SDA Round 2: Fort William

Over the years the track known to the world as Fort William has seen its fair share of drama. Snaking down Aonach Mhor at the base of Ben Nevis it is famed for brutality and taking no prisoners and has been host to all manner of races from rounds of the Scottish series, to Nationals and, since 2001, a round each year of the World Cup.Words: Alasdair MacLennan, Pics: Ian MacLennan


With just three weeks to go until the 2009 World Cup hits town and just a week on from the course re-opening after the ravages of winter it was the turn of the SDA to hold their race on the hill. Are the Scottish races the most popular races in the UK? With all three hundred spaces to each race selling out within a couple of minutes any time entries are released, it certainly looks like it. With several inches of snow remaining on the track the previous weekend and plenty more having been sitting on the hill all winter, the trail pixies had their hands full getting the track rebuilt and rideable for the race, with many of the berms up top having been bare rocks and rubble just weeks before. There was even some concern from those who had spent the opening weekend riding it that they doubted it would be ready in time. But manage it they did and we were all ready to go racing, even if the weather was doing it’s level best to prevent us.


High winds stopped play early on Friday and, with strong winds forecast again on Saturday afternoon, the onus was definitely on getting as much practice in as early as possible just in case the same thing happened. As Saturday rolled on, the track began to cut up and groove in nicely but by late afternoon the decision was taken to stop practice early so that the course could be repaired for Sundays racing after some of Fort Williams famous holes began to break through to the underlying peat. Regardless of whether you agree that tracks should be repaired throughout the weekend or if they should be left to their own devices, there were a couple of bits which needed some urgent attention; the collapsed boardwalk in the World Cup woods being one.


The Fort William track itself needs little introduction with there being so many photos every year from the many races but a quick rundown is never out of place in a race report. Sitting on the start ramp ready to go, and making sure you were in the right gear to start your run, the wind seemed to be coming from every direction. Not a good omen for the big hip jump just yards from the start and within full view of the collection of tourists standing on the balcony of the Gondola station. The top section down to the join with the old track is now a lot smoother than what went before but adds its own challenge by lengthening an already long track by thirty seconds or so. Fast and flowing sections link together with wooden boarding to get the track over the worst of the bog, it is a good chance to warm up before the track starts proper.


Out of the new section and you are straight away treated to massive boulders making up square edged cobbles that just keep coming at you. Braking needs skill if the bike isn’t to snatch sideways whilst the corners are made more interesting by the bike being completely unsettled as the suspension works overtime to keep the wheels on the ground. As the track steepens and the pace quickens, it just keeps coming. Hopping across gaps to keep the lines as straight as possible, slamming into the tighter corners and drifting out of them, the track rewards a rider who has put the training in. Drop underneath Tower 13 and work down to the rock slab with the following piece of track which is one of the fastest sections on the hill. Bridge, Jump, Rock slab, Deer gate and breathe! You may think of this as the half way post but to most that still means at least three minutes of hard riding as you breach the tree line and start to pick your way down through the rocky switchbacks. Nearing the World Cup woods and you do your best to catch your breath and get your head clear into the only rooty section of the whole hill. Riding differently every year, this year a new lower section was added which rutted up massively on Saturday and soon showed which riders were on it. Dropping off the pallet at the end of that, batter down the now tamed gulley and hit the big tabletop next to the World Champs wall ride.


From here the track flattens noticeably and your legs start to burn. Rock gardens, sand and more rocks lead into the start of the motorway and a slightly soft Hip Replacement. It did little to slow the pace. With reshaped jumps over previous years, the motorway was riding better than ever as it led you to the famous Tissot jump at the top of the Off Beat Wall, into the end of the 4x track and across the line. Anything under 5:50 would see the vast majority of riders very happy whilst very few broke under the 5:30 barrier.


After all the heavy winds, Sunday dawned calm on the shores of Loch Linnhe and things were looking up. A couple of practice runs is the norm on Sunday morning, depending on just how much alcohol had been consumed the previous night! Some only just scraped one run before the doors to the gondola were shut and racing started with the Juveniles who, as always, were set off first.


Steve Dees, the owner of iCycles would have been happy; his riders blocked out the podium in Juvenile. Third was Stuart Wilcox with a 5:52 whilst second was brother Ross with a 5:48. Taking the win whilst his brother was away racing the Andorran World Cup was George Gannicott, showing that speed obviously runs in the family with his 5:45.


