Southern XC this weekend (Pippingford)

SE_Rich

Hi everyone,

Just seen that the XC southern champs is this weekend round the corner from me - does anyone know if entry is available on the day still?

Also, which category should I enter - I've not done any mtb races before so not too sure what to expect. I've heard the starts can be quite ferocious?

I would consider myself a fairly fit rider (I've done a fair few running events and a couple of duathlons) but I have no idea how that would compare to other more regular racers - so would it be the 2 lap fun event or the 3 lap open? How long are the laps anyway?

Basically I want a chance to ride round Ashdown Forest!

Cheers

Rich

njee20

Yep there's entry on the day no problem.

I'd go with Open for your first race, there's a wide range of abilities, from pretty quick at the front, to barely going forward at the back usually! Laps are usually 20-25 minutes for the quickest guys, which usually equates to 5ish miles, the course is likely to have changed from previous races though, so hard to say exactly what it'll be like.

Pippingford is bloody hilly, and if the weather forecast is right it's likely to be a serious mud bath! The starts are certainly pretty flat out, you'll be fine, enjoy it and I'll see you there!

GhallTN6

Did the open a couple of years ago, still defo competitive enough to feel you are in a race, and those hill make it bloody hard work for three laps (I died on the last).

Make sure you get up to the front and keep a good pace for the first lap.

Will it be muddy? Not sure, buy it was dusty dry on the forest this weekend, I'd assume that most of it will be fairly dry as it's not water logged like it was in June for the muc off 8.

Where do you live?

boneyjoe

Agree with njee above, though the forecast seems to change daily, so there's still hope it will be dry...

The starts are quick, but my advice is just to take it steady once you hit the singletrack, unless you're able to do a practice lap beforehand. Some of the drops and downhill sections are tricky, and probably not adviseable to hit them at full tilt first time out. Overall, its an excellent course though.

I've gone for the marathon on the Sunday to get some more sight-seeing in.

njee20

I'm thinking back to the first Southern they ran there last year, which was a bit of a bog and generally unpleasant! The course has changed since then, so hopefully it'll be alright, if it was dry at the weekend we may get lucky!

SE_Rich

Thanks for the replies guys, sounds like Open would be the one to go for then.

I'm hoping, if I get up early enough, to make it in time to get a practice lap in so I have an idea of what to expect, but we'll see!

I'm from Crawley so this looks like a good oportunity to get some more local riding in, and get to ride around Ashdown Forest for a change.

Hopefully won't be a bog-fest, but I'll be keeping an eye on the weather. Would mud tyres be advisable then if we get loads of rain later this week?

Also, it's looking like I'll be there solo - I can fit one water bottle on the bike but this probably won't be enough - is there space to leave a bottle / re-fill? Will there be time to do this or will one be enough? Sorry for all the questions - used to running events where there are usually water stations!

Oh, one more thing - any unwritten rules / codes of conduct I should be aware of? (e.g. allowing faster riders past etc)

weeksy59

i had an issue with bottles on some of the XC races and losing it on some sections as you're pushing harder than normal on drops etc.

So make sure it's a good tight fit.

Much easier is a smallcamelbak type 1.5 L from tescos. £9.79

GhallTN6

Hey rich,

I'm just over in Crowborough and we've got a descent group going, if you want to ride something local give us a shout (or if you've got some great stuff near you we could come out that way).

I used a camelbak last time, I wasn't the only one.
Everyone will be full pelt for the first lap and then it will calm down, just make sure you get a descent position from the start.

it's good hard xc fun, enjoy, especially the downhill bits.

http://www.daysofspeed.com/

njee20

There'll be a feedzone, just leave a spare bottle there, if you know someone get them to hand it to you, otherwise you'll only lose a few seconds from stopping to change.

Faster riders should signal their intention to overtake 'on your left/right', be accommodating, ie don't intentionally block them, but you shouldn't have to stop to let them through, they should pass you, rather than you getting out of their way. Nothing else to watch for, if they use a similar course to the National Champs there's a draggy climb off the line into a long descent, so a good start will pay dividends, you lose a lot of time if you're further down the field otherwise.

Most of all... enjoy it.

boneyjoe

I find one 750ml bottle is fine for 3 laps.

