Midlands XC Round 2 2012 - Report

Tackeroo 2.0 was a heavily updated course with lots of different singletrack utilized, making it barely recognisable from the 2011 race, but the terrain under tyre was classic Cannock - dirt, sand, off camber roots and a little bit of mud! Definitely the 'tight and twisty' round of the series and one that kept the Hope Sh#t Shifter guys and Vivify Massage Therapy ladies busy all day rejuvenating tired bikes and legs.

In the morning race, Verity Appleyard, Tracey Ridgeway and Ann Robinson all continued their winning ways, while Fern Henry, Nadine Spearing, Helen Macgregor and Amira Mellor all swapped second place at round one for the top step of the podium in their respective categories. Proving that some Triathletes can go round corners, Diane Lee took a strong second place in the Expert category, with Katy Simcock winning the Elite race ahead of Joanne Clay. 

The Veteran category saw nearly 80 riders line up for the start, with Chris Rathbone showing them all a clean pair of heels with a storming first lap and never looked back to finish 1st, with Dan Cook beating Lloyd Bettles to 2nd place by just 4 seconds. Bruce Rollinson took the win in the Grand Vets, with Billy Harding winning Youth and Alex Weburn (Junior) and William Gascoyne (Juvenille) both making it two wins from two.   

With the course getting faster as the day progressed, quick times were expected in the afternoon race with Dave Collins scoring the Mt. Zoom sponsored fastest lap of the day in 18 minutes, 7 seconds. Using his local knowledge to good effect, Lee Westwood won the elite race from a fast closing Giles Drake, with John Whittington rounding out the podium. John Hopkinson was the winner in the Expert category, with Phil Morris having just enough time to claim second in between two night shifts (!), while Dieter Droger finished third. There was more local success in Sport and Masters, with Lee Gratton and Dan Fleeman both winning their respective categories.