Simon Hawken

Racing in all its guises is growing in popularity again. Increased coverage in the media, a governing body that has attracted government funding and caught the eye of big corporate sponsors has all helped to lift Mountain Bike Racing from the depths to which it sank during the Foot and Mouth crisis. This year in all disciplines of off-road racing, entry numbers are up, there are more races on the calendar with new organisers stepping up to the plate all the time.
Despite the recession and rising cost of equipment, XC Racing is sexy again.

There is much coverage of our Cross Country and Enduro events on the cycling based websites and even the MTB magazines have spotted the trend and begun to step up their reporting of XC Racing. In most cases coverage is focussed on and limited to the top echelons of the sport, the Elite racers, the winners in other categories and there is nothing wrong with that, but the vast majority of racers out there are not competing in the Elite category. Most riders will never step foot on a podium in their racing career.

Many of this large number of never-to-be-recognised racers train hard, hold down full-time jobs and balance family commitments with their passion for racing. They spend their hard earned money on equipment, entry fees and travel to races (have you ever added it all up?). What is it that motivates them?

This series of articles is aimed at you, the ‘other’ riders who form the major part of the entry list at all races. Without you ‘Elite’ categories would not exist as a concept. Cyclenoodle will be looking for and following a ‘Random Rider’ at major XC events across the country. We want to learn more about you, what makes you tick, why you are racing and what are your dreams, goals and aspirations.

The last weekend in June saw the 4th Round of the British Mountain Bike Series and the English Marathon Championships hosted at Crow Hill in Hampshire. On the edge of the New Forest, Crow Hill played host to the National XC Championships last year. A tough, rooty, relentless course with not much in the way of climbing or descending and nowhere for the rider to recover. In the heat of the weekend it would prove to be a beast to both rider and machine.

We randomly selected a rider from the start list who was racing on both days and set about tracking him down. Simon Hawken was competing in Open class in the XC race and I managed to catch up with him as he prepared to take the start line ahead of his race.


Simon, thanks for agreeing to be our first Random Rider. I see you are wearing an Army shirt, what is it that you do for a living, or is that top secret?

Haha, No, it’s not secret. I am a Captain in the Royal Engineers.

You’re entered for the Open Category today. How long have you been riding and racing?

I’ve been riding for 3 years now but only started racing at the beginning of this year, so this is my first season of competitive racing.

Great! Now, you’re racing in a category that can be seen as being for non-serious racers. You have come to a National event to race in a non-ranking category, what is your motivation for that?

Well I’ve not been doing many of the nationals because they are so spread around the country and it is sometimes difficult for me to travel too far to race with my job. This one is local to me and the main reason for entering the Open class is that I am going to do the 100K Marathon tomorrow and I want to preserve my legs for that. Masters is very competitive with ex-elite racers still going well and the extra laps would kill me with tomorrows race my main priority.

What are your goals for the weekend?

In this heat……..? Just to finish!
Tomorrow is going to be pretty miserable if the weather is like this again. I was at Margam Park a few weeks ago for the Marathon Champs and it was really hot and I suffered. I need to keep plenty of fluids going in and keep hydrated for the race.

Do you hold out more hope for tomorrow, being an Enduro specialist?

Yeah, within the Combined Services contingent I hope to be top 5 or 6.

So within the main race you have your own inter forces race?

Yes. We tag on to some of the National events and local Southern races and run our Combined Services competition within those races.

That’s a really good idea. Who is supporting you today?

I’m on my own today, my wife would normally be here bottling for me but she is out shopping with the kids today.



Well done Simon you placed 14th in the race, how did you find that?

Good, I’m pleased with that. It’s bloody hot out there! I had a big off in the Bomb holes on the second lap and jarred my back. After that I backed off a bit to keep something in reserve for tomorrow.

What was your weapon of choice out there?

Normally I ride an Orange 5, but I’m keeping that clean for tomorrow, I borrowed an Army Giant XTC hardtail today and it was pretty hard on the body. It’s surprising how quickly the hardtail skills disappear when you get used to riding a full suspension bike all the time.

Do you ride tubed or tubeless?

Tubeless, they never puncture!

So how are you going to prepare for tomorrow?

I’ll go home now, I only live ½ hour from here, take plenty of fluids, eat loads of pasta, relax, kick back and watch Robin Hood with the kids. I’ll get an early night and be back here bright and early in the morning.

Day 2

Simon it’s another hot and humid day, what’s the plan for today?

It’s all about the heat, I will suffer and I’m going to be out there for more than 5 hours. So I have to try and keep the fluids going in and pace myself. Not too hard at the start.

Well done Simon, you were out there for 5 and a half hours in that heat and you’ve come home in 13th place. How did you find it today?

13th? Great! That’s better than I hoped. It was really tough, hot and humid and there weren’t that many riders out there to ride with, it makes it even tougher in the mind when you’re alone. After 3 or 4 hours you get bored of drinking the energy drinks and it’s hard to take on enough fluid. I’m hurting a bit but I’m really pleased with 13th.

How did your race unfold?

Well, after saying yesterday that tubeless never punctures, I punctured in the first 2 miles! Luckily it sprayed up my back a bit and then sealed – a good thing too as I hadn’t got anything with me to fix it if it hadn’t!
After that I felt really good for the first 50k and if I’d been doing the Half Marathon I think I’d have posted a good time. Then the fatigue kicked in and it became a battle of mind over body. The new bits of course they added to the XC course were across bumpy grassy fields and it was really energy sapping and tough on the back. I have real sympathy for anyone that did that on a hardtail.















Sometimes you see Endurance riders whose technical ability is not that great. I saw you riding the bombhole section and you looked pretty comfortable when many others were falling off or walking it. Do you do much technical training?

I’ve been trying to improve my technical riding but my training this year has not really helped me and in fact it’s gone backwards. I do an 84 mile commute by bike a couple of times a week and then a couple of sprint sessions if the job allows. The roots out there had become really slippery, like glass and the difficult bit was picking your way through it.

What is next for you Simon?

Well my unit is part of the Military Stabilisation Group and I have a tour of duty coming up in about 8 weeks in Afghanistan. Hopefully I’ll be able to fly a Turbo Trainer out there so that I can at least keep training ticking over through the winter.
I’ve got the Army’s ‘Are you tough enough?’ Enduro next week and I’ll probably do ‘Sleepless in the saddle’ in August and maybe a Merida or two. My original aim for the season was to complete the ‘Trans Wales’, unfortunately my tour has been moved forward and so I can’t do it now. So my ultimate goal for next year will be to do well in the ‘Trans Wales’

Thank you Simon, congratulations on an excellent weekend of racing. We hope your spell in Afghanistan goes well and you all stay safe, we look forward to seeing at more races in the future.

UPDATE: Since we last spoke to Simon he has successfully completed the "Are you tough enough?" enduro where he came 2nd in his category (6 hour CSR). Well Done Simon.