The race njee refers to was the first at this venue, and it absolutely chucked it down in the early hours beforehand. The current course is now more bedded in and (hopefully) more rain proof. I'd only go for mud tyres if there is really heavy rain predicted the night before or on the day. Otherwise an intermediate tyre, like a rocket ron, should be fine.

njee20

I ripped a Rocket Ron on the first descent at the Nat Champs, I'd be more inclined to go for a Nic or a Ralph I reckon. Saying that I'll probably run Rons!

SE_Rich

Cool, thanks guys for all the advice. No chance of a tyre upgrade to rocket rons / racing ralph's etc but I'll stick with my current spesh controls rather than swapping them out for mud tyres.

Going for the water bottle approach too I think, my camelbak is 2l and a bit bulky for racing maybe.

Bit of rain forcast for the afternoon at the moment...

Thanks for the link GhallTN6 - I'll have a look over it properly later, would be good to explore some more local stuff rather than heading over to holmbury etc or the south downs all the time (as much fun as they are!).

Looking forward to it!

njee20

Oh good, so I'll get wet :-(

Definitely make up a spare bottle, even if you don't use it, I can't do 3 laps on one bottle, I take a fresh one every lap.

boneyjoe

Looks sunny for the marathon on Sunday

njee20

So how did everyone get on? I punctured on lap 4, ripping another Rocket Ron, on exactly the same corner as the Nat Champs, gutted!

Good course I thought, shame about the weather, the course was definitely deteriorating through the day.

morgan.349

Really enjoyed it. finished 5th in my race which I was well chuffed about.

I eneded up doing a practice lap on my rons/ralphs and very quickly realised they were not man enough....before the race I swapped to a minion DH on the front which felt must better.

some of those downhill parts were savage!...so slippery. Especiallly the final downhill that was slightly off camber, going straight into the left hand corner...thought I was a gonner on that one!!

SE_Rich

I'm still walking so that's a start!

Great fun, but I totally underestimated how hard it would be - arogantly assuming my running fitness would be enough to get me through.

Practice lap on some worn down specialized control tryes, slipping all over the place. Had to buy and fit some new tyres - very grateful to the guy who helped me get them on, I would have been there all day otherwise!

First lap good, start was quick as promised, settled in towards the rear hoping to make up some places on the climbs, which worked OK. 2nd lap started getting a few small cramping pains, not too bad, had another bottle waiting in the feed zone. Third lap, crippled by cramps about half way round - had to sit down at the side for about 5 minutes before I could even stand up again! Walked for a while, but did force myself to ride the last gravel section / field uphill to the finish. Another thanks to those that asked if I was OK, good to know if I had a proper injury I wouldn't be ignored.

And I got caught out on that last downhill morgan mentioned too, slipped sideways down it on the second lap. Can someone clarify as well, the route to the left of that - was that an official diversion to avoid the downhill?

So, it cost me 2x new tyres, new pair of bib shorts (sidways "powersliding" on the downhill mentioned above...), 1x broken spoke (no idea when it happened, found it while cleaning later), and a fractured ego (cramps of all things...).

Would I do it again? Possibly, but will definately train for it next time!!!

boneyjoe

Despite good weather, Marathon course was very very tough. Top riders were doing about 1hr 10 per 25km lap, so it was 1hr 30 plus for most of us. Think I probably started out too hard, and started cramping up badly mid-way through the second lap. Decided to call it a day after lap 2, rather than risk injury etc - no point being a martyr!

njee20

Are the results for the Marathon up anywhere, can't see them on Timelaps?

I don't even remember that last descent on Saturday! The one that kept catching me out was the off camber bit, after the stream crossing, didn't manage to clean that at all!

A real shame there weren't bigger fields, well done for 5th, and Rich you didn't come last, even of the finishers, so good effort! That was a seriously tough course, even in the dry it's pretty relentless, and in the wet it was a baptism of fire, that's not what most XC races are like! Try one of the Autumn Gorricks, you'll get bigger fields and easier (but still fun!) courses, most hold up in the wet better too.

Langers

Timing wasn't done by timelaps on the Sunday.

Results at http://www.nationalxcchamps.co.uk/marat ... ge=results

njee20

What a shame the entry numbers were so low, good quality field though, nice to see Wilko back on an MTB!