Christina battles to a fourth place finish in the National Cyclo Cross Champs

Last weekend, the National Cyclocross Champs headed to Crawley. Some very strong women lined up at the start, including our very own Christina Wiejak. We were all so excited and proud to see one of our team mates at such a big event and there were plenty of us watching and cheering her on from our dry, warm, mud-free sofa’s! It’s safe to say Christina did herself and us more than proud and finishing fourth against such strong competition was a very deserved and hard fought for result.

Here is what Christina had to say about the day-

“After a less than ideal National Trophy race in Kent a few weeks ago, I'd lost a bit of confidence in cyclocross and was strongly considering the idea of not making the long journey back down south for the National Championships. However, some encouragement from numerous sources, and a couple of wins over Christmas in North West regional races, gave me a bit of a kick to commit to the race and give it my best shot. If you don't try, you'll never know!

Seeing photos and interviews from the Saturday races, where it rained non-stop all day, I could see that the course was very attritional. We all have our ideal courses and conditions, and this certainly looked like it might be mine. After a couple of practice laps before the racing started, the mud was starting to dry out, making it extremely sticky and the going incredibly heavy. When it gets like this, I often find myself running sections of the course when others try to ride. While this does consume a lot of energy, for me it's significantly quicker and worth it.

I was more nervous than usual on the start line; I always suffer badly with nerves, but I knew I could potentially get myself a good result here (I thought a top 10 finish was cautiously optimistic), so I put a lot more pressure on myself. I was lucky to have some fellow North West cyclocross riders to help me in the pits (which was extremely fortunate as it was a 'half-lap-pit-change' day!), removing some worry and leaving me with just the race to think about.

I was gridded on the second row, and unfortunately the rider in front of me mis-clipped, blocking me and putting me slightly on the back foot off the line. However, soon after the start straight we were into deep mud and I started to make progress. By the final lap, I had moved into fourth place and I could hear Matt Payne on the commentary saying what a great ride this was going to be; a real boost to hear. The support around the course was like nothing I've experienced before, deafening in places, some from familiar faces but mostly just enthusiastic crowds. I definitely went 'into the red' in the final lap to defend my place, but crossing the line made any effort totally worthwhile. I was overwhelmed by how many people came up to me to offer congratulations on what is the ride of my cyclocross career (so far!), as well as friends, family and my Saint Piran Teammates who had been watching the race live.

I'm extremely proud of this one, and it just shows if you keep working, the results will come.

Well done Christina!