Borderline Events 2013 – Round 2 Caersws

So that familiar time of year came around again, the weather is still crap and its time to start those races that you booked a few months ago hoping of dry, dusty tracks. Unfortunately for most the Borderline Events Round 2 at Caersws started as the season had ended in September last year: mank! I for one had booked onto this race about 2 weeks ago when it was sunny for 2 days in a row but as the Saturday came closer another wet race weekend was looking inevitable.

Driving into Caersws village on Saturday morning, I was pretty excited to see the old NPS track taped out in the distance. Whilst I think Caesws could probably do with a new track there (I know there this is easier said than done) the old NPS track is a lot of fun pretty flat out and still has some relatively tricky sections to get quick especially for first time racers.

One of my previous gripes with Caersws has been the uplifts and time spent queuing, Not once all weekend did anyone really wait for an uplift which was a really refreshing surprise and definitely made the overall enjoyment of the weekend a lot higher.

Practice opened on Saturday to a soaking track and I mean really wet. Those that have raced Caersws in the wet will know how muddy it can get on that hill with no protection from the elements. As soon as the track started to dry the ruts came out and the mud clogged up making practicing pretty challenging. Not one run was the same with lines changing constantly, not to mention the number of bodies and bikes strewn across the hillside and red flags going up almost every run down! As practice progressed the track started to dry out and become more predictable until mid afternoon when it started to rain pretty heavily, and didn’t stop. At the top of the track it started to snow pretty heavily, with water running down the track it suddenly became grippy and some of the most fun all weekend.

With practice over and a lot of kit to clean it was very unclear what Sunday would bring. Driving from Ludlow to Newtown on Sunday morning we were greeted with 4 inches of snow which would have made tyre choice a big decision as I had left my snow tyres on chain reaction’s website. Luckily as we rolled into Newtown it became apparent that the valley had missed all the snow and the sun had come out. Once again the track was pretty difficult to ride flat out for the first few runs of practice made harder by bikes doubling in weight with mud and red flags going up at least twice a run!

Luckily the rain held off and by the time race runs came about the track had started to dry out with ruts and braking bumps drying out making a pretty unforgiving track and tight times for most catagories. One definite benefit to the dry weather was the fairly long pedal in the field becoming manageable meaning a good runs couldn’t be thrown away on some slippery grass!

Its is great to see a full alternative race series this year, especially with the Pearce series reduced to four rounds (and selling out in record time) and the BDS catering for the more experienced racers. A really well organized, relaxed race that was definitely friendly to first time racers and at the same time providing enough entertainment to some of the top UK elite riders.

Words – Chris Field (Bike Gang)
Images – Sarah Barrett (Roots & Rain Photos)

Elite Men
1^st – Adam Brayton
2^nd – Gareth Brewing
3^rd – Grant Boyce

Expert Men
1^st –Andrew Kelly
2^nd – Billy Matthews
3^rd – Sean Davies

Juvenile Men
1^st – Jack Tennyson
2^nd – Adam Beaty
3^rd – Joe Parfitt

Youth Men
1^st – Bradley Swinbank
2^nd – Charlie Hatton
3^rd – Sam Brayton

Junior Men
1^st – Thomas Owens
2^nd – Lewis Boyce
3^rd – Shaun Richards

Senior Men
1^st – Brian Anderson
2^nd – Chris Maltby
3^rd – Tom Davies

Master Men
1^st – Dan Haines
2^nd – Neil White
3^rd – Brad Hale

Veteran Men
1^st – Jack Tennyson
2^nd – Adam Beaty
3^rd – Joe Parfitt

Hardtail Men
1^st – Richard Acott
2^nd – Adam Lyons
3^rd – Aaron Chorlton

Women
1^st – Rachel Walker
2^nd – Lauren Beaty
3^rd – Gemma Taylor

For more events by Borderline visit their website or jump on the Ride.io FORUM

www.borderline-events.co.uk/