2015 National Championship - Llangollen, 18th & 19th July 2015

After the disaster that was the deluged Fort William I was excited to be back out on the bike again as I haven't been riding lately with my little 'un taking up all the 'daddy-time'.  First and foremost I need to do a big shout-out to Paul '#DoASkid' Stoddart for the lifts there and back, you ROCK fella!

The 'Champs this year were at Llangollen where the venue suits me to a T with its super steep terrain, however despite it being dry I was feeling hesitant as it may not have been the best choice to get back into the swing of things!  With that said my FTW beast of a machine failed to disappoint being perfectly at home here on the Welsh hillside handling like a dream. My Hayes brakes and Michelin tyres were all working superbly in the dusty conditions and where other people were having issues they didn't make me #DoASkid once!  (See what I did there, see?! ....I'll get my coat!).

Due to the extremely dry conditions the track was changing with every run, this was by no means a complaint as I was having tons of fun. Think I bust out about seven runs on Saturday becoming more confident with each one. 

Mother Nature strikes back, I was woken up over night to the sound of heavy rain coming down and my heart dropped at the thought of re-learning the track again.  It wasn't so bad in the morning, the track was back to being bone dry however some lines had been completely blown out.  I planned to take some new routes in my seeding run, it was risky but there was little else I could do.

My seeding run went alright, I was consistent and smooth but backed off on the new lines that I was trying out through lack of practising them earlier. I finished mid-pack and knew that there were some seconds to grab on my race run in the tank.

My race run could not have gone better; I hit everything with a little more gas and where I felt myself drifting the bike's handling saved my ass, Frank Wadelton, you are a genius!

I came over the line finishing in15th which I was overjoyed with considering the severe lack of riding time this year. My fitness has come on in leaps and bounds thanks to CrossFit Jacana in Durham.  I also want to the say a big "Thank You" to Lee and the team's sponsors for their support with putting an awesome ride together.

See y'all on the next hill punks!

Nick.

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.

Borderline Events - English Downhill Championship, Hamsterley Forest, 10th May 2015

Nick: Although Hamsterley Forest's my local riding spot I hadn't been there for a fair while and was looking forward to seeing how the track chosen by the Borderline Events posse flowed, quite literally at first as it turned out. 

It's a fairly short course by today's standards however it's physically demanding with no time to rest between sections, you take one big breath at the start gate and then it's a full on hammering until you cross the finish line.  Guess Danny Hart was at home with the weather that morning as it was absolutely pouring down, I was being kept warm and dry under my Berghaus coat so there was no grumbling from me mind! 

'Tommy Gun' Newrick arrived early Saturday morning and walked the new section of the track, he was at home from the word go as he practically lives on these courses!  Tom's had the new Manitou Revox shock fitted to his FTW, no bedding in required he was straight off ripping the course up with his mates.  

Both of us got more than enough runs in, the course is a game of two halves, keep the cadence up down the top section and then keep it loose across the technical sections down below.  It's a hard course to make up time due to its short length even if you merely clipped a pedal that would be the end of any winning run there and then.  Both of us were running Sun-Ringle's 650b A.D.D. Pro wheels for a bit of advantage over the rocks, power to the dark side of the force.

As Saturday progressed the track was drying out nicely making it a claggy in places I was building up pace and starting to blitz my lines.  Tom was absolutely nailing the course down, six runs in and he was on fire!

Come Sunday morning I squeezed in three steady runs and chilled out 'til race time.  Tom was a purple and red blur as he shot past me whilst I spectated on his first race run, I later learned he accidentally unclipped from his pedals before the table top and couldn't clip back in, unlucky.  I stalled near the finish on my first run and turned the air blue as it had all gone perfectly up until that point.  Hit my second run full on but just couldn't make up the time and took the fourteenth place in the Masters.

Tom had a little embarrassment through the new section on his second run when his foot slipped off the pedal, that said he still crossed the finish line in a respectable 7th place in the youths.

Next up, the big bad Fort Bill with the British Downhill Series.


You can follow The Development Racing Team's shenanigans on their Facebook page here: The Development Racing Team

British Downhill Series - Ae Forest, 4th & 5th April 2015

We’re all going to have a tight squeeze into the Tardis as we travel back in time to the British Downhill Series at Ae Forest.

