Lauren

We arrived in France on Thursday. It was just me and my dad this weekend and I was feeling very determined. The track looked good and I couldn’t wait to ride it in my first practice which was 2 O’clock that day. When the time came, I made sure I made the most of my practice! I really liked the track however the turns weren’t very good and the surface was a bit bumpy. I had yet another practice on Friday before the cruiser racing and this also went well.

Saturday came. I was up nice and early for my last practice. For my fist moto, I was quite nervous but gained a second place which I was really happy with. I then followed this with two 3rd places. So I was through my motos but I had 17 riders so still had the dreaded semi to get through. Everything was down to this one race. I had a really good gate and before I knew it, I was on the second straight in 3rd place! I battled so hard, being careful on the turns and finished in 3rd. I was absolutely over the moon! I had made it to the final and was guaranteed an ‘E’ on the plate. For the final, I had nothing to lose so did my very best. I had a really good first straight but couldn’t hold it round the first turn. I came out in 7th but on the 2nd turn there was a huge pile up consisting of 7 riders. The person in front did not get caught up so took the win. I was coming round the turn and nearly got round the top of everyone who had crashed but due to the slippery berm, I just slid down. I got up as fast as I could but I had to settle for 6th. I was so close to a second if only I had made it round everyone. I was still really pleased though and… Bring on the Worlds!!

Paddy

As the weekend approached I was really excited about this race as I was feeling stronger and more confident. I traveled over to Orleans with the rest of the Talent team and we chilled on the way, having a laugh and giving each other stick!!! When we arrived at the track for practice I was abit disappointed, I didn’t feel it was a great design for a championship race, the berms were flat and bumpy as was the whole track! As people started riding the track it got slippier in the berms and people were falling off all over the place.

Saturday morning came and I was feeling fresh and confident. Moto 1 went well and I was feeling alot more relaxed on the gate but a touch hesitant in the berms!! Moto 2 didn’t start well as I went sideways on the gate and unclipped leaving me in last spot!!! but I pulled it back to 3rd then the 3rd Moto I got a great gate and stormed it, I was feeling comfortable but with every race people were sliding out in the berms they were that slippy and as the eighth’s began it was pretty obvious that it was more of a challenge to stay on your bike than it was to finish the race. I held back in the first berm to avoid any accidents, sitting in 5th going into the 2nd berm placing myself underneath to pull it back on the 3rd straight were I was strong but unfortunately two guys in front of me slid out and I rode straight into them! Race over!

The positives I can take away though is that my gates are sooo much better

Ethan

Weather was very bad for the Birmingham Nationals which made conditions very tricky for all riders. Good placing in the motos and semi saw him through to the final on the Saturday. Unfortunately riders stamping their feet at the back of the start gate resulted in him missing his timing on the gate and nearly going over the bars! He chased back from last place to finish a creditable 3rd.

A repeat of the weather on the Sunday and also excellent performances in the motos and semi resulted in a place in the final. No such mistake on the gate today through! An excellent gate and first straight saw him pull a gap on the chasing riders going into the first corner. A perfect lap rewarded him with an excellent 1st. place and extend his lead in the overall championship.

Lauren

I started the weekend feeling excited about an outdoor National. The weather forecast was not great. However, I woke to bright sunshine and looked forward to my practise session. Practise went well and I was feeling positive and I had enough riders for semis.
My motos went well with two first places and a second. I won my semi and was feeling strong for the final. I had second pick for my final and chose gate 3. Unfortunately, my wheels span on the gate and put me in last place. I fought my way back to 6th but was very disappointed with my final position.
I woke feeling positive despite my disappointment from the previous day.  I rode well in my motos with three first positions. My semi went well too with another win, leaving me with second pick for the final. This time I was determined to keep my tyres dry and carried my bike to the gate. I found myself sandwiched between my two strongest competitors. I had a great gate and shut one of the riders down. Despite my lead to the first jump I couldn’t shut down the other rider so had to settle for second going into the first turn. I was right on her wheel for the whole of the race but she left no opportunity for me to make a move. I pedalled hard to the line and was very pleased with my second position.

