I like to think that the key for a distinctly average XC racer is intelligent catagory selection. There's no point me entering the most hotly contested races, with the biggest and best prizes. For example, an Olympic gold is probably beyond me. There is little point me dressing up in replica kit and sneaking onto the start line for London 2012. Not after last time anyway, with the shouting, the pushing, the (short) chase and the taser.
No, my time is far better spent reviewing old races to understand what categories have the fewest people and still offer prizes. My palmares consists of
- 2nd place in the mixed team category of the 24hrs de MTB, Coin, Spain
- 3rd place in the World Corporate Games mixed team relay
- 3rd place in the mixed team Nightrider12
These excellent results need to be tempered by
- There were three teams that entered, but one team went on strike after 2 laps
- There were four teams that entered, but one couldn't be bothered to race and went to the bar instead
- There were three teams that entered. We came third.
There is another factor running through these results. "Mixed". There aren't that many women who race mountain bikes so there is much less competition. My training regime for this year's Bontrager 2412 mainly consisted of finding a willing female partner for the race. It wasn't a very difficult regime. I can outline it in two easy steps.
- Caroline says "How about doing a mixed pair in the Torchbearer race at the 2412? Not many people entered last year, so we might win something".
- I reply "OK".
So I attribute my first victory in a mountain bike race to my ability to say the word "OK".
That's my kind of training.
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