Woodland Riders Winter Series Rnd 4

This weekend saw the final round of Woodland Riders Downhill series near Tavistock, Devon. With a brand new track and some very technical sections, it was set to be entertaining before anyone even turned up. The track began with a brand spanking new start ramp which rolled you straight into a 12 foot semi hip jump, I say 'semi' hip jump because if you were not confident in 'hiping' it you could just hit it straight but you sacrifice having a dodgy line after. Then came a nice tight section through the trees before you darted over the fire road and back into the woods. The next section was a great set of switchbacks, leading to the first of two huge bomb holes that sat in the track, providing you with three different lines to choose from. After you had conquered the first bomb hole, the track flowed into a really quick berm which set you for a small kicker and another small hip jump. Once again followed a few more really fun switch backs, before rolling back onto the fire road. After this came the bottom section of the track, which was very technical and saw spectators gather predicting plenty of entertainment and action. It began with a fast dart off the fire road and then dropping down a steep slope which was very loose and rooty, making it hard to find and stick to your line choices. Then came the most technical part of the track, which consisted of the second and even bigger bomb hole, and some more loose mud and roots. There was two main obvious lines, one stay wide and get right outside but this resulted in a steep rooty off camber section which was near on imposable to ride, as well as riding straight into a deep compression. Or two, once again get really tight to the bomb hole, ride right around the rim (which was rooty as hell), then ride between two tight trees and try to join the main line again. If you managed to survive that, it was followed by a few more rooty switchbacks and into a more open section which led to the next tricky bit. Next came the most popular viewing spot of the day, two rock gardens, the first was technical and was easy to get your wheel lodged between rocks but the real challenge was the second garden. It was very risky and longer than the first rock garden which ended with a two foot drop and was was not rollable as plenty of riders found out when being thrown over the bars. The final section made for a tough pedal across a freshly cut straight section of the wood, into another short sharp hip jump which finally joined the fire road and across the finish line. Results Senior 1. Ash Mullane (1:17.948) 2. Don Howe (1:19.983) 3. Roger Valler (1:22.913) Master 1. Rich Bedford (1:19.655) 2. Jim Davage (1:19.708) 3. Jason Gidney (1:25.814) Junior 1. Harry Steer (1:21.950) 2. Tom Bower (1:44.248) 3. Jordan Fry (1:54.339) Youth 1. Bow-Jango Cann (1:24.054) 2. Matt Heavens (1:32.900) 3. Connor Saxon (1:39.306) Hardtail 1. Greg Berry (1:30.110) 2. Ryan Hughes (1:40.652) 3. Chris Lamley (1:43.880) Veteran 1. Steve Folland (1:41.347) 2. Tony Hicks (1:42.065) 3. Greg Green (1:47.410) Women 1. Haby-Blu Cann (1:46.936) 2. Katie Parsons (2:38.785) Women 1. Aiden Roche (2:04.233) 2. Cristian Corthorn (2:05.705) Words - Greg Berry Photos - Simon, Joanne and Slowmo For more photos check out: Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 | Gallery 3 www.woodlandriders-racing.co.uk