Mini downhill F.O.D 31st Jan

I left for Forest of Dean at a horrific 4:30am Sunday morning. After a relatively short travel for us (3 hours), I walked the course. It looked pretty fun but quite pedally the whole way down. It was also frozen solid so I don’t think the cut down wet screams were the right choice. They stayed on for practise as I didn’t really have time to change them. With the race being a one day event without uplift, practise was pretty crucial.
I managed 2 full practise runs with a couple of sectioned bits. The course was definitely beginning to change towards the end of practise. It was still very hard but some sections were beginning to loosen up.

My first race run was an absolute shambles. I messed up over 50% of the corners and was braking where I shouldn’t and exit speed was something of the past. I was in Pro AM and came through in first but got pushed into 4th place by the end of the category. I was just over a second behind which considering my run was amazing to have even got close in my eyes. I was quite excited about having a second run. I knew all I had to do was get it right.

My second run was a bit better but I still made some very stupid mistakes. I hit most of the lines that I wanted to but in all honesty I just rode badly. I improved my time by a second or so but I was still 1.5seconds off of the number one spot. I was 0.3 off of 3rd but I wasn’t bothered about where I came, I just was so frustrated I didn’t have a good run . Especially as we had 2 runs, I don’t think I have ever done that before. I am definitely not going to have a repeat of that any time soon.

It was nice to see some people that I hadn’t seen in a while from the race scene but apart from that it was a pretty negative race for me. Bring on the next race in the line up!

Here are a few pictures anyway of racing and podiums;








Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano.

UK Bike Park Winter Series Rd2

I went to the 2nd round expecting the worst of the weather. And I wasnt far off!

I had time for 3 runs down the hill in practise and this time the course was a bit longer, more technical and more pedally. Another good course!

It was raining and very cold through practise but the rain stopped for racing.

My first run started off pretty pants to be honest. I went into the first corner too fast and stalled. The rest of the run followed the same pattern and I caught up with another rider but was still fairly fast. I got a 1min 35seconds and was leading the juniors by around 7 seconds. Nathan Vials came down and beat me with a 1min 33seconds for fastest time of the day.

My second run went alot better. I did many corners much faster than my previous run. I noticed as I was nearing the bottom that the mud was drying up and becoming very thick and sticky. I couldnt clear the last double and came up a bit short but sprinted as hard as I could. I went over a second faster and ended up with 1min 34 seconds dead. Vials went slower but kept his first run time and got the fastest time of the day!

Here are some pictures;













Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano.

PORC 4X Race 15th November

A fun 4X race was held at Penshurst. It was a small race but an enjoyable one! DMR provided the prizes so everyone wanted it a whole lot more! there was only a small amount of entre's but these 4X races are just starting out as a local race and the next few ones are going to be advertised on a larger scale and everyone is welcome as usual.

Here are a few pics to show you the race from my point of view;

- A sneaky whip here and there never hurts






































- A happy face with a new DMR T-shirt
































- the new mechanical gate in action

Round 1 of the UK Bike Park Winter Series

I found out about this race the day before whilst riding with some friends at Hindhead.

I decided to go as the race was a one day event and cheap to enter, due to it being a push up race. It’s always a good race there and the tracks seem to have a good balance of fitness and skill aspects involved.

The course was far from easy and had a fast top section with the middle section pretty hard and twisty with various roots, wet chalky corners, drops etc. the bottom was very fast with drops and jumps over roots. I really enjoyed racing on this course, and with only a couple of practise runs under your belt, it was hard to stick a solid run. Also found that a certain chicken run around a drop was faster as it kept loads more speed for the next section. Dad said that I was pretty much the only person doing it and the others that tried it, went back to doing the drop line.

My first race run was pretty smooth but I gave it a lot of effort ( learnt from the Vials family that its important to push both runs when you have two runs). I over-braked for a few of the corners but a race run isn’t a real one when you don’t get a few things wrong.

After first runs I was leading the fastest time of the day with a 1 min 19seconds, but only by .4 seconds I believe from Nathan Vials.

I said to Dad that I thought that I would be able to get a 1 min 17 seconds just pushing the corners a bit more.

My second run went better and I felt noticeably quicker on most of the track. I got a 1 min 16 seconds which I was pleased with. I won my category by 8 seconds I think and had the fastest time of the day by a couple of seconds.

Here are some pictures of the event;







Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano

Portuguese National - Porto de Mos

I went to Portugal for this UCI category 2 race in search of the extra 9 points I need to compete in the world cups again next year. I new it wasn’t going to be easy but I was confidant.

After a gruesome 35 hour travel by cruise ship and van I got to the venue. The van journey from Santandeer was constantly through mountains that looked down at the road at its insignificance to them. However the race track was on a hill that had to be a ¼ of the height.

The first minuite of the track was very simple and had 3 drops and was very flat. the next 30 seconds had some nice flat corners and another drop and was again very pedally. The last minuite had many corners with a bit more involved with rocks. It was as simple as it reads, but as I always say, if you’re a racer, it’s the clock your against and the track is no different for the other racers.

