April 13th, 2008
XC Can’t Jump
Sports Class racer heading for a fall
I went to marshall at the Early Dawes race the other weekend, a brand new grassroots race at Walton Woods, Walton on Trent. Driving past Catton Park on the way to the race I was encouraged to see small children sledging down parts of the Sleepless In The Saddle course, especially as Walton Woods also forms part of SITS.
Wearing all my layers against the cold and with an extra coat and a chair I made my way to my designated marshall point. Normally the start of a climb today it was being used as an off-camber descent and the little kicker lip might prove interesting.
It certainly proved my theory that Sports class - and I’ve been mired in that class myself for 18 years on the grounds of lack of fitness* - are on the whole pants bike handlers. While expert racers handled the lip with aplomb - only one guy ended up in the ditch and he was mad at himself for fouling it up - it was a miracle that only one Sports class racer ended up there. He didn’t manage a second lap. I’ve never seen so many heavy landings. I hope that those who landed on their top-tubes weren’t too discouraged and will continue to come racing.
Jim Morrison shows how the Experts do it
* Giant Pro Leon De Jong can attest to my prowess at muddy slippery downhills.
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May 16th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
[…] I chastised Sports class racers last month for being generally incompetent and here’s evidence of my own shocking line choices. The trail goes one way and I’m quite clearly steering another. […]