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UK National Champs '07, Rheola

15th July 2007


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By Alasdair MacLennan

After the heat of Moelfre last year it was something of a disappointment to find that the rain gods had decided to hover over the Welsh Valleys for this year’s event. With some trepidation the van was packed and we set off on a mammoth journey to Rheola. Heavy rain on the way did nothing to improve us thinking that this perhaps wasn’t going to be a weekend to dedicate to sunbathing.

After finding the track and squeezing your van into the admittedly limited parking, you were left with the unenviable task of trying to walk a track resembling the Somme without falling over or getting caked in a great deal of mud. Still, at least the race went ahead. In the weeks leading up to the race we saw rain that had animals lining up in two’s and the local farmer pull his permission for campers to use the field at the bottom of the venue. Still, that’s enough in the way of an introduction, so read on to find out what went on.

The track is as good a place as any to start with in describing this weekend. And it really was good. Fast, flowing and a real challenge to hit flat out it was certainly good fun to ride whilst at the same time creating the conditions for some superb racing come Sunday. After being dropped off right at the start you are immediately treated to the fastest part of the track. Pedalling hard you hit the first stream at some pace ad it only quickens from here. Crests, fades, felt and right turns all keep you on your toes in the greasy and rocky conditions. Gradually the track tightens down as you move deeper into the trees before going hard on the brakes and shooting right, into the next section, tighter and with roots aplenty to steal your line. A bit more man made now and you are spat into berms, bus stops and finally into two very tight berms just as you reach the first fire road. As you cross the road, use the opportunity to pull a tear-off and stretch the legs to scrape the last hundredth from your split and get rid of the leg pump.

Back into the trees and you will be glad of the clear lens as you pinball between the trees and over the holes that were appearing with some frequency over the weekend. Grease covered rocks always make things interesting and here was no exception. Clean that and you are at the midway point and the second fire road. Speed is back up now and you are firing on all cylinders towards the infamous Star Wars. But first you are drawn into two bus stops at a speed that makes you think you’ve missed your braking points. Hold on and hope. Fire out into the open again and you are now in a narrow and meandering gulley between the trees may be tight but it is still fast and you hit Star Wars where most of the spectators seemed to be congregated, baying for blood. Right line? Middle? Whichever you chose, smoothness was the key and keeping the bike going in the direction you wanted was a distinct difficulty. So many went down here. Tracey Moseley hit the ground hard here as did Steve Peat in his seeding run on Saturday, badly dislocating his ankle and possibly losing him the chance of a win at the Fort William Worlds in eight weeks time.

And now for the final stretch but still no time to relax. This is where the grease really began to take its toll as riders struggled to keep on track. More crests, fades and some awesomely rooty corners along with a section of boardwalk all added their own element of challenge before spitting you out over a drop and into the final double before the finish line. Sub 4 minutes was none too shabby and around the 3.40 mark saw you running near the top of most categories. Fast and exhilarating, it is easy to see why so many racers hold this track in such high regard.

With plenty of practice on Saturday before seeding runs and then again before the race runs on Sunday there were no excuses for not knowing the track other than a desire to stay dry. Racing ran smoothly and some interesting results were thrown up as many riders finished out of their expected order after crashes in the tough conditions.

So which riders earned themselves the honour of being able to call themselves National Champion for the next 12 months and how close were their rivals from taking that away from them? Let’s find out.

Starting with the youngest, we have the Juveniles. Some of them may be small but they sure pack a punch and all three stood on the podium just so happen to have made the journey down from North of the Border. In third we have Lewis Buchanan for Last Bikes. Second is Astrix/Descent-Gear rider Sam Flockhart and, on the top step, Mark Scott of Ecosse Racing.

Danny Hart has been around forever and a day yet is still in Youth and still riding for Balfa. Next year he may be into Junior but for the next 12 months, the National Youth title is his. Descent-Gear’s Gareth Brewin pulled out second and Ancilotti’s Alastair Wilson slotted into third.

