Race Report: Crank It Cycling Series Round 3 At Lee Quarry by CrankItCyling

Words: CrankItCyling

Round 3 of the Crank It Cycling Series was held this weekend in Lee Quarry Bike Trails, Bacup with a brilliant turn out of riders ready to face this challenging rocky track. The track consisted of a gruelling climb straight off of the start line, fast flowing berms, table-tops to show some style, steep A-line chutes, smooth pump-track and, thanks to the weather, plenty of puddles for the riders to cool down in! The unusually sunny and warm weather ensured there was plenty of grip, despite the puddles, but could not protect from the quarry rocks hiding to catch riders out - with plenty having their races cut short due to punctures.

The race day commenced with the Sport Category being the first to face the course. Christopher Capp and Sam Beeston took an early lead forming a break away, but it was short lived with mechanicals and punctures calling an unfortunate end to their lead. Hope's Sam Watson powered through to take the win overall, followed by Luke Beswick in second and Simon Barnwell in third.

Then followed the Youth and Juvenile races, a fantastic bar to bar race with the leader changing each lap. In the end only 13 seconds seperated the podium, with Noah Ellison taking first, Freddie Dixon in second and William Curphey rounding off the podium in third. In the Female Youth and Juvenile race, Faye Williams took an early lead and continued to put the power down on her way to the win, closely followed by Poppy Spencer taking second overall, and Elsie Haygarth in third overall.

In the afternoon, the Women's race took place, where Daisy Freer showed her skills taking the win by just under 2 minutes over a five lap race, with Ffion Gilbert in second and Maud Walters in third.

The Men's race rounded off the weekend with the Junior and Senior men racing alongside the Veteran and Grand Veteran riders. A packed field took to the start line with 60 riders battling it out up the initial climb. Albion Cycling's Ollie Akers showed his dominance and skill, leading from the start and building his distance. However, it was not to be for Ollie this weekend, with a mechanical calling an early end to his race, it was then anyone's lead to take. In the end it was a Grand Veteran who took the win, with Nick Craig showing his endurance skills keeping the momentum right until the end, taking the win overall, followed by William Weatherill in second and Billy Reed in third.

The next round takes place at Hadleigh Park on 23rd April.

Plenty of riders came out for Round 3 of the Crank It Cycling Series

It all started so well for Ian Murray, after taking the lead Ian managed to gain himself a puncture

That was but a flesh wound, as Ian decided to change his XC mountain bike race into a straight up XC run, shedding those wheels and reducing his bike to as light as he could within the rule book to ensure he finished the race and gained those all-important points. Unfortunately, due to the rules around external support in cross-country racing, Ian didn't have a second set of wheels or any way to fix the puncture himself so, therefore, no one could help him

Sam Watson swapping the CX bike for an XC Bike and taking the win the Men's Sport Race

Great to see so many of the Hope riders out participating in regional racing alongside their national series commitments. Freddie Dixon backed up a great result the weekend before at Tong with a second place here. It's good to see Freddie finding some form

Forget the XC World Cup, there's no bigger race than between 2 club mates taking different lines

Who said XC riders don't have any style?!

Sometimes I think riders spend more time gossiping at racing than they do riding, not that there's anything wrong with that

It's not surprising so many riders suffered punctures on this course, with the track being a former quarry, it was littered with rocks at every turn

The riders had the opportunity to put the power down across the quarry floor

Brian Gough chosing to take the steeper and tighter more direct line in a section of track split into three giving riders of all abilities the opportunity to find the line best of them

Brian Gough choosing to take the steeper, tighter and more direct line in a section of track split into three, giving riders of all abilities the opportunity to find the line best of them

Christopher Capp entering the start of the tight berms as he and Sam Beeston formed an early break away, but both fell foul of the tough Lee Quarry track with Chris pulling out after 2 laps and Sam following him after 3

Faye Williams kept it tight in the berms on her way to taking first in the Female Youth race

Hands up if you enjoy being on the podium

Some of the senior riders kept a close eye of the kids races in the morning, to see if they could pick up any tips

Plenty of views for the marshalls to enjoy

Plenty of views for the marshals to enjoy

On the topic of marshalls without these people giving up their time race just wouldn t happen. Quite a few races recently have been short of marshals it s a great way to spend the day enjoying the sport you love and giving a little bit back whilst still getting your expenses covered. So next time you see a race organiser asking for marshals why not give it a go

On the topic of marshals, without these people giving up their time race just wouldn't happen. Quite a few races recently have been short of marshals, it's a great way to spend the day enjoying the sport you love and giving a little bit back, whilst still getting your expenses covered. So next time you see a race organiser asking for marshals, why not give it a go?

Marshals have a lot of fun

Being a bike park, Lee Quarry also had some opportunities for riders to show off a bit style

Riders big and small took on the track, ages ranging from 60s all the way down to the under 8s and under 12s

A brilliant turn out for the Under 8s with plenty of young riders out having fun on their bikes

During the gridding of the Under 12s race, there was a slight distraction with a rider who wasn't racing but was using the bike park, needing the services of the air ambulance. Spare a thought for the commissaire and race organiser who had to try and organise a group of Under 12s whilst a helicopter landed close by, they all deserve a medal for battling on and getting the race started

Some were a little shy of the puddles

While others just sent it

Charles Parry showing that even the under 12s aren't shy on the descents. A great race for Charles taking third in the Under 12s

Daisy Freer lead from the start taking a dominating win in the Female Junior race

It wasn't all rocks however, with parts of the track having some nice single-track sections

There's always time for a snack mid-race

Narrowly avoiding a big crash, Lucy Dalgleish managed to keep control and escape into the B-Line

Despite the sun being out, there was plenty of water lurking in the bottom of the quarry

The riders were able to catch their breath after a steep climb along the smooth pumptrack section

Eyes on the inside of the corner is always the best way to go around berms

Who doesn't need a hug from mum when you've just finished the race

Once racing is done everyone is best of friends

A familiar sight seen for many years of Nick Craig leading out a pack of riders, however this is after the Juniors had already sprinted away - it's great to see the races within a race and always good to see how the different age groups approach a race

Nothing quite like seeing a group of riders disappear off into the distance

Ollie Akers lead from the start, building his lead, only to make it as far as lap 4 where his race was ended due to a mechanical

Racing was tight all day, with some fascinating battles taking place due to the fact all senior men's categories raced together

Jason Elliot making full use of the speed gained through the table tops to power down towards the next climb

There was plenty on undulation for the riders to enjoy

Modern XC has come a long way Dave Haygarth showing just how capable his Cannondale is sending it into the A-line chute

The former quarry makes a picturesque venue

Even the B-lines were strewn with rocks

What goes up must come down, and there was plenty of technical down hills for the riders to tackle

Cian Howard powering his way up the first steep climb of the lap, straight off of the start line

Even the adults couldn't resist having some fun in the puddles

Elbows were out, there's no time for manners when there's a race on

Having a better time this week than in Tong, Hope's Robin Godden was having fun in the sun

However, it was the Male Grand Vets who took top honours in the Men's race with Nick Craig taking the win by a minute and 30 seconds ahead of Hope's William Weatherill taking second

Full Results

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