News and Blogs
ED: Debut Win for Cox! Moreton Race 2
Sixteen year old Barnaby Cox (Gillingham & Dist Wh) scored his first win on the road in round 2 of the Moreton evening series.
Continue reading at blog.sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk
1, Barnaby Cox (Gillingham & Dist Wh)
2, Vince Avery (unatt)
3, J Lockwood (unatt)
4, Henry Bloxham (unatt)
5, Mark Kenway (unatt)
6,?????
7, Mark Valentine (Poole Wheelers)
8, James Chant (Off Camber)
9, Matt Lawes (unatt)
10, Alex Jolliffe (Poole Wheelers)
Bowers Best in a Full House at Moreton!
Stuart Bowers (Hargroves Cycles) won the opening round of the Moreton evening kermesse series, on a wet and windy evening in Dorset.
Read full article (sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk)
1 STUART BOWERS (HARGROVES CYCLES)
2, JASON EASTWOOD (PRIMERA-SPORT.COM)
3, CALUM CROFT (MUD,SWEAT&GEARS)
4, DARYL PRICE (POOLE WH)
5, JORDAN WADE (VC ST RAPHAEL/WAITES CONTRACTS)
6, JOHN VINSON (POOLE WH)
7, KELLY BROCKLEHURST (BOURNEMOUTH CYCLEWORKS)
8, LEWIS KEIGTHLEY (PRIMERA-SPORT.COM)
9, MATT MILDON (MUD, SWEAT& GEARS)
10, PAUL RICHARDSON (BOURNEMOUTH ARROW)
Moreton is back!
We are pleased to say that the UK-Biking Moreton Race Series is back on 9th May!
The series starts at 7pm on Thursday 9th May and finishes after 12 rounds on 25th July. Each race will follow the same handicap format of 1 hour plus a lap. The slightly longer Mid-Summer Championship (1.5 hours plus 1 lap) will take place on the 20th June. Further details are on the website: http://www.uk-biking.net/moreton
Southern XC 2013 Round 1 - Matterley Basin
Sunday 14th Apil saw round 1 of the 2013 Southern XC series. Due to a couple of voulenteers recently moving on, SMBC (the southern series organisers) asked if any teams or clubs would be willing to help. As a result UK-Biking offered to host 2 rounds, to ensure the series could carry on, the first of which was the opening round at Matterley Basin in Winchester.
National MTB Series 2013 Round 1 - Sherwood
This weekend gone saw the start of the xc racing season, with Round 1 of the British Cycling National Mountainbike Series at Sherwood Pines.
Enduro 1, Round 1 – Quantocks
For those not familiar with the Enduro 1 series it’s a gravity based event but with timed stages to test all your skills, whether that’s Downhill, Cross Country or balance. You have a set time in which to complete the transition stages but as long as you don’t hang round you should get to the start of each stage without incurring any time penalties.
Gorrick Round 3 - Crowthorne
Sunday 3rd March 2013
March normally heralds the start of the racing season for me, With the nights starting to draw out and the thought of dusty summer trails re-appearing, I was confident that my efforts thought the winter months should get me through my first race of the season. Having put in a good off-road session on the previous Thursday night, I felt strong & well prepared for the race ahead.
Arriving at the venue with team mate Stu Domay, it was apparent that today’s race would be dry, if not slightly cold, with the temperature lingering around the 3 degree mark. The Gorrick team always put on a great event and I was confident, even before the practice lap, that the course would be enjoyable, if last year was anything to go by.
Over the winter months I decided to go to a full suspension set up with the Cannondale Scalpel & sticking with the smaller 26” wheels, which may be controversial these days but I feel that this set up works well for me.
Heading out on the practice lap my legs felt good but the cold air made the lungs scream . The course was a mix of twisty singletrack & open fire roads, so there were areas for recovery before heading up the climb into the next singletrack. I was particularly interested to see how the new bike handled through these twisty singletrack areas, as these were where I lost time last year and I am pleased to say it worked a treat!
As we lined up for the start, I was feeling a bit nervous, with this being my first race in the Masters category, stepping up from the Open, I knew that the opposition would be hard & the start would be fast so I knew that I would have to concentrate on making a good start and be well placed into the first corner and up the first climb.
As the Air horn blew to herald the start of the race it was all guns blazing and it soon became apparent how much quicker this race was going to be. I soon settled into a good rhythm & by the end of the first lap I was feeling pretty good. I finished the day in 28th Place & was fairly happy with my lap times.
