For The Glory - End of the UK Downhill Season 2010

Nov 22, 2010
by Ian Harvey  
My first full year of filming the UK downhill scene has been a busy one. From my local grassroots series at Cannock Chase to the Caersws Cup series and the revamped BDS national series. I have learned a lot, met some great people on the way and seen some awesome racing over one of the best summers in quite some time.

Here is my full length video capturing the UK race scene from 2010.In trying my hand at shooting a couple of downhill races in 2008 and 2009 it was a great shock to be asked by two race series to come and film their entire season for 2010. After agreeing and looking at my old Samsung camera I thought a little investment was needed. With a very small budget I bought a Canon HFS 100 camera and a new lap top to take to races with me and so began a busy, but amazing year of Downhill race filming.

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Since its beginning in 2007 I had been doing edits of the monthly Racers Guild timed runs at Cannock Chase. This is a free to enter all day session with live timing and as many runs as you can fit in. The event has been a great success and tries to give youngsters a taste of downhill action and a chance for them to learn from the more experienced riders, some of whom are racing at a national level. They have even had the like's of Steve Peat and Martin Ogden down for some race action over the years.

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It May Be Local But The Racing Is Fierce

It is not a race and there is no podium, but the personal battle to beat your best time and be the quickest on the day leads to some great action.

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Lee Graton In Squadron Colours

The club has created its own race team, the Racers Guild Squadron, who raced at the BDS nationals this year with some success seeing Eliot Machin move from his first year as an expert to elite level. This acts as great motivation to the younger riders and as the current Squadron Riders move on they will hope to get a place on the team for the next season.

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Caersws is known by all downhill riders in the UK and has been raced on at national level many times. The Caersws Cup run by Chris Roberts of Naked Racing uses the hill's multiple lines to host a five race series from March to October. For many riders it is their first step into the proper world of downhill racing. Famous for its bad weather and with it being so open I thought this could be a tough assignment, but the weather held for the whole year and dust was more of an issue than rain. I have felt close to this series as it was the first downhill track I ever filmed at, so to cover it as the official videographer this year meant a lot to me.

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Some Amazing Views At Caersws In 2010
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Dust Was A Big Issue For Riders And Media
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Andy Hughes From The RG Squadron
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British And Proud Of It The 2010 BDS Logo

The biggest shock of the year was being asked to cover the BDS series by event organizer Si Paton. I had met Si at the Racers Guild in Cannock which he part sponsors and I went to two of the 2009 NPS races and was about the only one to be filming them. I thought "would I be alone filming them in 2010?", but not a chance, thanks to Si's new partner David Franciosy's marketing savvy the whole of the mountain bike media world turned up to capture the action, from MTB Cut and Wide Open Mag to gifted young film makers like Sam Oaks and Tim Lake.

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Steve Peat At Molefre
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Rachel and Dan At Fort Bill
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Marc Beaumont BDS Series Winner

Turning up and filming the event as every film maker knows is only half the work as once you get home the editing starts. Normally I have 400 - 500 raw clips to go through from a race weekend so it takes time to go through them. Once this is done and you have chosen your music, the edit can begin. It is a long process to make sure you get the finished result you want and with races it normally means a very long day after the race weekend or a long night for guys like me that have a 9 - 5 job.

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Editing the BDS Section Of 'For The Glory'

The edits for the BDS became almost like a race with a least 4 or 5 videos appearing within 24 hours of the last rider down the hill.

Now that the race season is over I have had time to finish an end of year edit, which I started back in August of this year. It is just a snapshot of what I have seen from the three series showing the progression from Grassroots of the Racers Guild to Elite level riders at the BDS. The film is not about the winners of the races, it just shows great riding and the strength of the UK downhill race scene.

Views: 18,040    Faves: 279    Comments: 58


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TeamBoon avatar

Member since Dec 31, 2007
6 articles

47 Comments
  • 7 0
 Ian = unsung hero, for all the work he does and the vids he produces.
  • 2 0
 Yup!! You got some fast Brits. My favorite shot though is when the kid with the camera mounted to his Orange colored Frame , went flying over his handlebars and the bike went bouncing down the trail landing upside down. Great crash! Perfect Shot !! LOL!
  • 1 0
 For sure...I had to watch that one a few times. Long live carnage!
  • 1 0
 OH yeah, or as we say in the Northeast ..."Wickid effin Caaanage."
  • 2 0
 Really well put together video, I watched all of it and thought that it was pretty sick! VOD.

I think some of those pictures could be POD as well.

Oh and can someone give me a link to where i can get a British cycling License to race in BDS because i have looked on the British cycling website a fair few times now and cant find it any where?

