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Epic Blast Trophy

I discovered about two weeks ago that the UK NPS this weekend which I had been focusing on, had been cancelled. I was really annoyed about that because it would have been a real chance to test myself against top female competition – its been frustrating racing against one or two girls every time this year. Still, it meant I could race the Epic Blast instead, something totally different to any race I’ve done before.

We did a couple of practice runs the day before on slippery, muddy trails but with roasting sunshine. There were a few sections where a big bike or at least fatter tyres would have been nice, but most of it was great fun and ridable. I was looking forward to it!

After the luxury of an uplift to the top of the course, I lined up in the freezing cold and wind for the first heat. 10 of us (me being the only one on an xc bike) tore down across the heather and into the singletrack. Then it all went wrong. The trail was horribly muddy and slippery and I just wasn’t feeling it, I dabbed once, couldn’t get clipped in or any rhythm going. I felt like a beginner. Eventually I got going but was way behind. As I got further down I started to get into it and I managed to pass a couple of people but was a bit annoyed not to have ridden better.

By the second heat, it had started raining and I was seriously considering not bothering. Good job I did, had a great time in the end. I rode the whole thing much better. It was a combination of giving in to the mud and let the bike slide all over the place, and powering through it when I could. The course was great, a mixture of technical, muddy bits where you had to just hope for the best, fast flowy sections of the manmade trail centre, some nice berms to swoop around, and big jumps if you were so inclined!

The Blast itself was madness, so many people charging down the hill. Several funny crashes with people flying over the bars, getting ridden over etc. On the muddy technical parts I just tried to follow the wheel of whoever was in front of me, and it worked quite well. I more or less kept up with guys on big downhill bikes and then when we got to flat or uphill parts I was able to fly past – felt like cheating a bit but had to take what advantages I had!

I was the first female finisher, covered from head to toe in mud, but with a big smile on my face. It was a great day, shame about the weather but I guess you can’t have everything. Thanks to Epic for all the work that went into it, really well organised, loads of people there supporting and the trophy is probably the best I’ve ever won!

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Having missed all the endurance training over the winter and not having much experience in marathon racing, I went into this aiming to test my fitness and attempt to keep a consistent pace through the race. Lining up at the start I couldn’t help thinking of the possibility of another national champions jersey so I rode focused on that in the end.

5km of road at the start saw all the roadies flying past and I just couldn’t hold on. It worked out ok because I missed the worst of the queue to get into a little singletrack climb, and then followed the path Oisin cleared through all the guys walking up! I was feeling pretty strong, keeping up with people who’d normally be way ahead of me in an xc race – this worried me a bit, didn’t want to blow up later on, but there was no point slowing down for the sake of it.

The course was hard, big climbs, slippery technical singletrack and fast road sections. By the end of the first lap I was starting to get cramps and wondering how I could do it all over again. I got some energy bars into me and the effects were unbelievable – gave me an incredible boost and I found a second wind.

The second lap was the most enjoyable, the sun had dried the trails up a bit and there were less people getting in the way. I was dropping people on the climbs – a sure sign that my muscles are finally returning after loosing them somewhere in Patagonia! Riding along with Oscar from Epic and a guy from Cork for the last part of the race made road sections way easier and until the last 5km I was having no problems. At the last fireroad climb the pain began to set in and I was starting to cramp, all kinds of things went through my head to try and forget about my legs hurting and I was pretty happy to cross the line in the end. Winning was great but I was even happier having beaten a lot of fast guys and finished with a good time.

It was a great race, nice to ride in an area I’d never really been in before. Also really well organised and impossible to get lost on which is always a good thing. Hot showers afterwards were a real luxury too!

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This was the race I’d been working towards since coming back from South America, and my first time doing all that ‘proper’ training stuff like tapering and intervals. I was finally beginning to feel some race fitness coming back and went into the race pretty psyched up to do well and at least get a place on the podium.

I was a bit disappointed when only three of us lined up at the start, but I also realised there was a good chance I could win it. Ciara got into the singletrack ahead of me but I planned to take it steady the first couple of laps and then attack, so that was ok. However, a few minutes in I spotted a sneaky line and couldn’t resist taking the lead. Ciara stuck close behind for about half a lap but I was gradually pulling away and was out on my own after that. The course was great, fast dry singletrack that could all be ridden pretty quickly and no really big climbs which was nice! I tried my best to stay focused and push myself but its really hard when you’re out on your own.

I crossed the finish line with a big smile on my face only to be whisked quickly off to the drugs test van to give samples – a new experience for me and lucky I didn’t get tempted by the easy availability of cocaine in Bolivia! The new jersey is great and I was happy enough with the way I rode. Certainly felt much fitter than a few weeks ago but more work to do. Thanks to Team Worc and everyone involved, the whole event was very well organised and a great day out.

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This race took place in a grassy park in Dublin – not your usual mountain bike location at all! The course was nearly all flat with several short kickers and lots of tight, fast singletrack winding through trees. Torrential rain overnight made it incredibly muddy and even unridable in parts – totally different to the fast relay race the day before.

Four girls lined up in the Elites, Mel Spath being my main opponent. I sprinted off to get into the singletrack first and by the end of the first lap had a bit of a lead. I knew Mel was fitter but tired from her marathon race the day before so I aimed to hold her off as long as possible. I kept getting glimpses of her closing in and eventually she caught me on an open section, I had to dig deep to stick to her wheel and stop her pulling away after that. We were wheel on wheel for the 4^th lap, and there were several times when she had to dab or hop off and on reflection I should maybe have overtaken. I was struggling to keep the pace going round thinking this was the hardest and most painful thing I’ve ever done! The mud was unreal, my bike was the weight of a downhill bike and the gears were skipping all over the place.

On the last lap Mel began to pull away and eventually won by 30 seconds. Maybe I should have been disappointed to be beaten but I got such a buzz from the tight racing that position didn’t matter. I can safely say I’ve never been so muddy in my life but I was great fun!

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