Report: Shimano BDS 2014 Round 1, Antur Stiniog

The British Downhill Series has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, with investment in the sport growing and teams getting bigger, the series is highly anticipated every year, and a central part of the UK race scene. The first round of the Shimano BDS was held in a new venue for 2014, attracting hundreds of spectators, an impressive media presence and some of the fastest racers in the world.

Sunday morning came around and the pits were buzzing with anticipation, the sky was grey and looked like it threatened rain as people waited for the first uplift of the morning. Eager to get some last minute practice, the pits were busy with people checking bikes and discussing the track, excited to race against the clock after months of training and waiting for race season to arrive once again.

Event organiser Si Paton on the mic with Danny Hart.

More than 300 riders turned up for the event after it sold out in a matter of days. Amongst those racing were 12 World Champions including; Steve Peat, Gee Atherton, Danny Hart, Katy Curd, Manon Carpenter and Josh Bryceland – including two current World Champs, Rachel Atherton and Tahnee Seagrave.

The weather changed drastically throughout the morning, with riders echoing relief that the wind had died down. The sun came out and spectators began to climb the steep hill excited for racing to start. The track had changed since Saturday's practice bringing new challenges, ruts and large holes had started to appear. The drier weather meant that although the rocks were no longer slick, the shale and gravel surface caught a few riders out, including Gee Atherton, who crashed on the final berm on track after sliding out on the gravel surface, hurting his knee in seeding.


Many riders opted for soft compound tyres and relatively low pressures to give them optimal grip on such a loose course with many riders working hard to keep their speed up in corners and trying to gain precious seconds on the demanding uphill section before approaching the finish.

Antur Stiniog is a fantastic venue, as well as having some impressive views, it’s also perfect for spectators who can watch the race top to bottom from the bank alongside the lower section. The track provided a challenging start to race season, with many racers agreeing that the aim was to get down smooth, unable to really push it as much as they would like and struggling to get into the track. The key was to try and keep rhythm going, the steep turns meant riders had to rely on being steady to find their flow on such a demanding track.


Something felt different about this round from previous rounds over the years. A subtle change that perhaps demonstrates how our sport is changing, it’s not just those involved in the sport that are taking notice. A number of mainstream media outlets were there this weekend, including the BBC, S4C and ITV. For some this may not mean much, but as the sport grows and more money is invested into mountain biking, this could be a sign of things to come.

Seeding kicked off with incredible demonstrations of skill from riders, as well as the inevitable crashes. There were a number of sections that could catch out even the most seasoned rider. One section of track that saw its fair share of over the bar moments was near the top after a pedally section with rocks, jumps and step-downs. The top linked up with a rocky section with a choice of two lines, a big drop onto some rock slabs, or a tighter line to the left which had an unfortunate end for a few as wheels slid into a crevice, pushing their weight further over the front, either causing the rider to bounce down, or head over the bars onto the track. Riders had to get down this section as smooth as possible or risk losing valuable seconds before dropping into the tight corners below.


Seeding saw Madison Saracen rider, Matt Simmonds go into first, with Giant Factory racing, Danny Hart go into second, closely followed by Santa Cruz rider, Josh Bryceland. Steve Peat was a favourite with fans, and definitely isn’t showing any signs of slowing down and got plenty of support as he flew through the bottom section. Mr Gas-to-Flat himself, Adam Brayton was looking solid in seeding managing to get ninth amongst a stacked field of incredibly talented riders. Going into the ladies, GT’s Rachel Atherton continued to dominate, seeding first, followed by Madison Saracen rider, Manon Carpenter just seconds behind. The speed and skill demonstrated by riders is testament to how strong British downhill is. The BDS attracts World Champions, pro’s, privateers, small and large teams, right down to those who contribute so much to the sport and love getting involved. Even the crowds were out in force supporting riders and taking advantage of watching riders kick start the season in style.


Race runs came around and the wind had picked up slightly. Riders were rearing to go and racing started with Juvenile in the running order, a relatively small category, with some upcoming talent. Atherton Academy rider, Kade Edwards stormed into first with a lead of six seconds. The youth category was won by Charlie Hatton, an incredible young rider who took fourth overall in last year’s BDS. He comfortably took the win by seven seconds. Another big margin for the winner of Grand Vets, Howard Stuttard, smashing the opposition by 11 seconds. Chain Reaction/Nukeproof team manager, Nigel Page took the win from Mojo’s, Tim Ponting with Antur Stiniog’s centre manager, Adrian Bradley taking third in Vets. Howie’s, Hazel Wakefield took the win in the women’s category eight seconds ahead of privateer Lucy Drees in second.


GT’s Rachel Atherton stayed in the hot seat for the race, opting to miss out the drop further up the field which could have cost her a few seconds, but she looked controlled as she headed down the hill, taking the win from Manon who followed closely behind in Elite Women. Katy Curd’s first downhill national in a few years didn’t go as well as hoped when she punctured in her race run and Hope’s Rachael Walker crashed suffering a separated shoulder and a few cracked ribs, potentially putting her out for some time.

Manon Carpenter - focused on getting to the podium.

