Report : NPS 4x Round 3

Round 3 of the 4x serries was blessed by stunning weather and a dusty hard baked track. Martyn was invited to join the 4x team for the weekend and sends his account of 3 days intensive racer-jump practice and the comp itself.

Sunday May 24th 2009 and what a day. Bank Holiday weekend usually means rain here. Not this weekend! Temperatures soared, girls undressed, not a cloud in the sky, and a chance to go 4x racing!!!

I did intend on racing both rounds at the weekend, but stupidly I had hit up the BMX tracks of Cheshire so intensivley, that my poor hands were in no fit state for a white nuckle ride.

Saturday was rescheduled as a spectating day and gate start tuition. I was once told 'a clever person learns from his mistakes, but a wise person learns from those of others'. Never could this ring more true!!

never have i felt more sorry than when a junior rider fell sidways out of the gate, just as 'riders ready, whatch the gate was called!'

After an hour, or so trying to understand when people start to react to the gate, lights or sounds, i took a walk down the course to see what i needed to start worrying about.

The first straight was really simple. 3 big rollers which could be pumped, manualled, or for the quick boys pump in double out. Then after another few cranks a small step up with a long landing area to catch those who over jump.

The racing wraped up at a helthy 6pm, with 'Boom Boom' taking the honors by a healthy meter. just in time for the coutry air to fill with the sound of party and the scent of burning meat. this is when i snuck under the tape for my first run of a 4x track! and boy did I land with a bang!!!

Race day came, and i headed up to the gate for my first attempt at taming teh Beeps! boy do i need to pratice that!

In teh race i won 3 of my motos, and got a 2nd behind scroobs, my team mate. allowing me to progress to the knock out phase.

In the first race a got a good gate, and then held 2nd down to the line.

In the semi's i tried to hard at the gate and did a wheelie up it! not advised. had to back of the pedals for a moment until the front end came back down. it was all over after that and i finished 3rd in the semi.

gutted, but i will be back to stick it to the 4x contingent again soon.

jhgj

dsfsdfsd

REPORT: NICE PRICE SPECIAL

The headline event for Yeti in 2009, the Nice Price Special, was a two day race at Cannock Chase. With qualifiers on Saturday and the main event on Sunday it was something a little different to your usual XC.

Another thing a bit different was the weather - heavy rain, created deep mud. But the team raced regardless with the return of Martyn Brookes. Matt sends this report on the weekends action:

"For the first time in 2009 the entire Yeti team lined up on the same starting grid - a rare occurrence because usually we're all in different categories. Spirits were high and there was plenty of banter, with organisers Pat and Ag joining the mocking of Martyn's news ginger/sun bleached look!

With 30 seconds to go that all ended and we were ready to hit the first singletrack. Still tired from a week in the Pyrenees I was pushed back into fourth with Chris and Martyn up the road. Conditions were made difficult by the mud, but thankfully the organisers had reduced the laps by one to reflect that. After lap one Chris - tired from the precious day of racing - let me by to try and catch Martyn. A combination of my effort and Martyn's flat tyre meant it wasn't long before that happened - I couldn't possibly comment on which contributed the most though!

We spent the next few laps sliding around on off camber descents and twisty singletrack. By lap three I was tired and the heavy rain did little to inspire me. However as the rain got harder the mud became less sticky and the course got easier. This contributed to a great final result as I finished second, with Martyn and Chris taking third and fourth.

Ruth was the only woman to finish as the others didn't complete the race! It wasn't a free-win by any means though - just to complete this race took serious energy.

The event itself was really good fun despite the poor weather. Banter between riders lifted the overall mood as did the marshals with cow bells, friends, family and other random people all of whom probably thought we were mad for racing in such conditions.

A big thumbs up goes to the organisers who, despite the weather managed to keep a light-hearted atmosphere. Hopefully next year the weather will be a bit better and we'll see a load more people racing this unique event."

REPORT: NATIONAL XC R2

Round Two of the National XC Series was a test event for the 2010 World Cup at Dalby Forest, so Ruth, Chris and Luke would be in for a testing race on a truely race-ready course.

Conditions on Saturday's practice were almost perfect in the afternoon, with the trails dry and dusty - however this did not last, with predicted rain hitting the course.

By raceday, the lap was soon returning to its original state and Ruth was the first to race. The tough climbing suited her alot better than round one at Sherwood and it was another seventh place in the Expert category.

By the time Chris and I had lined up for the Expert race in the afternoon there had already been some more rain. As we headed out on the first lap this only got worse and the first singletrack had an icey coating to the rocks! It didn't help that we both got a terrible start and were held up in the early stages behind just two riders!

When Chris did get through it was time for a game of catchup which would last 3.5 laps. In the end it resulted in a solid 11th place. I would mention that on lap three, Chris ran Medusa's descent, losing ground on George Budd - a move that essentially cost him a top ten finish! However, it hardly seems fair when my own 'sicknote' performance was nothing to write home about.

The next race is the Nice Price Special - a two day at Cannock Chase that sees the return of Martyn Brookes!