Monday 12 November 2012

It’s all about the battles

The Auckland MTB club have been running the XC series for a while now in various forms. I’ve participated in various rounds through the year but never managed string together the full series.  This year the stars aligned and the schedule was free of clashes. Round 3 took place at the Slater Road Farm. Slater Road is a hidden gem. The opportunity to ride these trails again made me doubly excited for the race.

What makes sport entertaining to me is definitely the battles. Think back to your most memorable moment in any sport and there will undoubtedly be a fellow competitor/team pushing you, paying you out with a photo finish or a last minute goal. Going into the race I was sitting tied for first place with Nicholas Reeves in the overall series. It was all on the line in the series finale. Game on.

The race went well for me, getting put on the ropes for the first lap by Adrian, but managing to get away during the second lap. A bit of a downer to see Nicolas on the side of the track with food poisoning, so looking forward to another battle in the future. The win meant I took out the overall series but with a bit of a hollow feeling.

Thanks to Echelon Cyclery for showing my bike some love after the recent trashing it’s been receiving.  The epic performed amazingly as I’ve become accustomed too. It really is an amazingly dialled xc machine, making up for my lack of skills. Thanks to the Auckland MTB club volunteers for running an awesome event.