British Downhill Series Round 2 - Fort William, 16th - 17th May 2015

*Ding Ding* Round 2

Nelly: Fort Bill here we come!  Newrick and his dad had left home at 4am on the Friday morning to make sure he had decent time on the track and I wasn't far behind with my crew. This weekend was going to be turned up a few notches as not only were there international riders competing at the event with the World Cup being here in just a few weeks' time, the adverse weather was also closing in fast.  It was going to be a bumpy ride.

Come Friday evening I was buzzing for race day because let's face it, Frank Wadelton's downhill bikes are simply made for this course, they rail!  Had a chat with my co-pilot Tom Newrick and he'd had an awesome day on the hill despite a puncture earlier on, our practise runs weren't in sync so we didn't get any joint runs in sadly.

Saturday morning Nick turned up and with him the wind and pouring rain, it wasn't looking good.  There was a lot of uncertainty about the gondola running and a lot of riders were holding fire in hope that they would open.  Mother Nature had won this one and sure enough the call was made; it was going to be an old-school style 30-minute push-up to the top of the lower section with the event being run from there.  

As Nick was saying, there's not a lot to practise on that section of track, they'd built up the motorway jumps ready for the World Cup and you had to either go fast and clear the lot or take it cautiously losing time.  The track although short was still fun to ride, some riders were grumbling though and I could see both sides of the coin, it wasn't a good day for the BDS management.

The push-up was knackering after a few rides though, I reckon Newrick had the best idea; get a couple of runs in and then go ride the cross-country route to keep his legs moving! Nick got a few runs in and then headed back to his hotel.  Regardless to the course conditions I was happy with my riding and had it all nicely nailed down.

Race day Sunday arrived with no change in the weather and with just one race run it was going to be all or nothing, I had to keep it pinned..... which sadly I didn't. Mother Nature got the best of me here and I crossed the line in 17th place, not the top ten that I was aiming for.

Newrick: I was one of the riders getting fed up with the pushing to the top, it certainly wasn't helping my mood and I was shattered.  My race run was lousy after nearly crashing on the first pointless rut and that was my only shot at it done and dusted, or should I say mud splattered, I took the 25th place in the youths.  

Nick: Fuelled by a massive Full English breakfast I plodded up the hill with everyone else and got a couple of runs in.  One of the main issues was catching people up on the track which made taking the motorway jumps at full pelt sketchy, took it easier with the later runs just to make sure I knew what I was doing come the racing.

The start was catching people out, it was pretty tricky and a lot of riders were coming off, thankfully I stayed on my bike but only just and got the power back on!  The course from there to the motorway jumps is uneventful, under normal conditions with a the full course being used this section is mentally demanding after you've been assaulted by the top of the course.  With this weekend's format it was just, well....!  I got to the motorway which was the only really challenging bit where I hit the hip jump and drifted off my line on landing and although I cleared the step down my landing there wasn't too hot, came in far too fast and to brake hard otherwise I would have hooked up on the next jump and been another victim heading to the local A&E. Mid-way in the Masters with a 17th for me.

Next up are Robyn's Welsh enduro assault at Afan, Jamie's ballet training with the Scottish Downhill Series at Glencoe and then the big bad BDS at Llangollen.

You can follow The Development's shenanigans on the team's Facebook page: The Development Racing.

Redemption...... From Fort William to Innerleithen on the Scottish Enduro Series

Fort William:

When we first heard the news that there was going to be a Scottish Enduro Series that was it, our minds were made up and our Michelin tyres would be full of proper Scottish mud. Neither of us could wait, Scotland is renown for having natural technical and sweet trails with little in the way of that uphill malarkey, the way trails should be! :)

Fort William is one of my favourite places in the world, I’m not sure why, is it the journey up there going through Glencoe?  Is it the excitement of seeing the railway running alongside the West Highland Way that I walked when I was just a wee sprout?  Or probably more the fact that it’s so close to Skye and all the happy memories I have of these places both on two wheels and on foot.

Anyway let’s get to racing!  This was a No Fuss Events organised race and those bad asses know how to put on a bloody good party!  The format was simple; rock up, sign in, grab the bikes and get some practice in, decide what time you want to set off in the morning for your race run with all of your friends (and aiming to beat them, ahem!), take the climbs as they come and smash the hell out of the descents. Booyah! 

