Racing News
Merida Brass Monkeys - Round 1 Results & Photos
by Paul Howard, 29 Nov 09. Results [ 1» ] Photos [ 1» ]
Firstly, thank you all for coming to the inaugural Brass Monkeys enduro. There was some great riding today, despite the weather!
As with any new venture, not everything went according to plan. We faced some logistical issues late on Saturday, which we tried to resolve, but it became apparent that most were beyond our control. The Arena had been double booked in error by the land agent, so we were faced with either canceling the event or finding a workaround. This meant our use of the Arena was compromised as all the parking was due to be in there along with an extra half a mile of course to start the lap, this would have spread riders out further before hitting the singletrack.
As we ended up with almost 500 not 400 riders doing the event today - because we didn't want to disappoint anyone - and many riders wanted to change their category because of the weather, at Round 2 the Race start will be pushed back (time tbc) to allow more time for number collection, queries and riders travelling from further afield.
On to the racing... If Noah had built his Ark in Aldershot, today would have been the day he launched it. Epic amounts of rain fell over Saturday night and during most of raceday too. I'm sure there was even hail at one point with a subsequent temperature drop to chill you to the core. Event photographer Joolze Dymond commented afterwards "I've been to loads of events this year and that was without a doubt the wettest of 2009. But you know what? Everyone was still merrily riding - or swimming - round without mud clogging their drivetrains or ripping off rear mechs. So despite the weather the course all looked rideable, albeit with a healthy dose of skill."
The seven mile lap provided a varied mix of singletrack, fireroads and cheeky technical sections that became more challenging as the race wore on. Talking of "wearing", does anyone have any brake pads left? Many comedy moments ensued as riders found alternative methods to navigate descents with excess speed; the speedway style foot down in the mud seemed to be in favour, or just the plain old bin it in the mud or lake. By the end of the race there were nail bitingly close finishes with mere seconds separating some of the podium positions with a mix of xc racers and the endurance specialists going head to head. Well done to everyone who won prizes and/or series points today and a big thank you to our headline sponsors Merida Bikes.
Joolze's account of the races and post-race rider interviews, including one with Rebecca Romero the Olympic gold medalist who rode today, will be published later this week, as will all the photos of your mucky smiling faces. So don't forget to check back here.
So was it a Winter Warmer for you? We certainly hope so, and look forward to seeing you all again for the Christmas Cracker on the 28th December. Have a very Happy Christmas!
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26 Jan 25
