Shimano BDS – BPW Race Report

It was the last BDS of 2014 in what has been a fantastic season. Taking place at Bike Park Wales, Sam Boardman gives us his race report from the weekend.

Having never been to Bike Park Wales before, I knew little about it other than that it was a trail centre. Trail centres and downhill races aren’t usually in the same sentence, so I was a little bit apprehensive. Before the weekend I spoke to a friend who had raced Welsh Champs, and told me of an uphill pedal in the middle, short but enough to ruin the flow… I dreaded the thought.

However I was pleasantly surprised when walking the track on Friday evening. No uphills, big jumps, a fast looking track and while it was one line most of the way down, it looked extremely fun. Out of the start gate you were met with a small hip, a step down, two big tables, two step downs and then a jump into a corner which you could go as big as you liked on. All very well made and all a joy to jump. Best start straight to a BDS this year?! I think so!

Into the woods on a twisty bit of track with a few nice features and then out into the open. In the open the first corner was a little awkard but after that more fast sections with a large step down in the open, a jump you really didn’t want to get wrong. Much more of the same after that, fast sections with good corners until nearer the end where you came into a super long rock garden which was tough to keep your speed up in. A few more jumps and a straight into a soggy 90 degree turn and you were through to the finish.

Saturday practice started well with good (dry at least) weather and in classic BDS fashion the uplift queue was huge. The difference one or two more trailers and mini buses would have made would have been huge. A box van was used as an alternative but it took so long to load it was almost useless, with no one wanting to go on it. Fortunately I managed to miss going on it all weekend, but a friend was stuck with it and said two sets of mini buses with bike trailers went past him before the box van was loaded, not something you want when time is money, literally.

Very few course red flags meant practice went largely unhindered, and due to the simple but fast nature of the course there were no queues on track and very little waiting around at the top. A real joy after having waited at the bottom for so long.

Sunday came around with a large amount of mist and gloominess, the colour of the sky seemingly threatening us with rain at any moment. Somehow the weather man was right, and while I was sure the weekend was going to be spoiled with rain, it cleared up and the track remained dry throughout the day. Racing was unbelievably tight due to the track being a relatively one line affair, however this is not a bad thing. The crowds were brilliant, there were people from top to bottom cheering all riders which gave the race a really great atmosphere. I walked up the track for the Elites, there must have been at least 100 spectators lining the track and seeing some gnarly lines thrown down. Near the bottom was a huck that a number of riders were doing, it resulted in some disgusting nose dives and lots of wincing and shouting from the spectators. Great entertainment either way.

Kudos to the BPW gang, they built a great track that held up to being pounded by 300+ riders all weekend, something which is quite rare if I think back to all the races I’ve done. Usually come race run there’s holes in all the berms and roots/rocks which weren’t there before, so it was nice to ride my seeding and race run on a relatively unchanged track. I hope the BDS returns, and I will certainly be visiting in my own free time.

Big shout out to Emyr Davies for getting on the Elite podium in 5^th! More to come next year I’m sure.

Words – Sam Boardman
Photos – Sarah Barrett