(Photo copyright of Dan Gibson)

There were four stages and they were all different, and no word of a lie, they were all amazing; rocks, roots, and ruts, ‘ruts’ you say? Did I mention the ruts? Flipping heck, talk about moto lines, these were insane.  Steve and I finished practice and our grins said it all, we had just ridden some of the sickest tracks ever in UK Enduro racing!

(Photo copyright of Colin Olden)

Fort William is pretty notorious for its rain however I’d say we have been pretty lucky in the past with ‘blue bird’ days here so when it chucked it down all weekend with no let up I wasn’t about to complain, it’s all about keeping the equilibrium you see.  Needless to say the tracks became pretty cut up and you just had to laugh the schadenfreude way with seeing mud covered people upside down in front of you! It was real nice to see Frazer, the organiser, lurking in the undergrowth watching people crash - great spectator spot Frazer!

(Photo copyright of Colin Olden)

(Photo copyright of Colin Olden)

I couldn’t have cared about my result here if I am honest, I know that sounds awful but a weekend of riding those tracks was enough for me, it was fantastic.  I took home a 5thplace and Steve was knocked down to 34th after snapping his chain 10 seconds into his first race run and having to run pretty much the rest of the track, gutted, he was feeling fitter granted but gutted nonetheless!

A brilliant weekend overall, even getting 3 points on my driving license and a £100 speeding fine on the way home couldn’t spoil this one!  Next up is Inners and we’re aiming to get it pinned!

Innerleithen:

'Innerleithen', a name synonymous in the bike community with steep, rock strewn, rooty and dark tight twisty trails, it sure didn't disappoint for round two of the POC Scottish Enduro Series.

Steve and I rocked up the Peebles way at 9am, grabbed a couple of coffees, got our entries and dibbers sorted followed by a quick catch up with our friends, our start times were from 12-noon.  It’s such a nice relaxed format at these races, ride along with your mates in between whilst aiming to kick their arses as you smash through the stages, yes I like that! :)

This time around we had five stages to contend with and yes, it was raining again; track one was a slog to get to and a slog to get down, lots of pedalling from the top of Minch Moor.  Stages two, three and four were all pretty much made up of Innerleithen’s various infamous downhill tracks.  There were some new and incredibly steep root infested sections of the stages that were sick to ride and left you still stuttering after finishing the courses but nothing that my Michelin Wild Rock R2 tyres couldn’t handle, they’re bloody awesome things!

(Photo copyright of Malcolm Porter)

Oh yes, after lowering the front end of my Orange Diva Five I have noticed a massive and positive difference, it’s so much better on steep turns, to the point where people were coming up to me afterwards saying I had the course nailed down!  So to all the ladies out there on Orange Fives, lower the front end a bit if you haven’t already then get out back out there and rail!

(Photo copyright of Ian Linton)

Stage five was a really tough start; in our race runs I held Steve up here because I hadn’t managed to get out of the way in time. He caught me and I rammed him off the track making him crash, whoopsadaisy, sorry Steve! He probably would have made top five if it wasn’t for me, I felt so guilty and was very apologetic to him afterwards.

The casual race format of this series is spot on, you get to choose what time you set off on Sunday. We both chose 11am and had a nice lie in. The later start meant that although the tracks were more chewed up it also meant they were more worn in, taking the riding conditions into account (wet!) this proved to be a bit of a boon, also made the conscious note not to get in Steve’s way this time around!

(Photo copyright of Ian Linton)

Race runs for me went okay apart from stages three and four where my chain kept jamming with the mud being packed into it and where I had to get off and push.  

(Scottish mud? You got it!)

That definitely cost me a whack of time on the flipside though I got joint third place (where there were also two ladies on joint second) so can’t complain too much about that, just didn’t make the podium, damnit!

(Photo copyright of Ian Linton)

Overall another amazing weekend, track’s were out of this world, nothing else comes close, it was a good redemption for my place at Fort William, just sad that that I didn’t get on the podium steps.

Wondering how the others have been getting on with their downhill races now, just popping a ND(H)uro report together for you all, gimme a few.