The Youths were up next and All Terrain Cycles’ Fraser Mcglone stormed into a 5:15 with his first run for third. With a poor first run, MSC/Descent-Gear’s Sam Flockhart had it all to do in his second if he was to challenge Lewis Buchanan for the lead but when it came down to it he slipped just outside the time he needed. Both ended up on 5:12’s but Lewis took the win for Empire with a lead of seven hundredths. On such a long track, that is nothing and it’s great to see these two battling it out this year for supremacy with times so close.


Some of the top Juniors were away in Andorra; Arran Gannicott for one, but that did little to dampen the competition that was on offer. Ronan Taylor took third for High Line Racing with a 5:21 on his first run whilst Alastair Wilson took second for Ancilotti with a 5:18. On fire and taking the win however for MTBCut.tv/Orange was James Scott with a 5:17, four tenths up.


Senior next, with over 100 entrants, and Ferguson Welders’ Stuart Ferguson made his mark on the hill with a 5:37 from his second run for third whilst Strathclyde Uni’s Matt Roberts took second with a 5:36, just under a second up. Taking the win with a 5:32 was Paul Webster who has been on the Scottish scene for longer than most and still knows how to put in a storming time.


Moving up to Masters now and Descend-Hamsterley’s Zac Hubery pulled out a 5:36 for third with Chain Reaction Cycles’ Michael Cowan running neatly into second with a 5:35. Pitfichie winner John Young made it two from two as he stood on the top step for the second time in as many months. 5:32 wasn’t as quick as he had wanted but it was still good enough for the win. Mark Weightman looked quick all weekend and would surely have been challenging for the win but unfortunately a huge crash in his first run left him with an unplanned trip to the Belford and more metalwork in his leg. Everyone wishes him a speedy recovery.


Onto the Veterans and it was Seb Ramsay who took third spot for North West Mountain Bikes whilst Glentress Riders’ Neil Wilson pulled out the stops to snatch second. Local man Alastair MacLennan took the win with a 5:28 for Off Beat Bikes, the only Vet to sneak under the 5:30 barrier.


In the Womens category, Angela Coates took third for Fox Racing/Team CHR whilst Bex Reilly pulled second for Uplift Scotland and Emma Atkinson of 777 racing took the win with a 15 second margin.


In the Expert category, there are a number of riders, all of whom are capable of making the podium on their day. Second runs were virtually all faster and it was with his that Alasdair MacLennan flew the flag for Pinkbike on this occasion and took third with a 5:12, with PedalPower/Endura’s Iain Cookson taking second spot with a 5:11. However, showing us all how it should be done was Ben Hall who took not only the Expert win for Perth City Cycles but also fastest time of the day by some margin with his 5:02. That he had the additional pressure of having punctured in his first run didn’t come into it.


Elites was somewhat depleted with a number of riders away racing the World Cup but times were still fast as ever. Gary Forrest slotted into third spot for iCycles with a 5:12 whilst Peter Williams pulled out a 5:09 to take second for MSC Bikes/iCycles, just six hundredths down on the time of MTBCut's Chris Hutchens and the subsequent win.


With close racing, the usual challenge of Fort William, and a well run event as expected from the SDA, virtually without exception the weekend was enjoyed by all those who managed to get entries. So desperate were some that they were willing to head up to the event in the hope that there would be some no shows that they could take the place of. The organisers even had a desperate call from one rider who wrote his car off on the way to the event and was frantically trying to hitch so that he didn’t lose his space. Hopefully his weekend improved from there. The next Scottish round is going to be Dunkeld on the 13th/14th whilst the next big race is the NPS at Llangollen in North Wales on the 30th/31st May with a track which promises to be at least as challenging as anything else we’ve yet raced in the UK.


Many will have seen Superfly’s recent article on the Leatt neck brace and it is tracks like Fort William which really make you think about them more than most. Si and the descent-gear.com van was up on Friday and Saturday selling the usual wares but was also on hand to allow riders the chance to try the Leatt before they buy with so they could experience them first hand before shelling out the hard earned. Mark Weightman was a recent convert and was glad he had his on when he went down in the tangle of legs and chrome on Sunday. Some may wear them for fashion but if as a result they are better protected then it’s a result, whatever the motive.

Full results are available over at:
www.sda-races.com

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