2012 Eastern XC Rd5 Ickworth

The Final of the Series.

RESULTS

2012 Eastern XC Champs Thetford

Two podiums for the girls well done to Vin for 2nd and Vicky for 3rd in her first ever race, although corrected results now have her in 4th, oh well enjoy that moment of glory you had.

Tom Scott Collins put in some fast laps for 6th in Sport as he and Tom Wright rode in close company before Big Tom dropped back to 8th…this is going to get confusing guys.

Mick Pilcher was battling for 6th in Vets and then had a bizarre sticky back brake issue as some energy goo got in the works and dropped back to 10th, but is still flying high in the series positions. Brownie was 19th.

RESULTS

Eastern XC final 2001 – Bettles is champ

RESULTS

Eastern region 2011 Veteran Mountainbike champion…who me ?? lloyd reports.

I knew what job i had to do beforehand any result in the top 6 would have given me the overall, but i’m not one to ‘just do enough’, so i turned up ready to fight for the win. The course was truth be told pretty naff and uninspiring, the opening half started off pretty well with some very sharp climbs and some short technical descents but after that the organisers seem to have got bored and just sent us down gravel paths, open fields and dull fireroads which will definately have to be changed before they hold next years National round at the same venue.

The racing however  made up for the negative course with a few names signed on that I had to keep my eye on.
The start was manic as usual at the Eastern races as they start all Senior riders off toghether, but by the time we had done the opening loop and hit the bottom of the first climb we had all pretty much sorted ourselves out into some sort of order.  I settled into the top 5 with all my closest rivals with in sight, i tried to find a rhythum that would keep me fast but also leave me enough energy for the later stages of the race but was finding it extremely hard, the very steep climbs that littered the opening half lap meant you had to go into the red, then for the rest of the lap you just seemed to be plodding round fields; despite this i managed to keep up with the leaders and move into 3rd place.

As the race wore on the course started to take its toll everybody was suffering, the climbs seemed to get steeper and as one we all had to take them in our easiest gears and looked forward to the fireroads for some rest. The penultimate lap saw me move into second place but by now things were really getting bad, i could feel my calf muscles tightening with the onset of cramp but it was too late to do anything about it as no drink or food would get into my system in time, i just had to hang on and keep tapping it out. This also gave my rivals the chance to regain some time on me and as we started the last lap the gap behind was too close for comfort, i gathered in all my strength and gave one final kamikaze push over the now what seemed like vertical climbs, the gap to my relief started to grow again and i then knew i could consolidate my place not knowing how far in front the leader was.
 In the end i was happy enough to finish 2nd on the day as this was more than enough to give me the series win but looking back there is a little disapointment, first place was only 45 second in front and it would have been real nice to of finished with the win. 

——————————————————–

Rich was there too.

So the last round of this year’s Eastern series was held at Langdon Hills over looking London. The course was a mix of very demanding short sharp climbs followed by a few good quality descents although the last half of the lap was mostly made up of flat fields and graveled fire roads. The sun had come out and I was looking forward to some good quality racing.

 Starting with the Elite guys has never ceased to fill me with encouragement and this race was to be no different. The start was extremely fast but by the first corner I had managed to push into the leading wheels. Each short sharp climb quickly stung my legs and unfortunately by the first half of the lap a lead group had gotten away.

 A chasing group quickly formed which included me, Ben Rough and Jason Bouttell we took it in terns to push the pace and try to minimize the damage from the lead group. Each lap was dusty and extremely demanding, it seemed as if you where either in your smallest gears grinding up hills or in your hardest gears cranking the pace neither seemed to feel good around this course.

 As we set out on our fourth lap the group had whittled down to just me and Ben. Ben took this opportunity to attack and quickly pulled out a sizable gap, for this following lap I road on my limit to pull him back in. We then settled back in together and worked to keep the pace high.  

 At the start of lap six I increased the pace and managed to develop a gap over Ben. I then settled and focused on riding fast and smooth to keep my lead. In the final Mile of the last lap I began to suffer from sever cramp but managed to hold my lead.

 I finished in fourth position over all but first Expert in two hours of real hard hot racing. This result was enough to secure a Second in the series in the Elite/Expert category. Very pleased!

Eastern series 2011 – round 5

Codham Park – RESULTS – The mighty Megan Bettles continued her enjoyment of riding with 2nd in the Grommet girls race over 20 mins.

