One and All Youth Academy MTB race

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BY: Maddie Horton

Published: 3rd February, 2014

We Hortons love to race! I defy you to do a training session that works you as hard as a race and is anywhere near as fun.

In recent years we have not been seen on the regional race circuit, because we've been organising it - so when an event was advertised at Bissoe AND we had the day off, it was a no-brainer! On top of this, I have had my new Yeti ARCC for about 2 weeks now was itching to test it out at speed!

Unfortunately for Ian Wherry from One and All Youth Academy (event organisers), only 1 other person made the effort to get there.

Now I know most of the reasons the usual xc racers will give for not being there
*No-one told them it was on
*It was advertised as a GoRide race with Senior Go MTB supporting races (sounds naff)
*The video looked really wet

These are the reasons you're all daft

*It was on, and all you had to do was look on the BC event calendar/BC SW Facebook page or our Fully Sussed Facebook page to see the details.
*Yes it was first and foremost an event for under 16s - which looked great! But if our senior riders don't turn up to take part in these grass roots events, we are denying the young riders the chance to to pick us as their mtb role models, and aspire to get ready to take us on when they're old enough.
*It was really wet - REALLY wet!! But those of you who know the Bissoe area will know it was just puddles (deep ones!) on top of good fun stone tracks.  

So anyway, Jay and I rocked up, jumped on our bikes and went for a quick practice lap. By the time we were back at the car park Joanna Marcineck had also arrived. In my book, 3 people is plenty for a race. Ian had gone to the effort of marking the course, One and All Cycling had recruited marshals, and Jay, Joanna and I had nice clean race bikes with us - it would have been rude not to race.

We decided the rules between us. Someone would say go, and we'd race around the circuit until Jay had lapped Jo twice, with me in the middle trying to keep up with Jay. So off we went splashing and giggling down the first track - the giggling soon stopped though - racing is racing! Joanna outsprinted me at the start and we fought it out until I nipped past her on a nice little climb. I hung on to Jay as long as I could, then once he was out of site I was racing to not be lapped by him. Jay was riding out of his skin to try and get Jo twice so we could all have coffee and cake, and Jo was loving the pressure of being the fox. At some point during our laps, a young rider from One and All jumped in on the action and gave Jay a run for his money for a couple of laps too.

In short, we all worked really hard and had loads of fun. We were soaking by the end, but after a quick change we were basking in the Cornish sunshine talking up our heroic rides (just like any other race really).

The course was a fun mix of tracks - berms, climbs, off camber, a pump section, and a really hard gloopy bit to test your ability to pedal smoothly. Had there been more of us, there would have been sections to suit all riders and plenty of overtaking (if you were prepared to dive wide into some of the puddles!). Most importantly, at Bissoe there's a cracking cafe for post race cake.

What about the bike?
Firstly - she's just so pretty! The turquoise Yeti ARCC is a proper head turner. Even with the few passers by at Bissoe yesterday I had 4 people come over and ask me about the bike.

This race was its first performance test for me. Now this is going to sound dismissive of the ARCC, but I already knew what it was going to feel like on the climbs. It was going to feel like a top end carbon hardtail - stiff, light, fast. If did. It was the descents, berms and rocky bits I was most interested in. I don't have the technical vocabulary to describe how it felt properly - but it was a great feeling. These are the words that came to mind - stable, sturdy, fearless.
I'm a climber. I can climb hills faster than most chicks. I don't really care what I'm sitting on to climb a hill, I bet I can still climb it well. It's coming down the other side when I lose time in races. A lot of this is mental - I can ride the stuff, I just ride it too slowly and without great commitment. With the ARCC underneath me, (and having just done a skills day with Jay Williamson) I felt more confident. I threw the bike down the off camber bits, got air off some little rocks, and just had a bloody good time letting it take me around the course. I'm a firm believer that the bike does not make the racer, but I think this one could make a critical difference to this racer.

All that remains is to say a big thanks to Ian Wherry and the One and All Youth Academy for hosting this event, and to the mountain bikers of the South West - no race is too small, just get out there and support your local organisers!
Thanks also to Jason Hoole-Jackson for the photos.