Location: Lee Quarry, Rossendale, Lancashire
Event: 2 October 2011
Photo: Daniel Cowell
The final race in the 2011 Hope Technology sponsored series saw over a hundred riders taking on the challenge of the quarry trails. The weather held to keep the trails dry and the racing for both the race win and the final push for glory was tight in all the categories.
The Leisure Lakes Racer category were off first and Jiri Klekner (Wheelspin Cycles) stormed into an early lead with race 2 winner Tom Albutt (Joyriders MTB Holidays) pushing hard to keep in contact. Chasing hard after a broken chain in the first five metres and trying to overcome eight lost minutes, John Hopkinson (Aire Valley Cycles) thrusted himself through the field and on to the third step of the podium.
The battle between Jiri and Tom was settled when Tom finally cracked on the last lap losing three minutes in the final run to the chequered flag. Jiri’s win also gained him the series prize with Tom equal on points but the deciding factor was the final race position. In the Cookson’s Cycles sponsored Racing Diva’s Steph Fountain (Saddle Skedaddle) lead from start to finish holding Deborah Goodall (Big Bear Bikes) off. Steph also claimed the series prize of a set of Hope SPXC6 wheels.
The Big Bear Bikes sponsored Weekend Warrior category saw a very close race between Ben Howe (unsponsored) and George Flinton (Big Bear Bikes) with the pair closely matched. A huge final lap effort by George finally sealed the victory by 11 seconds. David Beeley, the proprietor of Big Bear Bikes, rode consistently to finish in a strong third place nearly three minutes ahead of the closest rider. Ben’s second place saw him take the honours in the series competition. The Big Bear Bikes team domination of the trade competition saw them take home the trophy for a second year.
The SRAM Have-A-Go Heroes category was won by Simon Croft (Nicholas Salon) who has improved in every race of the series. The SRAM Have-A-Go Heroine category saw Melody Dark take her first win with a massive effort that left her barely capable of talking at the finish. The Polaris Bikewear sponsored ‘lads’ category for younger riders again ran with a high quality entry and a number of strong young riders.
Dylan Kerfoot Thompson (Rhos-on-Sea CC) took an early narrow lead only to drop out of the race with two punctures on lap three. This left Edwyn Oliver-Evans (Harrogate Nova) to take an emphatic win lapping the rest of the field. This win also sealed the series competition for Edwyn with him taking home the Hope Vision 1 light.
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.