For Men's Elite, Madison Saracen rider, Matt Simmonds was unable to hold on to top spot, going into third as Danny Hart took the win with some really close times from the Elite men. Josh Bryceland even had time to throw a huge whip in the bottom section before taking second. Following his earlier crash, Gee managed to take eighth, but won fastest through the speed trap with rapid top speed of 33mph. Notably, Laurie Greeland’s debut for Trek World racing saw him take the win with a 2:36.363, just six seconds from Danny Hart, and placing him 11th overall against some of the world’s top riders. These guys will be competing again in just a few weeks in South Africa during the first round of the downhill World Cup.


The next round of the Shimano BDS will return to Fort William on 10-11 May, with the likes of GT Factory racing, Santa Cruz Syndicate, Lapierre Gravity Republic, Madison Saracen, Giant Factory racing, Commencal, Chain Reaction/Nukeproof all turning up to battle it out for podium at the UK’s most popular race series.



Elite Men – Sponsored by Schwalbe
1 Danny Hart – Giant Factory Race Team - 2:30.113
2. Josh Bryceland – Santa Cruz Syndicate - 2:31.667
3. Matt Simmonds – Madison Saracen - 2:31.856
4. Ruaridh Cunningham – Unior Tools - 2:32.612
5. Marc Beaumont – GT Factory Racing - 2:32.922


Elite women – Sponsored by Schwalbe
1 Rachel Atherton – GT Factory - 2:45.616
2. Manon Carpenter – Madison Saracen – 2:48.596
3. Tahnee Seagrave – FMD Racing – 2:59.866
4 Fionn Griffiths – Team GR – 3:02.395
5. Jess Stone – Trek Coventry – 3:06.498


Junior Men – Sponsored by Outdoor Tech
1. Laurie Greenland -Trek World Racing 2:36.363
2. Reece Wilson 2:39.632
3. Innes Graham, MS Mondraker 2:39.889
4. Neil Stewart – FMD Racing – 2:40.941
5. Taylor Vernon – GT Factory Racing – 2:41.890

Expert Men – Sponsored by X-Fusion
1. Craig Evans – 2:42.836
2. Calum Mcritchie – Icycles/O’neal/ Kabuto – 2:44.435
3. Brandon Love – Biketart.com/Dicker Precision/Eigtheen12 – 2:45.425
4. Morgan Gulland – Solidbikes/Wigwam Racing.com – 2:46.156
5. Sean Davies – Fast/Hotlines/Kin-Gud/NS Bikes – 2:46.248

Youth Men – Sponsored by NS Bikes
1. Charlie Hatton – Flyup downhill – 2:43.349
2. James Purvis - Cyclefix / Sickskills / Team-chr.co.uk – 2:50.547
3. Matthew Walker – Madison Saracen Development team – 2:51.553
4. Andrew Barrett – Pearce Cycles – 2:53.113
5. Conor Bate – Poferries.co.uk – 2:55.772

Juvenile men – Sponsored by DMR
1. Kade Edwards – Atherton Academy – 2:56.465
2. Luke Birkett – We love Mountains – 3:02.836
3. Jake Gaskell – Team Skene – 3:14.637
4. Henry Kerr – Stone Galore – 3:17.578
5. William Thompson – 3:24.895

Senior Men – Sponsored by Spank
1. Iwan Griffiths – 1868 Racing/Antur Stiniog – 2:45.147
2. Samuel Maddison – 2:48.385
3. Simon Cheung – All Terrain Cycles – 2:48.839
4. Chris Reynolds – Singletrack bikes – 2:50.590
5. Fergus Ryan – Blockhead/Zagway – 2:51.954

Master Men – Sponsored by Marzocchi
1. Andy Kipling – We love Mountain – 2:44.708
2. Kye Forte – Red Bull/Wideopenmag.co.uk – 2:47.682
3. Stuart Hughes – Decade/Commencal – 2:50.399
4. Dave List – Pete Yates Cycles – 2:51.838
5. Dan Haines – Eddie Chaffe Racing – 2:53.402

Veteran Men – Sponsored by Dianese
1. Nigel Page – Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof – 2:43.980
2. Tim Ponting – Mojo – 2:45.044
3. Adrian Bradley – 1868 Racing/Antur Stiniog – 2:50.030
4. John Young – Tickettoridebc.com – 2:55.921
5. Mark Weightman – 2:58.385

Women – Sponsored by Flare Clothing
1. Hazel Wakefield – Howies – 3:19.910
2. Lucy Drees – 3:28.801
3. Beverley Barnes – Muddy bum bikes – 3:28.805
4. Heather Kay – Velovite/West CoastMTB – 3:50.411
5. Gemma Taylor – Singletrack bikes – 3:55.080

Grand Veteran Men – Sponsored by Nuflex
1. Howard Stuttard – Ride-on – 3:10.547
2. Steve Felstead - 3:22.321
3. Jerry Twigg – Cycleworld – 3:22.781
4. Richard Abbott – Team Aston Hill – 3:34.544


Words by Lauren Jenkins // Photos by Paul Cram

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Racing and Events Shimano