Xterra European champs and Xterra UK

It's been far too long since my last post. Loads has gone on. I won the first round of the national Mountain bike series Master category back in April.
More recently the European Xterra tour has kicked off in ernest. Xterra Italy was also the European champs and more than 350 athletes lined up on the start line in Sardinia. It was a very fast race, which was won by the in-form Swiss athlete Olivier Marceau. I had 2nd fastest bike and got up into 5th place before fading slightly on the run to finish 9th.
Xterra Uk was a stark contrast to the sunshine and heat of Sardinia. Being Wales it rained constantly, but it didn't dampen the spirits or the racing. A smaller but equally quality field lined up and it turned into a battle of the world champions at the front with Nico LeBrun of France the 2005 world champ beating Conrad Stoltz of South Africa in an epic race. I had a reasonable swim, but couldn't get going on the bike and ended up losing 6 minutes to leaders and coming off the bike in 7th, I had a good run and gained a place to finish 6th, retaining my title of British Champion.
This weekend is a weekend off, before Xterra France the following week. Where i hope to once again be in the running for the prizes and improve on my current series standing.