Paddy

This weekend didn’t see me at my best, on Saturday my motos went ok with 1st and 2nds but my legs were like lead and as I went into the semis I found it really hard to find the strength to gate properly and being in the 16’s class when your behind it’s hard to catch up and I got more and more frustrated with myself. I made it through to the finals luckily.

Along the first straight I got pushed into another rider and as he took off for the next jump, I sort of got caught on his arm and went down with my bike doing an impressive back flip as I’ve seen on the video!!!. The fact that my Club team mate (Cameron Jeffers) won the race made me feel abit better

Sunday went a bit better, I won all motos and semi and went into the final feeling more confident. Gate was better and was in a great position in 4th to swoop under them all but I got caught up in the berm and then just had too much work to do, I positioned myself perfectly to swoop Cameron to 3rd place in the last berm and had a great battle to the line with him.

Hopefully I will be back at my best for the Euro Champs next month

Saturday:

Going into this race i was feeling pretty confident as i had been putting in the effort in and been training on the talent team, i didnt really know a lot of the names in my age group so i just had to watch them in there races, after i watched the other guys i started to worry and saying to myself i’m going to get beaten.

Moto’s went great had two first’s and a second, it went a lot better than i thought. I won my 1/8, 1/4 and semi final which left me with 1st gate pick.

i didnt get the best of gates and was in 2nd going into the first corner, the rider in first went high in the first corner and i swooped underneath him and had a perfect lap and won the final

Sunday:

coming into the first moto on sunday i was more relaxed because i knew i could win, in the 2nd corner 1st moto my front wheel washed out and i scraped all my hip but came back in the 2nd and 3rd moto with two 1st, because of my crash i was starting to feel the pain coming into the 1/4’s and semi finals and didnt have the best races got two 3rds which left me with 6th pick in the final :(. Had a great start in the final was just outside in the first corner but pulled it back into 2nd and had a smooth lap all the way to the last corner as i swooped underneath and took the win.

Massive thanks to Pure bicycles, Stay Strong, Segment and Blakely’s waste management

Ethan

Riding up a further age group again and up against some of the top National riders in the 14`s was always going to be interesting at this tight and technical track.

A consistence run of 1st. And 2nd. places resulted in a place in the A final.

Pitched against his best mate and team buddy Aaron Dalywater, the two enrolled in a battle to the finish line!

Unfortunately for Aaron he came worse off in the last corner when Ethan pulled a block pass. Good second place behind Lee Golder.

Ethan

After such a close race in round 1, Ethan was determined to improve on that for round 2.  He took a couple of wins in the motos followed up by a second in the quarter and semi final.

A perfect gate for the final saw him power out in front and by the first corner held a commanding lead. He maintained this until a small mistake in the rhythm section on the 3rd. Straight which resulted in the chasing field making some ground on him. He recovered quickly and again pulled going into the final corner and took a comfortable win.

Great result which puts him in joint 1st.

Lauren

Sunday was the second round of the 2012 series and I was raring to go. My first moto allowed me to pick up a respectable 2nd place which was then followed by a 1st place. I then finished the motos with a 2nd place. Pretty good! That meant that I qualified 3rd. Because of this however, I was in the second semi and therefore had second pick. I had a great start with a lead to the first jump. But I came out of the first turn in second. I was very close to the other girl and attempted a move on the last turn. I pushed her out wide but unfortunately not wide enough and despite a hard sprint to the finish, I didn’t get it. But still a very nice 2nd place.

Final Time. I ended up with gate three which I was happy with. I had, yet again, a really good start but couldn’t hold it to the first turn. I came out in third and that was where I finished despite a hard battle. Overall I was happy but still aiming for better. It’s going to be a 1st next time!

Ryan

It was time for the second national of the Year at the indoor and after a good practice session on Saturday morning I was all fired up and ready to race!

In the first moto I was in lane 1. I had a reasonably good gate and was on the inside and picked up a comfortable 2nd place. I followed that up with a 1st place in the second moto. However, in the 3rd moto I was in 2nd place and then I and another person came together and my foot hit the jump and I came unclipped and off my bike so finished in last place but still qualified for the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals I had 5th pick so ended up with gate 5. I didn’t have a very good gate in this race and was in the middle of the pack. In the first turn a few of us came together and I lost a lot of my momentum so had to jump the pro section really high so I was still in with a chance of qualifying. I did that and made a move in the second turn to go into 5th and then in the last turn I put someone over the turn and was in 4th place and with a sprint to the finish I made it through to the final.