Lee: I’ve been in the midst of a house move and it’s been crazy, that’s now thankfully all done and dusted so whilst I’m sat here surround by unpacked boxes here are Nick and Tom with their low downs, sadly Nelly didn’t get back to me with his.

Nelly channelling Daft Punk....

Tom: I arrived at Ae after getting a lift up there with my mates in order to get an early track walk in.  The first impressions were that the top and lower sections were looking great, sweeping forest trail with some nice sticky mud to keep things in check.  The middle section after the road crossing looked problematic though, steep off camber root fests….. that was gonna be my challenge!

Nick: I’m getting old guys, I’m now in the Masters!  Spent the best part of winter at Crossfit Jacana in Durham building my strength up although I didn’t get as much riding in I’d have liked.  Anyway, on a totally shallow note, have you seen the team’s new red FTW downhill bikes, exactly how cool?!

From past experiences at Ae there’s little point in running spike tyres despite the mud as there’s a load of rocks and roots to contend with so I stuck with my Michelin Rock R2 tyres, yep, their so-called enduro-specific 27.5 tyres are amazing for downhill, it has to be said.

Tom: We booked in the Travelodge for the weekend, it was way too cold to camp out, respect going out to all of the brave souls who did!  After arriving at the track on Saturday morning and being fuelled by a sausage sandwich from the Ae Café (none of that energy bar crap with me!) I went up top on the first bus.  First run down was good, took it easy to scope the course out especially the off camber sections.  Pretty happy with most of my runs that day and was steadily getting the speed up on my FTW.

Nick: I spent Saturday tagging along with the We Love Mountains Downhill Team, which is run by Lee’s nephew, Stewart.  Me, Tom and Nelly were all on different time-paths which made practicing the course together a faff.  The biggest issue of the morning was dealing with my confidence, where my lack of riding over winter was coming into play, with that said, I was picking up some canny speed as the day progressed and was happy with my runs.  By the afternoon the sun had come out drying the track nicely and I was soon blasting through the rock gardens with aplomb, good times!

Tom: Sunday and another morning fuelled by the Ae Café’s excellent sausage sandwiches!  Queued for the uplift bus which were taking their time, a renown problem at Ae Forest and finally got to the top for my first run down of the day.  The track at the top was pretty much bang on, the FTW was railing it, took a tumble in the middle wood section though, completely over cooked things thankfully there was no damage to either me or the bike!  Got my speed back up and came off again further down, from here on I just cruised back down the course to the pits.

My seeding went OK, had a chilled run, clipped my pedals on a few rocks but crossed the line with a reasonable time.

Nick: As with Tom and Nelly the time spent waiting in the queues for the uplifts were a pain in the arse and I only managed one run down before seeding.  Although it was good in terms of familiarising myself with the changes in the course, I (and the others) could have done with getting a few more runs under my belt as there were a lot of hold ups on the track.

Being in Masters I was keen to see how I was going to fair against my new competitors.  My seeding was good, hitting my lines faster than in practice and totally sailed through the rock gardens.  I suddenly realised that my back wheel was slopping about and it dawned on me that I’d flatted, damn it!  Up until that point my run had been perfect, I cruised down to the finish line and changed my tyres over.

Tom: My race run started really well despite taking a while to clip in out of the start gate.  The top section was totally fluid, the bike was handling like a dream, however come the middle section I came off again in exactly the same place as earlier in the day.  Jumped straight back on the bike and got my speed back up but it just wasn’t to be, I crossed the line taking the 33^rd place in the youths, balls!

 

Nick: I got everything race prepped and threw some clean kit on then headed up for my race run.  I felt pretty relaxed and knew what I had to do, by now the track was much drier which was great. The top section went pretty much to plan although I stalled after hitting a greasy root, nailed the section where I flatted on in seeding and took 21^st, the middling ground, not too chuffed with that!  Took away a lot of positives from the event but I am aiming for the top tens from here on in.

 

Nelly crossed the line taking 15^th place in the youths.

All in, a good event but lack lustre results, all of us were blown away with how well the new FTW team bikes are handling though.  We’ll be upping the ante for the next event!

