Andy takes 3rd against strong competition on the Dalby XC World Cup course.
For me, It was almost a race that wasn’t meant to be. A couple of days before the race I had ‘issues’ with the bottom bracket on my race bike taking it out of action. Thankfully Pete Crawforth lent me his superlight 26 inch hardtail for the race. Secondly, driving to the race we had some sat-nav issues which led to a spot of pre-race off-roading in the skoda. Then after arriving late at the visitors centre, we realised the race was actually 10 miles further up the road!
After all the faffing and messing around trying to get to the race, we eventually arrived with only a few moments to spare. It was a good job we made it on time because the race was a real treat: fast, slippery, rocky singletrack into berms, jumps and boardwalk sections. Every difficult downhill seemed to lead straight into sharp steep climbs, affirming why this is a World Cup level course.
Dalby World Cup Lap Profile from VeloViewer.com
Two really fast riders escaped from the pack early on, leaving me on my own in 3rd place for the remainder of the race. However I wasn’t too upset to be riding solo as it allowed me to enjoy and savour the amazing course and get used to riding a 26 inch hardtail again.
Strictly height order pyramid formation
It was good to start the cross country season with a solid result and what a pleasure to ride on the World Cup course. I’m looking forward to the rest of the Nutcracker series, especially when it comes to our home city of Sheffield.
