Round 4 of the southern series was here and I was really looking forward to it. Last year it was the first round and I won it in the expert cat, so I was quite confident about it.

Travelled up the same day as there was no camping, so it was quite an earlyish start. I arrived at a reasonable time so I could pre ride the course. After talking to some riders they said it was the course year but in reverse.

It was a lovely sunny day but quite hot so drank plenty of fluids to keep myself hydrated. The course was dry and really fast, a bit sandy in some places but enjoyed it.

I filled up my bottles and took gels I needed. I started my warm up on the turbo under the trees to keep away from the sun as it was getting hotter.  Elite women were called up earlier than in the previous series, so we started behind the elite and expert male.
In my category was Jenny Copnall, an ex professional rider who has competed for Great Britain in the Olympics, Commonwealth games, and many other international races. My aim was just to stay as close to her as possible but without making little mistakes.

The horn went off and we started. I had a great start, really accelerated off the line and at this point was in 3rd position. Copnall and Mordant (Ruth) were in front of me so I was going as hard as I could to stay with them. I passed Mordant on a corner and close the gap between myself and Copnall. I was slowly getting further away from the other riders keeping Copnall in as much view as possible.

I was still riding a good lap when I got on to my second one. Half way round the course on a corner I slid off and realised my rear wheel had come out. This took a while to get back in and at this point the other riders had passed me. I didn’t panic I just kept focussed and managed to get it back in.
I rode as hard as I could to gain time I had lost, which was at least 2 minutes. Near the end of lap 2 I crashed badly. I had miss judged the surface which was sandy and headed straight for a tree; slamming the breaks I went straight over the handlebars and hit my knee. I was in a lot of pain but I didn’t want this to stop me so got on my bike and carried on riding. It was uncomfortable at first but I thought I can’t let this get to me. I started pushing the pace and then got into a nice rhythm.

I drank a lot throughout the race as it was very hot which definitely helped me with my final 2laps.
On the final lap there were still other riders racing, so I picked one off at a time to gain as much time as possible which worked really well.
I got to the finish and was really tired. I enjoyed the race and it did go well even though I had two problems but I was very pleased with my performance.
There’s one more race of the series to go which is Aug 22nd at Chawton Park, Alton. At the moment I am winning the series so I’m looking forward to the final 