Angie xx


The Development Racing Team can also be followed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDevelopmentMTBRacing

Enduro report; No Fuss Events, Tour De Ben, Fort William, 21st September 2013

Angie's here and taking over the crib - how you all doing out there peeps?

Steve and I lost our virginity to the Tour De Ben last year, it's run by the fantastic people at No Fuss Events, for anyone who hasn't attended one of their weekenders they are extremely well organised and always a whole load of relaxed fun.  However 'relaxed' was not the name of the game for this year's race, far from it, I felt like I was being chased by a pack of howling wolves hot on my tail!!

The all important riders' meeting

We rocked up to Fort William on the Friday and got all signed in, it suddenly feels very real when you are handed your number board and dibber!  After a good night's sleep in the van we woke up early raring to go, the start of the race was really utterly genius; everyone lines up at the end of the town and then a group of bagpipers lead you through the cobbled street before the whistle goes and you all fight your way past each other up the first hill climb, exactly how cool is that?!

The first stage was the best, a steep rock-strewn track over drainage ditches down to Kinlochleven, I had my tyres pumped up super hard which lead to me hitting some of the turns speedway style.  This cued a huge smile on my face after the 'whoop'-filled run and a quick "Hello" to my mate Gary Mac's parents and his 'wor lass' at the bottom!

The next stage started from a wee wooden bridge and was 80% uphill, a total lung and thigh buster! I won't talk about this stage as I don't remember much of it apart from the heavy panting and that's not very lady-like!  Not long afterwards we hit the river crossing, thankfully it wasn't that deep it marked the halfway point with 35km done and another 35km to go, bring it on!   This also marked the start of Stage 3 AKA the 'hike a bike' section which took me about an hour of flipping hard work and a lot of swearing!  I got cramp in my thighs here the same as last year, jinxed I tell you, jinxed, but pushed through it, I knew I was in need of some salt intake to combat it.

The steely eyed determination....

I met up with Helen and Sarah at the Laraig bothy where the marshalls were serving burgers and sausage sarnies, I didn't have the stomach for any of that so pushed some peanuts in my mouth and kept on going, I really needed the salt.  I didn't see the Gruesome Twosome after this, thought they would have caught up but later I heard that they were having a snooze track side!  From this point Steve started having a bit of an epic, his legs were cramping up big time and he was practically having to crawl bits, it's a bit of a shame since the first half was going really well for him.  Poor blighter.

Steve (and Helen) getting set to get on it....

The last stage was part of the Witches' Trails and by this time I was knackered but knew that I was so close to home and that the track that lay before me was a heap of flat out laughs!  I overtook a few people down here, it was a man-made trail centre type track but pretty steep with some sweet swooping sections, awesome fun.

After this I pushed hard on the pedals all the way to the end, and thank feck for that!!  Most of the time I was riding I was hating it and asking myself why the hell I was doing it but as soon as crossing the finish line I was so happy, buzzing ear to ear and simply can't wait to do it all again next year. That's what it's all about!

I cycled into the town and Steve met me with a big hug! I got 4th out of 14 girls so was pretty happy with that. 

See y'all at the next one!

Angie

x

Under the shadow of the mighty Aonach Mòr.... Scottish Downhill Series, Fort William, 8th September.

Oh summer please come back, you weren't meant to leave us all so suddenly, what is this deluge of water from the skies that we're all caught up in?! 

First thing's first, my new FTW Industries Odysseus is built and ready to rock, quite literally across this weekend.  Excited?  Much!  Time to give the new ride a shake down.

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

All kitted up I grabbed the gondola and took the steady ascent to the start gate, 1,221 metres further up the mountain, my plan was more or less straight forward; first few runs taking it easy and just cruising down, scoping the course out as I went.  As expected the track was pretty cut up after all the abuse it had seen through the season, and with that said, the bike was riding smoother than one of Ella Fitzgerald's songs!  

