The past couple of days we have been riding at Hardwood Hills preparing for XC Nationals that take place this Saturday. I have just been trying to master the “flow” of the course and increase my efficiency through line selection and other things. On Tuesday I did a few laps with Rhys at a steady pace and we tried to find the path of least resistance around the course by trying different lines and analyzing them by timing the various options to see which was fastest for us. I am very confident of my abilities on this course now because of this. Today we did another couple of laps including a “hot lap” with the team which was very useful for me as courses change so much at race pace. We also practiced starts, which was a weak point for me at the race in Sudbury last Sunday. Most of the team will be racing the Eliminator races on Thursday but I will be skipping them to focus solely on the big XCO race Saturday. I am having lots of fun and I am seeing improvements in my own riding everyday and hope to knock off the Quebec team from the top of the podium this weekend! I would like to thank Cycling BC and all their sponsors and supporters, my parents, and Summit Sports, for making this trip possible and giving me a chance to rip it up this weekend.
– Mahon Lamont
Nationals have finally come and I couldn’t be more stoked. We have been preparing for it for this all year and I am feeling confident in my preparation. I am very happy with all the man made sections of the course and really love this course. I feel that the high speeds and technically demanding sections really suit me. I have now done 2 hot laps of the course and it gets substantially harder. Everything comes up faster and you have to practice the obstacles under physical and mental fatigue. I think knowing this before hand will really help me in preparing for Saturday’s big race. Thanks to all our sponsors and supporters that make these projects possible.
– Rhys Verner
Today was my fourth day riding on the Nationals course. Because we arrived early last week we were able to put in a couple days on course before heading to the Sudbury Canada Cup. I really enjoy this course; it has a lot of obstacles and technical sections, as well as road climbs and smooth flowy sections. We had done a course recon last week, so the past couple days have seen us perfecting lines, and getting the course as memorized as possible for Saturday. I am quite confident with my lines on this course, and I think the technical riding on this course will be where I am strongest. I’m really excited to be racing here, particularly after having done a camp today with the junior national team coach. I got a lot out of it, and I learned a fair bit about my own riding, as well as the girls’ I will be racing against. Tomorrow is the eliminator, and we will be racing against the pro women. A huge thanks to Cycling BC, and all of their sponsors for making opportunities like these a possibility.
– Jennifer McTavish