Rich Jones 3rd in expert/Elite but not sure if that was a win in Expert ?? to confusing. Lloyd had a below par race in the Vet 2 hr and faded to 8th not helped by a puncture when up with the top 4.  Paul Morris was 16th in vets in the 1 hr race. Pictures availabale  HERE

Paul Morris in action

Eastern series 2011 – Round 4

RESULTS

Danbury outdoors Chelmsford

Hollie 2nd
Lloyd 2nd keeping his series chances alive

Dont forget the little star as well, Mighty Megan Bettles was 2nd as well, in a race that included all age groups up to 12 years old

Eastern series round 3

BC Report with good pic of Hollie here

Finally Tunstall saw a dry race on a good course enjoyed by all. Lloyd wins again, the Easten series overall win is on. RESULTS round 3  BigRing led for most of the race with Ant White as they circulated together for the whole 2 hrs, lloyd took the sprint confidently. Beating the curent series leader Andrew manning by 6 mins shows good form. Paul Brown had a good ride to 14th.

Rich was 4th in the Elite/Expert so I think thats another win in Expert again there. Hollie 2nd in Ladies, with lou 5th. James hyde went out with the big boys in the racer 2 hr class and got a fighting 7th.

Big up to Pauls lad Ben Morris who had another win in the Juvenile 1 hr race, nice one Ben.

Eastern XC Rd2 Santon Down

Another good plumz turnout at round 2 at a very dry and dusty Santon Down. RESULTS

Rich won Expert again, and looked very strong in the Elite field. Hollie won the 2 hour ladies by a mile, and Louise was 4th, go girls.

In a big 75 rider Vet field, Jack slinked around for a bit and then pulled through the field to finish 4th, more details here.  Lloyd was right up the sharp end on lap 1 trying to repeat his first race win, but punctured. rejoined to finish 33rd. Paul Brown was 20th with some good consistent laps.

Some Photos of the days racing HERE

Eastern series 2011 – Round 1

A superbly sucessfull day for Plumz riders and our registered Coach Lloyd, good work guys and gals.

Three riders …..three wins = perfect day !!

Lloyds Race (vets)
I knew going into this race that it was going to be hard mainly because I had a road race in my legs from the day before but also because of the competition, one particular guy Andrew Manning  is the current Winter series Vets champ.

From the off Manning was flying and had a healthy 100m lead by the time we had done the start loop and it was a struggle to keep up. One thing I’ve found this year is that I can really go deep, which I had to or lose sight of him and it would be game over.  I upped my pace not helped by slow back markers from the previous race, very frustrating, no sooner would I get to about 10 metres from him and suddenly just before a tech section someone would come between us and I would emerge 100m behind again.
This routine went on for much of the first 4 laps, luckily the Eastern region has a different set up and you race for a set time (2hrs) so if I had time on my side. Concentrating on my rhythm and setting a good fast pace which as the track cleared became easier, the gap started to drop on Manning. He was tiring, so I chased hard and was back on his wheel the race was also beginning to have a toll on me and I was in no state to actually put an attack in.

Over the last lap it dawned on both of us it might come down to a sprint finish, something I wasn’t to happy about beacause it’s not my stongest point. So on the final drag back towards the finish I took the lead and gave it my all, a small gap, just 5m, then rode the last tech section without any problems and the win was mine.
I was absolutely stoked with my race, especially after the hard Road Race the day before, I’m pretty sure I could’ve won more comfortably  without it. It gives me massive confidence heading into the 2nd National round at Dalby this weekend, the day was really rounded off by Hollie and Rich winning their respective races too. As their coach it gives me as much satisfaction as my own win.

Hollie’s Race 
Having never taken part in an Eastern XC event before I knew liitle about what to expect, would it be hilly, would it be flat, would it be technical were the thoughts in my head. a quick practise lap before the race showed a short lap but never the less a twisty fast flowing course which was great fun!

On the start line I knew had two riders to watch out for Anna Buick and Amelia Cambridge. However from the gun I was hot on Annas wheel. For the first 2 laps it was us three riding close together not letting any gaps appear, halfway though lap 2 Anna got in front of a group of backmarkers going into the singletrack and managed to get a gap. At the start of lap 3 she had a 45 second gap over me and third place. Lap 3 and I had Amelia breathing down my neck for company and I had to watch I didnt make any mistakes in the tight singletrack that would have given her an advantage. Pushing hard through the singletrack and riding to my limits I could hear the effort Amelia was having to put in to stay on my tail and a slight slip up for her saw her take a tumble. I used this to my advantage and put in a big effort to gain as much time as possible.
 