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

Fort William in a nutshell is brutal, flat out and rough, it separates the wheat from the chaff. The wooded section was an eye-opener, some damned slippy roots in there to catch out the unwary and a million lines to choose from.  It was largely a case of point and shoot towards the big drop at the end which was causing a lot of issues for people resulting in a bottle neck. This made practice tough going, out of my six runs I only managed to hit it twice as there was always someone in the way.  Here's an idea guys..... stand back and let riders on the course past instead of standing in the middle of the track! With that section out of the way it became easier, I say this loosely, it's a big pedal fest, totally flat out up the big wall ride followed by the infamous Hazard Hoofer which was a gap jump over a stream. From there you take the death grip onto your bars, slam down onto the jump strewn motorway section and pedal like a demon possessed to the finish line. 

Practice was simply awesome fun, the new bike was amazing to ride, Frank's moved the pivot point and beefed it all up resulting in a totally solid as plush as you like no flex back end, totally confidence inspiring!  A little while later a red flag popped up whilst a rider was being scraped off the track so me and my mates took the Red Route down to the bottom which was great fun too.  All in all practice went very well with no real drama.

Come Sunday we decided to head up on the early gondola lifts which gave us a clear view of the track below, we were watching an old friend who just got back into racing again, Zac Hubery, and previous World Champ Danny Hart.  Shame I couldn't keep up with Danny long enough to steal some sneaky lines though, damn!

Photo copyright of Ian Porter

Back at the pits I got the bike primed up for my race runs, the new Goodridge hydraulic hose was worth its weight in gold, Hayes Prime Pro brakes are a great at the best of times but once you add these babies into the equation you're totally dialled in.  Grabbed another gondola and chilled out for a bit, soon in the start gate with the 15 seconds being called and then hearing the dreaded "RED FLAG!" over the radio, it's total head fuck when that happens, you lose your mental preparation.  After a slight delay I was off out the gate and it was me against the mighty Aonach Mor!  The top section was clean and so damned fast, got into the woods hit the drop, lost control and got up, close and personal with a tree trunk, balls!  I was soon back on the gas and sprinting down the mountainside, the bike was quite literally swallowing all of the jumps, I was loving it.

Second run was a simple case of making no cock ups!  Out of the gate and going hell for leather, not bad going, berm, rocks, platform, berm, rocks, berm, berm, rocks, hit the top of one of the faster corners too hard, brake, brake, brake, stayed on, phew....lost speed, bugger!  Literally screaming at myself "GET ON IT!", straight into the woods, stayed smooth off the big drop and took a new line which although a little slower gave me more control.  Carried on pushing, 'bam-bam-bam', the bike was ploughing through everything in its wake, hit the motorway my thighs were screaming with lactic acid build up, I had to keep sprinting, struggling through the pain and clearing the jumps, down the final drops and across the finish line to pure relief.  That course is pure punishment, no two ways about it.

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

This was my last race before I tie the knot in October.  I want to take some time here to thank all of the team's sponsors without which I would not be able to do all of this.  First and foremost to Frank for the amazing frames, Dave Keningale for the awesome team strip design, Sun-Ringle wheels, Silverfish, The Hive, Decade Europe, Hayes brakes, Goodridge hose, Burgtec pedals and bars, Powa Products Dfender mud guards, Urge helmets, Thomson stems and posts, SDG saddles. RockShox forks, Oury grips, Ride 100 Percent goggles, the fantastic support from Berghaus outdoorwear and last but by no means least the guys at TF Tuned for their technical support throughout the season.  Oh, and that Lee Walker geezer doesn't do a bad job either ;)

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU GUYS!

Scottish Downhill Championships, Fort William 14th & 15th July

Whilst Angie was getting set to blast down some French mountainsides in preparation for the Alpes d'Huez Megavalanche event, Nick took the trip up to Fort Billy for the Scottish Downhill Champs.....

Fort William, let me hear ya, I'm BACK!  This time for the Scottish Champs.  I am absolutely in love with this track, like most people, because it's as tough and as mean as hell, no let up at any point. Unfortunately I was full of man-flu (Lee: ahhh, he's going for the sympathy vote....it won't work!!) but wasn't going to let that put a downer on things.

Saturday morning came with the scent of frying bacon in the air and the sun was kind of shining whilst the rest of the country was still being flooded out!  I was eager to get up the hill and put the FTW through its paces again, that bike is simply MADE for this course, mark my words!  I took my usual plan-of-action for Fort Bill cruising the first run down to get warmed up and spy some lines as not a lot changes on the track, apart from different routes through the woods.  I was expecting the course to be a little beat up from the previous World Cup there as well. 