Saturday’s practise proved to a lot of people that despite the amount of pedalling involved it was great fun and you had to have both high levels of fitness and skill to do well. I managed about 10 runs of which I mainly pushed myself on the lower section of the course rather than tiring myself pedalling the top section at full speed.

Sunday’s practise I got 2 runs in and they were practise race runs. It rained over night but it was slowly drying and they went well.

My first race run was a strong run. I over cooked a couple of corners which I wasn’t pleased with as I lost speed scrubbing past the bushes on the side of the course. Apart from this I pedalled hard and did what I could.

I stayed in the hot seat for some time as rider after rider came down. Many of the elite riders were asking me what time I did and saying well done. It got to the end of junior and I was expecting the prototype Mondraker junior rider to set a challenging time. However it was some racer on a specialised that came down and set a slightly faster time and the other juniors were a little off the time.

So I was second in junior and after everyone had raced I was 3rd overall. I had worked out before the race that I had to come 5th or better to get the points I needed.

Second race runs were in the hard rain and there was no way it was going to be possible to go faster, not even Sam Hill would have done it. The course was very greasy and rocky based and vision was poor. It was the most fun I had had in a run there though. Every corner was difficult and so drifty! I would have loved for 1st runs to be this way too. No one went faster in these runs so I kept my 3rd overall and that meant that I had another 15 UCI points.

When I got back home I was devastated to find out that instead of posting up the overall times, they had only put up the elite times. And for some reason this would mean that I would not get any points.

It is still frying my brain why a junior racer shouldn’t get the points if he is to beat all but one of the elite racers. If a younger rider is to beat what’s know as the “elite” of the racers then it makes no sense to me why he should not be awarded the points, let alone another trophy to state it.

It’s a rest from racing for a while now but certainly not a rest from training, I have it all to do again, “when I am old enough,” so bring on the new year because I’m coming back stronger.

Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano.

Borderline Events - Moelfre "unclipped"

I planned to do this race a while back as its that time of year again where the racing pretty much stops.

It was a really fun track with a brand new middle section. I did loads of practise just because the track was so cool. It always such a contrast riding down a mountain or a large welsh hill compared to what I get to ride at home.

Race runs were really different for me this time. My first race run was a good solid run but without risk. It was a good time and I was in 1st place but there was alot of people that were closer than I had imagined.

The fastest time was an elite rider with a 2 min 17.7 seconds. I was on a 2 min 21 seconds. I am sure any reader will agree that races; no one races without wanting to win. 4 seconds was alot to gain but I was confidant if I just went for it I could get the fastest time of the day.

My second run was very on the edge. I must of had about 5 moments where I lost time by missing the better line or nearly falling off but the effort I put into the run as a whole paid off. I got a 2min and 17.1 seconds. I had around a 7 second lead in Junior and the fastest time of the day by just over half a second.

The elite rider wasnt going to do another run but he went up with the new target to beat.

Close friend and hard competition, Oliver Burton, new what he had to do also and gave it a good go with 3rd overall with a 2min 18.2 seconds.

The elite rider came down with a slower time than before and I was really chuffed to get the overall. I have had a few 3rds and close times to the fastest time of the day but I managed to get it on posibly my last big race in england this year.

I learnt alot from pushing myself in my 2nd run and that confidance in yourself is everything.

Here are a few pictures;





































Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano.

IXS Cup final round - Bellwald, Switzerland

At a very last minute decision I went to Switzerland to compete in an international race that is a UCI cat 2 event, in hope to get some points.

After a 15 hour journey missing the Toll roads of France we arrived on the Thursday at lunch time. I walked the course and did all the usual race preparation.

On Friday afternoon we had 3 and a half hours practice and I managed 8 runs! That’s more than you could get in a whole day by a long way at an English round.

Saturday was more practice and I did probably another 6 runs before seeding. The track was pretty simple but very fast and jumpy. The weather had been good before we got there and it was sunny and dry the whole weekend. The course was covered in dust the whole way down.

My seeding run went how I wanted it to go. I took a steady run down and managed to hit all the lines I wanted. I didn't pedal all that much but kept my speed where I needed it most. I came down in 1st and by the time everyone had been down I had a 10 second lead over 2nd place.

Sundays practice went well and I found my limits with a fall. I went up to the start felling confidant and listening to my ipod.

My race run went well but it was a bit steady in some places. I gave it all in the pedaling sections and generally didn’t have any moments where I felt like I was risking anything. I came down in 1st improving on my seeding time by 2 seconds with a 3min 36seconds. I was pleased with this as it was only 6 seconds off of Nick Beer (worlds top 10 rider).

Here are a couple of pics;



Jonathan - "a German Last rider"



Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, DMR, Funn, Bell, Thor, KMC, Nike 6.0, Mojo suspension, and Shimano.