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Off Road
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Geoff Bewley Memorial CX
Geoff Bewley Memorial Cross, Otterspool Park Report
174 riders made their way to the banks of the River Mersey for the 10th round of the North West League at Otterspool Park, Liverpool. A tough course was designed for the Geoff Bewley Memorial, which included the now famous ‘Ottersberg’ and ‘Muro Di Otterspool’ climbs.
The Youth event kicked off the day with an impressive ride from Billy Harding (Paul Milnes Bradford) who led from start to finish. Christian Braybrooke (Sport City Velo) took 2nd place ahead of Dylan Kerfoot-Robson (Rhos on Sea). Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead North End) was the leading girl and also finished an impressive 13th in the race. Special mention has to go to Sam Robinson (Liverpool Century), it was his first ever race and with a heavy mountain bike and full-faced helmet he had a fantastic ride.
27 riders competed in the under 12’s race on a shortened course which took in a set of planks and a mini ‘Ottersberg’! Thomas Owens took the first win of the day for Mid Shropshire Wheelers, beating Sol Kerfoot-Robson (Rhos on Sea) and Joesph Armstrong (Border City Wheelers) into 2nd & 3rd positions. Kim Baptista (Eastlands Velo) was the first girl closely followed by Anna Armstrong (Border City Wheelers). It was great to see under 8 girls Tilly Barlow (Cycle Sport Pendle) and Evie Duviau (Bolton Hotwheels) complete the race together after waiting for each other throughout the race!
The main event saw 122 riders tackle what has been described as a ‘traditional course’. With Belgium influences from sponsor BioRacer the finishing area was created using a series of hairpins using all the sponsors banners and flags.
The racing was full on from the start with Luke Grivell-Mellor (Mid Shropshire Wheelers) leading the pack onto the course with Paul Bethell (Team Elite) and Jon Watson (Charge Bikes) close behind.
1st time through the finish area saw Bethell leading from Stuart Reid (Wheelbase) and Jonny McEvoy (Motorpoint Marshalls-Pasta). Mellor was in 4th; the leading veteran was Roy Hunt (Colnago/Microshift/Skins) in 5th with Watson close behind.
Laps 2 & 3 saw Mellor fade whilst McEvoy and Bethell pulled out a gap on the rest. Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase) moved into the top 10 after starting at the very back of the field.
Laps 4, 5 & 6 saw several punctures and mechanicals forcing Matt Denby (Zepnat) and McEvoy to retire. Mellor who had dropped to 7th place started to move up positions as well as Peter Middleton (Zepnat) who was up to 6th place.
Mellor caught and gapped Bethell during lap 7 and held onto to give Mid Shropshire Wheelers their second win of the day. Armstrong and Martin Woffindin (Sports City Velo) took the race for 3rd place to the last corner where Armstrong managed to get though first to take 3rd place. Middleton was the 1st veteran home in 6th place, whilst the ladies winner was Becky Preece (Red Rose Olympic).
We must thank all the riders and volunteers who helped to make the day a great success. And also a big thank you to our very generous sponsors who enabled us to give every competitor a prize:
BioRacer, Kuota, HighonBikes.com, Quinns Cycle Centre, Eleco Timber Frame Limited, Tiger Timber & Virtual E-Homes.
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| welsh mtb rd1 29.3.09
myself (dean)dan whelan and chris fowler made our way down to north wales, the llandeglas was the venue for the first round off the series. dan was first to race and the weather was fine, frosty in the morning but soon brightened up for some hot at times racing. dan eventually came in in 8th and gained 12 ranking point. i was next to race, a steep uphill meant that a good start was important so away i went leading the first climb, once we had leveled off i lost some places too far stronger riders but i held my ground and battled on the long climbs big ringing most off the time to make others struggle, the fact that i knew the course well allowed me to descend quicker than others and eventually finished in 7th gaining 14 rankin points.last up was chris who has returned to racin after a 7yr break, in the masters race he battled well in the now hot conditions doing an extra lap than myself, he aquited himself well to come in in18th position, not bad for your first ride back, keep it up. we miss rounds 2 & 3 this year as they are in south wales too far togo but rd4 is a return to this event in september so some support would be nice, possibly get the club run to attend as great facilities there,.
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| brownbanks rd1 19.4.09
brownbanks is a knew event-series for this year using the old quarry in bacup lancs,only i(dean smith) attended this race dan on road duty somewhere, the course was basically a huge long uphill a fast flat crossing with an awsum long fast rocky descent followed by the long climb again, no rest atall. the sun was out 82 degrees i believe, the long uphill start sorted us out immediatlly with the stronger riders going straight from the gun, we all road at the same time so everyone from 18-60 went, younguns were gone and i set about climbing the hill for the first time and then would settle in and start collecting as i rode, after about 4 laps bodies began to crumble and i began makin places, 6 laps completed and the finish was top off the hill, the final descent was a furious battle which i won to leave the other battler for dead on the last hill to come in 15th which looking at the younger racers in the race i was well happy with, well good training for next weeks british mtb rd1.
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| british mtb rd1 26.4.09
myself(dean)and dan made our way to sherwood pines in nottingham for the first round of the national mtb series, the weather never lets us down and the sun shone all day, dan raced in the morning when it was a bit cooler, the course was a fast course but had a lot of single track where no overtaking could take place, if you didnt get into the woods first or placed high then you just had to sit and endure what at times was some extremely farsicle bike handling with grown men falling off riding in sraight lines, how i dont no but it would hold you up anyhow.dan got away well in the top ten so missed all the falling off in his cat, after some good battling he eventually came in 22nd gaining 19 rankin points, so well done to him, myself had a race to forget really, ranked in the top 15 last year i was gridded well on the second row so that was a good thing to start with, once we set off i was hit from behind by a rider in a some what ridiculas kit, i unclipped and he hit the deck, i got going again by this time i was near the back,going up the long double width path towards the first off the single track paths, on the left tinkering on the edge of the path but undertakin riders to try and gain as much time and places as possible, aware off a rider next to me trying to do the same, next thing i remember was no steering and front wheel up in the air the riders knee had lifted my bars and sent me down the gully, i jumped up to abuse him as you do only to notice it was the same guy who had brought me off just after the start, bemused by his riding i remounted and continued on my way now dead last apart from the japaneeze kamikazee pilot behind me, he couldnt hit me again for the third time could he?now stuck in the slow traffic the race was all but gone, acctually after i had done one lap i was half a lap down already, i set about gaining some places anyway by the end off the race i had gained 28 places and came in 60th, did he crash in to me again yes after i had finished he squeezed past me catching my calf with his pedal, what a twonker you no what i mean.
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| brownbanks rd2 4.5.09
again just myself riding today(dean smith)on a revised course because off the change in weather from the first race the long climb was removed and replaced with a shorter one,the wind rain and mud was making the course dangerous with some top riders falling foul of this falling hard and at times in dangerous positions and on some rocky descents at times falling of the edge of the cliff face on to rocks below, riders like roy hunt(ergon-colnago)and jough watson(zepnat) all coming a cropper i battled round for 3 laps but as conditions worsened and watching people as above falling etc i decided to call it aday and returned to my car for the warmth and comfort off dry clean cloths, didnt get this cold and wet in the winter cyclocross season, but seasons dont exist any more so you get what you get, anyway on to the next ride which i think is a double weekender a cross country on the sat and a 100k marathon on the sunday, yipee, till then thx for reading if you interested in attending any national round or mtb races get in contact with me, thx dean
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