The Introduction.....

Downhill
Nick Turner - Master category
Zak Holmes - Senior category
Jamie Stewart - Junior category
Tom Nelson - Youth category
Tom Newrick - Youth category

Enduro
Robyn Walton - Senior women category

Cyclocross & Criterium
Megan Hopper - Junior category

Individual rider introductions will follow in the New Year.

Deja Vu: Fort William hits back

Aonach Mor is a formidable opponent, the rugged, and often windswept track has been used for countless World Cup, national and regional events, its brutality is highly regarded.

It was here that the Scottish Downhill Series team decided to hold their final round, I guess it was a fitting punishment to end their successful season with!

Perfect weather, no midges and nothing could go wrong.........yeah, right!

I got on one of the first gondolas that morning, the plan was simple: to bash out a load of runs.  I'd just fitted the team's new 650b ADD Pro wheels and wanted to see how they compared to the 26" ones, I was surprised, not just damn fast on the smooth sections but rolled superbly across the rocks, yeah, I guess I was hooked after that.  Took a pit stop at the Deer Gate watching the lines some other guys were taking and mentally plotting the course out.  Back on the bike, up to speed and then *BANG*, the front tyre blew out and flattened my wheel's rim.  It's a long walk of shame from the top of the course let me tell you.

Photo copyright of Marked Media House

Switched the wheels back over to my 26" set and headed back up.  On the next run I was held back by a few slower riders but I got down in one piece.  Third run down was good, just wished I had the bigger wheels as they're so at home on this type of course.  The fourth run down was deja vu, right on the same section as earlier, *BOOM*, another tyre blow out and another walk of shame.  Down the bottom I was actually relieved to note that I was in the majority, there were other victims not just with flats but smashed rear mechs, the old volcano was fighting back.

So did I manage to get a tonne of runs in?  Did I hell!  Two half-decent runs, crap!

Sunday, race day, up early again to scope the course out and was pretty much on it, got through the section that was giving me grief without any issues.  Railed the woods section perfectly and got it on down the Motorway, hit the hip, the step down and then suddenly I was slowing up.... double flatted, how the hell had I double flatted?  At least this time it wasn't so far to push!  Obviously I didn't manage the second run and my language was as blue as the sky!  Tyres swapped, bike given a once over and then a mad dash to get the gondola again.

*BEEP* I was out of the start gate and sailed the hip jump a bit wide granted, the top of the course felt great though it was certainly pushing me to the limit in some of the sections. Passed the Deer Gate and through the jagged bedrock, I didn't hold back this time and got over it perfectly.  Straight into the woods section and I felt a loss of tyre pressure, kept on it but then at the start of the Motorway it was the dreaded *BANG* again and the front tyre just went.  I wasn't gonna risk wrecking my wheels riding sans tyre so it was a DNF for me. Bollocks!

Here's Tom...... my first run on this track and it was living up to the hype, at exactly the same spot as where Nick was blowing his tyres out I did a great impression of a drunken gymnast, straight over the bars, snapped my chain and got a flat.  Not the best start to the day. The rest of the day was stop and start practice as I was held up by slower riders, there were a lot of riders crashing and puncturing, a fair bit of pandemonium.  By the end of the day I'd pulled five runs out of the bag although didn't manage any full ones. I'd worked my lines out and was ready to get on it come Sunday.

My first practice run went to plan, lines looked pretty good and I was ready for the race runs my bike was railing it, this type of course suits Frank's frames perfectly.  Out of the start gate I was hauling it nice and smooth, well that was until I got a puncture just before the Deer Gate!  After another long slug down and a quick snack it was time to head back up again.

Photo copyright of Marked Media House

Second run was mental, after coming off the track twice and having to let a rider past I knew the result wasn't going to be a good one so I rode the rest of the course within my limits. Came across the line in 26th place which I wasn't happy with.  

That's the end of the main 2014 season for me, didn't finish with where I wished to be, now I will be seeing what's on in my area for winter races and taking them as they come.  All eyes are now on Megan with her cyclocross racing across the winter months.

Roll on the 2015 season, I'm waiting for you!

