The racing season is finally over for another year, and I am already missing it. I was quite happy with how my season went achieving my goal of a top 5 overall in the national series. I also finished quite well in the national rankings letting me move up a category in 2009 into the experts. Things are going to be a lot tougher next year with the standard of riding in that category so I am not expecting to do too much, just try and have fun. After my last round of the nationals at Innerleithen where I finished a disappointing 10th, I travelled out to Slovenia on a riding holiday in the Alps; whilst I was there I took part in the last round of their national series. The race I was doing was at Kranjska Gora, which is a ski resort in the winter and mountain bike park in the summer, the track was really good fun with fast open sections mixed with loose rooty wooded sections, practice was going well and we were enjoying the ski lift back to the top instead of the usual cattle wagons we have to use over here. In my qualifying run I just took it easy to get an idea of what I needed to do in the race. When I crossed the finish line to my surprise, I was the fastest qualifier and had set the fastest time of the day. I was very happy with that and knew that I could win if I put together a descent run at the end of qualifying, only the top elites had gone faster than my time, with me only 10 seconds slower than top world cup rider Filip Polc. My race run was going well, until, as usual I crashed in to a tree, GUTTED! I carried on but had lost all my momentum before an uphill section. I ended up 7th. So what have I learned from this year? STOP CRASHING IN RACE RUNS, and I might actually do a bit better in 2009. See you all next year.
Well it seems my hard work is finally starting to pay off. At the last round of the national point’s series at Moelfre in Wales I won my first ever race and I was absolutely delighted.
When we turned up to the race on Friday evening the weather was fantastic and everyone was looking forward to a weekend of racing. We all walked the track and it was pretty much the same as the previous years with the addition of a couple of jumps and a slight modification to the switch back section. This track is really fast and open with no trees for cover. The next morning and guess what? It was pi**ing it down, so out came my spiked tyres for the wet and on went my waterproofs. When we got to the top of the hill for practice the wind was gusting 50-60mph and was really hard to pedal into and carry any speed. At the end of the day practice had gone ok and I was looking forward to the race. Race day and it's wet again. Three practices run are in the morning and I was feeling pretty good, by the time the race came round the track had dried out alot, but i decided to stick with the spikes as I’d been riding them all weekend.
As I was one of the last seniors to go down I got to watch all the other riders set off and I knew then that this was going to be a tough race. The wind was still very strong and every one was pedalling flat out for the first three hundred metres of the course. Then it was my turn, and I took a gamble. I decided I would only put in a few pedal strokes at the top and tuck trying to save my energy for the pedally middle section of the course. once i had passed this part of the track I then pushed as hard as i could almost crashing off the course to try and go as fast as possible. I passed through the finish line and at first wasn't sure where I’d finished as the timing board wasn't working. I was then told I was leading with only two riders left to come down. So I sat on the back of the monster energy truck in the hot seat for a further minute before claiming my first ever win by just under one second!
June 2008
Hello! well the downhill season is in full swing now, and i haven't got off to a such a bad start.
The first round of the nationals was at Ae forest in Dumfries. I drove up with the rest of the team and was looking forward to racing, and to seeing how fast everyone else was going this year. When we arrived at the track it was obvious we were in for some fun. The rain had been tipping it down and the track was like sloppy porridge from the top to the bottom. The tyre choice was definitely going to be spikes for this one. The usual seeding run for the Saturday afternoon was cancelled due to some timing problems, so it was going to be hard to judge just how fast you would need to go to be competitive. Sunday afternoon soon came round and the sun had decided to show its face. This probably did more harm than good as it made the mud really sticky and slowed down your rolling speed. My race run was just steady and I made a few mistakes which ended up putting me in 9th overall. My best national result to date!
And so to the second round of the nationals at Innerleithen, and the weather couldn't have been more different. Sunshine and dust was the order of the day, and I was having loads of fun. The track was really fast with a super steep and technical top section. I was riding really well and was looking forward to afternoons seeding. My seeding run was quite unusual. I had a bad ride and snapped my chain so I couldn't pedal. I decided just to cruise down and try and enjoy the course. So you can imagine my surprise when i qualified second fastest just half a second off first place……..the race was on! Race day and I was feeling pretty confident. I was the second to last rider down the hill due to my seeding and I was trying to keep my composure. I had a really fast top section but made a few little errors down the rest of the course. The crowds of people lining the track were fantastic and gave you a real boost cheering you on. I pedalled hard and ended up in 5th place overall, just two seconds off first place! I was really happy with 5th as this means I am now 5th or 6th in the series with it all to play for. FortWilliams the 3rd round of the nationals and ill be looking for the top step this time.
