Hopton Castle – English Champs 2008

We arrived on Friday afternoon to sunny Wales and set up camp on a flat dry patch. I walked the track with dad and spent some time deciding which lines would be good as it was our first race at this track. Practice started later than usual on Saturday morning so a bit longer in bed was a good start to the weekend.

Off the start line the track went over some small tables and had a lot of rooty sections which got worse and harder to ride as the day went on. Lots of ruts helped round corners and the widely taped track meant there were a lot of options. Out into the open and you go over stumps and round bermed corners. Here the track was hardcore and mud which gave less grip when the rain came but still provided a cleaner line. Jumping over some bigger stumps and cutting inside on some corners helped to gain time. Back into some more open wood sections where the trees weren’t the issue, but instead the flatter ground and roots mixed with the length of the section made for some enduring racing for even the fittest riders. Over the second road crossing and you’re back into the open. Here there were loose corners with wider lines to help you set up better for the straights. Off some step downs and you keep high avoiding braking bumps back into the final woods section.

Round some switchbacks with flat corners you go down a gulley and over a log into the tight root section. Here you go left over a drop with roots on the run in. Taking the right line here was essential to keep your speed up. Round a set of muddy corners and a big set of switchbacks lead down to the drop and triple jump where many riders scared themselves or ended their weekend. Over the final big table jump and you cross the finish in the field.

After practice on Saturday I walked the track with mark and discussed some lines. I decided to change some lines in the top woods and found some better ways to cross the roots.

On Sunday practice went well and the overnight rain had helped the track to not get sticky which meant I kept my cut down spikes on the bike. The first run went good with all my lines right and I kept up the pace all the way down. As the first rider down I had no problems ahead of me and I put in a good time of 2:47 which gave me 7th place in the run. In run 2 I was going for it with the thought of a title ahead of me. This went all wrong when I crashed on an easy corner in the woods so I didn’t improve my time. I still kept my good time from run 1 and I came 9th in the junior category for the weekend. I also placed 39th overall out of 251 riders who put in a time which was a more than satisfying result for me.