Kerfoot-Robson wins Round 1 of the British Mountain Bike Series

This season Dylan Kerfoot-Robson is racing on the Haibike Greed Team 29er. Here he reports from a very successful Round 1 of the British Mountain Bike Series (BMBS)

“Last Sunday was the first round of the British Mountain Bike Series and for me it was my first MTB race of the season, so there was a mix of excitement and nerves, because you never know how the other guys will go come the first race of the season. The previous weekend I had been on a camp with the other members of ODP (Olympic Development Programme) so I knew roughly what to expect from them, which was a tough and closely fought race, but there were guys that weren’t on that camp so I had no idea what to expect from them.

“After practice on Saturday it was clear that it was going to be a fast closely fought race as the nature of the course meant that there were no places to really split everyone up. It was all pretty flat, fast and flowing which made it easier to follow a wheel than to ride off the front by yourself. There was a BMX track incorporated into the course and a few tight and twisty sections through some woodland but other than that it was wide open grassy fields.

“My race was 1pm on Sunday so it was a bit of change from the Cyclo Cross season as you could have a good lie in on race morning because you didn’t have to practice the course the day of the race. All you need to do is turn up and then start warming up. I actually rode across to the race from where I was staying the night before which meant I could get in a bit of spin in the morning and it also meant I didn’t have to get up at a silly time to get across to the course for my brother to race at 9 o’clock. I arrived at the course about 11am so plenty of time before my race, but not too long that I would just be sitting around. Around about 12:30 I started my warm up, not that I need to get warmer as it was touching 20 degrees, which is another pleasant difference from the Cyclo Cross season. We were called up to grid just before 10 to, there was a little hiccup as the experts were gridded in front of us to start off with but when the commissaire notice he quickly slotted us juniors in behind the elites. I was gridded first due to my performances last year so I got first choice of line on the grid, not that it made a huge amount of difference as it was a bumpy grassy field to start off.

“When the gun went I didn’t quite get the best start possible but that my have been a blessing in disguise as it meant I didn’t have to lead everyone into the first climb ready for them to come around me. It was the other way around really I was in about 3rd or 4th wheel and then going up the first climb I kicked a little bit and moved myself up the pack and got into 2nd wheel. Although I knew I was in a perfect position as the guy that led it out does the same every race and after a good start he always blows and heads back pretty quickly. I was comfortable sitting on his wheel then coming into the first very short bit of single track I had 2 guys come round me on both sides, these 2 were the 2 I ended up riding most of the race with. Us 3 soon established a little group and started pushing on between us and constantly swapping the lead over the next few laps. It was quite difficult at times as we all knew each other very well and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so it was quite tactical at times the way we each knew we had to either lead into certain sections or to sit on one of the other guys wheel’s.

“Over the next few laps we rode well together with a few little digs not really resulting in anything. The at the end of the 3rd lap I put in an attack on the BMX track and got a gap on the other 2 but I didn’t quite have enough to squeeze for long enough to break the ‘elastic’ so after about a minute by myself the other 2 caught up with me again. By this time we were down to 1 lap to go. Right after the finish line was probably the hardest climb of the whole course so I attacked again from about half way up the climb and I kept squeezing across he transition into the first decent and got a gap again on the other 2. At this point I was committed to my effort and I tried to just keep it going. Although after a couple of minutes Mark had come across the gap and was again on my wheel I don’t know when he got on because I only knew he was there when one of the BC coaches shouted “Come on Dylan! Come on Maguire” I just thought “ahhhhh crap!” because I thought I was away but Mark was sitting on my wheel. I had managed to drop one guy though but I would have preferred to have just been by myself but as soon as I noticed he was there I eased up as I didn’t want to just tow him round for a whole lap to have him pip me in the sprint. I stayed on the front but eased right up and then coming into the final few hundred meters of the course it became a track sprint. We knew we were both good at sprinting and I didn’t want to just lead him out so I slowed it right down. Then as we came around the corner into the event village I kicked really hard with only about 200 meters to go. Mark started to come around me about half way up the finish straight, I saw him gaining on me under my left arm, so I kicked again and really emptied the tanks and managed to cross the line about half a bikes length in front of him. I didn’t want to leave it to a sprint, especially with Mark as I knew he was pretty handy, but thankfully I managed to just get the win.

“As soon as I crossed the line my nerves were put to bed and I was just excited that I had managed to win my first MTB race of the season, the first BMBS of the season and my first race on my Haibike Greed Team 29. So all in all it was a good weekend and showed me a few things I need to go away and work on but nothing major thankfully. Which is a good boost to my confidence looking forward to the next round and further on into season.

“The bike was spot on and was amazing to race on, it was very light and nibble but also strong and stiff which was very handy in the sprint as every watt of power coming out of my legs was being put down onto the ground through the back wheel. Thanks a lot to both Haibike and Raleigh for having the belief in me to be able to give me a bike to pilot to victory, I hope there are many more to come and look forward to my next race.”