Team Focus MTB 2010/2011: NI XC # 5, Castlewellan, Co. Down

Despite post nationals total body shutdown, I made my way to this race. You just cannot turn down the opportunity to race here, defo my favourite course I have ever ridden! After recent felling, they have had to build new tracks and further improve this already incredible course.

On the way up with Robin, we both agreed that we were totally knackered and hardly able to ride the bikes, so we decided to cruise around and chat......grand stuff, little racing so! The course is incredible, approx 22 mins of singletrack, with a couple of mins of fast flat fireroad, a triumph of XC trail building. Rain the previous couple of days had made the going real slippy, and my fasttrack tyres would not be up to the job at all, but off we went.

The pace was real gingerly at the start, a good bit of chatting and laughing on the descents, at the end of lap 1, only myself, bob and super DH'er Gareth McKee were together. Gar was incredible, training for the DH nationals, he was suffering on the up bits, but bootin it on the down bits, great stuff. Robin took care of him for the rest of the race, ensuring he wasnt dropped too much. However, I was in a bad way. 2 weeks off the bike, working hard, baby not feckin sleeping and a poxy back was taking its toll, so much so that I packed with 1 lap to go. Just goes to show how bollixed I am when I was unable to finish a race riding at 80%. Also, my 1st XC DNF in, er, 6 years, approx 50 races....not a bad statistic.

Robin cruised in 1st, with gar getting an excellent 2nd and James coming in 3rd. Time for me to sort my life out before the upcoming marathons and the Roc, then the cross season....head down time!

Congrats to XMTB, amazing course, great day out....hope to be back at Castlewellan next year!

Robin, Gar and I in the singletrack