Hannah Report: Australian National Championships

“I love riding so much” is not what I am thinking as the clock ticks slowly by. 30,15,10, 5… I race out the gate and try to compose myself as the first corner approaches; I’m a bit unsteady but I continue to stay positive as I move into the next obstacle. After a few loose feeling turns and challenging moments I feel that the adrenaline is under control and I can focus on racing my fastest and doing my best run. I had practiced this, I knew exactly what I needed to do, however those first few turns out of the start gate are shaky, insecure and adrenaline packed.


I am now well into my race run, I start to think about things off topic and I yell at myself, “Think about the track or you’ll crash.“ My focus returns to the track and I’m flying down the hill, resting here, pedalling there. I hit sections faster than my seeding run the previous day. I arrive at a tight corner and I stall for a moment as I come to a stop in the turn, grrr I’m so mad because I had goals for this race run. I had a time in seeding that I wanted to beat, I had people who rode faster than me that I wanted to finish ahead of today. Yet here I was stopped in a turn. What felt like forever took less than 5 seconds to regroup and continue on my National Championship winning race run.


I continue down the track, through the steep woods and around slippery turns, I pedal the flat sections and hit the last off camber turn as the finish line approaches. I stand up and sprint through the line. Happy with my run but unsure of the result I’m content knowing that I did my best, and even when I had that momentary stall I was able to continue without too much interruption or disappointment. Moments pass and I learn that my time is 2 seconds faster then my seeding time and that I had taken the win for the third consecutive year.


My result means I can rest assured knowing I'm wearing the Australian flag on my sleeve for another World Cup season. I am so proud to be Australian… Really! Is that what I was thinking? There was this zone since the first practice that I’d been living in, it was like I was living in a bubble of adrenaline and anxiety. There was this build up, I had completely peaked, there was no further place I could go. I walked to the podium still high on adrenaline and stoked on how the weekend had turned out.


I was wasted on the adrenaline drug that drove me here in the first place. I headed back to our accommodation and I started to come down. It's like all of a sudden the bubble was gone and I was normal again. I didn’t like feeling normal, I craved being back in the start gate, I desired to have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I wanted to feel the adrenaline surrounding me. All the moods, the nervousness, the moments in my run that felt like forever, the start gate where I didn’t want to be… I wanted it all back! It was gone. It's like the drip of adrenaline had stopped and I had to learn how to be normal Tracey. The moments of Tracey the Racer were gone. I had to pack my bags, bikes, clean. It's like a twisted teaser, during the race I felt like I never wanted that feeling but now it was gone and I wanted it back more than ever. It was gone...


That's racing, that's why we go back for more and more because in an instant it's gone and you crave to be in that moment one more time. What a crazy time of year, less that two weeks until the first World Cup. I am getting a taste of the moments and the nervousness, I’m craving the adrenaline at the same time I’m sick to my stomach and my body starts to go numb.

I love racing!


Thanks to my sponsors; Hutchinson Tires, Polygon bikes, BOS suspension, E.13, Spank, FiveTen, Formula brakes, Odi, Reverse, VP, 100%, Sony, IXS, Zefal, Ti Spring, Clearprotect, Jetblack, Blackmountain


www.traceyhannah.com

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