Nemesis...... Scottish Downhill Series, Innerleithen, 17th August 2014

"Well after not racing since breaking my wrist I have realised that today was a shower of shit!" - Nick Turner, Innerleithen SDA 2014

Nick: Tom and me were back up at Innerleithen for the fourth round of the Scottish Downhill Series, we both had scores to settle with Plora Rig!  This was supposed to have been my comeback race after breaking my wrist earlier in the year and indeed with becoming a new dad, with that now in hindsight.... ha!

It was my first race using the Stan's No Tubes systems and my new Michelin Wild Rock R2’s on the Sun A.D.D. PRO 27.5 wheels .....yes I know the tyres are being marketed for enduro racing, but trust me, they are amazing for downhill!  As you can now tell, I’ve turned to the dark side of the force with the 27.5 set up.

Home grown team pits or bust!

The track walk was eye opening, the course left little to be desired.  Out of all the routes they could have used they chose the one with complete lack of flow and a tonne of flat sections. As I got to grips with it over the weekend it became marginally better, but not by much.  What did you think Tom?

Tom: Racing at Innerleithen never goes to plan for me having had a run of bad luck up there in the past, crashing, getting flats and catching people up.  Have to back Nick up with what he’s just said, the SDA came up with some strange ideas in regards to the course’s design, just no flow.

A brief respite from the pedal fest...

The weather thankfully held together on both practice and race days with just overcast drizzle to contend with, the forecasted rain thankfully held off.

Nick: Track conditions remained pretty consistent and I was feeling confident on the course as the day progressed however like many other riders I was also trying to follow older sections of track and ducking under tapes, it took a while to put the course together in my head.

Tom: But ducking under the tape was kinda fun though, I had a few moments of wondering where I was going in practice…. Where’d the tape go? ....Oh!

I was following Nick on some of my runs and he was picking up a fair whack of speed as the day progressed, it wasn’t long before we were both catching people up which is both a blessing and a curse.  Both of our FTW bikes were totally on it, couldn’t fault anything, my Michelin’s were simply railing, all was good.

Nick: I got one full run in on Sunday morning, scoping the changes in the course, hitting about I’d say 80% of my lines and my confidence was back.

First race run started well hitting the tricky sections up top faster then in practice when all of a sudden I ran out of a corner and punched a tree with the hand I broke. Thought I was in trouble right there but carried on, however I had wasted quite a bit of time worrying about my wrist and was unable to make it up, completely off the pace.

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

Tom: My first race run wasn't going too badly, hit the top section full on and started to get into my stride however overcooked things on the off camber roots further down which lost me a bit of time.  I was disappointed but that’s downhill racing for you, my concentration then switched straight to my second run.

Nick: My second race run was make or break, a bad pun considering, I know!

Out of the gate I went hell for leather, bouncing over the off camber roots one footed into the first corner, Rudolf Nureyev I was not!  In my head I was trying to calm myself down and get back into a flow, which is hard when the voice in your head is screaming “CALM THE HELL DOWN!” and keeping your concentration away from the job in hand!  I made a fatal mistake and ran out of track again, had to pull over to the side and let the next rider past as I didn't want to mess up their run too.

I have never felt so disappointed with a race result/performance. Particularly after feeling so good on the bike in practice, it was almost a psychological problem when it came to the race runs.  Gutted, no two ways about it.  I need a coffee, back over to Tom….

Tom: I was back up in the start gate and ready for my second shot hoping this one would be better.  It wasn’t to be, came off on the off camber roots, jumped straight back on the bike wasting no time, despite the crash I was going quicker this time made some little mistakes further down the course but I felt good.  Crossed that finish line in tenth place which although could have been better I was happy with considering.

Photo copyright of Ian Linton

Our next race is Fort William where we’re both sure the bikes will come into their own.  I’m heading back to Keswick and getting out in the Cumbrian Mountains.  Nick wants to do a shout out, Nick?

Nick: Aye, Innerleithen completely kicked my ass, come Fort William I will be back up to full fitness with a huge thanks to Crossfit Jacana in Durham which have had me blowing out my ass three to four days a week since my wrist was fixed. Their head coach has been a massive help with rehab from my injury, a big thanks going out to them.

See you all on the Aonach Mor.

Punk ain't dead!