By the start of lap 4 I had almost a miunte over 3rd and foccused on keeping second and limiting the gap to 1st place. Lap 4 went really smooth and although I was working hard I still found myself really enjoying the course but by the end of that lap the gap to 3rd was getting smaller and she was slowly creeping back.  On my final lap I dug deep determined to hold on to second place, I was pushing in every place possible and watching over my shoulder to see if I was keeping the gap. On the final decsent on the course Amelia couldnt have been more than 20 seconds back but a final effort up the drag, through the trees and out towards the finish saw me hang on to second but only by 14 seconds.
 
It was a very hard and fast race but really enjoyable race with some of the closest racing I’ve had. Im extremely pleased with my result, 1st junior and second lady……. its good to be back. Hollie 🙂

 

Rich’s Race report:

So yet another gridding next to some of the biggest names in cycling, so as I am sure you can imagine I was yet again rather nervous especially after yesterday NCRA road race still buzzing through my legs.
 
The course started with a opening loop that then lead into a tight flat singletrack sections scattered with trees and roots that where just waiting to catch you off guard, then across a field and towards a off camber section off wooded track that followed a small stream (by the looks of some riders they had obviously got a bit to close to this) then up the field again, to the start of a fantastic decent full of wide open fast turns and the odd few sections where I wasn’t even sure if I could fit through the gaps in the trees.
 
The start was fast and I quickly decided to sit in on Stephen James wheel as Billy Joe led the charge. As we hit the first section of singletrack the true speed of these guys became clear as I struggled to keep with the hard sprints out of each corner and the huge digs on every open section. Half a lap of trying to hold on was enough for me and I backed off the pace reminding myself that I had 2 hours of this to go. I quickly settled down with what I think was the leading junior and the leading sport rider, we took turns to lead through the decent each time picking new lines and hitting crazy cornering speeds! The last lap we dug in and tried to pull the gap in on the leading elite riders but to little success as they had already made around 7 minutes on us.
 
After 2 hours of hot and dusty racing I finished as first Expert and fourth Elite. Now although I was very pleased with this result and the 60 regional ranking points that comes with it, I would have to mention that there wasn’t exactly an abundance of expert riders in my category. Still very pleased and by far one of the best races I have done for a long time! Brilliant!
 
BUT 3 Seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!! (a reference to the fact that Lloyds race time was 3 secs faster than Richs. Ed)

Rich 4th Elite/Expert in 2hrs:00:40
Laps: (1) 00:17:06, (2) 00:16:37, (3) 00:17:03, (4) 00:17:30, (5) 00:17:47 (6) 00:17:39, (7) 00:16:58  

 Hollie WXC mountain bike team UK – in 01hrs:43:33

Laps (1) 00:20:32, (2) 00:19:59, (3) 00:20:45, (4) 00:21:24, (5) 00:20:53

 

Lloyd wins by a second…….in 2hrs:00:37

Laps: (1) 00:17:29, (2) 00:17:09, (3) 00:17:03, (4) 00:17:02, (5) 00:17:07 (6) 00:17:38, (7) 00:17:09

Official RESULTS and British Cycling report HERE  – (no change there then Rich they have messed up the expert result and you dont get your moment of glory!)

>Eastern XC 2

>Eastern XC again at South Brandon circuit.

RESULTS

Eastern XC 2010 Round 1 – Tunstall

What have these guys done to offend the weather gods! Two Winter series races and two Summer events in Two years and all four off them run in a continuous heavy downpour. The mix of continuous sand slop and the long distances just destroys bikes.

Mental race start, 100+ riders into un rideable singletrack afer about 30 seconds, and everyone set off together no mater whta the ability meant a race where you didn’t have a clue who you were racing against.

Jack kept it consistent and just plugged on with Russel Rout in close attendance, struggling with a self changing faulty shifter. On the last lap after a crap bottle hand over made up 3 places to grab 3rd on the line in a sprint, Podium result.

7 Laps in 2Hr35:16 3rd place 10 mins behind winner John McAndrew and 5 behind second Andrew Manning,
laps
21:15 – 21:35 – 21:53 – 22:07 – 21:47 – 22:48 – 23:48

Results from Timelaps