A welcome return to Cannock Chase for Round Four aka the round much nearer to most people than some of the previous ones. Before anyone starts, to have a race you need an organiser and a landowner, and this season, somewhere where all the trees haven’t fallen over.
All images: Man Down Media.
Now Cannock is one of those places some people think isn’t that hilly and isn’t that technical. It may not have hills that go on for a long time particularly, but they can be nasty little kickers or rather draggy. There’s even one hill Paul Oldham hates and not everywhere can say that. As for not technical, there were a lot of crashes and tree hugging going on for an ‘easy’ course. Some people even had to change shoes part way through the race.
Lots of tight, twisty singletrack becomes technical at speed. Apparently. Not my speed. And there was certainly one gap between trees that wasn’t much wider than 760mm. But there were some familiar trails, some new cuts through the wood and a sneaky variant that caught a lot of people out. No rock garden, it was having a rest, but instead one of the usual bombholes had a new climb after it with a tight turn and loamy descent. There was an A and a B line in, neither of which was particularly technical in itself, but it was more how they lined you up for the climb. B lined you up better and faster but A meant you could cut in slightly ahead of someone, so tactics here could well depend on who was around you in the race. Because it was freshly cut, this trail also kept developing new lines as the racers rode it. By the time of the final race several roots and a stump had appeared on the originally loamy descent which made that section possibly trickier than the original A line. Got to love a natural trail wearing in. Keeps everyone on their toes. There was also by far the highest number of racers of the season, adding to the need for careful tactics.
Short track hasn’t really been working on the Saturday night, proably because Sunday is so full of racing, so it was moved to the Friday evening as an experiment. Tunes and beer were added, and prizes for pretty much everyone who spent twenty minutes dashing round the fun course. A lot of fun and the best turn out all season. The Chase Racing lot brought their inflatable giraffe and a lot of noise to cheer everyone on. The great thing about short course is because the track used is so short everyone gets to see the racers several times. There’s no timing, no placings other than the first three (we lose track after that), reverse gridding, and essentially just a group of people enjoying riding their bikes in the evening sunshine. What’s not to like? So moving the race seemed to work well. That can’t be done at the next round but it’s all information for the timings next year. Incidentally Simon Wyllie (Spectra Wiggle) ‘won’.
The short track course was also used by the U12s who had a skills session first in the arena. Several fallen tree trunks provided handy obstacles and then they all had a ‘not a race’ with plenty of crowds lining the short track. Again, prizes for everyone and a great turnout, and a lot of fun.
During the Saturday practice sessions the trails had dried out hugely. There had been the odd puddle during the course walks but they soon got splashed out of the way. The largest Open class we’ve seen all season therefore had dry, dusty trails. Natalie Hodson (University of York) won Female Open ahead of Rebecca Parish. Kudos to Safron Broughton for giving racing a bash even though it wasn’t her day.
In the Male Open it had been a close battle between David McKee (VC Glendale) and Stewart Crooks for most of the race, until Brett Dempsey came right through the field to split them at the line. Stewart is apparently known as The Grinch to his friends, and Brett known as Brot Dumpsy. He also has such bad handwriting the commentary team had no idea what he was actually called until we asked him on the start line. So if you do ever enter on the day, please write your name very clearly or we’ll be relying on your friends for information about you.
The Male Sport category was a cracking, close race as it has been all season. A group of five got away from the line, trading positions through the race. William Gell managed to get away for the win while Marco Ruggeri (Rapha) won the sprint for second with Tom Stephenson (Lakes RC). He’d only just got ahead of brother Sam (Lakes RC). Alex Rhodes (Brixton Cycles Club) had been with that leading group but faded a little by the end. Marco’s consistency through the series means he is the series winner as the Stephensons aren’t going to the next round. It’s been a great category to watch this year every single round.
Early morning showers on Sunday dampened the dust and readied the Cannock sniper roots ready for the Youth and Juvenile racing. Some of the grassy corners were now moist as well as being covered in pine cones. What tyres for pine cones? Bit like limestone – nothing in the world will grip. It all adds to the fun.
It was another very competitive race in the Male Youths. Ben Coppola (Four4th) managed to get away for the win with Max Standen (Southfork Racing) in second and Ewan Dix in third. Behind them though there was still masses of fast racing including a four way sprint between Oscar Amey (GKR), Nathaniel Henderson (Hetton Hawks), Conor Murphy (Rostrevor) and Innes McDonald (Edinburgh RC) for eighth to eleventh place. Always fighting for the points.
