Penshurst, round 10 of the London Cyclocross League, man it was cold. It was -1ยบ when we rocked up about midday. I signed in whilst Debs gave Ozzy and Bruce their lunch and then got dressed and went for a warm up. Only thing was it was so frikkin cold I was frozen solid after about 200 yards.
Course started on an uphill woodland track before heading down a series of hairpin descents, it then headed back up through the woods and back onto the track. Most of the paths were in pretty good condition, there were a couple of sections covered in leaves and a few muddy bits but nothing too testing. The entire course was rideable, but there was lot of climbing and descending - in that respect it was going to be a hard race.
As we lined up for the start I could see that a lot of the top guys were absent, I guess they were riding the relatively local National Trophy race in Southampton. I got gridded, eventually and when the whistle went managed to get a good start. First lap was the usual jostling for position and I reckon I was just outside the top ten at the end of lap one. I was going well and ahead of some of the guys I am usually close to although I did start to feel the pressure when I could see them behind at the hairpins. After a few laps I caught a couple of Sigma Sport riders and managed to keep up with them for a lap or so. They were setting a hard pace and eventually I couldn't stick with them, but sticking with them for a bit had made me work hard and helped me build a bit of a cushion over the guys behinds. Last couple of laps the effort, and probably the cold, caught up with me and I faded a bit which allowed a few guys to overtake me. Eventually I finished 14th, my best position to date.
Big shout to Debs and the boys and Sais and John for their support :-)