Final time came around and after getting 4th in the semi-final, I was left with gate 8. I had a good gate but was unable to get across enough and was pushed up in the first turn and was in the middle of the pack and finished in 4th place. Not a bad weekend but I will be hoping for better next time. Bring on the next national!

Ethan

Over 130 riders registered for the 11-12`s boys including top European and World ranked riders from both age categories.

Ethan felt confident and comfortably to 3 wins in the moto`s on the first day. Bad gate timing in the 1/8 resulted in a closely fought 3rd. Place but enough to see him through to ¼.

Gate 7 and some quality riders was going to be difficult at this track but he rose to the challenge and took a well deserved 4th. Semi finals and again an outside gate did not stop him taking another 3rd. And a place through into the final.

Gate 7 for the final against World 3 & 4 along with European 1, 3, 4 and 6! A reasonable gate but no chance of getting around the outside or underneath in the tight, dirt first turn nor past the closely positioned pack of riders in front of him. 7th. for the first day but looking to make amends for day 2!

Sunday

Ethan woke feeling confident and strong on day 2 determined to better his results from day 1; and he didn’t disappoint. However, it wasn`t all plain sailing as the day did not get off to a good start! As he was queuing for the start of the 1st. Moto, Ethan noticed

A clunk when he back pedalled to warm up. To his dismay, the chain ring fell off. He ran over to the officials to tell them he had a problem. Luckily for him and the help of his team, the bike was brought back to the team area for some new bolts to be fitted. With 1 minute to go and whilst still securing the bolts it was announced that if he wasn`t on the start line in one minute the race would start without him.

His coach Martin did a great job of calming him down and took him back to the start line whilst he waited for his bike. With seconds to go, it arrived, back brake still binding and he managed to jump on just as the gate dropped.

After all of that drama, he still managed to compose himself and take the win!

He then went on to take wins in the 2 remaining motos plus the 1/8th, ¼ and semi resulted in a better pick for the final.

The expectations were high as he was favoured for the win by quite a few! However, pre-final nerves got the better of him as he didn`t quite get the same snap out of the gate as he had been doing all day.

A tough battle back through the pack saw him take a creditable 4th. but didn`t quite do him justice for the days performance.

Never the less, a great result and further proof that Ethan is one of the top riders in Europe.

Lauren

The Belgium indoor track was a bit soft but my practice still went well. I was block two so had a bit of a wait in the morning. When block one had finished, it was block two’s turn to race. I was given gates 7, 6 and 1. Not the best of gates. In the first moto, I was a bit nervous but managed to get 2nd. A very good start. I then followed this with another two 2nd places. Through to the semi’s! I thought that the semis were going to be hard and they were. I had 4th pick and picked gate 5. My gate wasn’t very good and therefore got boxed. I went into the first turn in last so I had a lot of work to do. After this, everything began to go well. I fought my way to sixth and gained another place on the third straight so I was now in 5th. One more place to go. I was battling hard for fourth but the girl in 3rd crashed. I managed to avoid her meaning I got 4th! It was a very hard race but I had done it! Through to the final. In the final, I battled hard but finished in 8th. But, I was close to them and I wasn’t too disappointed. I was just happy to make the final and I tried my best.

Round 2 and I was feeling confident after a great day of racing on Saturday. Again I had gates 7, 6 and 1. In the motos, I gained three 2nd places. Once again, through to the semi’s. This time, my semi was extremely hard. I raced my best but unfortunately wasn’t enough. I came sixth but was proud with how I raced. Overall, a very good weekend’s worth of racing. Most of all, I enjoyed it!

