Its not every day you ride a tough Cyclocross Course, but then again its not everyday you ride a tough Cyclocross course competing against a Track World Cup Gold Medallist, which is exactly what happened at Round 8 of the Welsh Cyclocross League at Pembrey as Manon Lloyd decided to dust off her Cross Bike.
Craig Seaman, Bynea CC caught up with Manon for a heart to heart about how she got on with their beloved Poppy Cross in Pembrey.
"Living local to Pembrey I went down on the Friday to have a quick look at the course, but not knowing the exact course it was hard to tell if I was on the right track. It’s been 6 years since I was last on a cross bike and lets just say I was a little rusty on the technical sections.
From talking to some of the other competitors that have raced most of the other rounds this was one of the more technical courses in the league. The course had a lot of single track and loose sandy sections, also had a very twisty grass section that was in fact a shape of a poppy if you look on strava.
Cold and Crisp
Thankfully it was a dry Sunday a little cold due to the wind but warm once you got going. I didn't really know what to expect going into the race as I had come into it off a track block, training for races 4 mins long. It was a shock to the system with my heart rate averaging 190bpm for the 45 mins.
It was a very fast start sprinting all the way down the field to get into the single track first, to get a clear run of the track. I think I was third going into the single track but quickly got distanced as the course got more technical. I was a bit apprehensive going into the technical sections but surprisingly I enjoyed these the most.
A borrowed bike to the finish line.
There were two sections of the course where I had to dismount, first one was the big log, and the second being the steep up hill with roots coming out. I also did my first ever bike change as with 2.5 laps to go, I noticed I was slipping out on all the corners took me a while to figure out my back tyre was nearly flat. I hope no one saw the bike change as it was far from perfect. I then had to hack round the last lap on my brothers spare bike that was nowhere near the right fit for me.
Good to have you back in the heart of CX
It was nice to get back on the cross scene where I first started racing my bike as an u14. It was amazing to see such large entries over all the categories, and it was noticeable how the standard of riders in the cross has improved in the last couple of years.
I was very impressed to see the large number of women taking part in the novice women and the elite women’s race, and clearly enjoying themselves. The amount of youth riders taking part has also increased dramatically and it was nice to see an under 6 race which I have not previously seen before.
Manon Lloyd, Trek Drops Pro Cycling and Team GB
Many Thanks To Craig Seaman at Bynea CC for arranging this interview, and to Manon Lloyd for putting pen to paper and giving us insights of being back on the 'Cross.
Welcome Back anytime.
