XCO Race Report: British XC National Series Round 1 Kirroughtree Forest

After the postponed round at Cannock, the National XC series was finally underway returning to the glorious scenery at Kirroughtree, Scotland. As usual here riders were kept on their toes by the ever changing weather conditions meaning the track could change dramatically between practice and race runs. It was a big weekend for some of the UK's big teams, with Hope Factory Racing and Scott UK dominating many of the podium positions, and even smaller teams such a Pine Sports taking home multiple category winners. It was great to see, as always at XC races, a huge mix of ages and strong representation of both men and women out enjoying racing their bikes.

After overseeing the National DH race the week before, Diego Tosti from the UCI was on hand to oversee Round 1 of the National XC Series. It is great to see that there is opportunity for National riders to gain UCI points in the National Series

Shiny new kits and shiny new bikes must mean one thing

Time for the XC National Series to start

A clean sweep this weekend for Paul Oldham taking the win in both the short track and the XCO

Neil Mansfield battling hard in the Grand Vets Men's race

XC riders are just built different, still smiling through the pain

Grant Johnson took the win in the Super Vets and did Ian Spencer a favour meaning he didn't have to go out for another lap, which he was all too pleased about

Plenty of gossip after the finishing line

Alan Gunner battled hard chasing down Paul Oldham, but it wasn't to be this weekend with Alan finishing up in second in the Men's Vets race

Excellent work this week from all the volunteer marshalls, without these guys racing just doesn't happen

There really is no stopping Nick Craig, he not only took the win in the Grand Vets but managed to chase down Paul Oldham who was the winner of the Vets race that had started well ahead of the Grand Vets race

Two of the best ambassadors of XC racing in the UK, with Nick Craig and Paul Oldham having a lot of fun at the end of the XC race and these two old friends enjoying the fact that they got to cross the line together

It was smiles on the finishing line for the winners of the Men's Vets and Grand Vets

It's always a good feeling to get to wear your national champs jersey for the first time in the season

The first corner was grassy, tight and some of the junior fields didn't give each other enough room, therefore chaos ensued

Best place to be was out in front

Leon Atkins dominated the Male Youth field taking a double win this weekend in the Short track and XCO races

Teddy Taylor battled hard in a tough Male Youth field

Plenty of technical climbs to test who had put the hours during the off season

A great win for Maize Harper with Pine Sports doing well this weekend

Hard pack sections really gave the riders opportunity to put the power down

Riders tested the edge of their tyres in the trail centre sections. Arthur Limb tried his best to out-race Leon Atkins in the Male Youth but it was second place for Arthur in both the Short Track and the XCO races this weekend

Great to see the British Commissaires working hard to keep racing fair

There was plenty of bike washing to do today

That's not to say that the Coms don't have fun

All focus on the start line

Ella Maclean-Howell took a commanding lead in the women's elite race

There were tough battles throughout the women's field with plenty of line choices in this wide taped track to allow for riders to exploit their skills

Not content with racing the National DH Series, Emily Carrick-Anderson is still racing hard in the XC Series too. Great to see a multi-talented rider with Emily moving onto the Trek team to take on the Enduro World Cup

Times have changed in XC racing, riders are no longer timid around these rocky technical features

A great result for Emily taking third in the Women's Elite in her first elite race

First outing of the season for the Grity Racing Team

Time for snack

Even despite the harsh weather conditions, friends and family came out to support

Eyes on the sniper roots

Plenty of rocks littered the track to keep riders on their toes

Some were bigger than others. Bethany-Ann Jackson had a great weekend taking the win in the Junior Women

Some really fun, windy single track sections gave the riders the opportunity to have some fun

But there were some steeper A-lines to test the technical skills of plenty of the riders

The exit of the A or B line of this section shot you straight at this log-berm meaning you had to be spot on with your line choice to get the most out of the A-line advantage

Evie Steed taking the win in the Expert Women's race

Always good to see the camaraderie between the riders

XC racing is all about fun

A magnificent start to the season for Ella Maclean-Howell this weekend with a win in both the short track and the XCO races

Can't beat mud tan lines

First race in his new team colours for Corran Carrick-Anderson

Gapping through the trees in the wet conditions was a brave but fast line

The rain just before the elite racers really changed the track making it tougher than any other time in the weekend

Plenty of mud of the elite racers to contend with

The team from Scottish XC did a great job all weekend, not only putting out a great course but running a fantastic event

The rock garden caught many riders out, especially with the rain fall just in time for the elite races

Max Greensill had a brilliant start in his first National Elite race, taking the lead in first few laps, but an unfortunate crash in the penultimate lap left the Hope Factory Rider on the third step of the podium

Wide around this tree was the way to go

A nice top 10 for Ewan Dix in his first National race of the year

The right hand line, although looking smoother, became treacherous in the wet with many riders still on dry tyres

A tight race in the Men's Elite, with Corran Carrick-Anderson and Thomas Mein battling it out right to the line, with Thomas ultimately coming out on top

What a sprint finish from Thomas Mein

Smiles on the finishing line for Corran

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Mandownmedia
Member since Nov 28, 2019
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