GT Malverns Classic Saturday Round-Up

Saturday arrived and day two of the GT Malverns Classic was upon us, slowly but surely racers emerged from their fabric or tin dwellings, some nursing slightly sorer heads than others. With both the FUNN Enduro and the Cannondale Cross Country kicking off at 09:00, day trippers started to flood the remaining parking spaces to get prepped for the day’s events.


Today was a packed schedule with Enduro, XC, Quad Eliminator (think 4x but less groomed), various arena shenanigans including the Wideopen bunny hop comp, Ritchey limbo challenge, the Jez Avery stunt-show and of course, the much anticipated TRP lake ride. With breakfast inhaled and many a coffee sunk, pro’s and amateurs alike begun to manoeuvre themselves for their chosen discipline, whilst the Enduro gang headed off up the fire road climb to stage one, the cross country whippets lined up in the arena for their mass start.


The Cannondale Cross Country consisted of a number of laps of a 5.2km circuit depending on your category and whilst it wasn’t overly technical, due to the beautiful setting of Deer Park and the surrounding rolling Malvern Hills, it proved to be an utter lunch-buster. Racers were rewarded by a fantastic descent on each lap consisting of fast grassy sections, flowy single track and some very tightly taped corners towards the bottom of the hill.


The weather overnight was a little less idyllic than yesterday and rain had pattered down for much of the dark hours and despite the suns best intentions, bursts of drizzle continued to fall right through to the late afternoon. Whilst this did nothing to dampen (punt intended!) any spirits, it did ensure racers were dealt some marginally greasy conditions, especially for the Fabric Quad Eliminator. The Eliminator used the downhill track which really is a true Malvern Classic track - fast, wide and on slick grass, perfect for some serious spectator sports! As the afternoon drew on, more and more people lined the edge of the track with the qualified racers lighting up the grassy course at Mac-10 and sneaking undertakes at the most unexpected moments. Elbow to elbow, and quite often with handlebars overlapping mid-turn, as the numbers dropped, the speeds increased making for an adrenaline filled afternoon - rubbing really is racing.




With the day's events drawing to an end, the much anticipated TRP Lake Ride got underway, and in no time people were waist deep in mucky lake water, all adorning massive smiles - TJ, our Pinkbike videographer was fully prepared to vacate his camera dingy in aid of sea (pond) rescue! Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary in the shallow pool and as more people inadvertently teetered over the edge of the precarious walkway aboard their demo’d DMR bikes, further crowds arrived and joined in the fun. A truly great end to another action packed day at the GT Malverns Classic and one that encapsulates the real essence of the Malverns Classic.


As a number of the massive 3000 weekenders party the night away, we're prepping ourselves for another fun-filled day of bike frolics but get ready, as tomorrow is also the headline event, the Schwalbe Classic DH, also incorporating the MBUK Legends. Stand by your beds, its set to be a scorcher!