Following a successful Cyclo-Cross event held in Newtown by Hafren Cycling Club, 6 of its team members headed over the border to compete in round 10 of the Waldrons West Midlands Cyclo Cross League, being held by Malvern CC. The course at Top Barn, Worcester was flat with very few obstacles or technical sections to test the riders like at the Trehafren Fields the weekend before but despite this the bitterly cold temperatures and sticky conditions made things hard going and picking the correct line was imperative.
In the first race of the day, Max Bufton continued his impressive first season in the under 8’s finishing 9th out of a field of 22.
Next up was Darren Jarman and Paul Bufton in the senior race with Nick Huband, Ian Coe and Tony Brooks following on behind in the Vets category. A total of 101 riders took part and Darren was the first Hafren rider home finishing 20th in his category, 45th overall. Paul finished just behind in 31st position, 67th overall. In the Vets category Ian, Tony and Nick all finished tightly packed in the standings being placed 20th, 22nd and 25th respectively. Full results can be seen here.
Next week the team will return to the Welsh League with a trip down to the Gilwern Outdoor Education Centre in Abergavenny for round 9 in the series.
Whilst some traveled over the border, Bryn Davies headed to the Coed Trallwm MTB Centre in Llanwrtyd Wells to compete in the Red Kite winter cross country series. The format is multiple laps taking in a mix of forest road, singletrack and technical, fun sections both up and down with something to test and reward riders of all persuasions, with the race running for 2 hours plus 1 lap. Bryn came 18th out of 29 starters and 6th in his age cat and his race report is below!
After competing in the first round in extreme conditions and after falling off numerous times, I entered this round with some trepidation! The weather was a big improvement on the first event and the trails were a lot dryer / easier to ride. This round saw the trail extended into a different section of forest, with some lovely flowing single track and a deep river crossing just to keep you on your…slightly soggy toes! After a nervous first lap with a couple of tumbles I quickly got up to speed and started to get a feel for the trail. With the longer laps making the long climb from the start up to the top of the forest a thankfully less frequently visited section. I eventually completed 4 laps in a time of 2:01:12, finishing in 18th place overall out of 29 riders and 6th in my age group out of 10 competitors, with the top 9 riders completing 5 laps and the 1st place finisher Gareth Payne finishing in a time of 01:46:26. It was a challenging ride but very enjoyable! testing my bike handling skills and fitness to the full. I am looking forward to the next series on the 22nd of December and would recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of a challenge.
Well done all!