British XC Race Dalby 21st-22nd April

Round 2 of the British XC Series was this weekend on our local doorstep - Dalby Forest.   This round we opted to pay for an arena spot right next to the course.

By 11am on Sat we were set up right next to the course.  The arrangements for the team were more relaxed so riders were to appear throughout the day for practice and get off home when they could.  This was because it was a local course that everyone knew and also the weather forecast for the practice day was grim and I mean really grim - rain and worse was to come.

Alex team mechanic was a bit late - slept in after a night out in York however to his credit he had not been drinking on the night out due to the race commitment (well so he told me).  He was soon into action with pad changes and fitting of a new drivetrain for one bike.  He had been busy all week building a bike for Nick and some work for Bob.  He really has been a huge asset for the team this year.

The weather on sat started ok - we got the gazebo up then it rained and then hailstones and more hailstones.

Not only were riders getting soaked out on the course and coming back cold but the course was changing - the debate started mud tyres or not what pressures to run etc...  Also a new right diagonal line had appeared off Worry Gill do they ride this or the zig zag alternative routes which was faster.  Alex and myself looked at the lines we timed the riders through and gave our verdict.

Sat was also the fun races so managed to see club riders- Dan Joyce race in the Open class and also Martin Allanson who won the fun class. Also Jackie and Matt Hough popped along to see us and bought us coffee.

At 5.30pm Mark attended the managers meeting.  Again Juniors were to have technical assistance from two areas one at the top of the course the other below Medusa's drop. This proved to be a huge asset for one rider on race day. Laps were to remain as published unless the weather got much worse.  Riders were briefed by phone from this meet.

Sunday - race day.  Weaher looked good on the Wolds but as I arrived in the Forest it was raining.  The course was going to be tough. Scott was off at 9.30am for the Youth race.  He had a much better race a good solid start passing some riders on the last corner.  He had 3 laps to complete and came in as 19th on the first lap, 17th on the second lap but faded on the last lap after some calf cramp and came in at 26th placed rider.  A much better ride than the Sherwood round and improvements since that race.

Midday was the Expert race and Junior race.  Bob Hewitt was off first looking to improve on his 23rd place in the Sherwood Pines Round.  Bob had a great race and took loads of riders to get into 5th place for 4 laps he faded slightly on the last lap and came in at 7th place.  Bob had also been complaining of back pain so since the practice laps he had been using ROCK TAPE to alleviate the pain.     

Junior race was were the excitment was......Sam Roper hit the first lap too fast and had to stop for a few seconds at the bottle feed but came back stronger to get to 22nd pace.  A good result on this hard course.   Mike was off to a good start in the same race he was gridded as 3rd rider and after the first corner the bike slipped and Mike lost about 6-8 places he entered the single track around 10th place.  He had some ground to make up.  He rode hard to come in at the end of lap 1 in 5th place.  Then after the 2nd lap he was 3rd place right next to 2nd and 1st placed rider. However on the next lap nightmare puncture near the top of the boardwalk.  He ran worry gill on the mavic rims heading for the technical area where Alex was awaiting with spare wheels.  He had everything to ride for this race as the outcome could affect selection for GB to ride in the World Cup.    He ran Medusas drop carrying the bike and reached Alex a smooth change by Alex and he was off but had dropped to 5th place.  He started to make time up but could not catch 4th placed rider Iain Paton -  Iain then crashed into the barrier on the final lap 100m from the finish his back wheel dropped out so Iain ran to the line but left the back wheel on the track.  Rules state you must have a complete bike.....everyone shouted at Iain to go back.   Mike appeared on the final straight could he take 4th!  Iain ran back and came in on foot with the wheel to take 4th so Mike finished in 5th place.

A real shame for Mike.....he was in good shape and was riding well.

2.30pm was the Vets race some 80 riders in this field.  Nick was on his new bike and rode solid from the off to secure 31st place and he will surely reach top 20 next round.  Again an improvement over the last round.

Overall some good results from the weekend and improvements all round for the riders (excluding punctures). 
            

Nutcracker Round 1 Gandale

Mike Thompson was absent for this one with a training camp with the Olympic Development Programme in Newport this week.  However Mike had raced the week before at Kirroughtree where he took 2nd place in the Scottish XC Round.

For the first Nutcracker in our home county we had almost a full team with riders Scott Woolley, Nick Wilson, Bob Hewitt and Sam Roper.   The course was wet and in places on the fire road some strong head winds.   Some sound provisional results Nick Wilson 8th Vet.....Sam Roper 6th Junior and Scott Woolley along with some new gravel rash from a crash on one corner came 6th.

Below is a picture of Scott's arse rash!!!     

However the star of the day has to be Bob Hewitt who came second place in the experts.  well done Bob!

Should be a good weekend with the first of the regional nutcrackers coming up.
Two of the team riders Mike Thompson and I (Scott Woolley) took wins here last year so lets hope for some sunshine and some more good results on the cracking course at Gandale.

Mike Thompson to Represent GB

TEF Rider Mike Thompson (Junior) has been selcted to ride for Great Britain in the MTB XC World Cup Round at Houffalize in Belgium on 15th April 2012.  Well done to Mike and the Team hope he has a great ride at his debut World Cup race.   Mike will be back riding for TEF at Dalby Forest on 22nd April.

