The Central CX League heads north – all the way to Corby

Alex Hardwicke reports:

*Corby Cross*
It was a classic cyclocross day of grey clouds and occasional rain that welcomed a determined band of Whizz Kids and WVCC to West Glebe Park in Corby for Rd 9 of Central CX League, hosted by our good friends Rockingham Forest Wheelers.

The junior categories started first and quickly showed their class, with sisters Emilia and Martha Giles getting 2nd and 5th respectively in U8 girls, Daniel Hardwicke 1st in U8 boys, Mea Moore 2nd in U12 girls, Ruby Isaacs 2nd in U16 girls and Jamie Kershaw 3rd in U16 boys, with strong efforts from Nate Durnin (U12) and Rory Harrison (U14).

Then came the grown ups, with a slightly different order to LCXL meaning the senior men got their stab at type 2 fun early in the day whilst Mens Vet 50+ got the joys of being last round. Fortunately, the predicted rain held off for the most part so the course didn’t cut up as badly as it could have done.

The first half of the course looked straightforward enough across the grassy sections of the park but the damp and muddy grass made for an energy sapping start (although the one downhill run with the wind behind you was a delight!) After a u-turn round a tree whose glorious autumnal fall of leaves hid a massive quagmire, the course entered the woods where flowing single track was interspersed with rollers and sharp drop offs to catch the unwary. I quickly abandoned hope of getting all the way up a couple of the walls of slippery mud on two wheels and, channeling my Mudlarks coaching, concentrated on spotting the odd handy rock or tree to anchor myself on as I scrambled up. Stylish it was not, but I stayed (mostly) upright so I’m taking that as a win!

Speaking of which, all the WVCC riders beat the course (unlike the poor Rockingham Wheelers rider who broke his saddle clean off on the steep downhill section), podiums for Ellie Humphries (2nd in Senior Women) and Alex Hardwicke (3rd in Vet 40+ Women) and a top 10 finish for Rob Moore (10th in Vet 50+ Men). Roll on the East Mids Championships!

Many thanks to David Hill for the photos.