Cyprus Sunshine Cup and Southern XC Round 1

Cyprus Sunshine Cup and Southern XC Series Round 1


Between 25th February and 10th March the Mountain Trax - Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team spent 2 weeks racing and training in Cyprus at the Sunshine Cup UCI international mountain bike event. Sam and Ben flew to the Mediterranean island with the plan of gaining valuable early season race experience and some good quality warm weather training. It would be the first time the team had visited Cyprus, the cross country event was a dramatic change to the normal marathon stage racing the team has attended the last few years. The team weren't the only Brits travelling to the event with a total of 15 riders flocking to Cyprus. Many of these riders are contesting for Commonwealth Games qualification. The entry list looked more like a Cross Country World Cup rather than a season warm up with many of the World best riders heading to Cyprus.

With UCI points going to the top 40 this was the goal for Ben and Sam. Ben would eventually finish just outside the UCI points but performed well against the world class competition especially on stage 2 where the course suited Ben’s marathon racing strengths. The final 5km’s was a short sharp climb back into the finish town; Ben would make up nearly 10 places in this final section. For Sam the trip was a steep learning curve but the youngster showed great progress throughout the week performing well over race distances far greater than he’s previously covered. For both riders the Cyprus Sunshine Cup proved to be a great early season test. This top end work plus the hours spent training in the mountains should show dividends at forthcoming events.


On 16th March the team gathered at round 1 of the Southern XC Series at Wasing Estate near Aldermaston. It was the first chance the team had to show of its new arena setup and Vauxhall Vivaro van.



Isaac, Sam and Ben were all in action. Isaac was the only rider who could respond to eventual winner Jason Bouttell’s acceleration on the first lap. Isaac dropped back after the first lap but was maintaining a strong second place until a puncture on the fourth lap. Ben and Sam would eventually finish 2nd and 5th. It was great performance by all 3 riders.



Following the race Sam has this to say. “After a bit of an easy week after doing lots of miles and racing in Cyprus I was looking forward to the first race before the National in 2 weeks time. The course at Wasing is one that I really enjoy as it has great singletrack and even a new gap jump. At the start I was gridded on the second row but moved up quickly to about 4th along the fireroad, for the most of the first lap I held on to the wheel of Steve and Jody of Hargroves until I burped the tyre and wasn't able to go as fast as I’d liked. For the next few laps I matched the times the group in front but was unable to bridge up and was on my own for the rest of the race apart from passing Isaac my team mate who punctured and Jody who dropped back near the end.”



Isaac remained positive, “There was a packed elite field yesterday, I knew who to look out for and Jason Bouttell soon proved he wasn't hanging around setting a blistering pace. I was the only person to go with Jason’s move and we established a small but good gap after the first lap. During lap 2 I had to drop of Jason's pace and settled in but spent most of that lap recovering from the first lap effort. Lap 3 I settled into a comfortable pace that I believe I would have been able to sustain for the rest of the race. Lap 4 things started to go wrong with a slow front puncture that forced me to stop 1/2 way round and use my foam canister which wasn't enough to seal the hole caused be a rock or root. It was frustrating but loads of people were puncturing. I had a good workout in the first 3.5 laps plus 1.5 practice laps. I’m positive with how well I’m going, which is a good sign ahead of the first round of the National Series in 2 weeks.”


Ben was happy to test himself, “I'm not racing many cross country events this year so was keen to put on a good show. I perhaps hesitated a little too much though when Jason Bouttell and Isaac accelerated on the first lap, I went after them but they'd got a gap I couldn't close. After that I almost sat up and waited for the group behind. Once with the group I wasn't going to do any work to chase down Isaac who was in 2nd place. It’s a shame Isaac then had his mechanical; he's going well and is looking good for a top 10 at the first British XC in 2 weeks time. Going onto the last lap I still felt pretty good, I overtook Steve James who I'd been riding with and upped the pace slightly dropping Steve and leaving me in 2nd. From there I decided I'd go for it and see how much quicker I could go on the last lap. I think the legs are getting better each week.”


This coming weekend the riders will split with Sam and Isaac racing round 3 of the Gorrick Spring Series. Ben and Tim will be racing in the Lake District at the Whinlatter Challenge.



Thanks to John from Vermont Images for handing up USN bottle and gels. Thanks the team’s sponsors for their continued support.





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Mountain Trax – Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team Rider Roster.

Ben Thomas, Isaac Pucci, Sam Stean, Tim Dunford

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