June 09: British Mountain Bike Series Round 4

The sun was out for the second BMBS in a row making for a very hot day with lots of close racing around the technical course at Crow Hill in the New Forest. Olympic star, Liam Killeen was in attendance as was Robin Seymour and the ever improving Lee Williams but no sign of Oli B!

This venue had a mixed reaction last year for the National Championships so how did it fair this time around?
Event organiser Martyn Salt and his team again did a great job with all the usual facilities we have come to expect from a National Event and for the second time in a row he even ordered the sun to come out and bake everyone alive!

So aside from the racing what else occurred over the weekend?
There was a fantastic atmosphere as a tight community of teams and trade stands congregated around the finish line whilst a huge village of tents and motor homes made for a wonderful spectacle and with a popular "Bunny Hop" competition in the evening the weekend had plenty to offer.

First race of the day was the Elite Women, how did they get on?
It was clear from an early stage that this would be a two horse race and with Kate Potter in great form it was jenny Copnall that had to do all the chasing and although close for much of the race it was Potter who just edged this battle taking a great win from Copnall in 2nd and Jenn O'Conner in 3rd.

Just behind were the Expert and Sport female categories?
In the Expert field Emma Smith lead from the gun and built a commanding lead of two and a half minutes to take a comfortable victory but behind her the battle for second was taking shape and after pulling away Jessie Roberts was under pressure as Maxine Filby put in a hot 3rd lap to close the gap but it was'nt quite enough and Roberts stayed away to take 2nd place from Filby in 3rd. Julia Bleasdale took a remarkable win in the female Sport race with a winning margin of nearly 12 minutes over closest rival Abbie Clare. Sonja Bye took third.

The rest of the female categories also had some great racing, how did they get on?
Nina Davies had it all her own way in the Master female category leading from the start and taking the win but behind her Ruth Mordaunt and Emma Bradley were constantly changing positions as they battled it out 2nd place. Ruth held on as Bradley started to slow in the latter stages of the race but held on for 3rd place. The Open female race was one sided as Orsi Fuzes took the win from Kerry Jury in 2nd and Stephanie Jones in 3rd. In the Veterans category Nicky Hughes took a comfortable win over 2nd place Belinda Tarling and 3rd place Anne Murray in 3rd and the only entrant in the Grand Veteran Female, Debbie Burton, won in a time that would of placed her 3rd in the Veterans race!

...and the younger females?
The Junior womens race was once again dominated by the ever improving Ruby Millar who won by nearly 5 minutes from Carla Haines and Dnaielle Rider in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Youth race was a similar affair with Bethany Crumpton winning by just over 4 minutes from Hannah Ferguson and Amy Roberts. the Juvenile race was a tighter one but the deserved winner was Jenna Fenwick who finished with a gap of nearly 2 minutes over closest rival Imogen Buick and Gretal Warner in 3rd.

Behind the Female categories the young Male stars of the future took to the line, lets see how they got on?
The Youth mens race was a one man show with Grant Ferguson running away at the front with seeming ease whilst a host of chasing riders tried to stay in touch. Matt Sumpton never looked troubled in 2nd place whilst a close battle between Michael Butcher and Alex Baker saw Butcher come out on top in a sprint finish to take the final podium spot. The Juvenile race saw Harvey Lowe take a great win from brothers Stuart and Ross Wilcox who took 2nd and 3rd respectively in an exciting final lap.

The next set of races were Mens Elite, Expert, Sport, and Junior, shall we start with the Juniors?
Its been all change in the Junior category this year and the leading 3 are all first year Juniors with last years crop seemingly vanished. The racing however is as fast and furious as ever and without warning, Steven James has stepped up to the plate. His winning margin of 6 minutes isn't quite as it seemed with 2nd place Kenta Gallagher puncturing and suffering with back trouble after being in touch for the first two laps but James is a different rider this season and showed just why he had been picked for the European Championships later this year. In 3rd was Ben Roff a further two minutes behind Gallagher and taking his first podium at Junior national level.

Expert has been dominated by the in form Scott Thwaites this season, were things about to change?
No! No they weren't. It was another text book ride by the young rider who will surely be giving the Elites something to think about next season. Behind him was another impressive ride from Sion O'Boyle while Jon Pybus took a deserved 3rd place.

The Sport riders always have a close race don't they?
A large Sport race was won by Martin Delves just under a minute ahead of 2nd place Russell turner and 3rd place Ben Turgoose. Although leading from the start Delves was always in sight of Russell who just couldn't quite get on terms.

So, the main race of the day, how would events unfold in the presence of our National Champion?
Well Killeen won which many expected but not without a fight from a gutsy display of riding from Lee Williams who stayed with the Champion for 3 laps and was incredibly unlucky to run out of steam towards the end of the race and lose out on 2nd place to Robin Seymour. Williams did finish 3rd though, his best result in his career and our ride of the day!

The heat was getting to many riders, some retired, some just suffered, did it cool down for the final set of races?
You must be joking! The Masters race was the next to go and was set at a furious pace as a group of 5 lead the first lap. By lap 3 Matt Barrett had pulled away from the chasing pack but as he started to slow down on lap 4 and 5 Christopher Rathbone started to play himself into contention with some consistent riding that saw him come within 15 seconds of winner Barrett. Scott Forbes took 3rd place in the hotly contested race.

The Vetrerans categories saw some of the closest racing but who would come out on top?
Peter Buggle and Richard John were virtually tied at the hip in the Veterans race until the final lap when Peter Buggle managed to get away for the win with Mark Chadbourne picking up 3rd place. In the Grand Vet race Roy Hunt took a narrow win over ian Wright and Gregor Grant who all finished within a minute of each other whilst in the Super Grand Vets Graham Faulkner was the only contender and took his win in a time of 1 hour 45 mins and 6 seconds.

The final curtain call was the Open Mens category, so how did the weekend warriors fair?
Well the race win went to Jon Barnbrook who took a comfortable win by over 3 mins from Alex McNicol, and Brian Macpherson.

So as the penultimate BMBS round drew to a close what was made of the weekend?
With rain in the build up and then strong sun all weekend the course was constantly changing, soft corners, wet roots, tight turns, short sharp ups and bumpy downs, the course had a bit of everything and although not to everyones liking it was tough, very tough, with no rest and plenty of hard work. Judging from the riders faces though, they enjoyed it, lets hope for a sunny Plymouth!