The team at Dirt Riders MTB club have put together what feels like will be an enjoyable circuit to race on after an easy bang around the course. The starting line is really close to the first section of single track, so getting as close to the front before it is a high priority. To keep the legs ticking over before the start I go over the first section to the single track a few times to get my line dialed in. The next thing to get right is my position on the start line. I'm just going to have to be a pushy bastard to make sure this happens so I lurk as close as I can to the start line then rush it as the marshals call us up after they have let the elite men's field off.
I get a good enough start and end up 4th wheel going into the single track. 3rd wheel would have been better but it's not long before I'm around him and the three of us are pulling away. Matt Grary is leading Matthew Molan then myself. Their pace is high enough and I'm happy to follow at this stage. Towards the end of the 1st lap Duncan Murray comes past the lot of us on a flyer. The other two don't\can't respond so on the next climbing section I pass the two Matt's and bridge up to Duncan. For the next lap and a half I'm just hanging in there on Duncan's wheel. He has some awesome single track mojo and I struggle to hold it but make it up on the climbs. Duncan comes unstuck on the entry into one of the rock gardens and I pass him. Once he's caught up, I complement him on his single track mojo. Strangely though, he seems to have lost it as I'm slowly pulling away on sections that on past laps I was struggling to hold his wheel, he was now falling behind. I take this opportunity to concentrate and slowly further the gap over the latter half of the 3rd lap and the last lap. Towards the end of the last lap there's a handful of times when I'm held up by slower traffic and this starts to chew into my lead. At the base of the climb up to the finish line there's more traffic and Duncan is now on my wheel again. We both pass and I pin it up the winding single track trying to shake Duncan but he's sticking. As the climb eases off and the trail opens up the line is about 50 metres away now and Duncan kicks and come around. I've got nothing in the legs to respond and he beats me to the line. I roll up to Duncan and thank him for an awesome scrap on wheels.
I get a good enough start and end up 4th wheel going into the single track. 3rd wheel would have been better but it's not long before I'm around him and the three of us are pulling away. Matt Grary is leading Matthew Molan then myself. Their pace is high enough and I'm happy to follow at this stage. Towards the end of the 1st lap Duncan Murray comes past the lot of us on a flyer. The other two don't\can't respond so on the next climbing section I pass the two Matt's and bridge up to Duncan. For the next lap and a half I'm just hanging in there on Duncan's wheel. He has some awesome single track mojo and I struggle to hold it but make it up on the climbs. Duncan comes unstuck on the entry into one of the rock gardens and I pass him. Once he's caught up, I complement him on his single track mojo. Strangely though, he seems to have lost it as I'm slowly pulling away on sections that on past laps I was struggling to hold his wheel, he was now falling behind. I take this opportunity to concentrate and slowly further the gap over the latter half of the 3rd lap and the last lap. Towards the end of the last lap there's a handful of times when I'm held up by slower traffic and this starts to chew into my lead. At the base of the climb up to the finish line there's more traffic and Duncan is now on my wheel again. We both pass and I pin it up the winding single track trying to shake Duncan but he's sticking. As the climb eases off and the trail opens up the line is about 50 metres away now and Duncan kicks and come around. I've got nothing in the legs to respond and he beats me to the line. I roll up to Duncan and thank him for an awesome scrap on wheels.
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