Madison Saracen Development Race Team - Shimano BDS Four, Llangollen

So it was off to Wales for the Madison Saracen Development team for round four of the British Downhill Series and everyone was keen to help the boys get back on the podium. It’s been a fantastic season and a steep learning curve so far but everyone involved is very proud of our young team riders Matt Walker and Jack Tennyson and how they are progressing.






The Llangollen BDS track is a challenge, a number of riders young and old, threw in the towel after a tough day of practice. The boys were struggling early on but kept plugging away at it and eventually found a line and a pace they were happy with. Then after an evening track walk with the Factory Team guys, went to bed happy, despite the scraps and bruises and looking forward to attacking the hill on race day.








Although this is Matt and Jack’s first season in the Youth category, both are familiar now with the podium, which is no small achievement. Seeding was a mixed bag here though, with disappointment for Jack, taking a big stack in the early sections of the track, sliding out and going down hard into a wall of rocks. He got to the bottom, we bandaged him up and he tried to re-focus ready for the final, with his knee on ice!

Matt had better fortunes, taking pole position for the final with a fantastic win in seeding!







So now it was all about the finals. Although sore from his earlier acrobatics down the near vertical Welsh hillside, Jack was keen to get stuck in. The steep drops into tight turns on the hill really take the strain on your body and with his injuries, Jack was feeling it more than ever and struggling to get into his usual rhythm. Battling on he came to the mid way point, blasting out of the trees and tried to get into his groove in the faster open sections. He had lost a little time in the woods though and it was always going to be tough to get this time back on the short track, especially as the youth category is so stacked this year, no room for error! Jack ended up 19th, which he was disappointed with but should be happy that he stayed, even injured and gave it his best shot; many more experienced riders went home before race day!




Matt was last man down for the team and last man down in the youth category. He too was nursing a hand injury but running on the adrenaline of being the fastest qualifier and the fact he had a lot of local fans on the hillside, living just half an hour from Llangollen. His speed was good in the technical stuff and it was clear he was on a flyer. Fastest through the first split and fastest through the speed trap. Now it was out into the open and the loose, grooved out turns of the Llangollen hill. As we waited at the bottom their seemed to be a delay in him shooting out the trees into the finish line straight… Bad fortune struck, or perhaps that hand was struggling to hold on after the beating it had taken all weekend. He slid out in a turn and had to grab the bike and get going again. Despite this he still sprinted for the line and went into 2nd place, an awesome achievement even more impressive considering the crash. Initial disappointment that he’d lost out on the win was replaced with a smile as he goes into the final round of the BDS as series leader!






Next up for Jack and Matt is the big one. The British National Championships. Both will be gunning for that top step and the National title up in Innerleithen on the Scottish Borders. More news on that in a few weeks time…

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