Riders compete at national championships
By Megan Carpenter
It was a tough weekend for the Velo Club Lincoln riders at the Lloyds National Cyclo-Cross championships in Gravesend, Kent.
The weather was cold, the ice was solid, the Cyclopark’s famous stairs were long (47 steps), the hurdles were high and the course was tough, but we wrapped up and went for it – riders must complete a run-up the stairs on each race lap.
Arriving on Saturday morning to sub-zero temperatures and a completely frozen course, the early practice session was hard. Ben Vaughan was the first VC Lincoln rider to line up Saturday morning. Still frozen the course was solid but slippery. A very quiet time in the pits.
As the races went on the conditions changed completely, with the sun out (although still bitterly cold) the conditions were transformed from solid and slippery to slippery, sticky mud, leading to course adjustments from commissaires.
Freya Vaughan lined up for the penultimate race of the day followed by Toby Carpenter for the last race. By this time the pits were anything but quiet, with half lap changes to keep the riders competitive. Conditions were completely different.
With the temperature again dropping below zero overnight, Sunday followed a similar pattern. Mark Cotton lined up in the last race of the day, dealing with the slippery sticky mud.
All of the riders deserve kudos for showing up, getting back up when they fell or slipped (which they all did!) and giving their all.
Results in their respective events: Ben 35th, Freya 18th, Toby 42nd, Mark 26th.
Picture courtesy British Cycling, SWpix.com – www.britishcycling.org.uk