In the Female Youth, Daisy Taylor (Royal Albert CC) continued her utter dominance of the class and confirmed her series title with the win. Bethany-Ann Jackson (WXC) took second ahead of Florence Greenhalgh (Pine Sport). Again, it was close behind the top three with Imogen Wolff (Shibden), Evie Strachan (RR23) and Tulsi Bakrania (WXC) all keeping the battle going right to the line.
In the Juvenile Male category Leon Atkins (Welwyn Wheelers) managed to pull away from Curtis McKee (Scott BrightMotorGroup) for the win with Arthur Limb (Matlock CC) grabbing third. It means the series title is still up for grabs at the next round. And there is such depth in this field that a goodly number of lads are up for placing highly even after four rounds.
In the Juvenile Females, Zoe Roche (WXC) had had two wins and a second, and Aelwen Davies (RR23) had had two seconds and a win this season, with the previous round coming down to a sprint. So in the overall series it was a very close battle. However, it was local girl Mazie Harper who spent the race battling with Zoe. Unfortunately Aelwen pulled out part way through the race so Zoe took the win and the series, Mazie got her best result of the season with second, and a highly delighted Daisy Wilkinson (Edinburgh RC) came third. I hope Momma Roche’s nerves are recovered now from watching the end of the race.
Then it was the race of the thousand and one Male Vets. There were hundreds of them. Actually hundreds of them. I don’t know why so many middle-aged blokes feel the urge to hurt themselves by racing – maybe it’s to get out of doing little weekend jobs round the house, maybe their wives kick them out of the house at weekend for a bit of peace and quiet, either way there were lots of them. In Male Youth Vets the return of Adrian Lansley (Pedalon) to racing also saw his return to winning ways. Alan Gunner (Verulam), also known as the Man in Black, Johnny Cash, Milk Tray man etc took second, not that either Johnny nor Mr Milk Tray was known for wearing bright pink socks. Marc Chamberlain (Hunt Wheels) said he was having a tough day at the office but still came in third. He was also stealthily dressed apart from his bright orange gloves. Colm Mullen (Team Worc) and Jonathan Pugh (The Bulls) had a cracker of a battle to the line having just dropped Philip Holwell (Peak Road Club) on the last lap. Special mention to Chris Lever (Cookson Cycles) who had finally got his shiny new kit. Then he went tree hugging. Thankfully he managed not to shred his new top.
There were so many entries overall for this round that BC ran out of numbers.
In the Grand Vets Nick Craig (Scott) again won convincingly and took the win and the series. Caught up with loads of Youth Vets yada yada. Usual stuff. Behind him though Steve Calland (Team TMC – Strada Wheels) finally caught Ian Taylor (Shibden) just before the line to grab second. Carl Salisbury deserves a shout out – he’s training for a four day stage race so at each round this season he’s raced in the open on Saturday and then in his own age category on the Sunday. That’s a lot of laps of a tough course. Chapeau, Carl.
Grant Johnson continued his perfect season in Super Vets with Bruce Rollinson (All Terrain Cycles Ride) second and Roy Hunt (Team Bottecchia) in third. Paul Hoppy Hopkins (Gillingham&District Whlrs) managed to get ahead of Doug Cameron on the last lap, too. There were 55 starters in this race. Yep, 55 blokes over the age of 60 were riding round in circles on their bicycles. Utterly bonkers yet utterly fantastic. There were so many entries overall for this round that BC ran out of numbers. Normally in a race with several categories each category starts with a different number so it’s easy, relatively, to spot who is who for both the commentators and the commissaires. Not so in this race. It’s very tricky trying to spot a chap’s age as he grimaces past. Especially as some of them seemed to age during the race itself.
Now, while I’m on a bit of an explanatory phase, let’s chat lap numbers. British Cycling set the laps for the BC races and there are timing guidelines for the length of the overall race. Easy enough. Sort of. For the races which are also under UCI regulations, i.e. Elite and Junior Male and Female, there is a UCI commissaire who sets lap number for those. To make it more complicated there is a minimum and a maximum time limit for the UCI races which is why the elites only have the same number of laps as the Vets. The UCI races have to conform to the UCI regs so that UCI points can be awarded which means riders can have World rankings as well as national. Got it? There are rulebooks if you want to delve further or can’t sleep. Thanks to Ray the Chief Comm for patiently explaining all of that.
