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Report: Northern XC Championships

15 May 2011
Promoted By: Nutcracker
Race HQ: Ask Estate, Yorkshire
Words: James Hall @ Nutcracker Events Photography: Andy Spencer

The Nutcracker XC Series returned to the plush Aske Estate, home to Lord Zetland - the Earl of Ronaldshay, for round 2 on the 15th May. The event doubled as the North of England XC Championship and with the medals at stake, competition was fierce!

Early birds were greeted by a pleasant morning upon arrival, with broken cloud, sunshine and little wind. This was soon to change, with intermittent showers and a strong northwesterly wind by mid morning.

Race 1 kicked off with a strong field in all 3 categories; Juvenile, Youth and Fun. Competition amongst the Youth and Juvenile categories was at its highest level yet in any of the Nutcracker events, with riders also appearing from Scotland to recce the venue ahead of the forthcoming British XC Championships in July. One of these was Calum Magowan of the Peebles CC who took the Juvenile race win ahead of Seacroft's Chris Barnes. With Magowan being Scotland based and uneligible for the Championship title, Barnes took the gold medal for the North of England Juvenile XC Championship, ahead of Matthew Worton and Thomas Mein.

Good to see some new faces in the youth field, providing Richardson's rider and Nutcracker regular Mike Thompson with some much needed competition. Ben Miller took the race win ahead of Thompson, but again due to Miller's Scottish residency the gold medal on the day fell to a very deserving Mike Thompson. Nick Corlett of the Manx squad and local lad James Edmond of the Ferryhill Wheelers took the silver and bronze medals respectively in the North of England Championship.

A bigger than usual fun squad included Hope Technology boss Ian Weatherall, whose son William incidentally finished 10th in the Juvenile category. The fun category was won by gravity chaser Dave Nicholson of the Hamsterley Trailblazers, who swapped his downhill roots for an into-the-wind uphill battle! James Carlton and Kam Nicholson followed closely behind. A strong Dirtwheels Cycles presence in the ladies Fun race saw Ruth Midgley take the win ahead of Louise Burnett and Laura Rhodes. Meanwhile, Amira Mellor took the race win and North of England Championship title in the Juvenile category, ahead of Stirling's Erika Allen and Peebles' Eve Hanlon Cole. Motorpoint's Alice Barnes took the on-the-day Youth win ahead of Libby Greatorex, with Greatorex going home with the Championship title.

11.30 saw the start of race 2; Elite, Expert, Junior and Sport. Again - with the strongest ever Elite field, racing was tough and it took its toll on an unwell Paul Oldham of Hope Factory Racing, who sadly had to retire after just 1 lap due to illness.

Team mate Dave Collins ploughed on to victory ahead of Tom Bell, who, due to Dave being Leicester based, was crowned Senior North of England XC Champion. With a similarly sized field in the Expert category, competition was stiff and Tom Stewart of event sponsors BBM Bikes took the race win ahead of Douglas Shearer and Hamish Fletcher Cooney. Event sponsors were also participating in the Sport category and Matt Brown of Team Inov8 ironically rode home to finish 2nd and win an Inov8 race pack, just behind Tom Albutt. Local boy Darren Binks of Northallerton-based Hambleton Road Club finished in 3rd.

At the younger end of the scale, local lads Joe Home and Jack Humphreys had some tough competition with additional riders turning up from other regions to compete. Hugo Robinson of XRT Elmy Cycles took the race win ahead of Fietson Tempo's Joe Home. An appearance from Torq's Lee Craigie saw her take the race win in the Elite female category, whilst Jacqui Fletcher of the Manx squad took the victory in the Experts.

A huge field in race 3 at 2pm took the total number of riders on the day to just over 200 and a last minute entry from the condemned man, Alan Nixon of Blackhawk Bikes paid off as he walked away as the Masters North of England XC Champion at the end of the day!

Alan is scheduled to be married tomorrow and we wish him and his partner all the best for their special day and hope that he'll be able to return in 4 weeks for Nutcracker 3!

Noel Clough steamed home to take the North of England title in the Veteran category whilst Bruce Rollinson put in another storming performance to take the Grand Veteran title. A late decision by the organisers to include a separate Super Veteran category saw Rollinson's JD Cycles team mate Reg Haigh take the Championship title in this category.

Excellent also to see bigger fields in the ladies' categories with some good racing and competition. Although taking the on the day win in the Vets category with a superb performance, VC Lincoln's Helen Macgregor was uneligible for the Championship title and a well deserving Ruth Thompson of Richardson's Cycles took home the Gold Medal and Championship title, closely followed by Dirtwheels' Nicky Hartle. Following a forced retirement at Round 1 due to injury, a determined Karen Payton of Cyclesport Pendle took the silverware and Championship title in the Grand Veteran category. It proved to be a good day all round for the Dirtwheels Cycles girls, with Jane Chadwick romping home to a gold medal and Championship title in the Masters category. Well done to all.

The Nutcracker XC Series returns for round 3 on Sunday 19 June at Camp Hill, near Bedale in North Yorkshire. Entries are already open, so if you haven't already done so be sure to get your entries in now! The British XC Championships, brought to you by Dare2B follows on the 16/17 July at Aske on a slightly revised course and featuring a couple of little "surprises" for all those thinking that it was too easy! Entries are also open for this event, which features non-championship races for those not wishing to compete in the championship itself. There's also a party on the Saturday evening with a fully licensed bar and entertainment! Not one to be missed...

British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.