Southern XC Series, Round 1: Black Park – 1st March
Fantastic Slipstreamers turnout at Black Park!
Black Park was abuzz on Sunday the 1st, with hundreds of keen and enthusiastic XC racers coming out to enjoy the beautiful sunny morning and take in the electric atmosphere. The course was laid on by West Drayton MBC, – who also hosted last year’s Black Park races where Slipstreamers dominated – and from the feedback provided by our racers they did not disappoint! Black Park is a flat venue with loads of narrow single-track, but the organisers ensured that the course was fast and flowing with some great technical sections including a few bomb-holes and jumps here and there to test those skills! It was absolutely wonderful to see so many Slipstreamers in action at Black Park, with some great racing and fantastic results from all of you – well done!
And now for a few words from our young riders on the ground…
| By George Fowkes, U13 |
By Rafael Garcia, U11 |
 George in action! “I liked the start of the race the track was wide so you could have a sprint start ! The track was exhilarating my favourite bit was the bomb hole it was really technical . I liked the long straights because you could accelerate past people . The whole race was epic !” |
 Rafael getting ready! “It was an exciting race because you needed to get a good start as there were not many places to overtake. There was one place though where I was able to overtake and I did at some point. The track was challenging with many difficult turns, bumps and tree roots. I would like to do it again!” |
| Jemma Bowler, Juvenile |
Elliot Moreve, U13 |
 Jemma focussed and in control! “My Dad, Lorna and Kim came with me to my first MTB race at Black Park. When I got there I was so excited and couldn’t wait to start. I went round for a warm up first with Lorna and my friend Imogen. It was such a great course, with challenging drops and fast straights. The start was fast and furious but it was an amazing experience. I loved racing round the course and am definitely going to race again.” |
 Elliot having a great time! “The race was great and a big exciting event that I hope that everyone loved. The race had fast corners and the drops were frightening and gave me a buzz when I got over them. The bumpy ground in the woods meant that it was hard to over take in a straight line but if you got the slip-stream out of the corner, it meant you had a better advantage of over taking their position and that is what I had to do to over take. It was great fun and the grown ups had fun and enjoyed it to.” |
| Ben Bisson, U11 |
 Ben on the podium! “I raced at my first Southern XC MTB race on Sunday. I have raced a couple of Gorrick races, but this was different. I met up with Elliot at the warm up and we set on what we thought was my circuit, it turned out to be the adult course, I got back just in time for my race. It was to be four laps, I had a strong start from the second row and raced past quite a few riders. By the end of the first lap I was up to fourth, I then made my charge for the leaders. By the end of lap two I was in third, the three of us fought for the lead over the next two laps but I could not make it past. It was a good race, I enjoyed it more than the Gorrick as I enjoy riding laps more than one long lap.” |
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us XC racers! Full race results available via the timelaps website here. Official race report here.
Remember Members: if you would like to join the mountain bikers and get a bit of MTB cross-country skills during a Saturday session, whatever your level of experience, just bring along your mountain bike and join in with the “Mudslingers”!