Success at Cirencester Duathlon

Congratulations to CCCC member Rachel Vicary who won the ladies category at the Cirencester Duathlon on Sunday, held this year at Charlton Park in Malmesbury.

The race, which attracted 184 competitors, was a day of XC racing with a difference - with competitors fearing a mud fest but instead being faced with snow, ice and absolutely freezing temperatures. The conditions certainly spiced up the (usually non technical!) course; a 2 mile run, 10 mile mountain bike and then another 2 mile run.

661 Mini Downhill FoD: Round 2

The second round of the 661 Mini Downhill series was again action packed with around 300 riders and a huge crowd. This time the Corkscrew trail was used for the race with only one new corner at the bottom differing it from  the standard track.

Conditions in the car park started completely frozen (though we did arrive at 8am) but quickly turned to slop as the sun thawed everything. In the woods however it was a completely different situation with the track being damp and consistently grippy all day.

661 Mini Downhill FoD: Round 1

Sunday 4 December saw the return of the 661 Mini Downhill mountain bike series at the Forest of Dean for 2011/ 12. The race, which attracts 300 riders, enjoyed strong participation from a number of Cheltenham-based enthusiasts keen to make their mark on the field. Cheltenham and County Cycling Club were represented by a team of 4 racers.

Leckhampton Rally

The Club Birthday DH event was a timed rally up Leckhampton Hill. The format was one hour per track with unlimited timed and untimed practice runs then one official timed run. Four riders turned up for the full event but more appeared to complete in the final stage. The times were recorded using the clubs Freelap poles and timing watches.

Track one was the BMX track from the top, down the chute, taking the long route to the next push path. The finish gate was on the straight before you drop on to the walkers track (so plenty of time to slow down). To those that do not know it so well, this section is all about sprinting and holding speed through large corners. Nothing too technical here just power and confidence! There we no particular problems with this section as everyone knew it well, though I did have an off track moment on the first practice run.

Track two used Dragons Tail, this drops from the middle walkers path to the top of the quarry. We used some tape to force the riders around all the corners then off the main line to take in a drop before finishing just after the ‘tail’ berms. By forcing the corners made this section a lot more difficult especially turning 90 degrees on rooty steps. During the practice period everyone had some off track moment, it was clear that consistency would win through on this stage. Roger deserves special credit for his crash on his race run. I did not see it but it sounded like he smashed through a tree!

Track three used Marshall Law then through the bomb hole in the beeches area. This track is one of the most technical on the hill with a good mixture of speed, tight corners and rough trail. Again everyone knew this track well so everyone was fine tuning their lines to save as much time as possible. First practice runs showed it was going to be close with Rich getting 40.25 and I got 40.24 (and no we were not following each other).

So the overall results were fairly close with Alex M taking the fastest overall and two of the stages. We hope to hold more of these sessions in the coming months, good practice for the FoD mini DH series!

Results:         BMX track     Dragons tail     Marshall law     Total

Alex H           33.67         28.41            39.26            101.34

Alex M           32.52         25.57            35.65            93.74

Rich D           32.19         30.69            39.66            102.44

Roger S (HT)     36.72         54(crash)        46.31            137.03

John H                                          39.68

Bran                                            36.69

Jake(rear brake only)                           49

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 3

Not many photos this time but Rich sent over this nice little report.

The final mini DH of the season saw a return to Ski Run, but with an interesting start because of the forestry works. The new line started off looking nice but with 300 riders practicing their lines it soon turned into the evil child of Mr Rooty! The rest of the track was pretty slick and the mud and roots at the bottom section in particular were on hand to catch out the unwary.

Despite some drunken promises from others at the club dinner that they would be giving the event a go, Rich Dade was the only club member racing this time round, managing to get 18th place in the masters out of 47. Thanks also to Graham for the photos and Mike D for popping along and lending his support to the event.

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 2 with photos

Another good club turn out at the second round of the FOD mini DH competition this weekend. Corkscrew was the race track (first time it has been used in a race) and it looked to be flowing beautifully, with a whole host of new lines opening up as the racers aimed for faster ways down...

In the masters category (42 riders) both Charlie Williams and Rich Dade competed, the latter on his Commencal hardtail... Charlie came 11th with a 1.04.14, and Rich came 29th with 1.08.07.

Garry Higgins rode in the Vets and came a well deserved 11th out of 26 with a time of 1.05.81

Thanks as always to Graham for the photos and to all those who turned out to support.

Next round is Sunday 20 Feb - the more the merrier! Click here to find out more :  www.minidh.co.uk/

2011 Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 1

Despite the sub zero conditions the club put forward a strong team for the first round of the 661 Mini DH. The classic FoD track 'Ski Run' was used with sections getting cut up and muddy during the practice session. Some of the wooded sections ended up very dark during racing, some riders optted to ride without their goggles!

Rachel just missed out on another podium and Charlie actually crashed at the final corner on his first run so lost several vital seconds. Rich deserves a special mention for consistant fast runs ending up as the fastest club member and 9th in Masters.

