2013 Downhill National Championships – Report
This weekend was the 2013 UK National Downhill Championships at Bala in North Wales; a one run dash to see who gets to wear the coveted National Champions jersey for the next year.
Organised this year by Mike Marsden of Borderline events, he had posted lots of teasers about a revamped track and riders were not disappointed! The track started on the traditional Bala high speed fireroad before jumping into a new line which was fast and flowing with jump after jump including a large double after a loose right hand turn which kept all riders (even pros) on their toes all weekend. After a tiny fireroad pedal, the track dropped down a super fast chute into the new woods section; super tight and technical with tons of stumps and roots! You had to have a photographic memory and lightening reactions to remember all the lines. At the bottom of this section all but the fittest riders were beginning to get a bit of arm pump but they needed to hang on tight for the next section; a flat out, mega high speed straight filled with more sculpted doubles and berms. Next the character of the track changed yet again as riders dropped into a high-speed dusty, loose, rocky trail with great flow. The track then steepened slightly more before exploding over the Bala bottom step-down into the traditional field section of wide, loose rutted turns and the finish.
Downhill National Championships 2013 – Ride.io Team Headcam from Ride.io on Vimeo.
Practice had most riders saying it was the best track they had ridden all year! And with a fast uplift provided by the combined efforts of Pearce Cycles and Revolution bikepark, riders were getting loads of runs in. Simply pedal a short distance to the pickup field, climb into a ten-seater Landover with a ten-bike trailer and hold your breath through the dust cloud until you reached the top in no time!
With all the dry weather we’ve been having the course was super dry and dusty during the track walk and it wasn’t long before it got blown out into ‘brown pow’ covering roots, rocks and riders!
It also emerged that some riders in Hawaiian shirts were getting particularly loose including Elliot Machin and others actually jumping the wooden fence, which separated the bottom ‘field’ section of the track from the woods via a step down jump. Bonkers.
I got seven runs in with large breaks chilling in the Ride It Out pits.
Sunday saw an overcast sky and some spots of rain, which didn’t turn to anything. Practice was fast and fun with lots of riders trying spiked tyres to find some grip in the dust! Also there were many people trying to clear the big double at the top of the track.
Seeding started at 11 with lots of people still learning lines and taking tumbles.
Race runs:
Racing was fast and furious with a number of people stacking and making silly mistakes because the track is so challenging and also because at National Champs it’s all about that one run; no points for a series and no holds barred!
Highlights for me included the Juvenile riders killing it with some very respectable times and apparently some massive jumps too from the under 14’s. Matt Walker came away with the win and Kade Edwards stoked on the track and pleased with second.
In Youth men, Laurie Greenland had such a time gap on the rest of the field that even with an over-the-bars crash, he was able to take the win! Amazing riding from this lad.
Junior women was won by Tahnee Seagrave with a staggering show of dominance as she put over 28 seconds into the rest of the field. So much riding at the technical Champery track has obviously paid off!
Junior men saw Graham Innes take the win with a phenomenal time of 3:26, which would have been good enough for eighth in Senior men! Mike Jones was frustrated after hitting a tree in the top woods, but his time was still good enough for second place.
Masters is done slightly differently for UK Champs as it is split into both a 30 – 34 and a 35 – 39 category. Craig Taylor took the win in the younger category ahead of Seb Frost. And the winner of the 35 – 39 category (and fastest Master overall) was Chris Whitfield from Dave List with Andrew Titley in third. Times were very tight in this category.
Vets (40 – 44) was won by Tim Ponting, a true old-school legend after riding for many pro teams in the 90’s and noughties.
Grand Vets (45 – 49) was won by Howard Stuttard (father of Matt) by over ten seconds. Clearly those two have been training together!
Rachel Atherton won Senior women with a time, which would have placed her 28th in Senior men. She was ahead of Manon Carpenter, Jess Stone, Treharn Chidley and Jess Greaves.
The race for Senior men was won by Gee Atherton who made it another day to remember for the Atherton family as he and Rachel both took home National Champions jerseys and £250 each (hurrah for gender equality). Gee was looking rather nervous in the Hot Seat though as fastest qualifier Steve Peat was up at the first split. However it was not to be Peaty’s day as he had an argument with a tree somewhere in the bottom woods. Behind Gee was Joe Smith in second, Greg Williamson in third, Matt Simmonds in fourth and Sam Dale rounding out the podium. Jay Williamson was mixing it with the big boys in eleventh place and was delighted with the result, especially when teammate Rich Thomas (out with a knee injury) pointed out that he now had over 20 UCI points and could now enter any World Cup he liked!
For me the weekend was a mixed bag. An addictive track and fast uplift meant lots of runs whilst trying to deal with the heat and drink enough fluid. Seeding was disappointing to be sat in 24th position after I felt really tired and got arm pump in the middle woods. Race run I did a proper warm up and took my headphones and iPod to the top (thanks Oscar from Wideopen for carrying it for me). Felt really good in my run (20th at first split was solid) but then I decked it on the very last corner of the track; very frustrating. A 3:41 saw me down in 38th place.
Ride.io Video sponsored by X-Fusion Suspension – 2013 DH National Championships from Ride.io on Vimeo.
Overall then, fab weather, lots of dust, a great track, chilled vibes, beautiful countryside and a whole lot of winners! The team at Borderline organised a great race with excellent facilities, fast uplift and challenging and exciting track. Thanks guys!
Words – Will Soffe (Ride.io)
Images – Jaeson Blythe (ii10photo.com)
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