Flow MTB rider Corinna stormed into 2nd place in the second round of the MIJ summer series at the Forest of Dean
Round 2 of the MIJ summer series was held at the Forest of Dean on Sunday 25th June. With her exams finally behind her it was time to get back on the bike, and boy did she make a return, storming into 2nd place just 0.01 seconds behind the winner! Here’s Corinna’s race report.
Finally back on the bike after exams have finished! I drove up on the Saturday to get some practice in and the track was so much fun to ride, I loved it! The last time I rode Sheepskull I struggled so much in the mud, but it was completely dry this year and the track was fast. I sessioned each part of the track and was mainly focussing on trying to carry my pace through the top switchbacks. A few crashes but ended Saturday on a high, loving the track and riding in the sun!
Sunday morning started out with some rain which wasn’t the most motivating but I rode the track just the same as Saturday and it worked perfectly. I did a few full runs and the rain cleared – phew!! First run and I came down with a 1 min 58 sec race run which I was happy with but knew I could build on it. I knew I could carry more pace over the roots and needed to make sure I really pushed at the bottom where there was a short incline where I needed to pedal more.
Second race run came round quickly and I was at the top again. I had really horrible nerves before my run. I pushed off the start line, pedalling wherever I could, I really pushed myself to let off the brakes and pump through everything I could. I carried a good pace through the corners and I felt good… I crossed the line with a 1 min 55 sec run! I was buzzing; I’d got myself into first position and made up 3 seconds which I was surprised about! But, last woman came down the hill and crossed the line and managed to scrape past me into first position with a 0.01 second difference – 2nd place for me! To say I wasn’t gutted and frustrated would be a lie, but I had an amazing race run and knew that I rode really well considering I’d been off the bike for 5 weeks!
Looking forward to the next round in a couple of weeks!