Nick in practise, photo copyright of Ian Linton

My run through the open top section was good, it's nice and flowing although I paid particular care on some of the dust strewn corners, I didn't want to wash out again!. Hit the beginning of the rocky section dead on, the bike was soaking it all up, thought 'Sod It' and got some more cranks into it to pick the speed up even more, the bike could take it easily.  Unfortunately I couldn't though, took a spill and gashed my knee, that was clever of me wasn't it!?  Jumped back on and a bit further down there were a load of riders stood about checking out the second of two drops.  I scrubbed a little speed off here and took off as I normally would, my front wheel landed in the only soft patch on the track behind a rock which catapulted me over the bars landing on my head hard!  You know those old Tom & Jerry/Roadrunner cartoons when one of them gets whacked.....well this time it was me seeing stars!  I thank god for my Urge lid, seriously, that was a big stack!  

Knee-sy does it!

I chilled out by the trackside for a little while to get myself back together, as well as my helmet my own mojo had taken a dent, it also allowed me to scope out that part of the track on foot and I noted a good few other riders having problems there.  Got back on the bike and carried on down the hill, when I got to the bottom I chilled out with some mates for a while till I felt back up to 100%. 

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

The new 'motorway' section at the bottom of the course that was built up for the World Cup was absolutely AMAZING!  Where, in the past, the sprint along the motorway was an utter killer, now we have the new massive table-top jumps to help you to carry speed, it's so much better.  I did six runs on Saturday and really felt it the next day as the track was rough as hell, this was also apparent from the number of punctures and broken wheels I was witnessing, although thankfully not my own Sun-Ringles.....Thank you! *Touch wood*

Come race day the combination of my man flu (Lee: that excuse is still not gonna work!) and the number of runs on Saturday had me feeling pretty shattered. So I just put a single practice run in to refresh my memory and to keep check on where the track was getting cut up.

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

First run was plain sailing taking into consideration the slight downpour of rain, which actually had a more positive effect on the track, the tyres' grip increased as the rain packed the dust down nicely.  Went a bit squirrelly and nearly over shot a corner in the bottom section, made mental notes not to do that again on the following run, pulled it back in and got on with it.  Not too bad going.  Second run came and I pushed myself through the rest of the top corners, nice, smooth and fast, did I tell you that I love this course?!  Further down I nearly over shot the same bloody corner as before, got my head screwed straight back on and hauled it. Took ten seconds off my first run time and was told that I finished in the top ten of the Experts category, not bad for a man-flu ridden bugger eh?!

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British Downhill Series, Fort William 13/05/2012

I'll pass you all back across to Nick here.....

Here's a bit of a low down from the weekend.

We rolled into Fort William for round two of the British Downhill Series.  Landed up there on Friday night after a long drive and the weather was, for a change, looking pretty damned good...well apart from the snow at the top of the mountain but hey, that means snowball fights, always a good thing!

I absolutely love Fort William, it is such a fun, fast, bone-shaking, scary-as-hell, balls-out awesome track!  Was a little disappointed that I didn't have time to fit my new X-Fusion shock due to being away with the day job and was kinda hoping my new FB10 frame would have landed.  The X-Fusion shock will be on for the next race.  The other addition was the upgraded forks courtesy of TF Tuned, they are amazing guys!  Got the new black stanchions fitted and had the fork converted to coils, it has made such an improvement to them.  Huge thanks going out to the TF tuned lads for their help, much appreciated. 

On the Saturday morning we were told the bad news that there was severe weather moving in so the schedule had been altered to accommodate for this. Therefore seeding was moved to the Saturday in case the event had to be called off on the Sunday. We were informed to make our seeding count. 

In a nutshell it meant a very limited practice time on a huge course which wasn't ideal for me as I was wishing to take practice steady taking into account my recent injury.  That said, I knew I would have to bang a few good runs out in the morning. 

