Race Report - World Cup Round 1, Houffalize, Belgium, 22nd April 2007
Jenny Copnall
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This weekend saw the World Cup begin for cross country racers. Set in the classic mountain bike race venue of Houffalize in Belgium, this was always going to be a fantastic event and, with the sun shining all weekend, it lived up to everyone's expectations. The women's race also saw an unexpected upset when twenty one year old Chinese rider Ren Chengyun won the race ahead of Gunn Rita Dahle.
The course at Houffalize is one of the best courses I have ever raced on. This weekend it had everything, long steady climbs, sharp steep climbs, steep downhills and faster singletrack sections. Every part of the course leaves you wanting more of the same and each lap, despite tiredness catching up with me, I looked forward to the next technical section.
The women's race had the biggest ever field with 128 starters. Having raced just once so far this year I had a pretty dire grid position about ten rows back in 92nd. This meant that the start, which went up a steep, mile long road climb, was crucial for me. I simply had to do all I could to get through some of the field before the first inevitable bottlenecks. By riding in the gutter I was able to make some progress from the start and avoided many of the hold ups by doing so. I still managed to have a girl slam into the back of me at a bottleneck, her bars cracking me hard in the ribs, but fortunately this didn't damage the bike, and the pain only arrived later on the journey home.
Once the traffic had calmed down a little I was able to begin to ride the descents hard and this was so much fun. The crowds in Houffalize are always huge and very vocal and anyone seen to be travelling fast on the downhills gets masses of whoops and cheers. This in turn just makes you ride harder and faster every time. My Gary Fisher bike continues to prove itself as a bike practically impossible to get out of shape on. In Houffalize it rode almost inch perfect lap on lap, even with jelly arms.
Knowing that I am not yet in my best condition my race plan was to conserve every bit of energy possible during the first laps of the race. I did this by spinning small gears and riding the technical sections precisely and with minimal braking. As a result, in the final two laps I was able to maintain consistency and this allowed me to keep moving forward to finish an eventual 61st. This is some way off my performances in 2006 but I have to keep reminding myself that it is only April. I am certainly under raced at the moment but, come May, I am confident that I will be race sharp and all the fresher for it. My routine has been quite disrupted recently and, being a bit of a control freak, getting things back to normal will be a big help to my riding. Racing the track in Houffalize has definitely given me a very positive race experience and now I have a period during which I can sharpen my tools!
The women's field is getting tougher and tougher with so many girls capable of riding well on their day. Many nations are fielding large squads with the Olympics in mind and this is adding to the quality and depth of talent. Undoubtedly it is getting more difficult for me to crack the top 35 but it is also fantastic that the competition is so fierce. The women's race these days creates as much of a spectacle as the men's race and the crowds turn out early to catch both events. A strong field can only be a good thing for the profile of the women's side of the sport and it is great to be part of it.
Now I am looking forward to the next World Cup rounds in May, which come shortly after my next outing for the National Series race at Sherwood Pines.
See you there! Jenny
Gayle Hammond
