The sprint race was held early this afternoon around a small picturesque town named Rapina, about 22km north of Varska. A typical eastern european town with houses spread out, numerous parklands and even a small castle.
The map the organisers provided showed a fairly basic looking area, but I had a sneaky feeling the town would be more complicated and the map would be detailed between the buildings.
I prepared fairly well for the event but as usual, it always comes down to the race on the day. With urban sprints races not being my strength, I was anxious to have a good race. The first control was as expected, but I then lost 10 seconds to the 2nd by going into a farm yard rather than turning right infront of the buildings. A quick turn around and I was back on my way. The next few controls went without a glitch, but the early 10 sec mistake dropped me from 6th to 18th. I pulled back a few places through the easier forest section, but then was unsure of the best route choice to the 6th control. I didn't want to go back the way I entered and then go the long way round on the road, so instead I took the path that followed the straight line between controls. At this point had I turned right at the main track instead of left I would have met the road 50m away and gained a few seconds. But in turning left I then cut across some more fields and ditches losing 30 seconds despite the route being shorter. Speed is everything in a sprint race, and I was still a little in 'Hungary mode' where going straight was fast.I dropped back into 18th here and was then met with the long blast-it-fast sections on the road. The controls looked more complicated on the map than they were, so the fast riders had a real advantage here. I didn't lose anymore time until a brief directional problem to the 10th where I couldn't find the track I wanted and did 2 sides of a triangle, again losing 20 seconds.
The 13th (always the 13th!) was my biggest problem. I was going straight, weaving a little through the out of bounds flowerbeds, but keeping the direction good. As a result of cutting through I had a few tree branches to deal with. One tree was particularly overhanging and I (with all my wisdom) thought brushing between the two larger branches would be a piece of cake. Sadly the tree had other ideas and wasn't going to move. I went through the tree branches while the bike stayed on the other side! As I grabbed it and jumped on I realised there was a problem with the cassette/derailleur/chain. The back wheel wasn't turning. I couldn't work it out until I saw the back skewer was undone and the wheel pulled out. I put it back in and carried on.I finished 18th, but, as in Hungary, the results were pretty tight. Last year I was 9th in a sprint race 2 minutes + behind the winner. Today 18th and 2 minutes behind. The level of competition really has got better in the womens class and every small mistake counts. Despite making some mistakes, I'm pleased to have been riding fairly well and always refocussing after a problem. Normally one mistake leads straight into the next, so to refocus in such a high intensity stressful environment is a plus.
Results: http://www.orienteerumine.ee/mtbo2012/sprint/sprintresults.pdf
Maps: http://www.orienteerumine.ee/mtbo2012/sprint/sprint_W.gif
