The national xc championships were hosted today at Bellurgan Park. A steep hill at the start of the course then a technical downhill back down to the finish. I go into this race as the favourite to win as i have won 5/5 of the national series.

Things didn’t go my way today, I was super nervous before the race but I liked the muddy conditions. Off the line I slipped my pedal making me loose ground off the start, after the first corner I made my way up to 2nd on the wheel of eventual race winner. On the 1st lap I lost some time on the descent and by the time I had gotten around to the finish i was around 30 seconds down on the leader. I rode a strong next lap and got myself back to the leader. I tried to get past him before the start of the single track but I was unable to do so. It came down to a sprint finish and I came 2nd.

I am disappointed that I didn’t win as i came here with that as my main goal but we move on. It was also my rivals home course which makes it very hard. Next up the Ulster 3 Day