#MakingUpTheNumbers | HSBC National Downhill Series Rd 5 – Ae Forest

Kieran hasn’t made it to this round but Neil’s here along with his mate James Weames a.k.a. Weamsy and of course Neil’s big rival in the Vets Dave List a.k.a. Listy (the nick names follow quite a simple formula). As riders arrive I convince them to park on the tarmac opposite the café with the showers, the porcelain toilets, the running water, the wifi and the jet wash. There are doubters who leave for the event field but those who stay will be rewarded on Sunday. Throughout Friday and Saturday the sun shines brightly. A bit too brightly at times because first run on Saturday morning we set off into the sun and as we drop into the forest it gets very dark very quickly and I can’t see my line. Instead of flowing high around the first corner, a steep right hander, I’m headfirst down the inside line sans bike. Listy’s crashing on the Elevator but that’s got nothing to do with the sun “it’s just poor technique” Neil says, starting the mind games early.

My mum and dad had never been to a DH race, but with all the features near the finish area we think Ae is the best track for spectating. Much as they would like to watch the actual race the forecast for Sunday is atrocious, so they come on Saturday to watch a bit of practice. “Are the Hope lads here?” Dad asks within five seconds of reversing his car into a boulder. He knows Ian Weatherall who founded Hope so he’s keen to meet the team. I introduce him to Rushton, Bladon and Brayton and after I’ve taken a few photos and we’ve had a spot of lunch in the café I head back down to join the uplift queue. “You’ve been gone for two-and-a-half hours and you’ve only missed one run” a dismayed Binnsy tells me but things pick up on Saturday afternoon and practice is extended so everyone gets a good crack at it.

“Zac Hubery?”
“No”
“Mark Croxall”
“Dave Ingleby”
“Maybe”

Binnsy is reading through the other entrants in the Veteran’s category and I’m telling him if I can beat them or not. There’s no Yes’s and only one “Maybe” out of 14. I beat Dave at Fort William earlier in the season, but he really doesn’t like Fort William. “He’ll go much better here” we agree.

As we wake on Sunday the forecast is still terrible, but it doesn’t actually look like it’s going to rain. The five minutes we spend faffing about putting my mudguard on really costs us though. We’re right at the front of the uplift queue when storm clouds descend, and we’re soaked by the time we get in a vehicle. “I wish I’d put a coat on” Binnsy says. It’s not even half eight; it’s going to be a long day. Or maybe not…

“Treat your seeding run as your race run” the message goes out over the tannoy. The rain forecast for the afternoon is torrential and they might have to call the event early. Aside from the odd person who’s unhappy with their seeding position most seem quite pleased. “There’s a lot of trophies to give out and then they’ve got to get all those vehicles out of the field” Binnsy says hopefully. “No one wants to be here until eight ‘o’clock do they?”

As we arrive at the top for seeding it’s been raining pretty solidly all morning. At least 30 of us huddle in an 8’x8’ E-Z Up trying to get some shelter, but just before the three Grand Vets are called the rain stops leaving near perfect conditions. The heavy rain has washed the track clean but as it’s no longer actually raining vision should be OK. Look ahead, breathe, don’t be a passenger, hit your lines; all the things you should be thinking about on your way down. Me? My gloves are wet and they’ve bunched up in my hands and I spend the entire run worrying about holding on off the ‘Step Down’ and then ‘The Elevator’. I can’t remember anything else that happened throughout the two minutes and fifty-one seconds it took me to get down. I’m last, 15 seconds behind Dave Ingleby. Neil’s seeded fifth though and Binnsy, who loves these conditions is winning the Grand Vets with a 2:37. “Pray for rain”.

No matter how much we will it to, it doesn’t rain again though. In fact, the sun comes out and by the time we go racing the whole track is a gloopy mess. I want to change my line off ‘The Elevator’ as the main line is getting chewed up but it means taking a line that I haven’t practiced which bothers me. As we head up for race runs we notice BMX legend Mike ‘Jersey T’ Taylor’s bike gleaming on his roof rack. He obviously hasn’t received the memo that we’ve got to go up and do another run.

It’s a steady race run, almost coming to a complete halt at the top of ‘The Elevator’ before taking the main line I’d been doing all weekend. Like many I have a wobble half-way down but I’m safely over the line. Binnsy’s beaming, he’s held on to first place in the Grand Vets with Matthew Patrickson in second and a bruised and battered Paul Le Maitre in third. There are quite a few people who are only racing for points in the overall and Paul’s one of them. As the faster Vets come down Neil’s in the lead with an amazing 2:12. Tim Ponting, in his final DH race after a 30-year career pips him though. Chris Whitfield is up by over two seconds at the split before a flat rear tyre ends his hopes of a win. So, it all comes down to Nathan Cavalier who seeded first and who finishes with a 2:11, just 0.1 ahead of Ponting, denying him a fairy tale ending to a glittering career. Ponting did finish as National Champion and third in the Series though so he’s not too distressed. Cavalier’s time was just seven thousandths of a second slower than his seeding run despite the changing conditions, that’s some consistency. His results are of a similar fashion, finishing in the Top 3 at every National this season and he thoroughly deserves the Series win.

