Tonights coaching was racing which was really fun but a tad wet! I Rode OK but a bit cautiously due to no brake and not wanting to get hurt before the National!
As usual I won the B final so I finished 5th over all which wasn’t bad as I was riding the 20″ and not giving it 100%. My legs were like Jelly after the racing so hopefully I can drop some of the weight that I have put on over the past week.
I was also a bit slower as I was practicing pull-manuals on the first jump as I have been watching videos of last year’s National at Cumbernauld and it looks like 90% of the people in the A finals were pulling onto the first jump and pumping it so I figured that I would get used to it before the weekend! I have been checking Sqorz and it looks like we have 23 in our age group this weekend so I need to try and beat 5 people to make the semi’s which is quite a big ask looking at my results from Cyclopark but I know that I was way slower than I could have been as I was backing off before the first jump so hopefully when I can hit the first straight at full speed I can finish higher up and hopefully make the semi’s both days to increase my chances of making the Worlds again next year! The 50+ age group has 33 riders so I am hopeful that some of the riders that I have to get more points than will finish in a lower position due to the sheer numbers of riders in their age group but we will see! My fitness has definitely improved over a full lap as I didn’t get Jelly legs until the last straight which is a big improvement over the 2nd berm like it was a few weeks back! Although I wasn’t really riding flat out but still my fitness is increasing a bit at least 🙂
From the videos the track looks a lot easier than Cyclopark so I am hopeful that I can do better and at least make the top 16 for once! I have decided that I need to ride every race as though it is a final and not hold anything back as that is the only way that I have any chance of making the semi’s and getting better points than the last round that I rode in! Looking at the riders that are racing a few of the guys that I was faster than at Cyclopark are going as well as a couple of riders that I have raced at regionals that I think I may be faster than if I ride to the best of my ability but we will have to see if that equates to making the Semi’s! If I can make the semi then I at least have a chance of finishing above 16th which would be great from a points and standings point of view!