Whinlatter Challenge and British Cycling XC Round 1

BY: Ben Thomas

Published: 2nd April, 2014

22nd March - Ben and Tim were in the Lake District to race Whinlatter Challenge. Last year the event was postponed due to snow, this year the snow and ice was back but only on the very tops of the hills. The organisers were forced to cut one of the best trails from the very highest point of the Whinlatter forest, otherwise trail conditions were exceptionally good considering the poor weather on Friday and Saturday morning. The race course would cover 3 laps of the 10 mile Whinlatter trail.

An early Sunday morning alarm clock was necessary for breakfast, registration, a decent warm up and race briefing before race start at 10.30. There were clouds threatening but blue skies were beginning to appear. On the start line there was strong competition including Elliott Baxter from the Isle of Man, three peaks winner and international fell runner Rob Jebb, Rich Rothwell, and last years winner Dan Wells.

Off the start line Ben escaped on the opening climb with Dan Evans and Elliott Baxter forming a group of 3 that would stay together for the majority of the event. Tim was a short distance behind pacing his way up through the field. Both riders avoided an early crash which happened on the opening fireroad, several riders hit the ground and the crash delayed riders behind.

Ben lost some time at the start of the final lap, without a supporter at this event Ben and Tim would have to stop to pick up bottles whilst the other top riders could speed through the feed zone being handed bottles. “It was frustrating to loose 20 seconds stopping like that but I needed to hydrate. It makes life much harder not having support and left me with work to do to catch Dan and Elliott who I'd been with since the start, I think they accelerated out of the feed to create a gap when they saw me stop. Fortunately the legs had come around since the end of lap 1 were the cold got to me and my legs seemed to seize. I didn't catch Dan and Elliott until the last mile, I had no time to recover as we quickly entered the penultimate twisty singletrack and then the final steep climb. This 1 minute climb at 25% gradient decided the race. Elliott accelerated first, then Dan, finally I counter attacked just in time to get a gap over the top and held it together on the muddy descent to the finish! That's my first win of the year, so much fun!"

Tim had a bike setup issue which hampered progress, he still recorded a strong result finishing 10th.

30th March - A huge weekend for the team racing the opening round of the British Cycling XC Series in Essex. For both Sam and Isaac it would be their first National event in the Elite category, for Ben Commonwealth Games selection relied on a strong result. The team was on display in the event arena which was a great moment, lots of people commented on how good our Scott Bikes / Mountain Trax / Vauxhall setup looked. There was also lots of praise given for our new look Champion Systems kit.

Isaac was gridded 21st, Ben 28th and Sam 48th. There was a strong international continent hunting for those all important World ranking points. The Codham Park track was fast and relentless but did allow for plenty of overtaking. The fast opening field sections led to a steep double drop in with a little water splash, then some twisty fun singletrack, then some jumps and drops, then the world class BMX track before returning to the arena for another lap.

Off the start all of the team had a strong start, Isaac and Ben racing into the top 20 by the end of the first lap. Mid way round lap two Ben would overtake Isaac moving up to 12th place, by the next lap though he was nursing a soft rear tyre having burped some air, “I thought I'd have to stop and change the wheel in the feed zone but decided I'd be better riding around carefully so I could stay in the group and maybe not loose any places. Unfortunately I was having to go so slow that I'd then have to make a huge effort to catch up on the open sections.”

The extra effort would eventually catch up with Ben and so would 2 large groups of riders on the final lap including Isaac. Ben would drop 9 place finishing 21st, meanwhile Isaac stormed through to a fantastic 16th place. Sam rode a strong pace throughout the event steadily picking off 18 riders and eventually finishing in 30th.

All three team riders can be happy with their performances having shown great potential for some top results at future events. The team are next in action at Southern XC Round 2 on the 6th April.

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

Follow the team on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-Trax-Vauxhall-Motors-Cycling-Team/330790256947713

Mountain Trax – Vauxhall Motors Cycling Team Rider Roster.
Ben Thomas, Isaac Pucci, Sam Stean, Tim Dunford