My first Malvern's classic - definitely one to forget!

Last Saturday saw the return of the Malvern’s classic after 20 years – a race I wanted to compete in as it was something my dad used to do. Being slightly under the weather in the build up to the race, made it was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on a bike!

Eilish (yet again) my taxi and partner in crime travelled to the race on Saturday morning, we didn’t have to leave too early as it was only about an hour’s drive.

We arrived at the venue surprised by the scale of the event – rows of cars were already parked in a large field, with several other fields full of tents and caravans, not to mention the large arena beyond that!

We navigated our way through the mass of tents to the arena where we had to sign on and collect our race numbers. Unfortunately, there were large queues and some misunderstandings, so we didn’t have time to pre-ride the course before it shut.

Luckily, we were informed that the course was in no way technical and there was nothing to throw us off! With that in mind we happily made our way back to the car to prep the bikes and have a bite to eat.

Feeling unwell I was unable to eat much, but determined that I wouldn’t let this affect my race. An hour before the start, my parents arrived along with our dog, this provided me with some much-needed distraction from my thoughts!

After a brief warm up (due to not knowing exactly what time our race would start) we headed to the start line where I forced myself to eat a gel.

I had a great start, sat comfortably in second ascending the first climb. I managed to maintain this position for all of half a lap, by the time we hit the second climb two other riders made their way past me, disappearing into the distance.

Tank

This is when it became apparent there was nothing in the tank! The long climb allowed for a long fast decent where I reached a maximum of 30mph (according to my Garmin!) – the only part of the course I actually enjoyed, feeling the way I did!

The encouragement from spectators and other riders on the course was brilliant – you wouldn’t get it like that anywhere else. When the time came to ascend the big climb the second time, I honestly didn’t think my legs were up to it, luckily encouragement from my parents and some spectator’s half way up spurred me on. By my fourth lap, it was just a case of hanging on, if I wasn’t running on empty before I certainly was now – I can safely say I’ve never been so happy to see the finish line!

I’ve decided I need a little time to recuperate and recover, but hopefully I’ll be ready to race again this weekend at the Midlands Cross country series in Sheffield!