April 2008
Since my last update quite a bit has happened for me. Firstly i am now riding on the all terrain cycles team and have lots of fancy new kit and a new giant glory bike. This is going to be a massive help to me as i get free tyres and kit plus the mechanical assitance from the team. i'd like to give a big thankyou to tom at terrain for sorting it out for me. I have also been to Portugal to compete in an international race, see below. On Thursday the 27th of March the team and myself along with Helen Gaskell, made our way to Liverpool airport. From there we were flying to Portugal to compete in the opening round of the Maxxis cup in Gouveia. On arriving in Portugal we had a couple of hour drive to the reach our hotel and the track. The following morning we awoke to glorious sunshine, built our bikes on our hotel balcony, and made our way down to the track. Once we reached the track we all walked the course, which we thought looked amazing. It looked super fast and fun with some nice rock gardens and drops, everyone was really excited about riding. Once we reached the bottom we all went and signed on, were i got my first surprise. I would have to race in elite, two categories above senior that i normally ride in. i also couldn't believe how many Brits had turned up for the race, it felt like a sunny day back home. Practice was very relaxed as we had Friday and Saturday to learn the track, with the race being on Sunday. Practice had been going well and we were all looking forward to racing on Sunday. Race day and as we go down for breakfast it's raining and hailing. no one could quite believe it after two days riding in the baking sun. Once at the track all the brits seem in a particularly good mood considering the weather. I think we all felt we might have an upper hand after watching all the spanish sliding down the track on their faces. My first run is at 12.00 and i need to finish in the top 150 riders to guarantee me a place in the final later in that afternoon. With 450 riders being there i wasn't sure how fast i would have to ride to qualify, so i set off flat out. Half way down the track i'd almost crashed out a couple of times so i backed off a little bit. At the bottom i had qualified in 86th position and i was pretty happy. For my second run i went five seconds quicker and ended up 56th in the elite category, which i am very happy with the result. A good weekend was had by everyone and i am looking forward to racing abroad again in the not to distant future.
Feb 2008
Hi and welcome to my page, just thought this year i could write about what races i am doing and do a bit of a write up through the year on how its going.I've attached a picture of me (bottom of the page) from my first race of the year at the alpine bikes winter series in Innerleithen. i've wrote a bit about what went on last year and what i hope to achieve this year.
This is my second season of racing downhill since i moved from racing motocross, as it was getting just too expensive. i have always rode mountain bikes as long as i can remember, but only ever just for fun. A couple of friends used to race downhill and i always fancied having a go so i sold the moto-x bike and bought myself a second hand 2005 giant dh bike. After practising for a couple of months i decided to take the plunge and enter my first dh race. it was to be at Hamsterley forest in Durham last January 2007. when i arrived it was very wet, very muddy and very cold. there was also fifty other riders in my category and i was feeling nervous. After practicing all day Saturday race day came on sunday and to my suprise i ended up in seventh place which i was quietly happy with. following my first race i caught the bug for racing and entered the second race at hamsterley, where i improved on my first race result and finished 5th overall. Following my two good results, my friends and i decided that we would have a go at racing the full british national downhill series. so i sent off to british cycling for my racing license and entered all five rounds of the national series. I also did a couple of the midlands series races and went on holiday to slovenia and the french alps on riding holidays which were fantastic. At the end of last season i finished 15th overall at senior level in the british series. i was left slightly disappointed with this result as i had a few crashes and a flat tyre, but i am determined to up my game for this year and finish top 10 and move in to the expert category.
race results 2007 hamsterley winter race rd 1 7th hamsterley winter race rd 2 5th Innerleithen national rd 1 22nd Caersws midlands series rd 1 10th Ae forest national rd 2 13th Bala midlands series rd 2 18th Moelfre national rd 3 15th Caersws national rd 4 16th Innerleithen national rd 5 18th
So far this year i have entered one race. This was the alpine bikes winter series round 1 in innerleithen. i was really looking forward to this race, but it was cancelled after a course marshall unfortunately had a heart attack and died on the course. For 2008 i am going to race the national series again plus any other races i can afford to get to. I have also got my first race abroad at the end of march. I am flying to portugal to compete in the maxxis cup in Gouveia which should be alot of fun.
I will keep you posted with my progress through the year. cheers for reading Ben
On Friday the 15th Feb i took Mick training at Gisburn Forest. Please have a look at my videos.
