Race Report: British National DH Series Round 4 - Caersws
Round 4 of the National Downhill series took place this weekend in a very hot and dry Caersws, Wales. The unprecedented heatwave meant that the Caersws track had turned to dust, leaving the riders fighting for grip as well as desperately trying to stay cool in the 30-degree heat.
Credit has to go to the commissaires, race organiser and marshalls, who were also out in the heat all day long but made sure that rider safety was paramount.
In the Women’s Elite Stacey Fisher broke the 2-minute barrier, the only woman to do so, taking the win by over 4 seconds, showing that the confidence she has gained from the World Cup has really started to take effect. Aston Tutt followed in second and Anna Craig in third.
There was a strong turnout across all the women’s field this weekend, which is good to see the women's field steadily grow throughout the year. In the Junior Women’s field, reigning National Champ Beth McCully took yet another dominant win by a massive 9 seconds on a 2-minute track. Nina-Yves Cameron took home second and Carrie Copson in third. A notable mention goes to Heather Wilson in the 13-16 Field, crossing the line with a time of 2:03.828, a full 16 seconds ahead of her competitors and would have placed her 4th overall in the women's field.
It was tight at the top of the Men’s Elite field with just 0.25seconds separating 3rd to 5th place. Taylor Vernon took his first ever Elite National Series win this weekend. All weekend Taylor’s been on a different pace to everyone else, leaving many of his fellow World Cup Elite riders scratching their heads as to where they could close the gap on Taylor. In second was Ad Brayton, who was left with a nail-biting wait to be narrowly beaten by Taylor. After having a little excursion off the track in his seeding run, Ad had to wait the length of the entire Elite race in the hot seat. Joe Breeden narrowly beat Roger Vieira and Luke Williamson to complete a podium of entirely World Cup riders.
The Junior Men’s field was littered with reruns due to red flags on track, with many riders having to complete two race runs. Archie Townsend looked smooth on his way to first place, followed by Jake Cartlidge in second and Brandon Turner in third.
The riders race next at Revolution Bike Park to finish off the series on 17th September.
The views over Caersws are breathtaking
Straight out of the start gate, the moon dust started and didn't relent until you crossed the finish line
Slowing the bike down before hitting the more technical features on the Caersws track slowly became more and more difficult as the day went on
Ross Hood had won the Veteran Welsh National Champion Title at Caersws a few weeks before, but it wasn't to be this week for Ross but he does look good in his new National Champ jersey
Reigning British National Junior Champion Beth McCully made all the jumps and drops look easy. Much like Stacey, Beth has been out gaining experience World Cups all round Europe and it really is starting to show
All that World Cup riding is really paying off for Stacey Fisher, with her saying that the experience she is gaining out racing World Cups is allowing her to really relax and enjoy racing a bit more
A tough day for Jenna Fellows with a big crash in her race run, but one thing is for sure Jenna is pretty tough and battled on to finish her run
Hannah Mullin had a good weekend in the tough conditions taking home 4th in the Junior Women's field
With the dry and dusty conditions several riders had offs during their race runs. Louie Partridge had the tell tail marks of rolling in the dirt, but thankfully was able to get back up and enjoy his race run
Another podium for Aston Tutt this weekend taking second place in the Women's Elite
Stacey Fisher took a dominating win in the Women's Elite, being the only female to break the 2-minute barrier. Stacey is closing in on sealing the series win to go with her National Champion title
Ryan Brannen had one of the best saves I've ever seen in his seeding run but managed to put down a reasonably good time and in his race run he ended up 16th in the Men's Elite
The sign you want to see! No pushing up here, the Pearce Uplift team worked tirelessly this weekend in the heat to ensure riders got to the summit smoothly
Ad Brayton had a long wait to see where he would fair on the podium, after having an off in his seeding run he had to wait the entirety of the Men's Elite field only to just miss out to Taylor Vernon, the last man down the hill
Douglas Vieira checking in on race times as the Elite field came through. The team at Action Sports Timing provide the timings at the National Downhill Series and you're able to follow live including split times as racing is under way
Ant Hale got held up in one of the many red flags over the weekend and headed straight back up for a re-run, only to take the win in the Men's Expert field
The open field section down to the finishing line was one of the only few places on the Caersws track to offer some grip
The GT Viris Boys were charging hard all weekend, some great results for the team
Taylor Vernon carried on putting down the power all the way to the finishing line on his way to his first ever National Series win in the Men's Elite - unbelievable but true!
