The 2012 New Zealand National Championships were held in Nelson this year and another fast and exciting course was put on for all riders young and old.
After my performance last weekend only 7 seconds behind the winner I was very keen to see what I could lay down on the table and get a result of which I knew I was capable of.
During the practise laps the course was rather skittery which made for one or two loose exits out of some tight corners. I opted to run my Geax Barro Race tyres which turned out to hold on nicely in those sketchy corners and were super fast up the climbs.
Race day came around and I felt a bit funny before the start of the race (must have been the nerves!). The first part of the race wasn't the best for me as during the start climb up to the single track I was feeling a bit flat until the steep top section of gravel road. From here I managed to overcome that feeling and smacked it to get back onto the back of the front riders. After the first downhill I then pulled myself back behind Carl with Dirk and Mikey leading the charge. Unfortunately after the rest of the lap Dirk and Mike had pulled away as Carl had slipped behind and I was stuck behind him.
Finally when I got into clear terrain I got into a rhythm and started my hunt to catch Mikey up. Dirk had managed to create a gap and while I got close to Mikey I just couldn't quite get right back onto him and finished the race in 3rd position in the Elite category (2nd Under 23).
Overall certainly not the best race for a couple of reasons but still fairly happy to be 3rd in the Elite field as a second year Under 23 rider, plenty of room to improve!
Bring on Oceanias come March!
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