Paddy

I was feeling really nervous coming up to manchester as i was racing up two age groups and there is some really fast guys in 16’s,

Ryan

It was the first European race of 2012 and I was very excited for rounds 7+8. After a good practice on Friday night, I was ready to go racing. As I’m in junior now we didn’t race until Saturday night so it was a long day before the racing started.
Once racing finally got underway for us I was ready to race. In the first moto I started with a hard earned 4th place. I continued to grind out results in the motos and picked up two more 4th places. After getting these results, I progressed into the 1/8ths. In the 1/8ths I had last pick so ended up with gate 8. I had a fairly good gate and went for a high low move in the first turn and came out in 1st place. I finished the race in 3rd to progress. In the quarters I also finished in 4th to make it through to the semis. This meant that I picked up my UCI point and qualification for the worlds in Birmingham this year! In the semi I wasn’t so lucky and finished in 7th so didn’t progress into the final but still a good days racing with another day ahead.

On the Sunday again it was another day of racing. In the motos I got a 5th, 4th and another 4th so qualified for the 1/8ths once again. In the 1/8ths I had last pick but ended up with gate 5. I had a reasonable gate and was level with all of them but was on the outside going into turn 1 so got pushed up and ended the race in 5th place so I went out. Not such a good day but lots of positives to take out of the weekend and qualifying for the worlds made it even better! Now back to training with the next race to look forward too now.

Check out Spence’s photographs below:

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]]> http://www.ea-pureracing.co.uk/blog/index.php/uec-bmx-championships-kortrijk-belgium-2012/feed/ http://www.ea-pureracing.co.uk/blog/index.php/manchester-indoor-national-bmx-race-2012/ http://www.ea-pureracing.co.uk/blog/index.php/manchester-indoor-national-bmx-race-2012/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:47:31 +0000 admin http://www.ea-pureracing.co.uk/blog/?p=1395 The first round of the British Cycling National BMX Series 2012 was held at the impressive new Manchester Indoor Arena. A fantastic venue, track and infrastructure which must make it one of the most enviable BMX venues in globally!

Ethan

With the forthcoming 2012 World`s in Birmingham later this year, Ethan made the decision to ride up an age group so he could gain as much experience riding clips prior to the event.

With a class stacked with some real talent, it was always going to be a battle just to make it through to the finals. However he rose well to the challenge and put in some strong rides to take wins in the 1st. 3 qualification moto`s. He repeated the same for the ¼ finals and also the semi which came down to a closely fought race to the finish line.

Feeling confident for the final, he made a good gate but didn`t quite get a clear run to the 1st. Jump which lost him a little speed down the 1st. Straight. A closely fought battle again rewarded him with a well deserved 2nd. place.

Off to Belgium next weekend and back on to flats for the UEC European round. Will keep you posted.

Aaron

Aaron chose to ride up this year, to give him a little more experience before the World Championships held in May.

His moto’s and semi final went well, which took him through to the final.

Aaron had 4th pick on the gate and made some great moves in the first turn and with another good move in the final turn, it was a close race to the finish line but had to settle for 4th place. A good day’s racing though.

Lauren

It was the first National of the 2012 season. I was very much looking forward to racing again. As this was only a single race, I had a lot of practice on Saturday.

Sunday came and I was given gates 2, 6 and 4. In the first and second moto I got 2nd place and in the final moto I claimed a 1st place. I had semis this weekend and I was in the first semi. I had second pick so went for gate three. In the semi, I got second place however this meant I had 4th pick in the final.

In the final I ended up with gate three. This turned out to be not very good as I got boxed in at the start. Despite this, I still managed to get 4th but I wasn’t too pleased with this. There is still 4 more races at Manchester so plenty of time to do well!

Ryan

It was the start of the 2012 National Series and I was raring to go after a good winter of training out in the USA. After a good practice sessions on Saturday I couldn’t wait for the racing on Sunday.

Sunday morning came around and it was time to get Round 1 of the 2012 national series underway. The day started off well with great positives picking up and 1st in Moto 1. This form continued throughout the rest of the motos and picked up another two 1st places. We had 17 riders in our age group so we had Semi Finals. I had first pick after the motos so went in gate 3 and had a good gate, and continued good speed around the track and picked up a 2nd so progressed through to the final in a confident mood.

In the final I chose gate 5 but messed up my gate a bit. I was stuck in the middle of the pack and picked up 5th place. I was disappointed with this result as I felt I could of done better but it’s time to look forward to the next race.

