Practice Report & Track Preview: British National DH Series 2023, Round 4 Glencoe by Mandownmedia

Once again, the National Downhill series returns to Glencoe. Last year Glencoe was the track chosen for National Champs, but this year it returns to its normal place within the national series. However, there have been plenty of changes to this classic venue to give the riders a new challenge this year with the team at Glencoe support by the Scottish Downhill Association large sections of this track were brand new for this year. This meant we were racing a totally different track to the old brutal Glencoe you may know, but this in no way detracted from the challenges of this track with plenty of line choice available to the riders their work was cut out on practice day to work out which line worked best. Unfortunately, the one thing that is the same is the Scottish weather with heavy rain shows, continual drizzle and some serious wind being the main talking points of practice day. I bravely avoided the worst of the weather that came in throughout seeding but it will be interesting to see how the track holds up with an overnight forecast of more rain.

by Mandownmedia

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Joe Breeden and Drew Carters headed out for their first lap and took us with them for a track preview for Round 4 of the UK National Downhill Series at Glencoe.

No uplift trucks this weekend, the classic Glencoe chair lift was in full swing

The views at Glencoe are always stunning, however, some very typical Scottish weather made them just a little bit more interesting

The top of the track was pretty much business as usual, with the same track being used as last year for the National Champs at least for the top section

There are plenty of flat-out straights here at Glencoe

Big thanks to the volunteers who stood out in some horrendous weather to let everyone go racing

Glencoe is always a good place for some sends

Marshalls can sometimes be more like cheerleaders

It all seemed like very serious business at the start

Practice meant riders were out having fun in trains

However, we were soon engulfed in cloud and the rain began

The weather didn't seem to put the riders off with plenty of laps being put in today

It was good to see the girls out charging hard on a tricky track

This unlucky rider had his seat tube come off his bike which led to his bike falling from the chairlift - not something he is going to live down any time soon

Despite the weather and the northern location for Round 4 there was plenty of riders in attendance

Despite the weather and the northern location for Round 4, there were plenty of riders in attendance

The aforementioned unluckiest rider of the day, off down the hill to find the rest of his bike

Joe Breeden was looking quick and finished up third overall in elite seeding

When the rain briefly stopped the stunning Glencoe views returned

There had been some work down to this old track to freshen it up with plenty of re-sculpted jumps along the mid-section allowing riders to have a bit of fun midway through their run

However, the wind had other ideas for many riders with a strong headwind turning the flattish jump section into a tough pedal

You were soon back to the familiar Glencoe rock however

With the DH red trail being used to race this reduced some of the brutal nature of Glencoe from previous years, but what it lost in brutality it gained in line choice and fun factor

Strangely Glencoe is one of the places where the more it rains, the grippier the rocks get which is a good job considering how much rain we seem to get every time we race here

That doesn t mean however the track wasn t slick. There was still plenty of tricky muddy areas ready to catch people out

That doesn't mean, however, the track wasn't slick. There were still plenty of tricky muddy areas ready to catch people out

Diving down through the clouds

More rock slabs

This one was taped pretty wide, so you could either take the inside

Or the outside

Both seemed pretty quick if you committed hard enough

Although this is the red downhill, there is still some brutal undulating rock gardens for the riders to work their way through

Also, the SDA put some fresh cut sections in for good measure

It's fair to say this track had a bit of something for everyone

Plenty of riders skipping goggles today. The continual rain just made them unusable at times

Riders were quickly up to speed with the Glencoe track, thanks to plenty of practice runs in the morning and were ready to push in their seeding run in the afternoon

Quickest way through the rocks is often not to touch them at all

There's plenty of opportunity here at Glencoe to get loose and send it through some rocks

Although the rocks look slippy, they really were quite grippy

This little section was another example of a well selected race track. There was a few lines through this set of s s - you could take the main line like this rider

This little section was another example of a well-selected race track. There were a few lines through this set of s's - you could take the main line like this rider

Or take the inside and straighten the whole s up

The straights at Glencoe really are for the brave with the wind that's ever-present here, you really can't afford to touch the brakes at all

There are plenty of tight areas to weave your way through, as well as wide taped sections of this track

But again, this section had areas taped wide to allow riders the choice of this gap on the inside, or take the more established outside route

Heather Wilson looked rapid throughout the day, could she complete a perfect season?

Who doesn't love trains with your mates through some rock gardens?

Speed tuck was needed heading into the new jumps at the bottom of the track

Although the riders didn't seem to have any issue making the most of them

These new jumps were really well built with all the riders having plenty of fun on them

The final jump of the three heading towards the finish, was this little step down

and then it headed into a set of tight berms

Riders were pushing hard to make every second count in seeding as the lower section was much less susceptible to wind

Final bit of the track was a lung-busting sprint to the finishing line

Plenty of soaking wet riders today with many of them heading straight to the bar after seeding

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Full Seeding Results

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Mandownmedia

Member since Nov 28, 2019
259 articles

8 Comments

11 0

commental (Aug 20, 2023 at 11:13)

Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "dropper post".

mattg95 (Aug 20, 2023 at 14:37)

New 200m dropper post

betsie (Aug 21, 2023 at 2:27)

Such a sick track, love Glencoe red, the weather changing and clearing up for race runs made for a sick weekend. Thanks again SDA, to every marshal... your legends being on the hill Saturday!

Coe1234 (Aug 23, 2023 at 4:59)

We always recommend checking your bolts before heading up on the chairlift, or pop into the bike shed for a free safety check. There's an Off Beat Bikes tool board at the top of the chairlift as well.

weeksy59 FL (Aug 20, 2023 at 23:10)

I'll check with my lad when he gets up but it very very much looks like a lad we know, Ed. If so he finished 47/59 in youth.

weeksy59 FL (Aug 21, 2023 at 12:08)

Apart from a bent rotor he got away with it. It was a mate of my lad as suspected

poah (Aug 20, 2023 at 15:06)

Do we know what happened to the kid with the bike that fell?

drjonnywonderboy (Aug 20, 2023 at 23:53)

Some say he is still making his way down the mountain looking foe his lost bike.