Race report: Scottish Cross Country series 2016 round 1, Laggan Wolftrax, 27th of March

2:45 pm. I am on the start line, aligned with the sport category racers. Before us are the elite, expert and junior racers, who start a few minutes earlier than us. Everybody looks impatient to put the power down the pedals, and so am I. Usually the afternoon race starts at 2 pm but afternoon races were delayed by 45 minutes because of two nasty crashes in the morning, including a broken ankle. Very good job from the organizing staff to keep us informed about the delays. It reminds me my terrible race in 2015 when I did not finish after a bad crash in the rocks. I mangled my knee and elbow and ended in South Hospital from Glasgow. My elbow looked so bad they thought it was an open fracture, but I got away with just glue to close the wounds. I try to stay away from these negative images and focus on the race to come. Racing safely is in my objective list for 2016 so I'm not going to take any risks on the descent, and put all I have on the climbs.

Gunshot, elite, experts and juniors jump on the pedals and disappear within seconds, eating the first fire road climb like a piece of cake. Sport racers move ahead. For the start I'm on the first lane, from being 4^th overall in 2015. I see many familiar faces, it's going to be interesting to see how I can do against them this year! The race commissaire gives some instructions, we put the proper gear on, grab the brakes and prepare for the sprint. I'm surprised how calm I am. I have been thinking about this moment many times and it always increased my heartbeat rate and made me nervous, but today my mind is empty, still as a lake. I'm just ready to put the power down the pedals. Fifteen seconds before the gunshot.

Silence fills the start.

Gunshot.

7:30 am. When I open my eyes the bedroom is already filled with the morning light. I had too much tea yesterday so I woke up almost every two hours this night but I'm rested, although I feel a bit dizzy. It just took some coffee and pancakes bring me back to life! I stick to a rather light breakfast whereas Thomas, who drove me here from Glasgow, is enjoying a full scottish breakfast.

The weather is much better now, a storm passed over Scotland during the night. This is not a big deal, the race trail here in Laggan is mainly rocky and hard-packed so it's almost weather proof. There is only a muddy section in the descent. I mentally rehearse the track. It starts with a big climb on a fire road taking half of lap time, before taking a rocky section that leads to the woods for a short time. Out of the woods the trail is going down on a rocky path before going down the orange trail, full of high speed berms and table tops. I knew from last year the race would be like that, so during training I was putting emphasis on long intervals.

8:30 am. It is time to dress for the race. The temperature is going to be 6 degrees Celsius this afternoon so long sleeves and thick socks. Legs will be burning and I'm not so prone to cramps so I'm just wearing shorts. Thomas and me head to the track and watch the morning races.

10:30 am. The parking lot is full, we park on the side of a dirt road next to the trail center, where many racers already parked and are getting prepared. It is quite chilly this morning, I am happy to race in the afternoon. We get by the start line and watch the morning races.

12:30 pm. After registration we go back to the car to get rid of the warm clothes and go for warming up. I feel more and more excited, I am quite chatty. Thomas is quieter, he must be focussing on the race. At the bottom of the trails we met our mate Luke. We chat a bit and split to go warming up. I like my warm to be long and thorough, about an hour. I even like to do a wake up lap before the morning race but no time for this today. After gradually increasing intensity from stroll pace to the aerobic threshold I put a few accelerations at anaerobic threshold pace and then a few sprints. Then I do a few stretches and ride around the start line to stay warm.

2:40 pm. I see people amassing at the grid, I follow them. I chat a bit with my mates and align on the grid for the start. We watch the elite, expert and junior categories start, then prepare for the start. I focus my mind on my main objectives: power on the climb, safety going down.

At the gunshot, I manage to clip in fast and lead the start for a few minutes. At the feed zone, just after the start, I hear “very good start Jonathan!” I did not look on the side but I bet it was Graeme Short, a seasoned grand veteran racer that I met last year at Cathkin Braes. It is a good surprise for me who was usually lagging behind the start and eventually overtaking people later. A few minutes into the climb were are a group of 4 people with a very decent advantage on the rest of the pack. I quickly retrograde to 4^th place or maybe even 5^th and try to stay with the leaders. I am okay on the climb but they easily drop me during the descent, something to work on!

The race is going well, I overtake a few and I am overtaken by others but I do not pay attention to plates, I am just pacing my effort and trying to go down safely. Nothing unplanned except a short hail storm at mid-race, nothing too bad. The weather was cold so I barely drank half of my 1L water bottle (no friend at the feed zone). I stayed strong throughout the race and increased the pace on 3^rd lap over 4 but I had to slow down on the last lap.

I cross the finish line with a very good impression, although I don't have a precise idea about my rank. My mates join me a bit later, Luke had a rather good race and finished just after me and Thomas had a bit more trouble, with three crashes. Nothing too bad hopefully but some nasty bruises. Laggan is a tougher race than it seems!

5:30 pm. We chill out waiting for the podium ceremony and Luke suspect I finished third. Indeed my name is called first for the sport category podium. I am delighted! Joe Curran finished 2^nd behind John Mackenzie. Joe and John finished 10 seconds apart, while I was about 4 minutes behind them. Luke finished 4^th is the sport category and Thomas finished 12^th in the veteran category, a very fast group of guys! I got a Mars egg and a scarf as prizes, good mix for immediate recovery and stay warm in later trainings! Everybody quickly spread around and go back to their cars, so as Thomas and me. Unfortunately the coffee shop of the bike center is closed, so we will have to wait a little for a nice and warm tea!

Overall it was a very good race for me, which validates my training so far and gives me directions in which I will steer future workouts. The event was also very nice, good track, nice atmosphere, neat organization. What else? Maybe a few side events would make the event bigger and more fun, like a skills competition/show : who will bunny hop the highest, who can track stand the longer, who can bike-limbo the lowest (I've seen 65 cm at the Roc d'Azur in France!). Anyway I am looking forward the next round in Dunoon on the 1^st of May!

See full results at http://www.sxc.org.uk/#!laggan-2016/tlqrs and https://www.rootsandrain.com/race3811/2016-mar-27-scottish-xc-1-laggan-wolftrax/