2XC Series - Round 1, Sun 21 April, Haldon Forest, Exeter

Sunday saw Round 1 of the 2013 2XC Race Series, sponsored by Hot Pursuit Cycles, kick off at Haldon Forest.

Alan Drury and Kris Pratt and others from Mid Devon Cycling Club laid out a super rad track combining sweet technical descents with some challenging climbs. The weather was dry leading up to race day which would mean a nice dry, fast race.

There were only three of us racing in the Junior category so we asked to be started with the Senior and Elite riders which was great as it would make for some good racing!

I got a great start off the steep fire road climb and was leading Elite rider Luke Eggar into the first singletrack section and we already started to pull a gap on the rest of the field.

Luke and I battled hard for the best part of the first lap, swapping places frequently. I managed to pull a 20 second gap on the main climb back up and all was going well and I was feeling strong.....

photo: MnDPhotography

....and then I dropped into a boggy section way too hot and got cross rutted and smashed the bank with my right shoulder. Couldn't get back on the bike and my arm was stuck out at a pretty strange angle so a trip to the paramedics van and Game Over.

So not a great start to the series but I was riding really well before the crash and there's still another 4 rounds to go so really looking forward to Round 2 on the 22 May.

Thanks to Martin Walker at MnDPhotography for the photo!