MTB XC Nationals Round 2: Newnham park

The race started when I, my mum and my dad woke up on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn to go to the race. We woke at about five to get on the road by half six. The long five hour journey was painfully boring but we made it. Once we was there we signed on and I hit the course. After taking two hours to do one lap of the course as it was so technical, we decided to go  and watch the race so we could look at the lines taken by the men. The reason we did this was even a British cycling coach said it was as hard as a world cup course. After this I went out again to home in all the features and the course in general. Ready for Sunday.

We went to the hotel to settle down for a spot of dinner and a good nights rest. We woke again at the crack of dawn to go to the circuit nice and early so I could prepare for the race.

The sound of rollers started and that meant my warm up and everyone else's had begun. I sat on the grid anxious but ready for what laid ahead of me. The first lap was very hectic and manic where I ended up loosing a lot of time but I then settled down to take 31st. The course was very hard, the hardest race i have ever rode and because of this there was quite a few retirements.

Thanks to Duck Smart for keeping my bike so clean. I would also like to thank Hardnutz helmets for protecting me on such a technical course and also thanks to Rubena tyres for keeping me upright on my bike. Also thanks to Matthew Lane for helping me with that tyre set up.

By - Robert Staines