Race Report: UK National XC Series, Round 1 From Tong
Parkwood Outdoors Centre, Tong played host to the first round of the Schwalbe National Cross Country Series. The team at Parkwood really do need a lot of appreciation, after having the step in at the last minute due to storm damage to the original venue, however, the mix of single track, fast fire road, punchy climbs and technical sections working their way through this off-road motorbike and four-by-four area really provided a fantastic test for the riders.
British Cycling announced just before the start of the series that Schwalbe Tyres would be the series title sponsor and the team from Schwalbe UK were on site providing neutral service too. It's great to see brands supporting both UK riders and UK racing.
XC racing this way.
Lots of shiny new Scott Sparks hanging up in the Hope Factory Team Pits ready to head out for practice at the first round of the XC National Series at Tong
Hope Factory Racing and Hope in general, had a big presence at their local Yorkshire race.
The Gully in the first section of the track was the first A-B Line split for the rider to choose from. The difficult A-Line section was a combination of a steep chute-like entry into a drop with a quick fire-road crossing into an equally steep chute down.
Below the Gully A-Line was an equally steep chute for the riders to negotiate. The first tricky part was this rock drop handled comfortably by Bethany-Ann Jackson.
Below this drop lay some off-camber, wet, hidden rocks that slowly worked their way through the mud as the race progressed. Towards the end of the day's racing, caution really was needed to make the right-hander at the end of this chute.
The view from the top of the Shibden Slabs added to the intimidation factor.
The Shibden Slabs were an intimidating A-Line option towards the end of the lap, with the A-Line consisting of effectively 3 drops and a rock slab which, dependent on the ever-changing Yorkshire weather, either offered plenty of grip or the traction of a wet bar of soap.
Lola Arnold negotiating the bottom drop of the Shibden Slabs.
Not everybody made it through cleanly. Huw Buck Jones, however, got away with this one and sprung straight to his feet. Clearly the tumble in practice didn't affect the Backstedt Bike Performance rider as he took home second place in the Junior Men's Race.
Hidden in the dark woods was this sneaky gap jump. Patrick Atkinson enjoying a cheeky, little send mid-way through morning practice.
Robert Wardell was only too happy to slap the berm below the gap jump.
A steady start to the season for Tom Knight finishing in thirteenth. It's always a good start to the season to finish in a place higher than your number board from the season before.
Charlie Aldridge chilling out on the start line.
Matt Lawton recovering from a brutal Expert Men's race but it's always easier to recover that little bit quicker when you take the race win.
Ben Askey taking the race win in the Junior Men's race. Safe to say Ben was pretty pleased with the perfect start to the season.
Hope Factory Racing's Max Greensill fought hard all day, finishing up in fourth in the Junior Men's Race.
Marc Le Sueur sending it through the wood section. It's always amazing to see the distances riders travel to race in the National Series with Marc making his way to Yorkshire all the way from Jersey.
The promise of beer is enough to spur anybody on - I hope Craig got his beer
The wet, slippy conditions in some areas of this course meant that the rocks of Yorkshire occasionally bit back
Beware! When riding your bike in Yorkshire, in April, there's bound to be some water somewhere. Between the rain, snow, hail and sunshine that the Yorkshire weather threw at the riders this weekend, some puddles were deeper than others.
There were plenty of puddles in the section below the Shibden Slabs for the riders to navigate.
The crowds gathered to cheer the riders through the Shibden Slabs.
It's not all big factory teams and professional pits at a national series. Quite often the support team is Mum and Dad. Fantastic result for Kacey Eyeington and successfully completing the bottle hand off between her and her mum as she came through the pits.
Emily Carrick-Anderson took home the win in the Women's Junior race by a massive 3 minutes. The T-Mo Racing rider asserted her dominance on the rest of the field.
Anna Flynn in the zone on the start line of the Women's Elite Race.
Elena McGorum takes the quick line over the drops to gain the advantage on the first lap over Anna Flynn.
Only for Anna to keep fighting back, with the two trading places constantly.
In the first of two tight elite races, Elena McGorum of Peebles CC took the race win in the Elite Women's Field, breaking away from Anna Flynn on the last climb before the Shibden Slabs on the very last lap.
It's almost impossible to see Joanne Thom without a smile on her face when she's riding her bike - but the smile was a little bit wider this weekend with the Torq rider taking home third in the Elite Women's Field.
Hope Factory Racing's Cat Ferguson getting ready for the start of the 15-16 Women's Race.
Zoe Roche wheelying her way to the win in the 13-14 Female Field.
Veteran's Men still keen to sprint off the line.
Nick Craig, as always, having fun on his bike. Also, as always, leading from the front and taking the win in the 50-59 Field.
Robin Godden mixing business with pleasure. Hope's marketing man is no stranger to the race track himself.
Matt Cuthbertson coming through the forest section at the furthest point of the track.
Chris Capp proves that it's not only the kids that can wheelie across the line.
Georgia Mahoney, one of the many Junior's out enjoying the track.
The mixture of terrain on this Tong course was immense, with proper UK woodland single-track on one side
and crazy, sandstone rock gardens on the other.
Showing that he's not all just about the road, Lewis Askey of Groupama FDJ, raced hard and handled everything the tough Tong track threw up at him including the Shibden Slabs. It seems like there's a trend starting for fast young road riders to also try their hand at cross-country.
Scott Racing's Charlie Aldridge carried the number 1 plate at the start of this season and successfully fended off an amazing five lap, three-man fight to take the race win in the Men's Elite Race.
The second place man in the Elite Men's field, Cameron Mason of Trinity Racing, fought his way to join the three man fight at the front of the Men's Elite Race only for Charlie Aldridge to give him the slip and open a gap of 30 seconds on the last lap.
Corran Carrick-Anderson was the third man in the 5 lap long Elite Men's battle, with the T-MO Racing rider finishing up on the third step of the podium in his first Elite Men's race.
Men's Elite Winner Charlie Aldridge loved the technical track that Tong served up, saying after the race: "Suited me perfectly, lots of punchy climbs and fast, techy downhills where it's important to keep your flow"
This UK National XC Series Race Report is supported by Scott Sports
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5 Comments
- 10 0
amoorejsy
(Apr 15, 2022 at 12:47)
Great to see XC getting some much needed coverage. Great atmosphere at this event last weekend! It's a hugely underestimated discipline particularly within the UK - I look forward to reading the reports from the rest of the rounds!
- 5 0
beever
(Apr 15, 2022 at 4:07)
Really good to see such coverage of our National MTB series, it's what it needs. The momentum is gathering so keep up the great work!
- 4 0
Starch-Anton
(Apr 21, 2022 at 12:48)
A shame our premier XC series can't get any live streaming.
- 3 0
ifake
(Apr 21, 2022 at 12:47)
Brilliant to see XC getting some coverage.
- 2 0
losidan
(Apr 21, 2022 at 13:05)
Great photo set. Brill.
Hats of to Shibden CC and great to see the old Crosstrax jersey in attendance.
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