As I descended down the dry, dusty track on the Saturday practice day, it looked like we weren't going to have to race in the wet for the first time this year. But with dry also came loose and very skiddy, so the course wasn't without its challenges. My practice runs were going quite- I was gradually getting faster as I learned the course and I finally got the gap jumps. I was feeling quite good, but the course was very punishing on the body as it was so fast and rocky and after 5 practice runs my arms and legs were getting really tired, so I decided to stop there and rest up for the next day.
First race run
I was really nervous on the Sunday morning because I knew I did maybe have a chance of winning if I did a good run and got all my lines right. But I was also really looking forward to the race. I wanted to get a safe run in on the first run and then on the second run I could really push it. So on the first run I really focused on all the lines I wanted to take, and getting the corners good, pedalling wherever I could, and going as far on the gap jumps as I could. When I got to the bottom though I was really surprised to see that I had got the fastest time, beating the next Junior girl by 6 seconds. And then it turned out that it was the fastest time of all the women so far. I knew on the second run the other girls would definitely be stepping it up to try and beat me, but I had a good time down so I could afford to ride more on edge on the second run. However this lead to me making quite a few line mistakes on the top section and then by the bottom my arms were so tired and I went too fast down the rocky staircase and straight over the berm at the bottom.
Luckily none of the other girls- or women- beat my first run time. So I came away with a Scottish Downhill Champion’s jersey, a trophy, and a massive cup- not bad really.
Here is a video of some of bits of my practice runs and first race run.
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