Rob's SE & E regional X champs report

Rob McCarthy rode the regional cross championships, here's his report:

After a week of snow and frozen conditions, the race still took place, typically by Sunday the snow had melted, making the course conditions cold, wet and muddy.

I got a good start, but found the muddy and cold conditions hard, The course was a bit too long which meant riding with a heavily clogged bike most of the lap, before a bike change was possible. I spent most of the race battling with Dan Duguid (Sigma Sport) but unfortunately I had a small spill on the last lap, in the mud and lost 30 M to him.
Towards the end of the race my hands were struggling to brake and change gear due to the mud and cold, I finished the race with agonizing chilblains in my hands, to a 10th place
OK but not a top 5 which I wanted. Hopefully some better results are on the way. Jamie Newell put up a good fight to retain his SE+E title but was just edged out on the final climb by Gareth Montgomerie. (Sigma Sport)
A big thanks to Andy Dilkes for helping out in the pits.