British Championships 2013

The British Championships this year were being held at the new Commonwealth Games course at Cathkin Braes in Glasgow. I had been excited and nervous about this race since I heard the champs would be taking place in Scotland for 2013. I raced on the course earlier in the year for the SXC round so I had an idea of what the course would be like, the only difference this time was I tuned up to race in 20degrees which was a nice change from the rain and sleet from last time. Scotland had provided us with a fast and dusty course. My preparation had gone well leading into the event and I was excited to race although I was still nervous. One of the main reasons I was nervous for the race was because I had made the decision to race in the Elite category compared to racing in the under 23 category which would provide a big challenge for me. There was a couple of reasons for doing this but the main one was that I thought I had a chance so I took the risk to step up and have a go. We headed to Glasgow on Friday then on Saturday we arrived at the course and put together 4/5 laps to get used to it before Sunday’s race.

I lined up front row for my race on Sunday to complete 7 laps of the course. It wasn’t long before the race was underway and I took a relaxed start and kept myself towards the front of the race and tried to stay out of trouble. It was a narrow course with minimal chance for overtaking so I had to keep aware of my position throughout the first part of the race. The race stayed together early on with a big group forming of all the main contenders, after about 3 laps the race started to kick off with some small moves from Oli Beckingsale, Gareth Montgomery and David Fletcher. This split the group and me Gareth and Oli opened up a gap on the rest of the race. I stayed here for the following lap before deciding to have a go on a couple of the descents on the course and try to give myself a little gap into the two harder sections of the course. My plan worked well and I opened a small gap on Oli who was very strong and from there I had to chew my stem and hold onto the gap throughout the final laps of the race. I felt good on my bike and I managed to do this well and came round into the finish of the race very happy to win my first Elite British championships! I was very pleased to win and it was great to do it on a course in Scotland.

The rest of the podium was filled up with Oli in second and David in third place. Thanks to the people that cheered me round and thanks to the people off the bike that support me and allow me to perform to my best, it’s much appreciated. Next up I have the World Championships in South Africa in couple of weeks where my main target will be the Under 23 cross country race.
Thanks for reading, Grant.