Sunday 2 October 2005

I done it

Well, my second ever cyclo cross race went well, apart from an horendous stitch for a couple of laps. The weather was much nicer than last year; no horrible headwind to contend with this time.

I have no idea how many laps I did, or even if I officially finished. I passed the finish line a minute or so before the bell started being rung for people (I could hear it as I left the first wooded singletrack section). On that lap, I got passed by the leaders, who finished their last lap before I got round to the start/finish line again. When I got there, no-one rang a bell, so I assumed I was done and didn't get another lap because the leaders passed me on theirs. I'll see when the results are published.

I'm also not sure if my first lap got counted, as someone overtook me as I crossed the line, obscuring my number from the officials, and I'm sure I heard them say "44", when I was number 54. Again, I'll find out when the results are published.

Wherever I place, it was a great race, with an excellent course, and seemed really well organised, though I've not really anything to compare it against. I'll be back next year...

[update:] Results are up, and I came 46th out of 50 finishers, with 6 who Did Not Finish (DNF). I did the same number of laps as last year, but think I should have been able to do another; I've asked on the race's forum. The winners only did 8 laps this year, compared to 9 last year; I got 6 both years, so that may be an improvement. Next year: middle third on the table...

[update 2:] I shouldn't have been able to do another. Anyone crossing the line after the winners is finishing the race.

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