Ae Forest in Scotland was the venue for round one of the NPS. After a 4 hour drive up from Shrewsbury we arrived early evening in sunshine. Tents were soon set-up and all the gear unpacked. Saturday morning was perfect sunshine, blue skys, warm so I got my self up the hill to start shooting. The course has had a change this year and no longer includes the step down or bottom berms, instead a rooty section and a long drifty left hand corner were used, causing a real headache for some riders.
Further up the track was riding perfectly with many riders really finding some speed in the open sections.
One of the spectators favourite spots was the rock garden just after the road crossing, riders were carrying a lot of speed into it, and after a while there seemed to be two methods of getting through, pre jump off to the left and jump out off a larger rock, or flat out off the top risking wrists and rims.
Once practice was over there were reports of lightning from the top, and sure enough within minutes of practice closing we were in the middle of a thunder storm and heavy rain.
I spent Saturday night cutting down spikes with the 2stage team, a choice many other riders made. However Sunday mornings weather ment full spikes were the only real option.
Yesterdays lines were a thing of the past, staying upright was now the new challenge. So looking super cool in my water proofs off I went again to see what I could capture as the riders battled to stay upright in the increasingly slick conditions. Seeding runs went well, except for a few riders that were disqualified for missing their start times.
A special mention for Manon Carpenter taking the win with a stunning 2:50, a time which would have put her second in the elite womens category. Gee took the overall win with a 2:09 on his new continental tyres, having just signed a 3 year deal. Pete from 2stage bikes sponsored the fastest time of the day so was on hand to hand Gee £200 for his winning run.
RESULTS
ELITE MEN
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 25 | Gee ATHERTON | Animal/Commencal | 418697 | 2:09.187 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Joe BARNES | MTBcut.Tv/Orange | 440013 | 2:12.336 | 3.149 |
| 3 | 12 | Tom BRAITHWAITE | Hope Racing/23 Degrees | 4294 | 2:12.573 | 3.386 |
| 4 | 38 | Brendan FAIRCLOUGH | Specialized/Monster | 434243 | 2:13.697 | 4.510 |
| 5 | 34 | Joseph SMITH | Kona Factory | 442968 | 2:13.836 | 4.649 |
Juvenile Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 260 | George GANNICOTT | Icycles/Inners MTB | 447320 | 2:41.994 | - |
| 2 | 254 | Sam HERD | Perth City Cycles | 709604 | 2:55.416 | 13.422 |
| 3 | 256 | Jevan WILLIAMS | | 707148 | 3:01.454 | 19.460 |
| 4 | 266 | Mathew ASHMORE | | 711482 | 3:05.311 | 23.317 |
| 5 | 267 | Laurie GREENLAND | Psyclewerx | 717169 | 3:05.388 | 23.394 |
Youth Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 302 | Lewis BUCHANAN | Empire Cycles | 446926 | 2:22.935 | - |
| 2 | 301 | Sam FLOCKHART | MSC Bikes | 447147 | 2:25.907 | 2.972 |
| 3 | 365 | Joe CONNELL | Alpine Bikes | 457944 | 2:29.889 | 6.954 |
| 4 | 309 | Jordan DOIG | Icycles/MSC Bikes | 712629 | 2:29.932 | 6.997 |
| 5 | 315 | Fraser McGLONE | All Terrain Cycles | 453248 | 2:32.453 | 9.518 |
Junior Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 410 | Arran GANNICOTT | Alpine Bikes | 447321 | 2:19.408 | - |
| 2 | 404 | Alastair WILSON | Ancillotti UK | 444412 | 2:24.936 | 5.528 |
| 3 | 405 | Bernard KERR | | 443665 | 2:24.937 | 5.529 |
| 4 | 471 | Greg WILLIAMSON | | 454174 | 2:25.153 | 5.745 |
| 5 | 481 | Joel MOORE | Team Skene | 713035 | 2:26.690 | 7.282 |
Veteran Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 215 | Stevie BOYD | | 461927 | 2:37.475 | - |
| 2 | 201 | Alastair MacLENNAN | Off Beat Bikes | 430045 | 2:38.236 | 0.761 |
| 3 | 202 | Rich SIMPSON | Bikeactive.Com | 414014 | 2:38.413 | 0.938 |
| 4 | 213 | Jason CARPENTER | | 417627 | 2:39.675 | 2.200 |
| 5 | 203 | Jerry TWIGG | Cycleworld | 417073 | 2:40.851 | 3.376 |
Master Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 558 | Joe BISHOP | Zero G | 712131 | 2:28.634 | - |
| 2 | 503 | Andrew TITLEY | Kona Sombrio Paligap | 407367 | 2:30.591 | 1.957 |
| 3 | 529 | Dave LIST | Stourport Cycles | 440351 | 2:32.425 | 3.791 |
| 4 | 508 | Chris WHITFIELD | All Terrain | 402964 | 2:32.495 | 3.861 |
| 5 | 513 | Colin WILLIAMS | Solid/O Neal | 421011 | 2:32.677 | 4.043 |
Women
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 806 | Manon CARPENTER | | 454117 | 2:50.023 | - |
| 2 | 814 | Emma ATKINSON | 777 Racing | 461474 | 3:06.981 | 16.958 |
| 3 | 801 | Monet ADAMS | All Terrain/Nikita | 437366 | 3:08.639 | 18.616 |
| 4 | 813 | Sarah BRUNSWICK | Manx MTB Club | 709794 | 3:13.025 | 23.002 |
| 5 | 802 | Kerry WRIGGLESWORTH | Solid/O Neal | 709628 | 3:18.205 | 28.182 |
Elite Women
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 51 | Helen GASKELL | Zumbi | 403409 | 2:47.919 | - |
| 2 | 52 | Katy CURD | Ashton/Diamond Back | 707400 | 2:51.173 | 3.254 |
| 3 | 54 | Aimee DIX | Mojo Orange | 447776 | 2:51.981 | 4.062 |
| 4 | 61 | Jessica STONE | 2 Stage/Extreme Medics | 4624 | 2:57.552 | 9.633 |
| 5 | 53 | Sarah NEWMAN | Www.Pureridersco | 458089 | 2:59.862 | 11.943 |
Senior Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 677 | Oliver BURTON | | 457632 | 2:24.350 | - |
| 2 | 615 | James McKNIGHT | K9 Indus/SB-DH.Com | 443811 | 2:27.533 | 3.183 |
| 3 | 694 | Adam PRICE | Bike Shed | 462427 | 2:28.770 | 4.420 |
| 4 | 628 | Ryan CHAMBERS | Ae Cycles/Solway Insul | 4577 | 2:28.980 | 4.630 |
| 5 | 634 | Dale RUSSELL | | 448503 | 2:29.244 | 4.894 |
Expert Men
| Posn | Bib | Name | Club/Sponsor | BC License | Result | Margin |
|---|
| 1 | 175 | Jack READING | | 705623 | 2:19.795 | - |
| 2 | 167 | Scott LAUGHLAND | Team Castle Melamine | 441302 | 2:21.326 | 1.531 |
| 3 | 169 | Sion WHITECROSS | Team Skene | 454135 | 2:23.050 | 3.255 |
| 4 | 136 | Ross ANDERSON | MSC Bikes | 2:23.531 | 3.736 |
| 5 | 116 | Luke MARSHALL | | 422051 | 2:23.809 | 4.014 |
Full results available here http://www.mikrotime.com/mtb/nps2009/forae209.html
Thanks to everyone involved for a well run weekend despite the weather. Look forward to round 2 at Llangollen at the end of May.
Scott
www.eggraphy.com
