The forecast for the weekend looked poor and it appeared our luck for beating the forecast was going to run out.

However waking up Saturday the weather was ok, and the Sun was shining. We were to be racing on a brand new course at Sherwood pines (probably the most technical to date) and the reasonable weather to start meant the first 2 races of the day were treated to dry and fast conditions.

We headed out onto the new course one day one to take pictures of what was to be our first real experience of the NPS XC races. Our first surprise of the day was the quality of the youth races, which were are a close contestt between riders and showed promise for the future of XC racing in this country in terms of future stars and depth of fields.

In race 2 it was the turn of the Elite, Experts and Sport XC Riders. As this round had been granted UCI class 1 Status there was a certain international buzz about it with several world class riders making an appearance. The world class racers were there showing everyone how it should be done and demonstrating the gulf in performance between us humble regular riders and those who live, breath sleep biking. Oli Beckingsale went into the race as the leader in the NPS standings however things were not all to go his own way, and he had trouble shaking of the resilient Ian Wilkinson, who in the end managed to out sprint Oli in the final sections of the race - this resulted in the top 5 riders being; Ian Wilkinson (SIS/Trek), Oli Beckingsale (Giant), Ian Bibby (SIS/ Trek), Simon Richardson (Trek VW), Michael Broderick (Seven Cycles).
In the experts category Nick Jones took the win with Robert Friel and Andrew Cockburn completing the podium positions. In the sport category Ben Thomas took the win with Gerald Tudor and Chris Metcalf completing the podium positions.

In the womens race Mary MCConneloug Ranked 5^th in the World led from the 1^st corner and stayed out in front for the rest of the race eventually winning with a 5 minute lead over Rosara Joseph. Jenny Copnall who was the 1^st British rider to finish brought up third position and Jenn o Conner and Janka Stevkova completed the top 5.
In the experts category Melanie Alexander took the win with Marcie Reinhart and Fran Mundy completing the podium positions. In the sport category Katie Collins took the win with Sara Randle and Rachel Fenton completing the podium positions.

In race 3, the weather took a turn for the worst and the semi-slick tyres no-longer looked like such a good option. Containing some of the most hotly contested categories, in the masters and vets, the race got off to a blistering start. Throughout the race places were constantly exchanged as riders launched attacks and counter attacks.

In the Mens open race we had our own interests as bucksmtb rider Chris was entering only his second XC race. After a recent rise in form and spending time working on his technical riding he was confident of a strong result on his debut at the NPS. He did not disappoint and despite starting well down the grid he rode strongly to finish 12^th just 2 mins outside the top 10. His efforts were hampered by losing his drinks bottle on the 1^st corner. He is optimistic of breaking into the top 10 in the next race.

^bucksmtb team rider Mark Crossing the finish line

Full Race results can be found by clicking this link

On the Sunday, we again woke to dry weather but sadly it was not to last and by lunch time we had heavy rain turning the course into a mud bath.

In the 100km marathon bucksmtb rider Mark lined up for his first attempt at the full marathon. He started well riding strongly in a pack of 4 riders working together to maintain a good pace and holding a top 50 place for 3 laps. However on the 4^th lap, thing started to fall apart as mechanicals and his body started to give up on him. Completing the 2^nd half of the lap on only 1 brake and riding even slower due to stomach cramps, he had to abandon the race at the 50km stage.

In the 50km marathon bucksmtb rider Chris set out with anticipation of using the race as a training ride after his XC race the day before. Sadly part way round lap 2 he suffered a mechanical which left him reduced to just the 1 gear. As a result he also had to abandon the race.

^bucksmtb team rider Chris nearing the finish line

In the 100km marathon only 19 riders completed the full distance, this was largely because organizers closed the course due to adverse weather conditions. Winner in the men’s 100km was Will Bjergfelt and in the women’s race kate potter took the win.

Full results can be found by clicking this link
 

For photos of the event weekend click here