Woolly Mamil series round 1

Woolly Mamil Round 1 (cat4)

Pre-Race
I set myself up on the turbo to warm up a bit but it was made impossible by the weather! It was freezing cold and pissing it down, this is when I felt it was going to be a tough race. Ive never raced before and my first race would be a in a sleet shower. I kept looking at the facebook page to see if it had been cancelled but they updated saying it was still on. We set off and the drive down was snow ridden, "how can we possible race in this"!. As we got closer the snow turned to rain and I felt a bit better. When I arrived I went to sign on and seen the juniors who had just finished the race shivering with the cold. I got back to the car set the turbo up and began warming up.





The Race
I started on the front row but throughout the first lap I was mid pack then towards the back. I managed to hold onto the back of the group but I was having to put so much effort after the bends and on the uphills to get back on it cost me, Around 35 min the pace upped and I just couldn't hold the wheel, I ended up dropping off into another group of 5 just off the back of the group and we worked well together to not get lapped. I think we ended up 30 seconds of the main group. Not bad for my first race but gutted I couldn't hold that wheel. I ended up no mans land for around to laps which drained me a bit when chasing on but the group kept getting further away. I ended up 18 out of 30 so not all that bad. My hands at the end was frozen to the point I had no feeling. I sprinted for 17th with another from the group but he just edged past me at the end.
After
I went for a shower (bloody cold water) and headed straight for the car to get warm again. Ive booked to race again next week and I really want to fininsh in the group at least but I need to hold the wheel and try riding in the pack more. My confidence grew throughout the race and it was an excellent experience.

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