2008 NPS Round 3 Fort William report

By Alasdair MacLennan2:01am, Jul 11th 2008Link: http://www.npsdh.com/Race results: 2008 NPS #3

NPS round three was also the third race at the prestigious Fort William course in as many months. The course starts high on the slopes of Aonach Mor in the shadow of ‘The Ben’ and winds its way down over the fast and rocky surface sitting on top of the natural peat bog.

With inclement weather the previous week, fingers and toes were crossed in the hope of better weather for the race and whilst it wasn’t perfect, it was certainly better than the torrential rain and high winds we had been having! So the track wasn’t quite as dry as it had been for the World Cup just a month ago but that wasn’t necessarily such a bad thing as the track was perhaps a little more forgiving.

It’s such a long course that it allows you to make mistakes and come back to still get a good time but it really tests your nerve to the limits as you try to extract every last ounce of energy you have left.

For Orange, the season continued as it started with some great results from the new guard who have all stepped up their game this year and are getting the podiums to prove it.

Making it two wins from two at Fort William this year in Masters was Mark Wilcox. Riding his retro painted 07 224, he pulled the win with just under a second to his nearest rival.

And of course, where would a Scottish Vets result be without Alastair MacLennan at the top of it? He blitzed the Veteran field with an astounding twenty three second margin to the next man to take the win for Off Beat Bikes!

James Scott is riding well just now in Junior, less than three seconds off the win and just a fraction off second place. Third was a great result for him and his other sponsors, CycleJersey & Burgtec on the 224 Evo.

In Youth, Lewis Buchanan made the five man podium, albeit in 4th place for MTBCut.tv. Things are so close in the categories that the smallest mistake can often mean the difference between standing on the top step and languishing half way down the results sheet. A gap of less than three seconds after five and a half minutes of riding is still an impressive time and not something to be disappointed in.

In the Elite category, several of the big names chose to miss this round for various reasons. Are they getting bored of racing? Either way there was a lot of talk as to who would be top dog come final runs on Sunday in their absence. After putting in a stunning time in Seeding on Saturday, few expected Greg Minnaar to be beaten but the two local Orange boys did push him hard, in doing so relegating Marc Beaumont to 4th. Coming off the back of his best ever World Cup performance here in June and representing his country at the World Champs in Italy two weeks later, Ben Cathro pulled second place, just a couple of seconds down on Greg. In third was Fort William resident, Joe Barnes who by the narrowest of margins managed to stay ahead of Marc, both being on the same second! Unfortunately, Gary Forest damaged his drivetrain during the run and couldn’t pedal which dropped him down the leader board and out of the podium positions.

So all in a great weekend of racing with a good atmosphere, plenty of riding and most importantly of all, a great set of results for many Orange backed riders. Next week is a busy week for Orange with riders travelling out to the MegaAvalanche race in the French Alps, the Scottish Champs at Glencoe and last but not least the Welsh Champs at Mynnyd Du. So there should be some great results again there. We’ll keep you updated with results as they come in.