Junior times are quick and Ruaridh Cunningham is a rider who has really stepped up his game in the last 12 months in both his domestic and world results. Third here this weekend slots him in just behind Solid/Electric’s Sam Dale in second. Josh Bryceland took the win for Royal/Santa Cruz. If you were watching him at any point through Star Wars you wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised when seeing he also took second fastest time of the day too.

Many riders approach Master’s thinking it will be an easy ride to a podium. Whilst that may have been the case some years ago, it may come as something of a shock if you are expecting to be at the sharp end. Julian Poffley’s time not only took the win but also put him in a respectable place overall. This left two ex-Elites to fight it out for second and third. Tim Ponting snapped second for Mojo/Orange and Kona/Sombrio’s Andrew Titley in third.

The Saturday winner in veterans, Paul French, destroyed his crank and pedal up above the split and this left things open for Jerry Twigg to add the National Champion medal to his collection. In second was Keith Wilson and third was Seb Ramsay, despite a crash losing him valuable time.

Grand vets isn’t a category normally seen at downhill events but there was here and it saw Tim Flooks down his Rock Shox servicing tools for enough time to pick up the second place medal. Paul Molloy pulled up in third whilst Chris Waddup added another National Champions jersey to his collection.

In the Youth girls, Rose Hindley took third spot having not long started racing. A baptism of fire this weekend must have been. Second was Manon Carpenter for Dragon Downhill whilst the top spo,t along with the National title, was taken by Monet Adams riding for Descent-Gear and Quad brakes.

The Junior title was taken by Katy Curd of Giant UK, and Seniors by Tracey Moseley, despite her hard crash in Star Wars during that mornings practice. Halfords Bikehut’s Helen Gaskell was not far behind in second whilst Fionn Griffiths took third.

Last championship category of the day is the Senior Men, comprising of the normal Senior category alongside both Experts and Elites. With Steve Peat out after his horrendous ankle dislocation on Saturday, the title was out of his reach for the second year in the row. And, for the second year, it was Marc Beaumont who took the trophy for MBUK Santa Cruz. He wasn’t going to have it all his way though as Neil Donoghue was up at the first split by the slimmest of margins although that had turned into a two second deficit by the time he crossed the line. Donny finished up in second place, a small margin up on Matt Simmonds for Ancilotti.

And that was it. Another year, another race and another set of champions. A one off event will always leave some people with thoughts of ‘what if?’ but looking at the winners and the times the best riders have the titles. Such a shame that again we are denied seeing Steve take it to the line but judging by his split time on Saturday, it was going to be something special. Instead, he hit Star Wars flat out, dabbed and did his best to tear his foot from his body. An operation to relocate the joint and lots of physio will hopefully see the man back in action for the World Champs in September.

When looking at some people opinions on line for this event you would be forgiven for thinking that it was a disaster. It wasn’t. That couldn’t be further from the truth. What we had was superb transport with no queues. 5 or 6 runs each day seemed easily doable and were indeed managed by several riders. We had live timing with a split at the road adding more depth to both the commentary and the results as riders pored over these to see not just how they fared overall but on each part of the track. It may have been wet, it may have been muddy. There was no camping field and parking was cramped. But at the end of the day, when looked at in comparison to other venues where the finish is a flat (and boggy) field, we were at a very weather proof venue. No one needed towed in or out and we had some exciting racing for yet another year. Weather is unpredictable and we just have to play the hand we’re dealt. If Rugog had been stuck on as the first race of this season the weather would have been perfect yet last year it was a quagmire. This year we had rain when last year we had sun. Racing takes place regardless of the weather and the fastest riders will still win. Jason and his team put on a superb race in some of the worst conditions. Thanks must go to them, all the marshals and timing guys stuck on the side of the hill which seemed to be running down past them and also to Mojo and Fox for supplying so many sets of Fox forks for the category winners.

Over and out.