Dirtgirls - Morzine - PHOTOS!

I took a few photos along the way during the first dirtgirls week, and you can see them here.

National Champs 2006 - Moelfre Hall nr Oswestry, July 15th

The National Champs weekend was held under cloudless blue skies and blazing sunlight. It was a fast grass track with plenty of little drops, some of which were blind, and one really dusty loose technical switchbacks section. There was a long off camber straight which curved gradually round the hill, with lots of loose rocks and dust to catch your wheels, but it was quite a fun track nonetheless.



I qualified 4th on Friday afternoon's seeding, and on Sunday's race I somehow managed to go 10 seconds faster despite it feeling like the worst run ever. It wasn't enough though as most people went faster regardless of any problems with crashes or mistakes and I finished 6th. I was a little disappointed, but now I know I have a few things to go away and work on in time for the next race, which will be the Maxxis Cup in Montgenevre, France in two weeks time.

Dirtgirls Morzine Week

Last week was the first of two girls' only coaching weeks hosted by Mountainbikeholidays.co.uk at their fantastic Chalet La Combe in Morzine, France. I was invited to be the coach for the week, and we covered cornering, braking, roots and rocky sections, and even a little bit of jumping.

The group was quite a small one, with five ladies ranging from almost complete beginner to 20-years-in-the-saddle experienced riders, but no matter what level you are, there's always room for improvement! We rode a lot of descents over the week - who would climb when there's a chair lift to take you to the top?! We also did some nice cross country loops taking in some amazing scenery along the way.

The weather got a bit grim for a couple of days but we made the most of it to practice our mud skills, which are definately in demand most of the time back in the UK.

Bex Hopkins from SheCycles.com came along and you can read more and see photos on the She Cycles site.

The next Dirtgirls week is to be held from 26 Aug to 2 Sept, more information can be found at mountainbikeholidays.co.uk