CUCC MTB Captain, Tom Simpson reports:
The last Sunday of October was the date of the first round of the KLMTB Revel Outdoors Winter XC Series, and we had a strong CUCC contingent of five riders head over to Thetford forest to race. The changing clocks (we eventually worked out) would allow us an extra hour in bed, which was a relief as we had been busy trying to obtain a bike for Arnav to race on well into the evening. Myself, Arnav Kapur, Sam Haigh and Toby Cowell rode the 1.5hr course format – Toby in the junior category – while Andy Zhao chose the slightly shorter 1hr race.
The start was frantic, and after putting a foot down in a rutted section in the mass of riders I heard Arnav’s voice behind ask what I was doing so far back. I took this as an instruction to put the power down, so I did my best to find wider sections of track to edge through the field. The laps flew by as we all did our best to keep ahead; Toby and Sam finished after three while Arnav and I squeezed in a fourth, Arnav finishing with a spectacular eyes-out sprint for the line.
Arnav sprints for the line
I was really happy with sixth place in the senior category, with Arnav taking 13th and Sam 31st. Toby managed seventh in the junior category and Andy was 10th in the ‘fun’ race, also bagging a spot prize!
MTB Captain Tom on his way to 6th
Everyone enjoyed the trip, which was a first attempt at racing for some, and I’m positive that with a bit more practice we’ll have a really strong team come Varsity XC in Lent.
