At the end of December, we went out to race cross in Belgium for the first time to experience what true cyclocross racing is like, racing Brico cross Bredene and Superprestigie Diegem thanks to the help of the @rideforcharlie foundation.
On Saturday it was our first race of two of the weekend at Brico cross Bredene, the course was running very quick and included some quite tricky little sections. After a couple of laps of the course it was time to pin our numbers onto our @rideforCharlie top’s.
Tom
After getting a good start it took me a while to work my way up through the field with the first section of the course being pretty narrow and going through the off camber section. I managed to get past some other riders on the fast flowing corners and the short, quick straights and then spent the rest of the race working my way up through the field to where I finished which was 15th. I loved my first race in Belgium and it was an honour to race in memory of Charlie.
Our second race of the weekend was Superprestigie Diegem, a race based around the town centre underneath floodlights which was such an amazing experience and great fun. I had a good race, working my way up through the field to 28th, the course suited me well with a lot of climbing and fast flowing sections.
Millie’s
After being gridded on the back row both days the first lap or so was spent working my way up the field and getting past as many boys as possible! On the first day I got myself into a small group which then stayed together for most of the race. It was close and exciting but I managed to gain time on the off camber sections to finish first girl and near the front of the group. The second day was a much bigger race with a really good atmosphere! I loved the course with the mixture of off road and town centre roads. I also finished first In the girls in this race which I was really pleased with.
A massive thank you to the @rideforcharlie foundation for making this trip possible, it was such an honour to race in honour of Charlie.
Thank You
Tom and Millie
