First Series complete.. What I have learnt

Someone, somewhere said its a game of seconds. they were not wrong. even the slightest fluff can open a gap that will be hard to close down. crap brakes, clogged/wrong pressure tyres. Most of my bigger cock ups came when under pressure in the first lap or so, when fighting for position.

Be agressive in the start and dont be shy about lining up( punching) above your weight. my starts got better as the series went on. The first few laps are intense, so I learnt to take opportunities as they opened up.. its worth going well into the red to pass someone. (regret is worse than failure).. But most of the time I found myself only overtaking back markers as I got away quickly and was progressivly overhauled through each race. It seems that at 30 or so minutes I slow down and get caught by chasers.

Cornering is king. a lot of time is not lost, on how smooth and fast you can take corners. Also how to use corners to attack.. I desperately need to practice practice practice this one.sticks in a wet field /park area spring to mind.. but simulating race pace is going to be tough.

nicked from Sports-Alive.com

You can push people into making a mistake, not by being aggressive, just 'hovering' . sort of nipping at heels .. a noisy drivetrain works.as well as laboured breathing. it worked for me, and against me.
Why ride when you can run.. I am sure that in round 5 I would have been so much better off running through through the double switchbacks.

A 29er will out brake you and out corner you. but you can get him back on the flat. Unless its a wet really rutted  field

Rutted field (Ted)

Cyclocrossers are a friendly bunch,  Hopefully made friends to car pool and share training stories with,