Shimano BDS 2014: Rd 1, Antur Stiniog - Practice Day

The first round of the Shimano British Downhill Series kicked off in Antur Stiniog, North Wales earlier today which happily coincided with the trail centre's first year of being open.

Riders were up early this morning, making the pits a lively place to be as everyone was keen to kick off racing for the year after what seemed like an eternal, wet winter in the UK. The set up in the main pit area was noticeably bigger this year in comparison with the start of last year, with the likes of GT, Madison Saracen, Chain Reaction Cycles and the Santa Cruz Syndicate pitched in the finish area. Even the car park opposite the bottom of the track was filled with campers, easy-ups and vans of all shapes and sizes. It was clear to see that everyone was stepping up their game this year.

Located at one of the biggest slate mines in the world, the track is rocky, technical and has some challenging features including large drop-offs and steep, tight switchbacks.

Many riders arrived yesterday, eager to take a look at the track, and with many riders staying nearby and some opting to stay in their vans overnight, the Antur Stiniog area was soon bustling with riders, team support, media (including regional TV and radio stations), fans of the sport and curious locals. In true Welsh fashion, the rain hammered down most of Friday night and into Saturday morning meaning the track was pretty slick by the morning which caught a lot of riders out and caused a few crashes up at the top of the race line.

The race line is quite an unforgiving track, nestled on the side of a mountain completely exposed to the elements, the wind seemingly the main issue for riders, with gusts hitting them on the way down. Despite being an all-weather track, it was no easy feat for the riders to battle against the wind and rain as it pelted the side of the mountain.

The uplift buses seemed to be running smoothly with no issues, taking around ten minutes to get to the top.

The queues for the uplift were understandably busy in the morning with riders wanting to get as much practice in before tomorrow’s race. Luckily for everyone, the rain stopped by mid-morning, bringing occasional sunshine throughout the rest of the day, making the track drier and grippier by the afternoon.

Launched only a few days ago, Gee rides his 650B GT Fury at pace in practice.

Steve Peat's race kit is certainly one of the brightest on track. They'll be no missing him when he charges down tomorrow.

It's Taylor Veron's first race after his back injury. He's looking strong and on form following months of intensive rehabilitation.

Former Wideopenmag team rider Laurie Greenland makes his debut for Trek World Racing this weekend.

Marc 'Slugger' Beaumont was probably too busy to take in the beautiful rugged Welsh landscape

Manon Carpenter is going into this season looking good and said she’s feeling stronger at the start of this season than she did last year. The women’s Elite field is looking stacked with talented women with nine competitors turning up for the first race. It's Katy Curd’s first race back in national-series downhill for a while and she will be competing against fellow 4X rider, Jess Greaves who moved to Elite this year. The other ladies competing for a spot on podium tomorrow include Tahnee Seagrave, Monet Adams, Rachel Atherton and Jess Stone.

Tahnee Seagrave has switched to Devinci this year. Will it take her on to glory again this year?

Practice went on until around six tonight with riders getting faster as the sun began to set. The clocks go back tonight for British Summer Time, meaning one less hour for competitors to prepare but with the weather is looking pretty much the same for tomorrow, the first few practice runs before seeding could be pretty rapid. Racers are certainly looking on it and everyone from the pro to the privateer has stepped up their game ready for another season of downhill in the UK.

Running order tomorrow:
08:30 - Practice opens for all riders
10:45 - Course closed
11:00 - Timed seeing run followed by one timed race run
17:30 - Podium for top five in each category

Juvenile - Sponsored by DMR Bikes
Youth - Sponsored by NS Bikes
Grand Veteran - Sponsored by Nuflex
Veteran - Sponsored by Dainese
Master - Sponsored by Marzocchi
Women - Sponsored by Flare Clothing
Elite Women - Sponsored by Schwalbe
Junior - Sponsored by Outdoor Tech
Senior - Sponsored by Spank
Expert - Sponsored by X-Fusion
Elite Men - Sponsored by Schwalbe

Start list:
https://www.rootsandrain.com/race2007/2014-mar-30-shimano-bds-1-antur-stiniog/startlist/

Words by Lauren Jenkins // Photos by Paul Cram