Photo Epic: British Downhill National Series Round 2 - Innerleithen

The Elite riders seeding run was greeted by more heavy rain, not that it seemed to slow them down. Ciaran King making the road gap look easy.

It was the unlucky 13 plate this weekend for Declan Willicombe. Unfortunately, Dec had an off in the mud, which left him in 12th the elite field.

The new UK National Champion Katherine Sharp took the win in the Elite women's field. Katherine was on it all day with the DMR Pivot rider taking the top spot in seeding too.

Stuart Jones somehow held on to this! Who knew that riding off a muddy drop, not clipped in and without any pins in your pedals that your feet don't stay on the pedals - still a respectable 7th place for Stu.

The World Champ Reece Wilson was out racing at his local and was on it until the slick berm just above this section took him down; he still made it into 3rd in the elite field. It's so good to see world cup riders back racing the National series.

Speaking of World Cup Riders, here's another one. Roger Vieira is on fire in the British Series, he is not only leading the Championship, but he also took the win this week at Innerleithen.

It's not just the riders who make events. The medics were kept busy by the slick track.

Ben Cathro, with a 2nd place finish this weekend in a stacked elite field, is a top result. It will be good to see how Cathro goes next weekend in Maribor.

Sandy Mackay battling his way through the rain to 10th in the 13-14 boy's field.

Eric Harvey-Fishenden enjoying the drier, loamy conditions in morning practice.

Calum Ross making his way through the mud and roots towards the last road crossing on the Innerleithen track.

Ben Cathro was a lucky man; just before heading to the uplift for seeding Ben noticed his bars looked strange, only to find a bolt had sheared in his stem. Fortunately, thanks to some red flags, some quick work and borrowing some bars and a stem from someone else meant Ben just made it onto the uplift truck for his seeding run.

Cameron Nairn using the same trick as Riley Scott as he pushed up for his race run.

Riley Scott's Saracen Myst is hanging out waiting for elite seeding to start. A smart idea in the rain is to cover your grips and keep them dry. The gloves even match the fox orange!

Thomas Hawkins heading down to the classic Innerleithen road gap.

After all the rain, the track was brutal on the riders with plenty of aching bodies at the finish line.

Oakley Haines carving through the mud.

Roger Vieira was one happy man spraying the Champagne (alcohol-free) after making it 2 from 2 in the series. That feeling will make the long drive to Maribor a little bit easier!

Isaac Batty finished up 3rd in the 13-14 boy's field. There are so many of these young kids charging hard; it's so good to see.

Seth Beasley fighting through the rain.

Aston Tutt didn't look phased by the wet roots in practice.

Jon Morley working his way through the roots.

Callum Hay's bike waiting to head back down after Callum had a massive off on the mini motorway section of the track, hitting a tree hard. I spoke to Callum on Monday, and he is ok just has a 4-hour gap in his day after hitting his head. Concussion and head injuries are a big deal downhill, and it sounds like Callum will be smart and take some time off the bike to heal up, which is good to hear. Get well soon, Callum.

Hayden Fletcher looking smooth, which is impressive considering the 13-14 boy's had some of the worst weather for their race runs.

Oscar Hakes popping his way through the woods.

Oscar Griffiths took the maiden win for the new GT Viris team, a top result for a talented young man. The 15-16 boy's field is full of some amazing talent and Oscar is definitely one to watch for the future.

Jack Norsworthy chasing down Oscar Griffiths in the morning practice session.

Aimi Kenyon was the fastest junior woman all day, and as a Scot, she was firmly a fan favourite.

Not just interesting bikes on the track, Innerleithen is a mecca for bike riders, and it's good to see people out riding and supporting the riders simultaneously.

Ben Ballantyne took the inside line on one of the more open track sections.

Ollie Sinden taking the outside in the same section of the track as Ben.

The new 15-16 boy's National Champion Dom Platt put down the fastest seeding time but unfortunately had a crash in his race run. I caught up with his brother Nick to see how he was; he said, "Dom's all good thanks. Had an off on the first corner of the track, broke both brake levers, so he had to get the trailer down, hence why no sign of him for a while haha. He was gutted he didn’t get to back up his seeding time more than anything else. He loved the track and was keen to try put down a good time in the wet."

Logan Smith seeded 9th but unfortunately finished up with a DNF.

Justin Barratt dominated the 50+men's field by topping the timings sheet in not only seeding but in race runs as well.

Katherine Sharp on her way to taking the win.

Katherine Sharp giving us her game face.