Photo courtesy of Ian Linton

Saturday morning came and the weather was pretty good with just the odd passing shower.  The top of the track was pretty sloppy though, especially if you got caught off line as they had just put a load of gravel down in places.  Further down the course instead of going through the woods it stayed out in the open with a few corners which had a couple of line choices, pretty damned speedy.  Generally much of the course was the same from previous years, apart from the 'motorway' which they had been resurfacing as well as removing a few of the jumps.  Bigger ones have been planned for the bottom 'motorway' section with the coming UCi World Cup event there, however with the old jumps now removed and everything a work-in-progress for the World Cup it was a flat out sprint which was difficult in the now soft ground.  Hitting the 'Tissot jump' at the end with enough speed was really tough going.  In addition to this there was a nasty hole developing due to people braking too hard, in my second run I managed to hit it which put a nice crack in my rim!  Damn it!


Here's some GoPro footage:

A decision was made that the seeding runs were now race runs as the severe adverse weather was starting to come in.  On my way up on the gondola the wind was picking up buffeting the cable car with rain.  Unfortunately I wasn't seeded as had missed the first BDS round, I set off on my run and was beginning to regret not putting tear-offs on my goggles as fairly quickly I couldn't see anything due to heavy rain.  In these conditions it really doesn't help that the top of the course is extremely open, I could feel the wind blowing me all over, there were a few times I got blown off line and on to the loose gravel which was pretty scary in some of the big rock-strewn corners.

Photo courtesy of Ian Linton

Although some of the lines had become quite cut up generally the track was as it was in practice, to which I'm thankful.  Getting down onto the motorway section was a relief as you are in absolute agony from hanging on but you know you are near the end.  The hardest thing is that you know you have to pedal like hell from here on down, there's no way you can let up.  All in I had a good clean run, a little disappointed with losing some time being blown around all over up top, but I can't really complain.  

For the next round, the new X-Fusion shock will be fitted and the new wheels will be built, bring it on!

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Some snippets of Angie at Fort William

Just a few snippets on YouTube of our fabulous Angie Coates from the Fort William World Cup. She's the one in the black Fox kit with Development across the chest area, wha-hey :)

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Fort William World Cup - 4th and 5th June 2011

Hi everyone, Angie here!

After a beautiful drive up through the Scottish Borders and Glen Coe we got to Fort William on the Thursday before the weekend’s World Cup Race. Got signed on straight away, donned the boots and went for a wander up the track with everything looking sweet, dry n’ dusty.

(Photo courtesy of Ian Linton: http://ianlinton.com/)

On looking back, one of the things I learned from last year’s race was not to tire myself out so limited myself to 3 practice runs and sectioned the bits in the woods. Felt completely in my element and was loving the course however was finding it hard to get my head around the big drop. It seems a lot of the European and Canadian girls, and obviously the seasoned Pro’s, have much more confidence on this type of drop because of the terrain and trails where they live/race on. Here in the UK there is limited access to trails like this and I know that I'm definitely going to work on stuff like this from now on. So that’s a trip to France for me sorted out at the end of the month….. I’m a-gonna nail me some big drops. :)

The practice went well and I was feeling pretty quick. Walked the track again on Friday night just to check out some lines and make sure I was hitting the right ones.

Got two practice runs in on Saturday morning, hitting all the lines I wanted to, shot through the woods fast and clean, was feeling pretty happy with myself.

(Photo courtesy of Ian Linton: http://ianlinton.com/)

My qualifying run came around and I was pretty on it until I hit the deck on a stupid loose corner up top, jumped back on quickly and got away again. With trying to make up the lost time I pushed too hard in the bottom section of the woods and came off again, felt absolutely f**king gutted.

With all that said and done I did pull some positives from the weekend; I LOVE my new purple Burgtec pedals, they are super grippy, a big “THANK YOU” going out to the Burgtec guys, you rock!! And I love my new Sun-Ringle wheels too, can you tell I’m a very happy bunny here? I hit a lot of the track faster than I ever have done in the past so I'm really happy about that, a lighter bike certainly helps matters. And of course….. total respect going out to Danny Hart for his 2nd place, you ruled the weekend!

Now there’s the work to be done on the big drops! (These mental notes have been taken down in Biro on several Post-its and are now stuck on my forehead!).

I will get some GoPro helmet cam footage uploaded shortly from the practice runs, there may be some more surprise GoPro footage too but I’m not tellin’ you all just yet!

Next weekend is the Dunkeld SDA, very excited, nice and technical, pray for good weather! See y’all there!

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