Race Report - British National Series Round 1

Elite women's podium

The first round of the NPS XC series began this weekend at Sherwood Pines near Nottingham with fast lap times as usual on this fast and gently undulating course. It was a tough race to predict with such a long winter break and late start to the NPS series, who knew what the form of the usual candidates would be like.

Here's what Subaru-Gary Fisher Race Team rider, Jenny Copnall had to say:

With a strong and large (for a British elite race!) field, including Massi rider Sue Thomas and Specialised pair Jenn O'Connor and Kate Potter, I expected this race to be a difficult one to secure. The circuit at Sherwood Pines, while fun to pre ride, is always a tricky one to race since it is really flat and thus has no natural break points. Usually this leads to pack racing roadie style with a final sprint for the line. Having won here in the final round last year I was wary of repeating previous tactics and hoping that the pace would be kept high. I was also concerned that a very slight feeling of illness earlier in the week may affect my otherwise good form.

From the gun I moved into the top three before getting onto Sue's wheel as she led the field out through the early part of the course. She set a good pace and began to string the field out behind us. After half a lap I went to the front going into a twisty singletrack section, big geared through, and had just Sue for company by the next bash road section. Into the next singletrack I pushed on and, somewhat surprisingly, found myself alone by the end of the section. Having not intended to be out in front this early I was a little concerned but since there was no clattering of bikes behind me I could only assume I had a decent gap. Indeed, by the lap end I had a healthy 30 second lead.

The rest of the race was a lone affair for me. I did ride parts with the expert men that I'd caught to keep the pace high. This track has some of the finest singletrack sections and so, to keep me riding well, I kept a mental scorecard of marks out of ten for each of the sections, trying to ride each section better than the last. With plenty of twists I was really able to push hard and, try as I might, I still never got my Gary Fisher Zigguarat out of shape. You really can go sideways through corners on this bike and it'll still bring you out the other side in one piece with a grin on your face. It is, quite simply, more sure footed than any bike I have ever ridden and this becomes particularly significant late in a race when tiredness leads to less accurate riding.

Lap by lap I built my lead and after 1hr 54m racing I crossed the line, ahead of the second and third placed pairing of Kate Potter and Jenn O'Connor by over 4 minutes, with Sue Thomas finishing in fourth. This win allows me to retain the yellow number board of series leader!

Having not won the opening round of the National Series since 2003, I am really happy to have done so this year. As National Series Champion for the past three years, the pressure is always on for me to deliver the goods and so it is always nice to do so in such convincing style. Having trained really hard this winter, and specifically in the past few weeks, I hope that this form remains for the next few weeks and the crucial European world cup races.