If you can survive there..

...you can survive anywhere.

My Crystal Palace debut was made on 1st July. I thought I would start the month as I mean to go on. I just needed to get up there and learn the circuit, see it as good experience and become a better rider for it...

It was also the hottest day of the year so far and there was a good atmosphere with spectators and riders sitting on the grass as the junior race began. Riding up to the race helped with the warm up as there was little chance to have a go on the circuit between the junior race and the start of the senior races. I said hi to some of the other girls I knew as I waited to try the circuit. The organisers have given the women a separate race this year which is great, although numbers are quite low.

Me on the Hill

When I did get a couple of warm up laps in, the first great discovery was that the hill that was in the circuit for the Tour of Britain support race last year wasn't part of the Tuesday night Crit circuit. The steeper hill at the Tour of Britain was the scene of me dropping my chain on the first accent and then being brought to a standstill by a crash on the second lap. I kept wondering when we would get to the hill and if it would be as bad as I remembered but it just wasn't there. It's a bit like when I used to walk home from school and wonder if the bully would be waiting in the usual spot. Then suddenly he's not there one day. Bonus!!!

With that gone I only had to tackle the 180 degree 'hairpin' bend. (A few riders actually overshoot this and ride on the grass!); the next 90 degree right hander, a descent and then a sweeping left hand bend between the bushes and trees at the bottom. Get this wrong and you can overshoot and roll down the banking, or even hit a tree. Then finally the 7% climb before the whole thing starts again. Easy really. 1.4km of joy!The 90 degree right hander at Crystal Palace

From what I understand, the ladies race splits almost from the gun. So, I prepared to say goodbye to Charlie Blackman and Jo Munden on the start line and as predicted they went from the gun. I would have liked to stay in for the first few laps in order to watch how they corner etc, as they know the circuit. However I was dropped on the corner by the lake on the first lap. Out of the 7 girls who started one of the other girls, Julia Knox, from Dulwich Paragon was with me and we decided to ride around together. To start with she was stronger than me so I was unable to do many turns on the front. With only 7 girls entering there were points up for grabs so I decided that I would do my best to finish.

Team Scarlett

The circuit itself can be broken down into about 5 sections. Firstly, from about 200m before the start/finish line to the hairpin. This is where the hill eases off and you double back on yourself. This is the easiest bit. Then there is the hairpin. You need to try to get as far to the right as possible, then swing into the corner, clipping the apex making sure that you don't pedal too soon. Then it's basically up to the sharp right hander. This is a deceptive corner, it doesn't look that sharp. But, it's off camber so you have to watch you don't ground your pedals. It is a slower corner than the hairpin. Then you have to get the speed back up into the descent. As you bend right you notice the track disappears away to the left. It's a fast bend, with the E12's going through at about 45km/h and the 3/4s at about 38km/h. But I didn't even think about speed. You need to really cut the bend, almost riding through the bush with your left shoulder. Then as it opens out again be aware the track seems to disappear very quickly as you drift to the right. You could easily end up on the grass here! Then it's one last off camber left hand bend which you can pedal through before the hill starts.

One extra hazard is the sometimes dangerously large group of 3/4s lapping you. What ever happens you have to stay to the edge of the track, and try not to dither. The same applies for the E12's, although as there's less of them and they are much more sensible, with less to prove, they don't swear at you like the 3/4s do or narrowly miss running you off the track! There's really no need for this to happen but I closed my eyes as the 3/4s came far too close, safe in the knowledge that my E12 team mate would kick their ass!

Riding at Palace is much, much harder than racing around Chertsey or even on the road as there is never really any let up in the pace. The corners are really challenging and by the middle of the race there seems to be riders everywhere around the circuit. The Palace circuit is something you just have to keep doing. I know I will have to do it fairly regularly to get the hang of the corners and try to stay in as long as possible. I took all the corners very cautiously in my debut and on some laps they were better than others. My lucky break came when Chris, my husband, who was racing in the 3/4s lapped me and let me sit on his wheel for several laps. I had a great tow and he made me pick up my pace. He even made me sprint past him to the line which was a bit unfair. So because of this I came 6th out of the 7 riders and scored some BC points towards my 2nd cat licence.

The Lake at Crystal Palace Park