The team travelled to Derby for rounds 4 & 5 of the British Cycling National BMX race series. Warm weather and ‘hot’ racing made for a mixed weekend, with four wins on Saturday!
World BMX Champion Shanaze Reade shares some advice with Ethan and Ryan! © Luke Webber
Josh
Josh appeared to be struggling in his first couple of Moto’s down the first and second straight until a change of wheels made a huge difference; from Moto three onwards Josh looked like a different rider back to his usual attacking style. In his Semi he gated very strongly and had the whole shot jumping the first double down the start straight but landed very heavily causing him to slip his pedals and go from first to last, by the time he appeared out of the first berm he had moved up into 5th on the 3rd straight Josh made the move into 4th but the rider he was passing had other ideas and shut him down leaving him with nowhere to go, so he was out of the A final, in the B final he crashed out in the last berm.
Sunday started off alot better day, gates were spot on and sharp, Josh was sailing through his Motos and his Semi. Then came the A Final this is now one of the most heavily loaded age groups where any one of the young guys on that line could take the Win, Josh’s gate was not very strong this time so he rode a straight line from lane 6 to avoid being boxed in, this kept Josh safe from the rider who crashed in the first berm but was a longer route, riding strong and keeping with the front pack Josh took a very close 5th place.
Ethan
Ethan looked very fast and smooth in practice, and soon had the track dialled in.
Super confident he even managed to clear the first double jump on several occasions whilst practicing; not bad for a 9 year old!!
On the Saturday he was strong out of the gate, carried good speed around the track which helped him comfortably secure wins in the motos and semi final. Final time was the usual battle between himself and Gideon. Both looking very strong down the 1st straight, leaning against each other at one stage, Ethan kept his cool and had pulled out a lead by the 1st berm. By the 2nd and 3rd berms, that lead had extended and he comfortably took the win.
Sunday’s moto’s ran pretty much the same with three wins and another win in the semi.
Final time again but Ethan made a slight mistake and drifted too wide into the 1st berm dropping back to 2nd. A last attempt sprint out of the final corner was not quite enough but he took a well deserved 2nd.
The win and second had moved Ethan to the top of the riders leader board!
Ethan takes his first national win this season! © Spencer Moret
Lauren
All week I had been looking forward to riding my new pure bike and finally the day came. In the first moto I came second after leading the whole way round and then getting pipped on the line. The second moto was pretty much the same. I had a strong start so led the whole way round but once again got pipped on the line. After these races I realized I was losing speed on the last turn so had to do something about it. This was proven when I corrected it in the third moto and I had a strong win. Semi- final time. In the semi I had a strong race and finished first giving me first pick in the final. I chose gate 2 in the final and had a storming gate allowing me to shut down the rider in gate 1. I remained in first the whole round and finished Saturday in first.
After a good night’s sleep I was up and raring to go on Sunday however I did not have such a fortunate start. In practice I took a fall however that wasn’t going to stop me. In my first moto I was in third however I took another fall on the line so got sixth! Still, that wasn’t stopping me. I got up and raced the second moto. In this race I had a successful win. I also had a win in my third moto. In the semi I had third pick and got second. That left me with fourth pick in the final. In the final I picked gate 5 and was second into the first turn. I went back into third on the third turn but had a strong finish and finished second. I am now preparing for a European race in Germany and hope for results just as good as these in Germany and the next national.
Lauren takes her first win too! © Spencer Moret
Ryan
It was round 3&4 of the National Series and the venue was Derby. It came to the 1st Moto of the weekend and I came a comfortable 2nd. I continued in this form and finished off the motos with another 2nd and a 1st place. It came to semi final time and I had a pretty tough semi. I had second pick so chose gate 3. I had a fairly good snap and was in second and then went into 1st down the second straight leaving me with second pick in the final. I was eagerly awaiting the final. I had second pick and went for gate 3. I did not have such a good gate and was squeezed immediately. Despite this little setback it was not long until I got myself back into second place. I was charging down the first straight and caught up with first place. I saw a gap appear in the first corner and thought this was my chance. I made the move to put me into 1st place and held it from then on all the way to the line picking up an important national win.
It came to the second day on the Sunday and once again could not wait to race after my win on the Saturday. It came to the first moto and I took an easy win to finish 1st. In the second and third moto I finished 3rd and 1st again. It came to semi final time and had second pick. I chose gate 2 and was on the inside. I had a pretty good gate and was in 2nd the whole way around and once again qualifying for the final. Final time came around and I had third pick. I chose gate 5. I had a strong start and was in second. It came to the final corner and was still in second. I railed the turn to try and gain as much speed as I could. I caught up and we were neck and neck to the line and I narrowly missed out on claiming my second win of the weekend. Despite this I was still happy with my weekends racing. Now I am looking forward to Braintree national to hopefully do the same again.
Ryan wins too! © Spencer Moret
Arran
Once again, after sitting around all day on Saturday, Elite practice began I was feeling good on the track, but felt my gates were not very strong.
After qualifying for the semi’s, I had a poor gate pick which put me to the outside of the track. A good race saw me just missed out on the final! The B final had a surprise competitor, Kelvin Batey. The gate dropped and I hug out wide lining up for the swoop in the first corner, which went precisely to plan, and landed me in third and I held my position to the line.
Back to the normal race schedule on Sunday, and practice went well in the morning. I had dropped back down a gear and was getting out of the gate better. After a 5th in my first moto I dramatically wanted to improve for my second moto, and with a brushing of elbows in the second corner I took the lead - taking my first Elite moto win and the 1st would do some good for my points. With a 3rd in my last moto I was through to the semi’s. In that race I tried to make a move in the second corner, which had worked previously, however this time I wasn’t so lucky - I crashed putting a large gash in my elbow and the days racing was over.
Let’s hope for some luck at the next national!
Rich
After the race at Chedder I am feeling more confident so was looking forward to the race at Derby. I arrived on Friday and got set up and headed to the track. After a few warm up laps I felt comfortable on the track and did a few gates that felt good and consistent. Racing on Saturday went well through the motos and made it comfortably to the semis. I was mid pack in the semi and coming into the last berm was sitting in 5th or 6th and pulled a move and it worked as I had hoped and came out in 4th to make my second A final of the year. I was given lane 8 in the final so struggled to get into the pack and finished 8th but I was happy with my racing and happy to be in the A final.
After a good rest on Saturday evening and lots of Zipvit Sport recovery drinks I was feeling fresh on Sunday morning. Again I qualified to the Semis with a good set of consistent moto results. Come the semi again I was mid pack and just missed out on a final spot by half a wheel which was a bit disappointing; but I feel that I was riding to my best. The B final came up and was still a tough race and I finished in 3rd place; so over all I was happy with the weekend - and looking forward to the next national at Braintree.
Overall the team is currently lying 4th!
Check out Spence’s photographs below:
Tags: derby