In Female Elites Elena McGorum (Peebles CC) escaped off the front and was never seen again by her competitors. Jane Barr (Velocity 44) came second in her best result of the season, Jo Thom (Torq) was third. A great ride by Amy Henchoz also meant her best result this season with fourth, and the return of Jules Toone also saw her return to the podium. In other news Libby Harman (St Piran) not only had some new wheels but has finally gone tubeless after a season plagued by punctures. Welcome to 2012, Libby. She looked happy and also got her season’s best result.
The Junior Women category saw Emily Carrick-Anderson (T-Mo) not only win her race and the series but also saw her ripping through the elite field ahead of her. It meant she stayed ahead of some of the crashes at least. Libby Bell (Garden Shed UK-Ribble-V) took second ahead of Evie Steed (Sherwood Pines) with Phoebe Roche (WXC) and Beatrix Kiehlmann (Royal Albert) making up the podium. Shout out to Daphne Jones (RR23) who was last on the first lap after being involved in a crash but worked her way through the field to take sixth. She was also seen styling it over the jumps at the bottom of the arena.
There’s not that many people can say they put a minute into Tracy Moseley.
Christina Wiejak (St Piran) comfortably won the Expert/Sport Females and the series title with Sofia Christiansen in second ahead of Katherine Simpson. And it has to be said that whatever course you put her on, Grace Whitehouse (WarVena) will be smiling. Always. Also featuring in this race was Meg Pugh (Dulwich Paragon CC) who knows how to work a crowd and get them cheering.
There were some different faces in the Vet Female class this weelk Tracy Moseley (T-Mo) went out at the speed of a downhiller. I think she forgot about pacing for the uphill bits too as she was caught and passed by Ceris Styler (Backstedt Bikes). There’s not that many people can say they put a minute into Tracy Moseley. Cheri Mills (Fibrax Wrexham RC) took third. In Grand Vets Helen Pattison (Montezuma’s Race Team) won comfortably ahead of Virginia Roberts (Albion Cycling Co) with Lucy Rogers (Congleton CC) in third. Carolyn Spiers won the Super Vets and the Series title. Yes, she did do the extra lap.
It was a fast, furious and ever-changing Elite Male race with various groups working together, splitting apart, and reforming right until the end of the race. In the end Charlie Aldridge (Scott) got away from Cam Mason (Trinity) on the last lap for the win. Rory McGuire held onto third. Meanwhile Cam Orr (Team Inspired) had a Kirsty McColl moment and changed his shoes part way through the race (he crashed on a really odd bit of the course to crash on, broke a Boa, so had to change). He made his way back through most of the field to take fourth ahead of Ben Wadey. Of course he had a spare pair of shoes in the pits. Laces, love, a nice pair of laced shoes. Trickier to break if you keep crashing.
In the Male Juniors Max Greensill (Hope) got away and stayed away. Team-mate Nathan Smith (Hope) came second with Reuben Oakley (Rotor) just pipping Tom Scott (Trek Sheffield Fox Valley) to the line for third. Jack Southcott (Rotor) out-sprinted Sam Chisholm (The Cycling Academy) and Ioan Oldfield (Marsh Tracks Racing – Trek) at the line to take fifth. It was all very exciting.
Tom Couzens (Embark – Bikestrong) took the win in the Male Expert class with Daniel Barnes (Spectra Wiggle p/b Vitus) and Flynn Gregory (Derby Mercury RC) battling it out for second and third. Tommy ‘Big Watts’ Colley continued to improve his season not only bringing his inflatable giraffe racing but not finishing last. Stunning combo.
A great and tough weekend’s racing. Thanks to Matt at Mayer Active / Run and Ride and his team for a cracking event. I think this one will go down as party event of the season unless the Woody’s team pull something spectacular out of the bag. No pressure.
Thanks to all who volunteer to make these races happen, to the commissaires for keeping things race legal, and the people who serve up amazing food.
Thanks to those supporting the series by supplying prizes, click the links and buy things to make them happier.
Final race of the series is at Woody’s, Cornwall 25/26 June – come and have a go!
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