Hopton round 3 Pearce cycles winter series..................

It was winding up to be a beutifal summers weekend in the middle of march, the weather forecast promised us sun, as did the skys, and they certainly didn't let us down. Who'd of thought it in the middle of march we would be scouraging around in our sheds for minions and high rollers, instead of arming our bikes with custom innertubes and spikes.....................



I think we were all a bit optimistic about a 'new track' being built so soon to the race, rumours of a awesome mixture of flat out open sections mixed with technical root gardens and old school quarry drops littered the forums. I dont think anyone outside of the pre uplift day knew what to expect really, i was thinking the usual pedally hopton but with a few more jumps, but this course was far from it....

After blazing it from Little Chef we turned up to find dust clouds churned up from the tractors, choking passers by, in awe of what the weatherman was doing?! After a small walk to the uplift, you were greeted by more than enough trailors to get you up the hill. Most people were hitting up 7 practice runs on saturday.... Having a sore ass from the previous week doesnt help things, but you cant complain about the speed and quantity this time.

After a painfull 100m climb up, what felt like a minor mountian after a few runs.. The track kicked things off with a few tight root infested corners which caught more than a few out. Best line was to tuck inside on the first and hit the straight line skipping over roots as you go.

Peel round the corner and you hit a gud ol 25ft road gap, which is a nice addition to a midlands track. Good to see the barrier is being raised this year. Sky it or go round it, but watch out for the roots littering the next shaded alley whcih you hit at mach 10 everytime... Get that weight off the front son! Pump and hope or nip in to the right on a horrible off camber roots section, which layed claim to Burgs 40's and many other peoples paintwork...

Quarry drop up next, the best went high and the rest went low. This caught many people out with some 'thuds' heard from all over the hill, the key was to make sure you were straightend up coming off the drop or your going to go arse over tit. Float over the next double and step up, then get on the gas to carry you into the flat out open.

Pile your way through the first few whoops and trees and burst out into the open mach 10, drift your way round the first major right hander and you hit a series of awesome stump jumps. One of them which sends you into a catch berm swinging you left into a bus stop/hip jump, which only a few could make.

Pummel through the last few rutted open turns, which lead you into the switchbacks. Hit them too fast and you'd be off down the hill, but too slow and you'd be losing too much precious time. Hitting the high lines on most of the corners were key here as they swung you into the next and so on...


Enter the last arena area skimming through the tight trees, hitting the awesomely crafted berms which swung you into the penultimate feature. Stay left on the rocks and squash the last 'lethal' tabletop which claimed a few people on both days... Sprint to the line and gaze round to your right to find another new addition in the form of a clock, which showcased your time to the crowds.

Big thanks go out to Dave pearce and Ian White who headed the pearce cycles digging crew who made this track possible...

Podium time saw all 4 seasons hit one after the other. Blizzards,rain, sun the lot..
Tonnes of prizes given out with Burg handing out some produce for some select catergory winners, and tonnes of goggles and bike wash also donated.

Hard tail
GILLIGAN Ben - Brooks Cycles 2:57.956
WILLERTON John 3:07.383
BOLTON Max 3:18.335

Juvenille
FLOCKHART Sam - Descent-Gear.com/Astrix 2:37.407
PETFORD Sam Pearce Cycles Race Team 3:18.458
CARPENTER Alex 3:21.166

Youth
KERR Bernard - ExtremeMedics.com/Marzocchi/Bicycle Fairy 2:26.358
BREWIN Gareth Descent-Gear.com 2:26.839
THOMAS Stefan Ancillotti 2:30.284

Junior
Dale anhilates everything and nearly... everyone coming 2nd fastest overall on the day and winning his catergory overall.
DALE Sam - Solid Electric 2:16.588
GEOGHEGAN Jack - Ancillotti UK 2:23.433
SHIELDS Bradley - Pearce Cycles 2:27.167

Vets
HARVEY Trevor - Aston Hill 2:42.215
RAMSAY Seb - Ticket2Ride/Descent-Gear.com 2:44.042
SIMPSON Jono - Pearce Cycles Race Team 2:44.645

Masters
Congrats to Burg on winning the series overall.
JONES Sion - MTB-Direct/Santa Cruz 2:32.186
REED Thomas - Descend Hamsterley 2:34.592
WILLIAMS Colin - MTB-Direct.co.uk 2:35.832


Youth Women
ADAMS Monet - The Bike Cellar/Utopia 3:21.462

Veteran Women
DAVIES Lynda - Ticket2Ridebc.com/Descent-Gear.com 3:14.234

Master Women
OSBORN Suzy - Rave Racing 3:50.072

Senior Women
DIX Aimee - Team Skene 3:03.238
LEWIS Rachel - awcycles.co.uk 3:32.261

Elite Women
HORRIDGE Emily - Mountain Cycle/Marzocchi 2:56.198 2:51.866



Seniors
Timaaaay takes the overall, nice one mate.
YEOMANS Daniel - Curtis Bikes 2:25.511
PEARSON Tim - nocycling.com 2:29.022
BUDDIN Andrew - Descend Hamsterley 2:29.402

Expert
Ad Morgan ruled on a hardtail all weekend.
BRAYTON Adam - Keswick Bikes/Electric 2:19.186
WHILES Nikki - Team Skene 2:19.323
DAVIES Jason - Brooks Cycles 2:21.044

Elite
JONES Ralph - Dirt Magazine 2:16.520
DEACON Tom 2:19.
SORRELL Rowan - Orange Bikes 2:20.648

48 72