The National XC MTB champs are the pinnacle of domestic level cross country racing and Southdowns Bikes/Casco had 4 riders competing in this years event at the 2012 Olympic course at Hadleigh Farm all trying to take home the British Champs Jersey.
The course is brutal as it is either climbing hard or descending through technical, rocky sections. You have to concentrate the whole lap as any mistake could result in a dangerous crash, so it was some achievement for all competitors just to complete the race. Even the elite racers were caught out by certain sections with some nasty consequences.
In the non championships events on Day 1 Oli Fenton finished 15th in the sport male cat enjoying the dry dusty conditions.
Day 2 saw all of the championship events take place. Ben Connor finished 17th in the Masters race very happy with his performance especially after having a crash on the same course two years ago. Ian Petherbridge won silver in the 60+ race and to see all the riders in his age group racing such a technical course was amazing.
After a slow start Steve Calland moved up 4 places on the last lap to win Bronze in the 40-45 race finishing 4th in the 40-50 race.
Finally Will Taylor lined up in the U23 race (his first year in the age group) and really pushed hard to finish 5th ahead of some quality riders showing he has a lot more to come in that cat over the next few years.
The event was really well organised and a good sized crowd and sunshine made for a fantastic days racing.
The course is brutal as it is either climbing hard or descending through technical, rocky sections. You have to concentrate the whole lap as any mistake could result in a dangerous crash, so it was some achievement for all competitors just to complete the race. Even the elite racers were caught out by certain sections with some nasty consequences.
In the non championships events on Day 1 Oli Fenton finished 15th in the sport male cat enjoying the dry dusty conditions.
Day 2 saw all of the championship events take place. Ben Connor finished 17th in the Masters race very happy with his performance especially after having a crash on the same course two years ago. Ian Petherbridge won silver in the 60+ race and to see all the riders in his age group racing such a technical course was amazing.
After a slow start Steve Calland moved up 4 places on the last lap to win Bronze in the 40-45 race finishing 4th in the 40-50 race.
Finally Will Taylor lined up in the U23 race (his first year in the age group) and really pushed hard to finish 5th ahead of some quality riders showing he has a lot more to come in that cat over the next few years.
The event was really well organised and a good sized crowd and sunshine made for a fantastic days racing.
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