RED BULL FOX HUNT 2015
The chance to take part in the Red Bull Fox Hunt 2015 with Rachel Atherton was causing much excitement in the MTBChix&Trails Facebook group. Members were eagerly awaiting the chance to get tickets after hearing from other members how much they had enjoyed the Fox Hunt the previous year!
Once the tickets were released, the excitement built up. Have you got your tickets? Who was going? Are you camping? Should I go? This quickly turned to - THEY'VE SOLD OUT! The tickets had all gone in 2 days!
As we got closer to the date of the Fox Hunt, the discussion on Facebook turned more to the event. We worked out there were up to 40 members going to be at the Fox Hunt, which would be the biggest meet up of Chix so far! Posts on the page turned to getting to know each other a bit better, what bikes we rode, what we did for a living and how to recognise each other when we arrived.
Once the tickets were released, the excitement built up. Have you got your tickets? Who was going? Are you camping? Should I go? This quickly turned to - THEY'VE SOLD OUT! The tickets had all gone in 2 days!
As we got closer to the date of the Fox Hunt, the discussion on Facebook turned more to the event. We worked out there were up to 40 members going to be at the Fox Hunt, which would be the biggest meet up of Chix so far! Posts on the page turned to getting to know each other a bit better, what bikes we rode, what we did for a living and how to recognise each other when we arrived.
Soon it was the Friday we were due to arrive at the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh, the venue for the Fox Hunt. Cars were packed with tents and bikes, many of us driving up after work. Some got there in daylight which was helpful for putting up tents, others had to do so by torchlight. A few of us set up in the field together, recognised by the huge Chix flag Ash had put up. We all helped out and one way or another agreed to meet in the giant Red Bull teepee at the base of the hills. We registered, got our Fox Hunt jerseys and started to relax. A mixture of excitement, nerves and getting to meet girls we knew and some we'd only ever spoken to online. We put names to faces, had some drinks then settled in our tents ready for practice on Saturday and our seeding runs.
Saturday morning came and we all had breakfast in the field next to the Red Bull teepee. After that we gathered inside the teepee for a race briefing by the Red Bull team. We were told about the course, the uplifts, safety, but most of all to have fun. Rachel Atherton then spoke to the riders about how excited she was about the event and how great it was to have so many women mountain bikers together.
So, it was time to get our bikes, our timing chips and wait for the uplift. No ordinary uplift, we travelled in style in huge Jeeps, as far up the hills as they could take us. Next part of the journey to the top was a climb while our bikes were taken on 4x4 buggies a little further. The last part was a push up with our bikes to the top. As we climbed we watched some of the first girls to the top come down the course. We cheered them on as we carried on with our steep climb. Once at the top, we got our breath back and set off down the course when we were ready. The track consisted of steep heathery downs, rocky ups, rocky downs, across fields, through woods, rock gardens, berms and jumps. With A and B lines in certain places, there was something for everyone. Riding through the Red Bull arch at the finish line was amazing, we now knew what the course entailed and could continue with uplifts and practice.
Saturday afternoon was time for our seeding runs. We set off at 30 second intervals to get our time and place in one of the 13 rows of riders for the race on Sunday. Once these runs were done we could have a shower and relax. For those of the riders who still had some energy there was yoga in another teepee, whereas the rest of us met up in the giant teepee for drinks and something to eat.
Sunday morning and up early for breakfast and yoga. Afterwards we had another briefing on the race, times for uplifts, safety and the timetable for the day. We were told as the race was at 1pm, there would only be enough time for one practice run each. Some riders chose to take advantage of this, others felt they would rather make the most of the morning by relaxing and spending time with friends or meeting up with Rachel Atherton, who was chatting, signing autographs and having a million photos taken. At this point MTBChix&Trails admin arranged a photo opportunity with Rachel and our flag. Soon more and more members began running over which resulted in a huge photo of Rachel with our flag surrounded by Chix members in their Fox Hunt jerseys. It was an amazing moment, seeing all of those girls running over to be in the photo, from a small group started in January to a huge meet up of us all with Rachel, THE WORLD CHAMPION!!! Then down to earth with a bump, it was time for race uplifts to begin!
The riders who were going to be in the rear rows of the race line up were first in the uplifts. A lot of us were nervous as we were mainly less experienced riders, but the atmosphere and encouragement put us at ease. We had longer to wait as the jeeps and buggies had to go up and down the hills many times to get all the entrants to the start line. We were excited and the view from the top was fantastic. We sat around in groups, talking about the race, checking the time and looking for secluded places in the grass to try and do nervous toilet visits! It started to get busy as more girls were arriving at the top, those of us up there first had to keep moving along, worried as there now seemed to be a hill start from where we were standing.
1pm was fast approaching and the nerves were kicking in. We were called to our places one by one. The faster girls were at the front, including sponsored riders, the rows filled up and soon we were all in place. We were on a slight slope and weren't sure whether to start on our bikes or off in the tightly packed line up.
The start was counted down and we could see Rachel on the peak behind, not much of a head start for us. The girls at the front sped off, while those of us further back had to wait for riders in front to move forward. Soon we were on our bikes heading downhill through thick heather. There was a bottle neck on the next climb as it was narrow and rocky. Looking to our right we saw Rachel flying past us and jump off her bike as even she hadn't been able to make it straight to the top. Oh well, she was past us now, so all we had to do was finish as fast as we could in one piece. More rocky trails and heather to get through, as we made our way down the hills there were more spectators to cheer us on. Through fields and woods, over the rock gardens, we overtook others if and when we could. We passed photographers in weird places, heard our names shouted by onlookers who had come to support us and heard bells and horns as we pedalled as hard as we could. More people shouted as we made our way through the fields and round the berms near the end of the course. The finish line of the Red Bull arch was in sight as we found one last burst of energy to pedal our way through. Most of us had made it down in one piece! The feeling of finishing the Fox Hunt was amazing, girls were hugging, photographers and video crews were circling and we congratulated each other on how well we had done.
We checked our times and soon it was time for the podiums. One of the MTBChix&Trails members, Bex Barona, had got 1st place and Rachel made a speech about how great it was to see so many women in a mountain biking race, about 130 had taken part. She hoped it would be even bigger next year.
By now we were feeling quite sad that an amazing weekend was over, it was time to pack up and go home. The whole weekend had been fantastic, meeting old friends, making new friends, putting faces to names, the encouragement, the laughs and most of all, racing downhill against Rachel Atherton!
ROLL ON 2016.....
By now we were feeling quite sad that an amazing weekend was over, it was time to pack up and go home. The whole weekend had been fantastic, meeting old friends, making new friends, putting faces to names, the encouragement, the laughs and most of all, racing downhill against Rachel Atherton!
ROLL ON 2016.....
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Copyright © 2015 Michelle Haigh MTBChix&Trails
Use of this website is for your own personal and non-commercial use. Materials may not be copied, reproduced, republished, down-loaded, posted, broadcast or transmitted in any way, without prior written permission of MTBChix&Trails.
Copyright © 2015 Michelle Haigh MTBChix&Trails