The final drop out of the woods was best taken absolutely flat out
The Juniors aren't afraid to send it during their seeding runs
You have two choices at this section of the track: take the tight inside over this old stumpy and roots or take the outside round the berm
David List having a little lie down
Rob Harwin having one of the worst crashes I saw, slipping out of the top of this steep chute and managing to slide into the only tree stump within about 10 feet of him. He also created one of the best dust clouds of the day, however Rob landed on his feet and seemed ok
The only place there wasn't some dust was this set of jumps along the uplift road
Tor Richardson looking quick through the upper section
The tech started right from the top with this tight right-hander followed by a drop at Marshall Point 1, possibly the worst place for a marshall to be - not only being baked in the 30-degree heat but also being sprayed constantly with Wales' finest dust
Liv Taylor on the podium this weekend and really looking comfortable racing National Series races, especially over the jumps - not bad for a 12-year-old!
They aren't joking when they say steep on this track. Some sections were really hard to control given the dust
Jenna Fellows hitting the jumps in her seeding run
I'm surprised there is much left of the Caersws mountainside with the amount of rock and dust sprayed up from this weekend
Jake Cartlidge was on it this weekend. It was a first time on the podium for Jake, I'm sure there is more to come for this young rider
Aston Tutt showing she's not afraid of sending it over some big jumps
Ad Brayton spraying the dust in his seeding run however, in just two corners time Ad decided to ride off the side of the track which left him second from last in seeding
I know this is the same corner, but Douglas Vieira also had some issues shortly after this with the Moore Large O'Neal rider heading into the chute shortly after this and finding out that his brakes were no longer working. It was definitely a brown trouser moment for Douglas, however he managed to come out of it unscathed but was first man down the hill purely because Ad Brayton rode passed him
The same corner again, just to show how tough this section of track was. James Elliot, who is an experienced UK Elite rider, drifting his way through the corner in the loose conditions. It was a good save from James to keep riding on in his seeding run
How does this guy not have a factory ride? Taylor Vernon was on a mission today and took his first ever win in the UK National Series on a track that was extremely difficult to ride amongst some high-class elite company
Joe Breeden finished up third this weekend. It was really good to see Joe went and thanked the race organiser and commissaires personally and wanted his thanks extended to the marshalls for all their hard work over the weekend despite the severe weather. It's really nice to see from a professional rider
Roger Vieira had some pretty creative lines through the upper half of the course
Harry Farnhill sending it over the last drop out of the woods
James Anderson's bad luck continued. James is on a loaner bike from his sponsors Orange after his race bike never made it back to the UK from his trip over to the States for the World Cup, only for James to have a flat on his race run ending his challenge for the win
Trust me, Leo Frater does enjoy his riding, he just was a bit over the heat here. But a second place for Leo this weekend showing that enduro isn't the only thing he is good at
The view off the upper drop was amazing, not that the riders had opportunity to look at it
I wonder just how many riders the Pearce Up-lift drivers have chauffeured up various mountain-sides over the years
Your bikes are in safe hands with the Pearce uplift team
Straight out of the start gate, there is no easing into this Caersws track with a gap jump followed by an off-camber chute in the first 20 metres
Will Haines speed tucking his way down the last straight
Felix Griffiths chilling out, waiting for a red flag to clear. A good weekend for Felix, with a second place in the 13-14 field
One of the many steep chutes
Fraser Topp squashing the jumps
The final drop out of the woods was best taken absolutely flat out
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
Great photos. Love the plumes of dust - they give a real sense of speed.