Cheltenham & County CC represented by:

Rachel Vicary (Ladies) Best time= 1:35.53 Position= 4th / 10
Stuart Bond (Seniors) Best time= 1:24.98 Position= 46th/ 68
Richard Dade (Masters) Best time= 1:19.88 Position= 9th / 52
Alex Marshall (Masters) Best time= 1:21.77 Position= 16th/ 52
Charlie Williams (Masters) Best time= 1:23.17 Position= 19th/ 52
Roger Smith (Veterans) Best time= 1:35.03 Position= 20th/ 23
Garry Higgins (Veterans) Best time= 1:24.21 Position= 8th / 23


Photos from Graham Haller

Corrective Racing: Round 1

With the new club freelap system we thought it is a good excuse to start some Corrective Racing. Round 1 started the mini series with the technical track Marshal Law on Leckhampton.


Rich took the fastest as expected, with 26 secs, but Stuart put in a surprising  28, with no chain and on a bike that has not been seen for a year. In true start of series style the timing was not quite up to scratch (Alex really should have read the instructions) but it was good to hit a track under pressure, makes you ride sharp.

Freelap night is what we need  to keep things fresh!

Results:
Rich T - 26sec (hard tail)
Stuart B - 28sec (chainless)
Alex H - 32sec
Gary H - 33sec
Rich D - 35sec
Roger S - 37sec (hard tail)
Pete G - 45sec
Tim P - DNS (but rode the track for the first time)

Kona Mash-Up June 2010

Unfortunately the timing for the event was a bit of a failure with many times missed and the whole last stage cancelled. The racers in the technical event had 2 run times published, enduro guys - 3. The Cheltenham & County Cycling Club racers managed to get a few good times with Rich Teague likely to have got a podium if his runs had been times and Rachel Vicary coming first in the womens.

Full times and results:

Enduro and Technical Windy Point

Rachel Vicary 4:33 1st place (womens)

Rich Teague 4:10 9th place
Rich Dade 4:24 21st place
Mike Teague 4:24 23rd place
Garry Higgins 4:32 28th place
Julian Davies 6:14 63rd place

Missing times for Simon Everitt and Charlie Williams

Technical Black Run

Rachel Vicary 3:12 1st place (womens)

Garry Higgins 3:01 14th place
Rich Dade 3:02 15th place

Enduro Jetlag

Rich Teague 3:48 2nd place
Charlie Williams 3:55 8th place
Mike Skidmore 4:28 35th place
Julian Davies 6:41 78th place

Enduro Joyrider

Rich Teague 3:45 4th place
Charlie Williams 3:45 5th place
Simon Everitt 4:28 23rd place
Mike Skidmore 5:12 51st place
Julian Davies 7:25 82nd place

Forest of Dean Mini DH Round 3

In the final round of the FOD Mini DH winter series on Sunday Feb 28th, TheCorrective was represented by Rachel Vicary, Charlie Williams and Roger Smith.

The track was cut up and very muddy in places which made it particularly challenging, similar to round 1. Rachel suffered from a leaking front brake during her first run and had to abandon it, whilst Charlie and Roger had off track excursions.

Rachel managed to blag a bike for her run (thanks to Rich Dade for the lending of his Demo 7), and she managed to post a very respectable time giving her 4th in her category, so a great effort indeed. Her time was just eclipsed by Roger (38th masters) who was experimenting with hardtail racing – something he is still questioning but is determined to get the hang of….

Charlie put in a solid performance on his hardtail to post an excellent 11th in the Masters.

A hard day above the saddle, but still great fun all the same.

Photos courtesy of Goshka Awramik

Cirencester Duathlon Results

Four CCCC riders and some of their partners enjoyed a different kind of XC racing at the Bathurst Estate near Cirencester on Valentines Day. On a cold but sunny morning we lined up for a 2 mile run, 10 mile mountain bike and then another 2 mile run - all around a muddy but not very technical course.

Ewen Macgregor and Liz Catchpole, racing as 'Ginger and Nuts' were second relay team home, in 95th overall. Other individual Cheltenham riders put in some solid placings in the mid field - David Koryczan (118th), Mike Saunders (78th), and Mark Smith (98th). Mark achieved his target time despite having twice dropped his pump on the bike lap and having to double back and fetch it! It was also great to see Rob Brown who came along to provide moral support to 'Team CCCC'.

A highlight of the race for me was when, on the first run, ten fully-grown deer suddenly ran across the track right in front of us - quite a surprise!

All in all it was a very enjoyable morning, and for those who like a bit of muddy running along with their muddy cycling I recommend it highly.

Forest of Dean Mini DH Results

Rachel, Rich Dade and Roger represented the club at the 661 Mini Downhill event in the Forest today. Started off very hard and frosty, then gradually turned to mush in some places after that.

Rach came 2nd in the women's category - podium AGAIN and first of a few I suspect in '10. Top performance.

Rich and Roger gave a good account considering what appeared to be a very strong field generally. Waiting for results to be posted but I think Rich was about 20th, and Roger was about 30th in the masters category, over 40 raced I believe.

Charlie Williams who I'm pretty sure is a member of CC-CC now was on his hard tail and was ripping. 5th or 6th in Masters.

Cheltenham and County Cycling Club Results:
Rachel Vicary 2nd Womens (9.058s down)
Williams Charlie 6th Masters (7.228s down)
Rich Dade 21st Masters (14.919s down)
Roger Smith 30th Masters (19.823s down)
Garry Higgins 21st Veterans (6.330s down)