I felt that my top end fitness still needs some work, but the foundations are there & it is still only early March so there is plenty of time for improvement. I would like to try and shave another minute off per lap to make me more competitive.
Over in the Expert race, newly promoted Matt Hill seemed to have got over the cold he was suffering from last round, to put in a great performance to finish in 11 place. In the Veterans race Stu Domay put in some good lap times, despite the fact he was on a single speed, and Mike Radburn (UK-Biking/Owens) suffered a burped front tyre, ultimately leading to his retirement from the race.
Fellow Primera sponsored riders Darren Shepherd, Sam Shepherd, Chris Walker and Simon Lesser were also out racing, with Darren putting in an impressive efford to reach the podium.
I would like to say a big thanks to the Gorrick team & their sponsors for their efforts & also for the £50 voucher that I won in the Raffle. That certainly made the day even more worth while.
My next race will be round 4 of the Gorrick series on the 24th March at Porregpot Hill
Ash Sutton
Gorrick Spring Series Round 1 - Tunnel Hill
After a long cold and wet winter, it appears spring is almost amongst us. I can imagine most other cycling enthusiasts have been battling with whatever natures thrown at them over the past few months. Whether turboing in garage, slamming the base miles on icy lanes or getting bogged down on a mountain bike ride, it's all been about building a good base to the season. Thankfully for me, I managed to get some winter sun visiting my partners family in Adelaide but cycling was strictly forbidden! :-(
Since back all I've aimed to do on the bike is to extend the base period with a couple of hill sessions chucked in. So for the opening race of the year I wasn't expecting much at top end. After a great season last year in the open category at Gorrick & Pedalon Southern XC events, it was only right to step up to the masters category.
For the 1st round of the Gorricks, I was intending to enter super masters (4-laps) as it has the same number of laps as the Southern XC & National XC races. However preparation into this race turned sour, as the night before the girlfriend was pretty ill, which led to a late departure to bed. Never the less, plan B was to do the masters which went off at a later time & if i was feeling well after 3 laps press on and do 4 laps.
The weapon of choice for this year was a controversial 29er. Everyone has an opinion on them but I say if you can't beat them, join them. I've picked out the Cannondale Flash as I find I can throw it round like a 26er in the technical parts & get the power out if it when on the fire roads.
After arriving at Mytchett in the mist, the sun was just starting to break through. I unloaded, registered & then pre-rode the course as a warm up. The course designed was of typical Gorrick style - technical flowy singletrack with a couple sharp climbs to put hairs on your chest. Considering how wet the fields were on the way up, the course was dry enough for Racing Ralphs & Race Kings! After the warm up, I briefly spoke to Matt Hill & unfortunately he hadn't shaken off a cold & had to drop out of the elite race. Hope you've brushed it off bud!
It soon approached the start of the masters race. As i was unsure how quick the pace would be, I thought I'd start in the middle of the field of 54 riders. As the klaxon went off, it was the typical scrambling sprint on the fire road. I managed to get up to top 15 and avoid the bottleneck into the 1st single track section. I jumped a few positions 3/4 through the 1st lap but had chain slap which I pulled over to sort out. As usual though, I channeled the anger out on my legs trying up make up for the lost time. After lap 1, I was around 10th and caught a glimpse of the leaders starting lap 2. That's dangling a carrot if I ever saw one!
On the beginning of lap 2 I dug deep and managed to climb to 8th. As the race went on, my concentration level was dropping & started to make silly mistakes. I caught up with 7th & decided to hold ground with him. After all a top 10 finish in a new cat wasn't that bad. The 7th place rider was stronger than me on the climbs to which I lost contact with him on the last hill. I thought to myself there's all season to chase and I wanted to do another lap as a test to see where I am with my endurance. I got a 4th lap in but by now all the field of riders were spread out so there was a lot of traffic.
The eventual winner Kim Little had a time gap of around 2mins on my finish time & fair play he's showing great early signs of form. As for myself I was happy with 8th place considering I haven't done any sort of interval/hill work yet. The next Gorrick for me will hopefully be Crowthorne on 3rd march. Super masters here we come!
Ash
SouthernXC 2013 Dates
The dates for the 2013 Southern XC Series are:
Round 1 - 14th April Matterley basin
Round 2 - 12th May Harewood Forest
Round 3 - 26th May Crow Hill
Round 4 - 30th June Wasing
Round 5 - 14th July Lower Froyle
Round 6 - 8th September New Forest (TBC)
