Saracen British Downhill Series Round 5: Bringewood - Official Report

Located just outside of the beautiful market town of Ludlow in Shropshire, the venue is one hour West of Birmingham. Bringewood itself has been a staple diet of the British Downhill scene for over a dozen years and has been the breeding ground for the likes of Marc Beaumont, Stu Hughes and Neil Donoghue. The original course ran on the opposite side of the hill before Richard Beard and co brought it onto the side of the hill that we now finish on.

The creative taping opened up a few cheeky inside lines that as the day progressed the riders started to take. Expert rider Callum Mcritchie wasn't the first or last to fall foul here, 2:14:781

The weather as usual played tricks on us over the race weekend. Set up on Thursday and Friday saw the BDS crew on course with tops off in the blazing sun. Then as the riders started to land on Friday afternoon the heavens opened and it rained cats and dogs from 16:00 to 19:00. Saturday morning was a damp affair though the forecast was only to improve for the weekend which to be fair, it did, ending in glorious sunshine Sunday afternoon.

The track used was the popular bomb hole track which is some 30 seconds shorter than last years track which started at the trig point.

The top section after Fridays down pour of rain was super greasy and many riders took it steady up top before they released the brakes to set her up for the bomb hole jumps and then twisted the throttle into open section. Over the table tops nice and low and boost the step down into the dark and dense woods. We widened the track here giving the riders a few varied options on the now super dry and dusty track that laid in front of them. And what a contrast to the soil/track conditions, some sections were now six inches deep in dust, corners were blown out and the underlying roots became more exposed, seemed to increase in size and frequency as the weekends erosion continued.

Practice was all day Saturday from 09:30 to 18:00 and was mainly over cast weather wise with Sunday slowly turning warmer and indeed brighter which was a God send in those last woods by the time the fast boys started descending.

Pro-Tec Juveniles

1. WALKER Matt Rockguardz.com 2:17.831
2. EDWARDS Kade Torico Morzine 2:18.045
3. PARFITT Joe Swift Racing/Orange/Sunset Cycles 2:19.389
4. BARRETT Seth Pedalbikeaway/Flyup Downhill/J-Tech 2:20.714
5. BATE Conor Stenaline.co.uk 2:21.629

SixSixOne Youth

1. WARRELL Alistair Aston Hill MTB Club 2:06.426
2. GREENLAND Laurie Wideopen Magazine 2:07.072
3. MCCUBBING Frazer Lapierre Cadets 2:07.939
4. HATTON Charlie Flyup Downhill 2:08.617
5. STEWART Neil Wolfpax Riders 2:09.634

Stannah Stair Lifts Grand Veterans 50+

1. STUTTARD Howard Ride On/Slik/Muc Off 2:31.213
2. FELSTEAD Steven Ticket2rideBC.com 2:34.263
3. GILES Michael Eckington Trail Collective 2:40.516
4. SHERIDAN Thomas Nukeproof 3:05.490

Madison Clothing Veterans

1. HOWARTH Darren Grizedale Mountain Bikes 41.37 2:14.847
2. COBB John Devinci Haven 37.89 (3) 1:19.488 (2) 2:17.909
3. WEIGHTMAN Mark 36.73 (5) 1:21.009 (3) 2:18.232
4. LITTLE Peter Pedalabikeaway/Flyup Downhill 2:22.632
5. BRADLEY Adrian Eryri DH 2:23.247

Madison Master Men

1. LIST David Pete Yates Cycles 2:07.620
2. RISKER James 2:09.730
3. TAYLOR Craig Devinci/Haven Distribution 2:10.655
4. SPOONER Chris 2:14.129
5. TITLEY Andrew Ghost 661 2:14.309

Shimano Women

1. LACEY Suzanne Aston Hill 2:36.675
2. BARAONA Rebecca University of Manchester CC 2:40.713
3. GREAVES Jessica John Atkins Cycles Ltd 2:49.479
4. BARNES Beverley Muddybumbikes.com 2:50.509
5. BURRIDGE Rachel Mojo Suspension 3:28.961

Schwalbe Elite Women

1. STONE Jessica Unior Tools Team 2:19.674
2. WALKER Rachael Team Hope Factory Racing 2:43.132

Fox Junior Men

1. WESTON William 2:07.067
2. CARTERS Drew MTBCut.tv/Orange 2:08.022
3. FARLEY Dan Kona Grassroots/Wheelbase 2:08.366
4. OWENS Thomas Team Skene 2:08.437
5. RICHARDS Shaun 2:08.438

Kore Senior Men

1. EVANS Darren Aston Hill MTB Club 2:05.186
2. PRIOR Mark TF tuned 2:08.663
3. ACOTT Richard DMR/TRP/X-Fusion/YBN 2:10.108
4. HOWE Jonathan TF Tuned 2:10.262
5. STEER Harry Gawton Gravity Hub 2:10.793

Shimano Expert Men

1. MARTIN Glenroy Aston Hill MTB Club 2:03.521
2. LANGHORN Reece Team Skene2:04.086
3. NOTT Ben Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:04.557
4. GEOGHEGAN Jack Madison Saracen Downhill Team 2:04.906
5. GARDENER Perry 2:05.580

Schwalbe Elite Men

1. PEAT Steve Santa Cruz Syndicate 1:58.277
2. DALE Sam Madison Saracen Downhill Team 2:00.222
3. CUNNINGHAM Ruaridh Unior Tools Team 2:00.324
4. KERR Bernard Pivot Factory Team 2:00.659
5. SMITH Joe Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof 2:00.836

Peaty likes Bringewood, that is for sure with British Cycling National Championship wins here in both 2003 and 2005 along with winning here last year for rd4 of the BDS he was always going to make the trip. I actually deleted him from the starting list when the South African Worlds Team was announced. He called me up asking why he had been withdrawn. I'd presumed he wasn't going to race as most riders were flying out on this race weekend. He explained he would be flying out on Monday afternoon so a quick apology and the lap top was fired up and he was back in!

2014 BDS Dates and Venues.

• Rd1 22/23 March Antur Stiniog North Wales
• Rd2 10/11 May Fort William Nort Scotland
• Rd3 31 May/1 June Ae Forest Scottish Borders (Lockerbie)
• Rd4 28/29 June Llangollen (Oswestry)
• Rd5 13/14 September Bike Park Wales (Merthyr Tydfill)

Healing vibes going out to Roots and Rain mastermind Seb Frost who took a big slam on Saturday afternoon on the last corner. The front wheel slid out and he dived head first into the floor, the medics immediately stabilised him and he was flow out by air ambulance. Good news is Seb will be back up and running in the next few weeks so until then we wish him all the best.

Even Steve Peat showed his appreciation on Twitter: @StevePeat - Dedicating today's win to Seb Frost. Hope your back on the bike soon fella. heal up fast @britishdownhill @rootsandrain..

Now checkout his work right here, you will be impressed. http://www.rootsandrain.com/

Bringewood Forest is open to anyone to go and ride seven days a week. SY8 2JQ gets you pretty close as post codes go. Please park and drive to the venue with courtesy to the locals and take your litter home with you. Pearce Cycles in Ludlow offer regular uplift days at Bringewood as well as having a great shop with all the latest kit in there: Pearce Cycles Website.

2014 BDS entries go live on Saturday 4th of January at 09:00 via the British Cycling website to those with 100 British Cycling points or more. International riders are most welcome and are invited to contact race director Si Paton by e-mail ASAP: [email protected]

For more info on the British Downhill Series - BDS checkout the Facebook page.

Stay Unclipped.

Si Paton...