Below are some short reports from four riders who have competed in cyclo-cross races outside of the island of Ireland.
DISCIPLINE: Cyclo-cross
EVENT: National Trophy Round 1
LOCATION: Derby
DATE: 18/19 September 2021
CATEGORY: Elite Men
RESULTS: http://results.smartiming.co.uk/view-race/nt2022r1me/
This weekend was my first elite national trophy cyclocross race at the Moorlands course in Derby. I was always going to be up against it with a grid position of 84th out of 100 riders but I got a great start and was going well until I crashed half way round lap 1 which put me back to last place and with a damaged bike. Onto the spare bike and I set about working through the field as far as I could. I was satisfied with making my way back to 36th and was happy to be doing lap times that were competitive with the top 20 riders so I know that I can get a better result at round 2 with a bit of luck.
Thanks to the Cycling Ulster off-road commission for helping me with my expenses for this round and to my pit crew for getting me back into the race after my crash.
Lee Harvey
DISCIPLINE: Cyclo-cross
EVENT: National Trophy Round 1
LOCATION: Derby
DATE: 18/19 September 2021
CATEGORY: Elite Women
RESULTS: http://results.smartiming.co.uk/view-race/nt2022r1fe/
It felt great to be back racing Cyclocross and also to be back in England for the first round of the National Trophy which was being held in Derby.
We arrived late Friday night and with no practice on Saturday I went for a road ride to the course for a good look at what was ahead of me on Sunday.
Sunday arrived and with it being dry there was no big decision on tyre choice just a matter of getting a few laps in and trying to get back into Cyclocross mode as I hadn’t raced a cyclocross race for over a year.
With UCI points determining gridding I was lucky enough to be gridded on the front row but with a lot of the top English girls behind me I was aware it would be difficult to hold my position but I would be doing all I could to stay around the front.
I got a great start and was battling for top 10, I felt comfortable and was really enjoying the race, with it being my first CX race in a year I was a bit rusty but I was still giving it everything I had. At the end I finished 13th in the Elite category (7th in the Under 23’s) and just 15secs from 10th after about 50 minutes of racing, I know with a bit more time on the CX bike my pace will definitely increase.
I would like to thank Cycling Ulster for the bursary which enable me to compete at this round.
Darcey Harkness
DISCIPLINE: Cyclo-cross
EVENT: National Trophy Round 1
LOCATION: Derby
DATE: 18/19 September 2021
CATEGORY: Junior Men
RESULTS: http://results.smartiming.co.uk/view-race/nt2022r1mj/
I travelled over to Derby to participate in the first round of the HSBC National Trophy Cyclocross Series. I knew this would be a fast and challenging race for my first junior cyclocross race. With random gridding I was placed in the third row. I was pleased to come away with 29th out of a field of 86 rides. Many thanks to Cycling Ulster for providing support in participating in this event.
Oisin Ferrity
DISCIPLINE: Cyclo-cross
EVENT: National Trophy Round 1
LOCATION: Derby
DATE: 18/19 September 2021
CATEGORY: Under 16 boys
RESULTS: http://results.smartiming.co.uk/view-race/nt2022r1mu16/
I travelled on Friday 17th September by ferry to Cairnryan and my dad drove to our hotel. We broke up the journey and drove the final 1hr 30mins on Saturday morning arriving at 11:30. My race, the U16 boys, was the last race of the day at 15:20. Practice was between 12:45 & 13:45. After a few laps I was happy with the course. The conditions were warmer than expected and very dry. The gridding for round 1 was random and I was 73rd out of 100. I was planning on trying to do my best to get a top 30 placing so to get points for gridding at future rounds. I got off to a good start on lap one and worked my way up through the field. Over the remaining laps I picked off some more positions to finally finish in 26th. I was very happy with the result.
Thank you to Cycling Ulster Off-road Commission for their assistance and my dad for the driving. I plan to travel to some more British National trophy rounds throughout the season.
Conor Murphy