on, five medals and one night in hospital. Ailsa arrived back in
time for the prize presentation, to further boost everyone's feelings.
She's damaged her femoral artery (apparently that's a big one) but it
mends and there's no permanent damage done. She gets the "Hero of the
Weekend" award for nearly killing herself but staying to help the women's
team win.
And the men beat Oxford by approximately forever, their first rider finishing after our third man, and let's face it, that's what matters.. Obviously they decided they'd have more fun at the 4-up time trial. Weird types, those Oxford boys...
So all in all a brilliant weekend. Major props to everyone who came, and to my mum for the beds and chocolate cake. We'll be there to do it all again next year.