Southern xc race series

miss notax

Anyone done this before / know anything about it?

I'm thinking of entering a few as they are mostly local-ish, but not sure what category to enter? There seem to be two possible options; Open Women 19+ or Masters (grrrr - makes me sound so old )Women 30-39?

Am I right in thinking the Masters race will be full of super-duper racey types, and the Open race will be people having a go? So am I better being a slow person in a group of fasties or a possibly fast(er) person in a group of slow(er) people? Or am I wrong?

I'm not a particularly fast rider but I can plough through most stuff and generally hold my own. It seems that all the women race together so whichever I pick I will be held up / not held up so that's not a consideration. Open is 2 laps and Masters is 3 laps - they are only 5 miles ish a lap so that's not a problem either.

Any help would be appreciated!

benpinnick

Open in my experience tends to be full of ringers, that go Open rather than sport to try and win! If your not in it for series points, pick the category that suits you best time wise, as the start times can vary wildly between those to cats.

miss notax

Hmmmm - all the womens races start at the same time so no difference there!

Although I'm not the fastest I am pretty competitive and would genuinely like to see how well I can do.... Still not sure which would be best!

JasonRwmb

I did a few of the races last year. This year they look to have some new venues, which all look good IT is just a shame that a few of the dates clash with other events

I would say go for Open, the standard at the Southern XC races tends to be fairly high, and last year the Master category had some quick riders in. However if you want to race three laps than go for Masters, The fact all the women start together means you get a good race no matter which category you enter. Also if you can get to a few of the races you will have a good chance of a decent result in the series.

hopper1

You're going to be racing amongst the same riders, regardless of which race you choose. Depends on how long you like to race for would be my criteria.

njee20

I'd echo Jason's thoughts - the standard is a lot higher and the courses generally tougher than (for example) the Brass Monkeys, there'll be a lot of crossover, I'd do Open if you want a short race (60 mins) or Master if you want longer (90 mins).

miss notax

Hmm, ok, so the Open is probably better then.... How are the courses tougher (in your opinion)? I've never done this series before so i'm interested in all the extra info I can get hold of!

njee20

More technical generally. As they're all new venues it's hard to comment, but they're often hillier too. Places like Pippingford are really pretty tough!

scottfitz

"Round 5 - 14th July - Lower Froyle Quarry" Sweet going to do this one i have raced pumptrack there and DH should be fun.
DH race from last year: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/267519/

There will be Dh races there this year too

njee20

That looks fun!

miss notax

Well, just entered the Open category - decided the Masters might be a tad ferocious for me (and i am a wimp!)

njee20

Far too organised! I've not even bought my licence, let alone thought about entering them!

andi1363

njee20 wrote:

Far too organised! I've not even bought my licence, let alone thought about entering them!

You don't need a licence.

njee20

You do for Expert.