Mud, Sweat and Gears Eastern Series Rd. 1 Race Report

Mud, Sweat and Gears p/c Cycle Evolution - Round 1 Tunstall Forest

 The start of the MTB season always seems to come around a bit too quickly; panic training, panic bike-assembly etc. That said, it is always good to be back and reacquaint oneself with friends, energy gels, slightly boggy fields and the bottom of your lungs! 

The course was, by all accounts, a tale of two halves: fast, flowing tracks to start, followed by a bit of savage slog to finish. Or, as Chris Harley - from the newly-formed EHF Racing Team - put it, "Fast, sticky, more sticky, fast"…

First to be called to the gridding area were the Youth and Juvenile boys, followed by the Open Male competitors.  A very professional-looking and focussed grid of boys took starter's orders and both categories got away cleanly, heading up the start straight and sweeping round to the right and out of sight of the crowded arena to begin the first of their two laps. It was Paddy Atkinson (unattached) who appeared first at the end of lap one, flying through the finish gantry within twenty minutes and showing little sign of fatigue. Indeed, his second lap was a minute quicker than his first which helped stretch his fourteen second lead over Benjamin Morris (Welland Valley CC) at the half-way point to a comfortable winning margin of two minutes forty eight seconds by the finish. The battle for second and third place was much closer with less than twenty seconds separating Morris from third placed Tom Parker (53-12.com).                            

                            

The Juvenile Male race saw a storming first lap by Theo Modell (East London Velo) who went on to take the win. In second place was Zak Coleman (Inverse/Cycling Components RT,) who was just nine seconds adrift of Modell on the second lap, and rounding off the podium was Jordan Beighton (Chelmsford Youth CC).  The sixty-strong Open Male category was off next. Colin Peck (unattached) and Stuart Weatherley (Flitch Bikes) came through together at the end of lap one but whilst Peck was able to record exactly the same time for lap two, Weatherley dropped off the pace. Peck took the win by one minute, with Weatherley remaining in second spot and Julien Bosley (unattached), who got the better of his early compatriot Ben Reidy, in third.  In a bid to encourage a greater sense of racing, all the female categories were started together, although each category was separately gridded. The two pre-race favourites were called up to the start line first: Imogen Buick (unattched - really, she has no sponsor!!) rolled up to the line as the only Junior, followed by Laura Sampson (Gipping Race Team) who was one of two Masters.

               

Behind them the Veterans, Sport, Open, Youth and Juvenile Women all took to the start to await the gun. It was Buick, with a lightning-fast start, who led a fantastic field of women out of the arena. Buick was still ahead as she came through the feed zone at the end of lap one, but when Sampson followed twenty seconds later it was evident that she had taken a tumble. The chase was on! Sampson's second lap was nine seconds faster than Buick's, and on the third and final lap the two riders were briefly back together before, having managed to stick with her competitor's attack, Buick was able to profit from a smart line choice which gave her a platform from which she could attack and secure the overall victory. 

Both riders took maximum points in their respective categories, with Rachel baker (Three Monkies and a Chimp) second in the Masters.  Although she described her race as "Certainly not my prettiest performance", Emma Johnson (XRT Elmy Cycles) won the Open race from Kristine Vaska (unattached) and Anna Fraser (City Cycle Centre), whilst in the Sport race Melanie Paddington (EHFRacing) was the convincing winner. Hannah Attenburrow (unattached) and Louise Brown (Numplumz) both received rousing support to help them onto second and third spots. Jackie field (CC Ashwell) overcame the challenge of Anita Buxton (Thetford MTB) to win the Veterans category, meanwhile the winners of the Youth and Juvenile categories - Molly Williams (St. Ives CC) and Sophie Wright (Great Yarmouth CC) - both had outstanding rides which confirmed them as two of the region's hottest young talents. We wish Molly luck at her first British National Series race this weekend at Sherwood, coming just eighteen months after starting the sport at an after-school club.

                 

Talking of young riders and fast development, under-twelve cyclists were given the chance to partake in a MTB skills session before they were let loose to race. The arena area was a flood with riders from as young as four all desperately keen to learn and improve, each of them overcoming challenges of balance, spatial awareness and bike-handling. Having completed the various exercises, the riders were gridded in accordance to age (U12 and U9) and set off on a much-shortened lap. The racing was incredibly high-octane and entertaining, the crowds cheering on every rider and creating a superb atmosphere. The podium places were hotly-contested with the following racers stepping up onto the boxes: U12 Boys - Felix Mackie was first, William Davies was second and Alex Dale was a close third. U12 Girls was won by Sophie Saberton from Samantha Harding and Caitlyn Sampson. U9 Boys winner was Thomas Davies, Fynn Hunter was second and Dean Sampson in third rounded off a successful day for the Sampson family with podium number three. U9 Girls saw Harriet Wylde take the victory, Anna Leaman was second and Niobe Waldron took the third spot. Well done to all the FIFTY THREE riders who took part, you were all absolutely ace!        

Onto the final races of the day and a huge field of male competitors assembled to be gridded.   Stephen James (Forme Coaching - Pactimo) won the Elite/Expert race by a comfortable margin despite a slow start. James said it took him a quarter of a lap to find his way to the front of the field from where he was able to increase his lead each lap. Thomas Ward (Giant Radlett) and Ian Mockett (Forme Coaching - Pactimo) settled into second and third spot where they remained until the finish. They were not deprived of a good race though, as the front of the Masters field mixed it up with the Elite/Experts and provided wheel-to-wheel racing in the early laps. Gabor Doroghazi (Fruit 4 London) was the early leader in the Master's field, coming through the finish line in fourth place overall after the first lap, but was unable to stick with the consistent lap times of Robert Purcell (Neon-Velo.com) who only ever dipped seven seconds over a nineteen minute lap. Purcell took the win, Doroghazi finished second and Shaun Aldous (Team CCN) was third. Aldous said the race "quite a slog in places, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been". The Junior race was dominated by Oliver Edwards (VC Revolution) who took the win from Liam Manser (TROG) and Will Kearse (VC Revolution). 

                              

       

                              

The Sport field maintained its high numbers and highly-competitive nature from last year. Lewis Grimes led a strong contingent of EHF Racing riders off the start line but it was Richard Dunnett (Team CCN) who appeared first at the end of lap one. However, the race just didn't click into place for Dunnett who was eventually beaten by James Hyde (Clee Cycles/KCNC). However, with Hyde hoping to move up to the Expert category for the next round, Dunnett looks to be the early favourite for the series. In third place was Leszek Jezierski (Treads CC). 

No one was surprised by the Veteran winner, Paul Ashby (mtzoom.com) who took the win by over three minutes from Dan Howe(Gipping RT) in second and Nick Ainsworth (Aerocycles Haverhill) in third. Chris Hunter (EHF Racing) was able to match the pace of third place in the last three laps but a slower start kept him off the podium. 

Lastly the Grand Veterans race shaped up to be a tight battle between Jack Peterson and Mick Pilcher (both Numplumz). There was but two seconds to separate them on each of the first three laps, before Pilcher cracked and Peterson was able to take the victory. The race for the final podium spot between Ian Robson (MTS Cycle Sport) and Philip Buick (Iceni Velo) was a similar affair with Robson coming out on top.

                                  

I shall round off with a great summary of the event from Darren Styles: "Well organised, good fun and no Prima Donnas! Just riders out enjoying healthy competition and some great trails." 

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