Isle of Wight riders Ewan Cook, Finley Manser-Grundy and Sonny Shuttleworth impressed against strong competition at major MTB events over the weekend.
Ewan Cook was in action at Round 2 of the British National MTB XC Series at Cannock Chase on Sunday 12th April, lining up against an elite field that included GB Champion and Olympian Charlie Aldridge.
Gridded 20th, Ewan made a strong start and quickly moved up to 15th on the opening lap of the fast, technical course, which featured rock gardens and flowing single track.
However, his race took a dramatic turn less than a lap in when he suffered a rear puncture. Showing determination, he ran around 2 miles to the pits for repairs before rejoining the race.
A crash while chasing down positions further set him back, but Ewan showed resilience to continue to the finish.
Speaking afterwards, Ewan said:
“Unfortunately, it’s just a lot of bad luck. I’m obviously disappointed after my 7th place in the first round, but that’s racing. I’m looking forward to doing better in the next one.”
In downhill racing…
Young riders Finley Manser-Grundy and Sonny Shuttleworth competed in the iconic Root 1 Downhill race at Rogate, held as a final send-off before the venue’s closure.
The sell-out event attracted more than 250 riders, with competitors tackling a demanding black-graded course featuring drops, berms, jumps and technical root sections.
Finley delivered an impressive performance in the 8–12 category despite being just 7 years old — the youngest rider in the field.
After building confidence on the challenging track, he completed 2 clean runs to finish 8th out of 30 riders, just 6 seconds off the winning time.
His parents said:
“We’re incredibly proud of him — getting two clean runs down a track like that and showing real progression over the day was brilliant to see, especially in such a big age category.”
Sonny Shuttleworth also rose to the challenge in a highly competitive Under-13 field, finishing 27th.
He kept the bike upright across both runs on the fast and technical course, improving his time by 2 seconds on his second attempt.
One of the highlights of the day saw Sonny meet downhill star Brendan Fairclough, receiving encouragement and advice from one of his idols.
Off the track, it was a real team effort, with Sonny’s mum stepping in to handle the demanding uphill shuttles — clocking an impressive 17,000 steps throughout the day.
The event marked the end of an era for Rogate Bike Park after 20 years, with riders delivering strong performances on a fitting final day.
