Soggy Bottom 2010/11 Round 1 Report

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Published: 1st December, 2010

Soggy Bottom 1

 Newnham Park Nov 28 -  Very Cold and Very Dry

 Another Winter and another Soggy Bottom Series. After snow tribulations in January, hopes were high for a return to wet and wild, mud and water but no the rain held off and the ground was just about as firm as it can be-infact a little too firm.

With the cold ruling out the river crossings, the riders only opportunity to get soggy was the the moorland splashes on the new section the course designers had strung together, the cold meant that the splashed water created ice walls on the exit and a few riders got to sample the taste of cold grass.

Race 1 saw a bumper fun entry line up alongside the young and old. A start loop with a steep climb drew sharp intakes of icy breath before the 3.6 mile lap of various delicacies was devoured by the ever hungry soggy diners.

The Grand Vets was a soggy stroll in the (Newnham) Park for Steve Whitehouse, Ed Welsh found the attentions of Harry Forshaw a lot closer in the Youth Race but held him off with a minute to spare. In Juveniles the Taw Velo pair of Finley Clay and Jack Hewlett held of Mid Devon's Harry Birchill.

The 40 rider Fun race was total domination for Dexter Hurlock with Huw Jones taking a sprint for second from Simon Shirley-Smith, Micki Beck was the women's winner from Kim Long.



With race 1 out the way it was time for the boys to race for cake in the Battle of the Bottom Borders with gladiator masks and 4 of the South West finest ready to do battle to take the cake for their County. After years of Devon domination the cake finally found a new home in Somerset as Ciaran Barker took the win.

British Cycling put on a Go-Ride race for local youngsters that was well supported, use of a bike and helmet and a prize for all -  for a £1 entry seems like fine value for money.

Race 2 saw 150 riders tackle the sub zero temperatures under clear skies and on ever firmer trails.

The Experts led them out with Luke Eggar recording the fastest lap of the day with a 20:09 on his way to the 4 lap win from Russ Turner and Certini compatriot Richard Long. Maddie Horton used her course design knowledge to good effect to beat Carla Haines. In Sport the Revo Racing pair of Nick Boyd and Peter Haworth rode together for two laps before Simon Lingard managed to squeeze in between them to split them on the podium with only 23 seconds between the 3 of them.



In Masters the resurgent Matt Loake kicked off his wellies to keep Andy Gordon and fellow southfork rancher Mike Tomlinson at bay, whilst it was another southfork win for Pete Dawe in Vets from Garry Pike and Myles Gerrard. Clara Cole-Hawthorne, Carole Welch and Jackie Shute were also women's winners.



Overall feedback on the course was good with the Hortons managing to find previously unexplored bits of Newnham (and creating some more). Numbers were down on last year which may be weather and may be due to the clash with Brass Monkeys...or may just be a sign of the times

Results are here courtesy of Jerry Flooks
Thanks to Snapper Chick for the pics check her flickr gallery here and the Bike Cellar for their event support.