Gorrick
XC Race |
Crowthorne
Classic |
13th
November 2005 |
| Report by: Paul Mackie |
It’s that time of year again
when the RapidRacers exchange their race fashionable Troy Lee DH kit for
some good old skool Lycra! Yes, it’s the off season and XC racing
time. Five Rapids were in attendance for this XC jaunt at Gorrick, just
10 minutes drive for some of the team, but a 200+ mile round trip for
others! |
 |
I
used to be good at XC – honest! |
When I last raced an XC race, Tim
Gould was in his prime and Hans ‘no way’ Ray was the coolest
rider around – apart from John Tomac who was my idol. That gives
you an indication of how old skool my roadie Lycra was. |
| All the Rapids apart from Gummy entered the ‘Open’ category for three laps of lung busting fun(?). Gummy raced earlier in Masters, and in true style played down his stellar performance whilst chomping on a post race hamburger (10th place). The start line for the open race was packed with a field of 102 riders. This meant a mad scramble in the first few corners with riders jockeying for position and one big bottle neck. |
| The course was relatively flat and rooty, but broken up with a few ‘technical’ sections. These proved to be fun and the places where the Rapids’ DH skills could excel. Unfortunately most XC riders can’t do technical stuff so it was often a case of being held up behind some hardtail gimp as he wobbled, unclipped and fell off in front of you. A bit frustrating, but that’s life in XC.....it's only when you saw some lycra clad chump fall off at 5mph over a 2" root that you realise how far your own skills have developed. |
 |
Built
for comfort not speed! |
| The Bishop was first past the line for the Rapids with a solid time of 1hr 14mins. This was despite getting cramp on the second lap (allegedly) and then taking it easy for the rest of the race. I was next over the line with a time of 1hr 15mins. I was pleased with this although secretly I was hoping for more! Being a bit of an XC god when I was 18 years old, I thought maybe the old magic would return. But alas, no! Those short sprints up little hills just can’t be done when you’re pushing 30, and cramp almost got the better of me 100m from the line. Gleedo, also being a bit of an XC specialist in his prime crossed the line next with a time of 1hr 20mins, and was promptly handed a post race Mars bar by Gleedo Jr – where were ours? Last over for the Rapids was team head honcho Brommers, who despite blowing chunks the night before, still made the trip down south for this race if not a little pale faced (there are easier ways to save weight before an XC race!). Having never made any sort of XC prime, Brommers did well to stay the distance and only swallowed two sick-ups whilst on lap 2 and 3. Yummy! |
So, all in all, a ‘fun’ day out and a bit of exercise to boot. Hopefully I won’t have to do another XC race for another 12 years! Rapids Results: Gummy: 1hr 6mins (10th place Masters) |