Racing News
Autumn Classic 1 - Race Report
by Joolze Dymond, 26 Nov 10. Results [ 1» ] Photos [ 1» ]
You knew it was autumn, not just because of the nip in the air and the blinding palate of colours zinging from the forest, but also because of the 500 or so riders eager to line up and get their regular Gorrick fix! Yes it’s Autumn Classic time and as the name suggests Race one provided a classic venue with a few twists to keep the riders guessing as well as grinning!
A last minute change of venue thanks to army manoeuvres over at Tunnel Hill did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of all the riders who ventured over to Surrey Hill instead. They were rewarded with challenging 4.2 mile course at a favourite venue with a few new twists and turns that surprised even the most regular riders.
As per normal it was the eager young stars of the mountain bike future that set off first, a healthy turn out despite the nip in the air, the under 8’s up to the under 16’s battling for position in their own categories. Youth rider Harry Franklin - Hargroves Cycles claimed one of the many wins taken on the day after a tense battle with Sam Stean - VC Jubilee, just 20 secs separating them after 2 fast laps.
The Juveniles take to the course in the early morning ‘fresh’ temperatures .
Next it was the turn of the older but none the slower Masters and Veterans to get stuck into the undulating circuit, with wave after wave of riders swooping around the twisting singletrack sections on the hunt for glory.
In the Super Masters it was Luke Smith - Whyte Racing who started from the front leaving the rest of the field to chase him down, try as they might they couldn’t quite get back to the Whyte Racing rider, who consequently took a convincing victory.
Luke Smith took a convincing Super Master victory.
The race for the front in the Super Veterans was an altogether closer affair with Andrew Parsons - Offcamber fending off the advances of rival Paul Howard - Mountain Trax to take the win with less than a minute separating them.
Andrew Parsons enjoying a sun blazed berm to win Super Veterans.
But it was the Master’s race, which saw some of the closest racing of the day with just 28 seconds separating the top 4. Over the 3 lap race it was anyone’s call who would take the biscuit. In the end a quick sprint for the line saw Kim Little - Gillingham & District Wheelers grab the win from Dan Howe - Trog MTB with just 2 seconds.
The busiest races of the day were both the Open and the Fun with nearly a hundred riders in each. Mike Chaplin wove his way through the backmarkers and the singletrack to take the win in the Fun race while Matthew Lewis - Owens Cycles took full honours in the open race just ahead of Matthew Hill - ukbiking.net.
The Fun race was won by Mike Chaplin.
There was a healthy turn out in the Open women’s race with some pretty close racing. A second faster lap delivered Monika Rybacka - Redhill CC to the win just ahead of a consistent Ruby Baker - Behind the Bikeshed. The Sport women’s race also found itself coming down to the wire in the closing stages as Kathy Beresford - Mountain Trax battled for the lead with Stephania Magri - Squadra Donne. In a ding-dong scrap it was Beresford who came up trumps edging Magri into second with just a 9 sec gap. Tim Dunford – TORQ Racing looked untroubled in the Expert race as he cruised around, leaving the battle for the minor placings to unfold behind him.
Tim Dunford has a list of wins as long as your arm in Experts.
It was yet another successful instalment of the long running Gorrick story. A tried and tested format, with a few new twists to keep it fresh and interesting, which continues to attract both the weekend warrior along with the battle hardened regulars. The friendly approach along with some of the most fun trails to be found at each venue ensures a healthy turn out of both beginners and women too.
Rider Reaction
Kathy Beresford – Sport Women
It was a tough race today with Steph. I got a pretty good start but by lap 2 I noticed someone right behind me coming up the climb, she was just reeling me in. By lap 3 she was right on my wheel again on that same climb, so I slipped back and sat on her tail, watched her go down the singletrack and on the very last climb on the lap beasted it and got to the singletrack before her and left her behind. It was a very tactical race, there wasn’t much between us! It was good to have someone breathing down my neck and pushing me on. It made the race that much harder but that more exciting. A great course, some bits were familiar but some bits were new, so made it a good mix with enough technical singletrack to keep you interested. A nice way to kick off the Autumn Series.
Kathy played a tactical game with rival Stephania Magri but headed off for the Sport win.
Craig Bowles – Expert Men
Not my normal tipple, I normally prefer the longer distances, but you still need to be fast to ride long distances, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some training in. The quality for endurance riders is going up in the UK so you have to be on it! I’ve had a few weeks off and now it’s time to get moving and the Gorricks are cracking events, great courses and so friendly. And today blue skies, new trails, what’s not to like!
Although the formula is tried and tested they know how to keep it fresh and keep it interesting and I guess that’s why people keep coming back. It was a cracking course, not just for us in the top categories but also perfect for the fun riders out there. I had a great race, which is amazing as I’m not that fast. Tim went off the front pretty quickly and I managed to keep him in sight for at least a lap and a half. I never got on terms with him, but I rode a nice steady race and was happy with my second.
More photos
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Viv Hazelton won Grand Veterans.
Third in Sport Martin Turton.
Masters rider Hannah Bussey is loving being back racing on the MTB after the road season.
Oops! Derick Coppola misses out on the fun going on behind.
01 Dec 24
26 Jan 25
