[Race Report by Rudolf Brinkman. Well done Rudolf, you did us proud!]
Rudolf leads the way through Paradise
Well that was some race!
Sunday, 28th March 2010. At 13.35 the masters were off. I had a good start trying to stay on the wheel of the first 10 riders. Then as the climb to Paradise became steeper I had to ease off and I got passed by a dozen riders. The sight ahead was like a long train of mtbers all heading for the narrow entrance of Paradise.
This is where my race-face took more shape, bypassing a rider into the Paradise entrance. Loads of bikes and riders were falling on the slippery rocks and roots. At the end of paradise I had passed about 5 riders.
Starting the upper climb it was a case of sitting down and pushing hard. Still a lot of bikes around. Critical Mass was just a case of steady rolling as there was a load of traffic.
Starting the second lap I had a battle with Beth McCluskey, changing places going up to Paradise. I lost the sprint to the entrance of the single track and Beth stayed in front of me until she had small off. On the higher road she passed me again but I managed to get into Critical Mass first and slowly started to pass some people on the downhills.
The 3rd lap was hell trying to stay with an Epic and MAD jersey. I passed them on the higher road, going in first to Critical Mass. Too much effort put in passing the two lads meant I lost control on the downhill and barely made it down in one piece. Then they passed me.
The cheers from the marshals at the lower wood really helped and I went to try and catch the Epic and MAD dudes again. They climbed better than me so I had all the brakes off in Paradise and Critical Mass. The Mad dude got a bit nervous at the big rock and fell off. I got one more position on the climb in the lower wood. Never caught the Epic jersey.
Finally over the finish line, in bits but with a big smile. This is what makes racing great. You try and race as hard as you possibly can, passing people, falling over, back on the bike, being passed and having the buzz. This was absolutely a great race course with technical riding and stiff climbs (no time to have a drink).
Thanks very much to all the marshalls that cheered me on, it really helped me to push even harder. Also a big thanks to the committee who decided that I was the one who had to wear the club 795 jersey for the race. Thanks to Ciara for helping in the feedzone and with some physio. All the night and Sunday spins were great and really helped me to get this 10th place. The food at the end was delicious.
Thanks to all who helped and bring on the next event, Tri795!
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