To round off a successful Season of racing, the MTB (mountain bike) squad travelled to North Yorkshire to compete in the National Cross Country Mountain Bike (XC MTB) Championships at Dalby Forest on Sunday 21st July. This would be a huge step up for the young riders to be competing against the top riders in the UK but they were all keen to give it their best shot on the super technical course. Nick Earley was first up in the Open U23 category, ranked 18th out of the field of 20. Nick had a good start to the race picking off a couple riders in the start straight before settling into a rhythm. He continued to ride consistently and moved up through the field to finish in 13th place. Nick said:
“I’m really happy with that result. To end my MTB season with a National was a fitting finale to a good year and to race against the top riders you see on TV is a special feeling. Many thanks to the team for helping us participate in these races and to the team sponsors Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferries, Wight Mountain and Island Renewables Ltd for getting us here.“
Ewan Cook and Alfie Haydon, both racing in the Open Junior category, were gridded at the back of the field and also up against some tough opposition. Ewan had a good start moving up into 8th place, but Alfie had to work hard to pick off riders on the first couple of corners to get back on Ewan’s wheel. Ewan was going well but by playing it safe on a gnarly A-Line; he lost a couple of places and had to battle for 4 laps to get back into the race and just missed out on 8th place in a sprint on the last fire road. Ewan said:
“That was a fantastic experience and I’m really pleased with taking 9th in my first ever national”
Unfortunately on the first ‘stair’ set, Alfie hit a rock, causing a mechanical leaving him with only 4 gears, which meant he had to run up the hills and had no speed on the downhill sections. Showing real grit and determination, Alfie pushed on to finish at the back of the field. He said after the race:
“Not the race I wanted but I enjoyed the weekend massively and it was good experience for next season”
Allan and MacKenzie Cook took competed in the supporting Fun category races at the weekend and enjoyed the whole experience. A fantastic end to the MTB Season 
On Tuesday 23rd July, Kev Chant, Jack Davies and Chris Marsh were in action in the RCR Fatcreations Goodwood Races. With a field of almost 80 riders in the 2/3 category it was always going to be a fast and furious race. There were a number of breaks but nothing really stuck with the larger teams working to bring everything back together and it came down to a sprint on the last lap. Chris and Jack worked hard to get Kev into a decent position before the chicane and he then jumped onto a different wheel to get him through in 2nd. On the home straight, Kev opened up his sprint to bring home a convincing win, crossing the line with over a bike length between him and the rider in 2nd place. Chris and Jack finished with the pack. Kev says:
“I’m really pleased with that result. I needed 9 points to retain my 2nd cat licence so that’s job done. I can now focus more on the National TT’s to finish the season”.
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