pic: Ed Rollason

Normally it’s the middle of winter when the cyclocross season kicks off before I take part in any kind of hour-long cycle races that always seem to remind me how crap I am at that sort of thing. I keep telling myself it’s a result of spending the year endurance training and 24 hour racing…that’s my somewhat ropey theory anyway…

This year, I’m starting the humiliation early. British Cycling have been running a series of crits at the Manchester City stadium car park so it would have been a shame not to give it a go.

It all seemed to start ok – I was holding my position in the group and I was happy with the pace….for a while anyway.

Lacking that vital ‘snap’ out of hairpin turns was my downfall. Eventually dropping off the back of the pack, doomed to a lonely existence aside from occasional overtaking of other dropped riders, I went around and around the 2k circuit without the benefit of a wheel to grab onto. Eventually and somewhat inevitably I was lapped on the final lap – my kick in the head at my first crit now complete.

Good fun, kind of. Another one next week. Yay. Practice makes perfect and all that.