MS&G Round 5 - Phoenix Bike Park - Adam Cavalla
Due to the cows at Hadleigh Park, round 5 of Mud Sweat and Gears was instead held at Phoenix Cycleworks. Personally, I found this a welcome change as last time we visited Phoenix I really enjoyed it. A record 48 Hadleigh riders were entered so It was sure to be a great day.
We arrived bright and early after a long drive, at around 8:00. It was forecast to be incredibly hot, and so It was important to stay hydrated before and during the race. I started on the second row of the youth category and shortly after 10am we began. I got a decent start and managed to hold my position. I did all of the A lines which meant I did not lose out by doing the slower B lines. Unfortunately, after one of the A lines my chain got caught in my cassette and derailleur. Three minutes later I had managed to un-jam it and was back in the race, albeit dead last in my race and toward the back of the open males. I knew there would be a lot of retirements as a result of the weather and there was still lots of the race to go. I regained 9 places in my category and finished in 14th, not too bad all things considered. It was frustrating as If I had not had my mechanical I could have got a top 10 which would have been my best result of the year. It was great to see how many rookies were racing and they all seemed to enjoy it making it even better. J
The course was excellent so a big thanks to Phoenix for hosting the race and Mud Sweat and Gears for the second to none organisation. Thank you to team sponsors Mitas for the excellent tyres, Scimitar for the professional looking kit, Hardnutz for the comfortable helmet even in the hot weather and Cyclewrap.