Round 1 British XC Sherwood Pines

It was a great sunny weekend at the British XC Nationals 24th and 25th March which meant as expected - a fast course for the opening round at Sherwood Pines.   All the team were in attendance and we had riders in Youth, Junior, Expert and Vets races.

We arrived on Saturday and soon established our base next to the team motorhome...well not exactly it was the team motorhome for the weekend.  Club Gazebo was out for the first time after its purchase so plenty of room for the team mechanic and massage facilities.  It also proved to be a great sun shade for the turbo warm ups on  Sunday.  

Alex our team mechanic Alex Peacock from AP Solutions was soon to work checking brakes bleeding them as required and changing gear cables.  He was busy and worked well throughout the day to make sure the bikes were in good condition.

Mark was quick to equip Bobs bike with the video camera to capture the whole 4.5 mile course on video for the team briefing later that day. 2.00pm was the team recce and a chance for everyone to ride the course together.

Whilst the riders were out it was a chance to for the support to grab some lunch and chill for a little while.  Mark was in need of a afternoon sleep after working nights friday.

4.00pm was the team debrief where instructions and guidance to riders on times to be at the start, how the races are gridded and who required support at the feeds.  Discussion was had on race tactics and then a showing and debrief of the course from the video taken.  The potential course bottle necks were discussed and any technical areas on the course were viewed and discussed.   All great info for the team.  Finally instructions to get a good nights sleep and that Mark would call them with any info from the managers meet. 

The managers meet took place at 5.30pm and the commisaires had decided on one less lap than advertised for all BC cat races.  Also Juniors were allowed technical assistance which was a special allowance for this category in prep for the world series. This is unusual as only Elite Category riders are normally allowed such assistance.

Mark, Alex and Bob left for their hotel the Days Inn which turned into a nightmare to find......Sat Navness.  Eventually we found it and Alex and Bob went for a short walk to the pub whilst Mark was in need of sleep and retired early. Alex and Bob's excursion to the pub turned into a long walk to find one serving food and then at the final place told that the kitchen had closed but luckily their hard luck story won the day and food was served a taxi ride back made sure there was no late night .

Sat was an early start back to the forest for 8am where the team were soon out early for a recce to see if there had been any changes to the course at all due to damp or from churning up of the course from the fun races on Sat.

The race schedule was

9.30am - Youth - Scott Woolley 48 riders

Midday - Expert Bob Hewitt - 45 riders

Also Midday  Junior -Sam Roper and Mike Thompson 43 riders

2.30pm - Vets Nick Wilson 113 riders!

9.30pm Scott was off, expectations was for maybe 20-30 placing and Scott was in the lower 20s at the end of the first lap but on the second lap crashed on a corner near the feed zone. This lost him 5 places and he dropped to 33rd place and was unable to claw it back.  Still a sound result for his first national race.

Midday - Experts were off and a bad crash on the start narrowly missed team rider Bob Hewitt.  This crash took down 3-4 riders and one was left laying unconscious and the Air Ambulance was to arrive mid race to take the rider off.  Bob rode extremely well in lap 1 and 2 and held onto 9th place.  However lap 3 he dropped to 18th place as his endurance started to fade in the heat.  Finally he came in 23rd place after 4 laps.  This was also his first national race and a good result and we know Bob has huge potential for the rest of the season.     

 Juniors were set off slightly after Experts and the start was moved down to allow the race to continue whilst the injured rider was being treated by medics.   Mike was not on the front of the grid and entered the first corner mid field with a huge margin to make up if he was to have a chance at top 5. entered of the first lap he was 5th and 23 secs down on the leader.  End of the 2nd lap he was 4th and as he came to the end of the last lap he was right behind 3rd placed rider Iain Paton  this was going to be a sprint finish and as they entered the final straight Mike put the power down and took the lead with about 5 mteres to go and crossed the line a wheel length in front wow a poduim place!

Sam meashile was taking the first lap easy after last weeks asthma attack in the Midlands XC.  He finished slightly lower than expected in 35th place. However it was a goal for him to finish the race.

Final race was the Vets with Nick Wilson.  We knew Nick has not being training as much as last year so the outcome was unknown and very much lets just wait and see!  This was the biggest field with 115 riders and therefore inevitable that there would be a crash on the start.  This crash was so big it blocked the whole straight and therefore 50 riders got away off the front with a large gap.   Nick stayed around 60th for the entire race.  rode consistently and came in mid field at 58th.  A respectable finish when 50 riders had left at the start with a huge gap.

so results:

Mike - 3rd place Junior

Scott - 33rd Youth

Sam - 35th Junior

Bob - 22nd Expert

Nick - 58th Vet

A huge thank you to TEF Transport who provided transport and fuel at the weekend.  Also Alex for a great job as team mechanic.

And finally well done to Mike Thompson great result and the rest of the team for some sound results.
 
  

     

 

Mike Thompson Takes 2nd Place

Today TEF Richardsons RT rider Mike Thompson took 2nd place Junior in the Midlands XC Round at Cannock Chase.  Mike suffered a crash and a fall over the bars but still managed to secure a secnd place behind Alex Welburn.

Our other rider Sam Roper did not finish his first lap in the same race after an exercise induced attack forced him to retire.

Racing this weekend

Mike Thompson is racing at Cannock Chase Midlands XC round 2 whilst Sam Roper missed the entries as this event is now full.   However committed as ever Sam Roper is making the long drive to Reading for a round in the Southern XC series......will this northerner make his mark in that race?!