As summer is defiantly on the way and the evenings are getting longer, a new cross country evening race series has emerged in the Southwest.
Run by fullysussed.co.uk the race series is a great way to start racing or have a more competitive ride on your bike. There are five races in the series, one every month starting from April all the way up to August. Racing starts at 7pm and there are two races to choose from either, Race A which is more fun orientated and Race B which sees the elite and master categories, so the level of competition is higher.
The first round of the series was held at Haldon Forest and saw an entry list of over a hundred riders. As I walked the track while Race A was in full swing, I could tell that lots of organisation and thought had been put into the track, it contained a good mixture of the play trail, ridge trail and fire roads that Haldon provides. The top riders were completing laps in about 9-10 minutes, making the track an ideal length for an hour long race.
After racing had finished there was a good vibe about the place. Race organisers were chucking out prizes for things like biggest skid, biggest crash etc and every rider seemed to be smiling having had a great evening on there bike. Race organisers announced over the P.A system "XC racing is coming back to the southwest and it has been defiantly long overdue" you can't help but think that if races continued to be put on to this high quality then the future of racing in Southwest is looking up.
Results:
Race A:
Fun Female:
1st: Calamaty-Jayne Cann
2nd: Natalie Newton
3rd: Kim Long
Fun Male:
1st: Mike Jewell
2nd: Duncan Baldie
3rd: Justin Blake
Grand Vet Male:
1st: Martyn Holmes
2nd: Mark Pollard
3rd: John Dunster
Junior Male:
1st: Harry Smith
Juvenile Male:
1st: Aidan Roche
2nd: Charles Hough
3rd: Greg Medlock
Race B:
Elite/Expert Female:
1st: Carla Haines
Elite/Expert Male:
1st: Ben Price
2nd: Luke Eggar
3rd: Scott Easter
Master Female:
1st: Angela Proctor
2nd: Millie Wilson
3rd: Louise Ottaway
Master Male:
1st: Mike Tomlinson
2nd: Matt Loake
3rd: Julian Grundy
Sport Female:
1st: Fran Bullock
Sport Male:
1st: Richard Long
2nd: Steve Birch
3rd: Adam Holmes
Veteran Male:
1st: Pete Dawe
2nd: Myles Gerrard
3rd: Stuart Pickering
The next round is on the 13th May, down at Newham Park in Plymouth. Which promises to be just as fun and after watching last weeks racing, I'm defiantly giving it a shot myself!
For more information check out:
www.fullysussed.co.uk
To view more photos from the race,
Click Here
Words and Photos:
Greg Berry
