Last weekend I raced at the National Mountain Bike Cross Country Series in the juvenile female category (under 14). This was at Phoenix Bike Park near Newmarket in Suffolk. This was a very technical and flowy course much more than most courses. Recently, I have added a 'dropper' to my seat post that helps me control the bike better on the hard-technical bits, which I found helped a lot during this race.

Being gridded on the front row every time helps the start and positioning because you are straight off the line and in the top few places. I was about 6^th leading into all the tight, twisty single tracks which I wasn't very happy about as the leaders sped away.

Eventually I managed to get around a few girls who were holding me back and I rode away with another girl. We fought for 4^th and 5^th placings and I managed to get away holding 4^th place. I had to ride hard but caught up 3^rd place but then was caught by the girl in 4^th place as I got held up. After 50 minutes of racing it was then the fight for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th placings. The girl in 5^th dropped back letting me and 3^rd battle it out until the finish. Sadly, 3^rd attacked and I couldn't catch and before I had time to, the finishing straight was already there.

Finishing in 4^th again didn't impress me too much but this has made me more determined to get on the podium in the next national at the HSBC National Championship Mountain Bike Cross Country Event in Hadleigh Park, London in about 4 weeks.

To get better for my next big race, I will be training very hard and working on my skills, e.g. drops and jump as well as being fast on the bike.

Once again, thanks JHMT for the support.