Battle in the Bowl 2018

Sunday morning I went through the very familiar routine of packing bike and gear into the car. Unusually though I had absolutely no idea what to expect at the other end of the journey. I was heading to Matterley Bowl near Winchester; a familiar venue I know for hosting Southern Series XC races in the past. The event format this time however was going to be very different. I was going Cyclocross racing!

Yes, it is off-road and yes I was riding my mountain bike, but the course was distinctly different from what you’d find at a mountain bike race. There was nothing remotely technical in sight. No narrow singletrack swooping through the trees and rocks. Just 3 miles of wide gravel paths and lots of open grassy turns. As a venue the natural amphitheatre of Matterley bowl is spectacular. The trade stands with their colourful banners and flags nestled against a back drop of steep green slopes. The hillside covered in zig zags of course tape fluttering in the breeze. Almost the entire 3 mile course could be viewed standing in the arena area.

Dusty opening gravel loop

The sun was beating down on the opening dusty gravel road around the bottom of the bowl. Climbing slightly before the course turned left and cascaded across the green Downland grass. Dozens of twists and turns marked out by the dazzling white course tape. After a dizzying number of switchbacks riders were eventually funneled back onto gravel at the base of the climb. A proper lung buster the wide white chalky scar was longer than most hills you’ll find at local XC courses with an unrelenting gradient. Once up to the ridge a grassy double track path took you around the top of the bowl in the opposite direction to the start loop, before a loose and sketchy, high speed decent dropped you back to the start.

Backwards and forwards between the tape!

Not owning a Cyclocross bike I’d be racing my MTB in the “Open Warfare” category. The number of race recruits swelled to 65 by the glorious sunshine. 6 laps awaited.

Keen not to make the mistake of my last two races where I’ve been too cautious, I pushed my way to the front row of the grid, looking to avoid the melee behind. It proved an excellent decision! As we sprinted away, charging down the gravel track, I latched onto a rear wheel seeking a tow into the headwind. Amongst proper Cyclocross bikes my gearing was pretty marginal for such high speed racing, my 30t chainring spinning like a windmill in a hurricane. Amid the dust and stones a couple of the riders ahead of me dropped off the pace and I had to dig deep to bridge the gaps and stay in the slipstream of the group. We swept onto the grass. The looping switch back nature of the turns meant I could check behind and see I was part of a lead group which had distanced the chasing pack by 5 or 6 seconds.

We swung through the curves between the tape, the grass thankfully flattened on the racing line by the earlier junior and youth races. This did mean however that it was hard to go off-line and pass. I managed to dip inside one rider, but was then rudely chopped by another as he came through.

We powered into the bottom of the climb - my time to shine! I steadily slipped past riders as we hauled ourselves up the hill. The incline steepened nastily just at the summit and I snuck into 5^th behind the leading quartet. We traversed our way around the top edge of the bowl, still climbing gently. The gaps between us opened, except behind me! I was passed just as we turned into the decent. Stones were sent scattering into the trees as we both battled for grip. It was a totally flat out decent, with a chicane half way down placed in an effort to reduce the speed. Then heavy braking back onto the grass at the bottom for a tight hairpin left. There stood a marshall waving his arms with another desperately repairing the tape as two of the leaders returned to the course after overshooting the turn!

A rider passed me as I took avoiding action and I followed him closely across the line to complete the first lap. This was actually quite lucky as I was now able to grab a lovely tow around the gravel loop of the bowl, saving my energy for the climb where I re-passed him. I stretched the gap behind slightly and chased the rider 50 meters ahead around the top of the lap, before plunging down again.

Back on the gravel, this time I was the carrot and the rider behind latched onto my rear wheel before passing and pulling a slight lead into the maze of grassy turns. I caught and repassed him on the climb and worked hard to stretch out a small gap for the second time.

The hill!

Despite my efforts I was reeled in by the same rider on the blast around the bowl. Disappointingly he shook me off his rear wheel while passing back markers and I was left chasing to close a gap that this time slowly grew. I got close on the climb, closing right up to his rear wheel, but this time I was chasing in the dust rather than stretching a lead.

Lap 5 was an exact repeat. I got within a couple of bike lengths on the climb, but lost ground gradually over the rest of the lap. In the taped section we swung backwards and forwards past each other. I could also keep an eye on those a few seconds behind as the bell sounded and we charged into the final lap.

I threw everything into the climb and closed to 10 meters. In a do or die move I sprinted out of the saddle. I closed and closed, until there was just a back marker between us. My legs were screaming, my heart was pounding, I had nothing else left to give. This was as close as I got. As I turned into the final descent I knew there were no more passing opportunities and sat up, cruising across the line 7^th overall.

I was 4^th veteran (over 40) home. A fantastic result, but 4^th is always tinged with slight disappointment. As the commentator had kindly reminded me during the race, “Come on Ben, there are no prizes for 4^th!”

Challenging yourself and trying something new by stepping out of your comfort zone, even slightly, can be very rewarding. I really enjoyed trying something different and it gave me an excellent workout ahead of next weeks Southern XC Championships.