“After the weekend I’ve had I think I deserve my own section in the blog” Marky Neal says moments after crossing the line; so here goes…  On his last run on Friday afternoon Marky had a big one, clipping a tree stump whilst at warp speed, sending him over the bars in a brutal fashion. Thanks to Jersey T for the follow cam which you can watch here.

After battling through Saturday, Marky crashed on ‘The Elevator’ in his seeding run, dislocating his big toe. He popped it back in and went up and raced, finishing eleventh and grabbing enough points to take second in the Series. After receiving his medal, he carted himself off to A and E where he stayed until half five on Monday morning. Turns out he’d broken two ribs in Friday’s crash and he hadn’t just dislocated his big toe, he’d shattered it into three pieces as well. Imagine popping that one back in! Hard as nails those Geordie Shore lads. Heal up soon Marky!

Neil’s third place on the day, some six seconds ahead of Listy means it’s going to be a long off season for big Dave. He did finish ahead of Neil in the Series though with the pair taking the final two steps on the Vets podium.

In Elite Men Joe Breeden took the win and with it the Series. In our Podcast with Joe at the start of the season (listen to that here) he said winning the National Series was one of his aims for the season and he’s done it so top marks. Reece Wilson took second on the day with Roger Viera third. Shout out to Adam Smith (you can probably guess the nickname) who seeded second and finished eighth. You can’t drop down to Masters now Smithy lad! In Elite Women Becci Skelton took the win and the series with Mikayla Parton in second and Abbie Sloan third.

With Danny Hart’s season complete, his mechanic Scotty Mears threw a leg over a Myst and took the win in Expert. The SDA’s Drew Carters was second and Ryan Tunnell third. In Juvenile Andrew Georgeson took the spoils with the biggest winning margin of the weekend putting over nine seconds into Dominic Platt with Will Savery in third. In Youth Jordan Williams took the win with William Brodie second and Ryan Brannen third. Times were incredibly tight in Junior Men with Shaun Sangster edging out James Elliott by just 0.7 and Dan Slack third just 1.5 back. In Junior Women Phoebe Gale won by seven seconds from Tea Jensen with Rosy Monaghan third.

In Senior, enduro racer Christopher Gallagher took the win on his Nukeproof Mega with Matt Bayliss in second and Ben Gillett in third and in the male Masters category ‘Jersey T’ appeared at the top freshly showered just in time to ride that gleaming Intense into third place with John Holbrook second and Bradley Shields taking the win. In the female Masters category Stacey Fisher once again took the win with a time that would’ve been good enough to win the Elite category. Kerry Wilson was just 1.4 seconds back with Rebecca Smith third.

“It’s going to be half six by the time I get out of here” Binnsy moans as the reality of having to stop for podiums kicks in. “I’ll nearly be home by then. Who’s the real winner here eh?” I quip gleefully.

So that’s it for another season and what a season it’s been. Whilst any dreams of a podium finish have drifted further away (a podium in the Vets this weekend would’ve meant finishing within 15 seconds of Joe Breeden’s Fastest Time Of the Day) I’ve enjoyed this season immensely. From great results at Hamsterley, the Alpinestars Trail Attack race at Antur Stiniog and Bucknell to some of the hardest crashes I’ve ever had in Fort William and Bala my results have become more consistent, generally around 25% slower than the category winner and 40% slower than the FTOD.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a fantastic season. All the riders, race organisers (shout out to Dave Monro who’s retiring from the SDA after 15 years sparkling service, we’ll miss you) and of course Binnsy, Neil and Kieran and our sponsors on the team: Singletrack, Revolution Bike Park, Geometron Bikes, Commencal, Schwalbe and Tyre Yoghurt.

There is one race left, the Gravity Events race at Caersws this weekend so jump on that if you fancy one final hurrah on a fun track! MrsMakingUpTheNumbers informed me last week that we’ve got six weekends of ‘family stuff’ in a row now. If I survive that I’ll see you all next season for more #makingupthenumbers. In the meantime, we’ve got a podcast record with Matt Walker to prepare for so give @makingupthenumbersracing on Instagram a follow for more info on that!