When it comes to winter races there’s always an element of risk with the weather but that’s what makes up part of the challenge and the attraction. In the UK there have been a number of venues that have become synonymous over the years with winter racing, and perhaps none more so than the Scottish Borders town of Innerleithen. Snow, ice and seriously sub zero conditions are all fairly standard so it’s no surprise to learn that those who make the trip to Innerleithen for their annual pre-season warm up are tough. Camping when it’s -7c outside? Standard.
This weekend saw the Borderline team, in conjunction with Fetish Bikes, put on their 2012 Innerleithen winter round which saw 130 riders turn up from far and wide to race. With a smaller entry field than has historically been the norm, the uplift was swift with help from Carl at Northerndownhill and the fast and flowing track was easy to get clean runs on with minimal holdups. Also, rather miraculously, the weather was mild and relatively dry despite a little ice on the top road crossing first thing on Saturday.
As always there was a bit of a ride along the road (Elite rider Jack Reading reckoned he rode over twenty miles on tarmac alone throughout the weekend). Yet that’s just part and parcel of the venue and, once at the top of the hill, things got quickly underway on the fast and flowing trail taped by Joe Connell which was effectively gold run into the old motorway before spitting you into the arena by way of the bombhole. It was interesting to compare the two uplift styles in use over the weekend; the traditional cattle truck and coach, and the Northerdownhill minibuses and trailers. Although by no means definitive, the conclusion by many echoed what Pearce Cycles found a few years ago, namely that it’s all in the turnaround time. Whereas the truck and coach takes a significant amount of time to fill, the minibuses are filled and away within minutes. Thanks to their custom built trailers they also remove the risk of damage to your expensive pride and joy, definitely no bad thing!
So of course it’s onto the racing. Alastair MacLennan jnr took third in Juveniles behind Charlie Cranston in second and winner James Purvis who was the model of consistency with less than half a second between his two run times. In Youth Drew Carters took third just a couple of seconds down on second placed Tristan Riley-Fox and winner Dan Farley. Local iCycles sponsored Ross Wilcox took third place in Juniors with Morgan Gulland in second while George Gannicott took the top step of the podium with a time that placed him 4th overall!
In Veterans the podium was made up of a bunch who’ve been familiar faces on podiums for years. Martin Hodgson has had a hand in multiple trails on the hill but with a fairly open plan track that knowledge wasn’t the golden currency it might have been. Third place was his. Alastair MacLennan snr took second while David Tallontire snatched the win despite protestations that he hadn’t ridden a downhill bike in nearly a year. Don’t be fooled though, he probably rides his trail bike more than anyone else!
Although it worked out that girls were thinly spread across each category, the overall showed first year Junior Emma Whitaker in fourth with Senior Emma McRobb in third. However, the win was taken by Youth rider Lottie Mallin-Martin who took home a three second advantage over second placed Elite rider Esther Sands.
Mark Weightman took third in Masters while second and first was a clean sweep for Ticket2Ride with their guide Kris Atkinson taking second just a couple shy of winner John Young. Into Seniors and it was Lewis McLaughlin who took third spot behind James Ramsay in second and Chris Gallagher in first. Which left just the two man Expert category, won by Dave Duggan, and Elite. Jack Reading may have had a few inconvenient issues like punctures and crashes but still pulled a respectable third behind second placed Arran Gannicott and the winner of Adam Brayton who also took fastest time of the day.
Thanks to Mike Marsden at Borderline for putting the event on, all who helped the cause by putting up with standing at the side of a cold track to blow a whistle all day, and to Carl at Northerndownhill for assisting with the uplift.
www.borderline-events.co.ukFull ResultsThanks to
phunkt for use of the images.