Post by Mark on Jul 30, 2010 18:19:36 GMT
Sunday 25th july saw 3 memebers of MBNW make the trip up to Lee Quarry in Bacup, Lancashire for round 3 of the Hope XC series
Dan Evans, Gareth Roberts & myself
Weater conditions were perfect overcast & dry , but the deluge of rain in the day leading up to the event had left plenty of wet rock & mud in places.
Dan Was in the Racers category sporting his new Scott Genius 10 which was untested before the event except for a change of rubber.
The start was delay'd for a short time till about 10-20 but once off he started working his way up to 3rd overall before the end of the first lap with dan saying the long travel of the bike was helping to carry extra speed over the very rocky sections but disaster struck with dan puncturing his rear tyre & ripping a big hole in it so was unrepairable & Race over for Dan.
(Photo Courtesy of Clearshot Photography)
Next up was myself in the weekend warriors class which start on the same course as the racers but a couple of minutes behind.
I wasnt feeling 100% well as i lined up for the start but put it down to pre race nerves.
After not a great start getting held up by riders in front on the start line struggling to get traction on the loose gravel. I found myself lying 9th in my class after lap 1 but not feeling good (Or looking good according to Dan as i passem him parked up with his flat tyre) with the prospect of over another hours racing ahead, Just after the start/finish area was a steep incline which resulted in some hike-a-bike activities for most people which really takes it out of the legs.
My lap times were pretty consistent within a minute of each other but performance was well down compared to the last race for some reason but i still managed to finish 12th in my class & picked up some more valueable points for the series.
(Photos Courtesy of Clearshot Photography)
Next up was Gareth who was entered in the Have-a-go heroes race which uses a slightly shorter & less technical course with the same start/finish area.
After lap 1 he was lying in 3rd overall in his category & putting in a consistent performance but fellow rider Nick Blades put in a couple of quick laps to close the gap on gareth which resulted in a sprint finish to the finish line only to miss out on a 3rd place podium posistion by a second.
Full Race reslts are available here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/downloads/HOPEXC2010R3_250710.pdf
Series standings after 3 rounds are available here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/downloads/HOPEXC2010R3_Series.pdf
A big thanks to Clearshot Photography for The pictures from the event
Their website can be found here www.clearshot-photos.com/ and they are able to come and photograph any event free of charge, Please contact them for further details.
Next round is August 22nd
Full event details here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/3/index.html
Dan Evans, Gareth Roberts & myself
Weater conditions were perfect overcast & dry , but the deluge of rain in the day leading up to the event had left plenty of wet rock & mud in places.
Dan Was in the Racers category sporting his new Scott Genius 10 which was untested before the event except for a change of rubber.
The start was delay'd for a short time till about 10-20 but once off he started working his way up to 3rd overall before the end of the first lap with dan saying the long travel of the bike was helping to carry extra speed over the very rocky sections but disaster struck with dan puncturing his rear tyre & ripping a big hole in it so was unrepairable & Race over for Dan.
(Photo Courtesy of Clearshot Photography)
Next up was myself in the weekend warriors class which start on the same course as the racers but a couple of minutes behind.
I wasnt feeling 100% well as i lined up for the start but put it down to pre race nerves.
After not a great start getting held up by riders in front on the start line struggling to get traction on the loose gravel. I found myself lying 9th in my class after lap 1 but not feeling good (Or looking good according to Dan as i passem him parked up with his flat tyre) with the prospect of over another hours racing ahead, Just after the start/finish area was a steep incline which resulted in some hike-a-bike activities for most people which really takes it out of the legs.
My lap times were pretty consistent within a minute of each other but performance was well down compared to the last race for some reason but i still managed to finish 12th in my class & picked up some more valueable points for the series.
(Photos Courtesy of Clearshot Photography)
Next up was Gareth who was entered in the Have-a-go heroes race which uses a slightly shorter & less technical course with the same start/finish area.
After lap 1 he was lying in 3rd overall in his category & putting in a consistent performance but fellow rider Nick Blades put in a couple of quick laps to close the gap on gareth which resulted in a sprint finish to the finish line only to miss out on a 3rd place podium posistion by a second.
Full Race reslts are available here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/downloads/HOPEXC2010R3_250710.pdf
Series standings after 3 rounds are available here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/downloads/HOPEXC2010R3_Series.pdf
A big thanks to Clearshot Photography for The pictures from the event
Their website can be found here www.clearshot-photos.com/ and they are able to come and photograph any event free of charge, Please contact them for further details.
Next round is August 22nd
Full event details here www.brownbacksracing.co.uk/race_series/3/index.html