Rosie Holdsworth headed to Welshest Wales to see if she could battle 200+ riders and replicate her win from the 2016 Red Bull Foxhunt.
The ladies’-only Red Bull Foxhunt headed to Atherton Country in Wales to see who could beat the World Cup and World Champion on home turf. We sent Rosie Holdsworth along to see if she could get herself atop the podium like she did in 2016.
Photos courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool.
It was Foxhunt time again this weekend and around 200 riders descended on Machynlleth to settle scores, conquer fears and generally have a lovely old time in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Coming out of a fantastic World Cup season and recent World Champs victory, Rachel Atherton was back to chase riders down following a year off last year through injury.
I was back again. After missing the muddy Foxhunt carnage last year I was keen to remind myself just how terrifying mass start races really are, catch up with racing regulars and soak up the special atmosphere that the Foxhunt creates. Lurking in the back of my mind was the pressure of my result from two years ago, having not raced yet all this year, was there any chance I could replicate 2016 on Welsh soil?
The sun was shining for practice on Saturday and the crispy cold and nervous energy around the event centre had people itching to get going. A gentle spin from the top of the uplift to the start line was a welcome wake up for sleepy legs and a great warm up for the pedally grass sections at the top of the course. Several wide, off -camber corners through the bracken and grass offered plenty of opportunity for sketchy overtakes before riders were funnelled into the woods.
Here the track split in several sections, giving riders the choice of A and B options and the chance to queue jump the inevitable chaos that ensues when 160 plus riders all try to hit the same line. By this stage in the track I’d shaken off the jangly nerves and was really enjoying myself, the mixture of hard-pedalling brakes-off grass galloping and tighter tree-lined more technical trails was a hoot, and gave different riding styles the opportunity to shine. There were testing sections which demanded commitment and concentration, but also the option to bypass many of these sections for a smoother run – which option would be fastest?
Practice and seeding on a clear track is one thing, what lines and obstacles would the craziness of race day throw up? Two things were certain though: This track was fun, and it was fast – scary fast.
The sunshine, relaxed atmosphere and the chance to catch up with friends I’ve not seen in too long meant I almost missed my seeding run, but I was up and away in the last uplift of the day with a certain Ms Atherton – way to ramp up the pressure! My seeding run was a blast, despite my determination to ignore it, the competitive devil on my shoulder (and the possibility of being caught and pummelled into the woodland floor by a World Champ) goaded me into a much faster run than I’d managed all day.
The track was riding brilliantly, it seemed to offer more grip the faster and harder you pushed – would the amazing conditions hold up for race day, or would there be a slippery, muddy repeat of 2017’s race?
Saturday evening gave me chance to catch up with Rachel and squeeze in a few questions to the racing legend before devouring some of the amazing laid-on food (big-up to the caterers) and soaking up the amazing atmosphere in the massive Tipi. Sensible (or boring?) Rosie kicked in and I shuffled off to snore the campsite into submission to avoid soaking up too much “atmosphere” – or beer.
Race day arrived with a couple of rain showers. Competitors nervously eyed rainclouds on the morning’s practice runs, but our collective prayers to the weather Gods paid off and rain held off for practice and racing (phew!). Riders who had chosen not to seed or who had seeded slowest headed up the hill first to create a jittery party atmosphere at the top of the track.
There’s nothing like a mass start race to set the old nerves a jangling, and even the seasoned racers amongst us weren’t immune to a nervous giggle or two. Just writing about mass starts ties my stomach in knots!
Mercifully, before I’d had chance to completely work myself into a quivering wreck – we were off! Women galloped into the first funnel and I was surrounded on all sides. Bracken was flying, gears were mashing and whoops, shouts and squeals of terror were in the air. I pedalled hard through the first gentle corners and tustled my way into the front pack, sitting in fourth as we careered into a series of tight off-camber corners, all four of us almost coming a cropper in one tight section.
As we entered the wood they seemed full of noise, the amazing marshals giving plenty of encouragement, and the clamour of dozens of women and bikes squeezing into tight lines. I was chasing down speedy young gun Rosy Monaghan when she went wide on a corner and met a tree. Ouch!
That was me up into third, coming into a sketchy slab with several dozen eager riders breathing down my neck and marshals cheering us all on. I was already tiring, regretting pedalling so hard further up the course and cursing my lack of fitness.
A couple of sketchy moments made me second guess my commitment and back off the gas a little – mistake! Stacey Fisher sailed past me in a textbook overtake through a rocky section and despite my best efforts to ignore my screaming legs and burning lungs, I’d run out of horsepower and couldn’t gallop hard enough to catch her as we sprinted over the finish line. What a race!
As more and more of us spilled over the line, a massive cheer went up when the rider in 40th appeared. Rachel Atherton had charged through the pack, somehow managing to shout tips and encouragement whilst overtaking dozens of riders and was beaming as she crossed the line.
She wasn’t the only one; everyone crossing the line had huge grins on their faces. The 2018 foxhunt was a fantastically fun race. The weather, the riding and the overall atmosphere had everyone smiling and laughing. This year Red Bull have succeeded in putting on an inclusive, amazing race which catered to a wide range of abilities and riding styles. Roll on 2019!
