Firstly I have to say racing Cross Country is quite a big change from the downhill, the technical mtb skills are still the same but the start and duration is very different. In a DH race you are on your own for the race run which lasts between two-five minutes during which you have no idea how your other competitors will do, whereas in the XC you start with your competition and it's a battle to get to the finish first with the race lasting about one and a half hours. Not to mention the training! XC requires endurance which means a lot more hours on the bike and not just the mountain bike, getting out on my road bike also to improve my aerobic system. I'm really enjoying riding my cross country bike and am loving the challenge of pushing my body to the limit to see what I can achieve.
The first XC course of the season was up Mt Victoria situated near the center of Wellington. You can view it here, it was about a 4km lap with some seriously steep uphills as well as some equally steep, technical downhills, rooty sections and a drop in the middle. Overall it was pretty cool course, very challenging but fun! Lining up at the start with all the elite woman I felt pretty nervous, the moment the horn went the race was on and my all my nerves left. I had a good start and once I got past the first killer of a climb I got a steady pace going. It was a very physically demanding course with very little rest which meant it required a lot of concentration. Some of the downhill's were pretty gnarly and if you didn't stay focused, it would have been easy to go off course. Five laps later, I crossed the finish line in 8th place (2nd U23), I was pretty happy knowing I had given it my all and pushed my harder than ever before! I loved every moment of it. Check out more photo's here. Cheers to Cycl1n for the photos above!
Can't wait to race again this weekend! I'm off to Nelson for the Top Gun, number two of the NZ MTB Cup and I'm also doing the Super D. Real excited for it!! :)
