By Aine MacKenna
IXS Downhill Cup Verbier August 25-27th 2017
RAce start Swiss IXS DJ Series
This was my first time putting myself between the tape in a proper bike park since Canada. I only realized that when I was on the chairlift up and I didn’t have my lovely Canadian girls to chat to. I was very much alone for this race but that didn’t bother me as I wanted to meet new girls to ride with in other parts of Switzerland, my new home. I decided very early into the weekend that this was my goal for the weekend. Apart from 2 races in the IDMS (Irish Downhill Mountain Bike Series) last year I had took a break from downhill racing and didn’t really know if it was for me anymore until Jerrod coaxed me into it and gave me the advice I needed to hear going into the weekend. Thank you, and for the awesome jerseys that I sported all weekend with pride.
I registered Friday and did 2 and half runs before going back to my local mechanic to get my brakes bled again, there was still some air inside. Brand new Magura 7’s. NICE!!
On Saturday I went up early and did 3 runs in the morning and went home for lunch. It was definitely nice to escape the race village and go back home for lunch and heck on my trail doggy JoJo who couldn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to bike with me that weekend.
The track was, lets just say “a proper downhill track- or exactly what a DH track should be” and was starting to take it’s toll on me as I went into this race not feeling the fittest or the most confident. Nonetheless I was enjoying being in the scene again and the buzz around me. Straight off the steep start ramp we were into several steep corners with multiple rock drops and gardens until we reached the first fire road break. A nice jump into the second section was when I started to feel more comfortable knowing that the sections of rooty tech that were coming up was terrain that I am most comfortable with. That helped me settle a bit more and bring me into the 3rd section with confidence. Another few jumps brought me into the rooty sections at a ‘feeling good about myself again’ pace and then 3 very techy rock gardens to put manners on me again.
Aine MacKenna killing it IXS series Switzerland
I loved it, though the rock gardens were not for me that weekend.I held back too much as I had a job interview the day after race day and I couldn’t get that “be wise, don’t hurt yourself” mantra out of my head. The 5th and last section was my favorite coming into the loose, dusty and steep finishing section. I loved this section in practice but the dust had got so deep I caught my front wheel for a second or two and lost myself a valuable place. I lost out to 5th place due to that one spot. I was annoyed with that but overall very proud of myself for surviving the weekend after a long break from +5 minute DH runs and my race run was 16 seconds faster than Saturday’s seeding so how could I not be happy with that.
Swiss IXS DH series, proper DH course!
I quickly got changed and went to enjoy a few fun runs with friends, my fan club, who Iworked with for the summer. It was great to have them there so I couldn’t dwell on “shoulda, woulda, coulda” sort of stuff. I met lots of new faces, enjoyed myself, raced as well as I could have and finished in one piece. I accomplished that goal I had set for myself on Friday and finished happy!! Thanks to Jerrod and my team, Graviti Driven, for the support and confidence-building that I needed again!!