Please help Frown
  • 1 0
 yaaay someone else who uses power director! how did you find it editing hd footage and long compilations? might just be my slightly slower than needed laptop but i had a few script errors, but apart from that, it works wonders Smile awesome coverage and great edit man, nice work! Smile
  • 3 0
 I think this was amazing quality considering. Give him the RED HD camcorder and could you imagine what this dude could do? Awesome job guys.

BTW you Brit DH'ers are nuts esp that stumpy section! Woohoo.
  • 1 0
 Great video really enjoyed it a few points from what I saw from it.
Music is a personal choice some people like it some don't i personally though it wasn't great but in reality it's the editors taste.
The first 1:30 of the film actually hurt my eyes but I presume this was down to file compression of slow-mo ect.
The Caersws cup section felt a bit too long, as the track is not the longest I get why bits are repeated but possibly compress it a bit more.
I thought the BDS section was excellent really liked the fact you got all the tracks in I think.. and kept using different riders clips not just the same few elites.
All together a fantastic short movie, cant wait to see more!
  • 1 0
 Thanks also to the movie maker. You put alot of hard worked hours and went to every race, even that hell of a windy one, to bring us some great footage in a time when the season is all but over. When we needed it most, Thanks Alot Bro, It was very much appreciated and awesome work.
  • 2 0
 Great vid guys. Some great riding, super fast, super dialed!!!
Makes me want to go for a rip, then I look outside and see a foot of snow on the ground and -25°C on the thermometer *sniff* :*(
  • 2 0
 Well done Brits, keep it up! Wish we had a downhill series in Greece as well..
  • 3 1
 Good vid although did anyone else Mute it and listen to there own music....? Other than that good stuff.
  • 3 0
 We all have different tastes must be that I am closer to 40 than most of you guys, different generation but thanks for watching.
  • 1 0
 touching 40? impressive taste in music!
  • 1 0
 Oi mate, don't be blaming you being nearly 40 for having bad musical taste. It was a good film mind and got me feeling a little bit home sick. Is it me or did there used to be a lot more trees at Caersws?
  • 1 0
 I said diiferent taste not bad everyone likes different tunes. Caersws used to be covered in trees but the land owner cut them down the end of last year to sell them it does look strange now but the stumps make for interesting line choices.
  • 1 0
 Awesome video man , sweet sound tracks , mental bike tracks ,rippin riders and fine edit.
Also is it just me or does langollen look like the most amazing track in the UK?
  • 1 0
 Remind me to never crash like the poor soul @ 23:34...damn!

Well done. Reminds me that I have a sh*t-ton of vids to go thru and edit.
  • 1 0
 Is there anything like a tracklist? Does anyone know the song that starts at 14:59 sec?
  • 1 0
 The Catalyst - Linkin Park Witchcraft - Pendulum Without A Fight - Hoobastank So Far - Buckcherry This Addiction - The Alkaline Trio Renegades - Feeder Cant Go Back - Primal Scream Memories - Weezer
  • 1 0
 Cool, thank you Smile
  • 2 0
 Wicked video, I wish it was nice and dusty, dry, sunny here now....
  • 1 0
 That was really good, and thats why UK got lots of good riders, awesome tech tracks !!!!!!!!!! Good Stuff
  • 1 0
 Really enjoyed watching this, you even managed to make Stile Cop interesting to watch
  • 1 0
 Very Nice spot !!! Good Riders ...... and nice VidSmile
  • 1 0
 awsome, hopefully next season is just as good
  • 1 0
 crackin video, especially the Fort William section, my old hometown.
  • 1 0
 Really enjoyed the Vid man, nice one Smile
  • 1 0
 what's the second song called in the video
  • 1 0
 Witchcraft by Pendulum. there is a full track listing a few posts up.
  • 1 0
 thanks man
  • 1 0
 Nice vid, it's a shame the slow mo isn't a bit smoother though
  • 2 0
 I had to compress the file so much it messed the slow mo up. I have a smooth version but it is over 3Gb long and I can not get that on-line anywhere.
  • 1 0
 like i said, make some dvds. i'd happily pay a £5er for this.
  • 1 0
 sweet video. inspired me to go ride but cant cause my bike is broken.
  • 1 0
 really enjoyed that, thanks!
  • 1 0
 awesome vid!! thumbs up
  • 1 0
 SICK VID!!
  • 1 0
 first song? Smile
  • 1 0
 The Catalyst by Linkin Park.
  • 1 0
 cheers Smile
  • 1 0
 HP computer FTW
  • 2 0
 Only the moniter is HP the PC was custom built by a friend.
  • 1 0
 how is dust an issue ??
  • 2 0
 Having to clean the camera lens after ever shot was not my idea of fun and at round three of the Caersws Cup we had dust storms it was so dry and windy.
  • 1 0
 yeah I guess if you look at it that way ...
I just like dusty tracks sooo much Smile







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