Jordan

Day 1 of Manchester Elite open, I was fired up to race the Europeans and quite a few Olympians. Moto1 went well not getting the best gate but a smooth lap in a tough race I ended up finishing 5th. Moto2 I ended up crashing on the last straight taking a big knock leaving me with concussion when I was in 3rd; I felt really good up to that point as this was my first race back from injury!

I look forward to the next national rounds in manchester and will be hoping to achieve my goals.

Check out Spence’s photographs below:

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Friday

On the Friday it was the Race of Champions Race. There was no practice before the race so we just had to turn up to race. The way that they did the qualifying on the Friday is 2-2. This means 2 riders qualify 1st round and 2 riders qualify 2nd round. I picked up a 1st in Open and a 1st in class so I qualified for the quarters in Class and semis in Open. In the class quarter I was in gate 8, because it was random gates and I had a fairly good gate from the outside and picked up a 3rd.

In the semis, I picked up a 5th in open so didn’t qualify for the main but I got another 3rd in the class semi so I made it into the main. In the final I didn’t have the best of gates and got shut down a bit so came home in 7th place but was happy with the days racing with plenty more to come over the next couple of days.

Saturday

On the Saturday it was the first race of the grands race and there were 603 motos so they only do two rounds on this day. The way that they did the qualifying in 1-1-2 so 1 person qualifies 1st round, 1 person in the second round and 2 people in the third round. In the first moto in class and open I got 2 2nd places so I had to go again 2nd round to qualify for the quarters on the Sunday and I picked up a 1st in both classes so I qualified for the next day.

Ryan at the ABA Grands Tulsa. © www.bmxmania.com

Sunday

On the Sunday again there was no practice so it was just straight into the racing and in the open quarter, they were only taking 3 to qualify for the next round and I picked up a 4th so didn’t transfer to the next round. In the class quarter I had a really strong gate from the outside and picked up a comfortable 2nd to qualify for the semis. In the semis, I had a very hard race, and was in gate 4. I had a fairly good gate as was with everyone but got caught up a bit in the first turn a lost a bit of my speed so didn’t make it to the main. A good weekends racing overall and a great experience.

Ethan

Looking a lot comfier and stronger on the bike, Ethan looked good in practice at Cheddar for the Brits. It was clear he was feeling confident as he dominated the motos, quarters and semi taking wins in all.

He was again feeling confident to take the win in the final but being a little too eger, went a bit too early and hit the gate. Edging out in front down the first straight was not quite enough for him to move across and take the advantageous line into first corner. A closely fought battle and a couple of attempts to make a move were not quite enough to take the win but a well deserved 2nd. was a good

End to the season.

Charlotte British Champion 2011

Paddy British Champion 2011

Check out Spence’s photographs below:

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Ethan

10 days after having his plaster removed, Ethan was back on track and his first ride back at Manchester National. He looked reasonably comfortable in practice but struggled a little with his wrist driving out of the gate.

Unfortunately on the Saturday, his Dad unknowingly had not registered him on his E2 plate which resulted in a disqualification in the first moto and loosing valuable points. However, he came back strong taking wins in the remaining motos to see him through to the semi`s and take a well deserved 2nd. in the final.

Day 2 resulted in another disastrous day for Ethan`s Dad rather than the rider himself. I think he was still in holiday mode! Ethan’s secured a couple of wins and a 2nd. in the motos and sailed comfortably through the semi`s to make the final. He was under instructions from his Dad to take no risks and settle into 3rd., not to get embroiled in a battle for 2nd. or 1st., which should have resulted in securing 2nd. in the championship.

However, this was not to be! Being a qualified engineer you would have thought his Dad was good at maths but not on this occasion. Finishing on equal points resulted in Ethan taking third in the championship due to overall final placing!!

Aaron

Manchester Rd 11

With Manchester holding their National for the third year running, Aaron had a lot to prove to himself after various crashes and bad rounds that he’d experienced on this track.

However, he need not have worried as it turned out to be another fantastic weekend… Aaron won all his moto’s and continued his success into the final with yet another National win.

Manchester Rd 12

Aaron finished the last National round on a high by taking the win again. What an amazing year it has been from start to finish. Thank you to all the parents and riders in the Pure Team that have helped to make it such an incredible experience.