UCD takes another national title!

Last weekend was the xc national championships, one of the biggest and
most prestigious races of the year for everyone involved. This year it
was run by Epic and held in Djouce woods in Wicklow it promised to be
one of the best courses and events of the year – and didn’t
disappoint. Although I’d comfortably beaten my competitors in several
races this year, I was feeling the pressure on the start line - I had
a jersey to defend and knew not to get complacent, there’s always a
risk of a bad day, a mechanical or crash ruining things.

We set off up the hill of the start loop and I got squeezed into the
inside line and forced out the back. It took a sprint out of the last
corner to overtake 3 people and get ahead as we hit the singletrack
climbing. From there I just put my head down and pedalled, trying to
catch and overtake the juniors who set off just ahead of us. The
course was brilliant, real mountain biking at its best. It was a long
lap with lots of climbing, mostly on technical singletrack, and each
time followed by the reward of a brilliant descent. There was plenty
of variety, some fast flowy trails, others rooty and steep, all made
slightly more difficult with overnight rain greasing things up a bit.

Into lap 2 and the others were out of sight. I was really enjoying
myself, feeling good and cruising around. Towards the end racing
against the men in masters and vets kept me entertained. The cheering
crowds and clanging cowbells up the last climb and round the
singletrack to the finish made a great atmosphere and took away any
feelings of pain that were setting in. So I finished first with a
decent gap and pretty pleased with my performance. It was a funny
race, more about being composed and riding cleanly than close fighting
and pushing myself as is usually the case. I think the prize giving
and podiums were my favourite part of the day – new jersey, a huge
trophy, a bouquet of flowers and best of all champagne to spray all
over everyone. Great fun!

A massive thanks to Richie Byrne and everyone from Epic involved in
organising the race. The atmosphere, the trails, the onsite
entertainment, the cheering spectators made the biggest and best xc
race I’ve been to in Ireland. Also thanks to Think Bike for the loan
of space wheels and fixing up my bike, and UCD for their support all
year.