Events/Results - MTB

Team Milton Keynes

Mountain Bike Squad

SUMMER 2007 REPORT

Team Milton Keynes mountain bike riders have continued to battle the elements as the wettest summer since the invention of the bicycle hit the UK. But we flew the flag for Team Milton Keynes and for our well-known MK sponsors, Abbeygate Developments, New City Heating, Personal Group, Phil Corley Cycles, Trek, Body Limits and Big Cow.

Back on 6 May at the Gore Bike Wear Enduro held in Swinley Forest top MK rider Paul Priestley enjoyed the last of the fast dusty spring trails in a 45-mile race. Out of over 100 riders Paul managed to place himself just outside the top 10 on the first lap, thus avoiding the queues as the course entered the single track sections. On the last two laps he started to push hard and move up the rankings, having a close-fought race with the fourth-placed rider who crashed in a ‘bomb-hole’ near the end allowing Paul a comfortable finish in 4th place. His race time was 3 hours 26 minutes.

At the beginning of June, the usual crew resumed the Friday Night Summer Series at Borough Hill, Daventry, one of the hardest courses in the series, and in a rare break between the rains we achieved some good results. Lynne Coldray won the Ladies race while Lee Goodman came 3rd in the Seniors, just missing second place by 8 seconds. The course is a mix of hard fast stretches across the top of Borough Hill with some wooded sections then diving across fields and down through some very slippery wooded single track to the bottom of the hill before scrabbling for traction and slogging back up to the top. Lee started very strongly getting away with the leading group so that he wouldn’t get ‘tangled up’ in the tricky second-half of the lap. Carl Stukenbrock came in 6th out of 23 Veterans having made a good start and picking up places in the slippery sections on the wooded hillside and Fred Edwards came in 12th in the Vets. Rob Chaundy came in 2nd in the Grand Vets. Rob was only ten seconds behind his old adversary Vic Barnett on the first lap, but Vic pushed very hard to open a gap, and so it remained to the end of the race.

Lynne Coldray was racing again the very next day in the British Mountain Bike series at Margham Park. The course covered over 3000 feet of climbing with some fantastic downhill single track and Lynne came in 8th in hot and dry conditions.

The next FNSS race was at Kilworth Springs Golf Course. At first sight not a real MTB circuit but with a few banks, slippery downhill turns, a bit of off-camber chicanery, bumpy paths and fast grass track in the pouring rain it became an exciting test. Lynne Coldray rode hard on the soggy course holding second place until a stone lodged in her shoe cleat preventing her from clipping in to her pedals properly. She dropped back to 3rd but maintained overall leadership in the Ladies championship. Riding in his favourite conditions, Alan Coldray pushed through the rain and mud to 10th place in the Seniors – his best result so far this year. Also in the Seniors, Lee Goodman felt he had a difficult race, going off too fast with the lead riders and slipping back to 9th by the end of the race. Fred Edwards got faster and faster during the race and finished 15th in the Vets and Ben Roff won the Youth race. In the Grand Vets, Rob Chaundy got a good start and led for the first lap but was disappointed to drop back to 3rd as the downpour got worse.

In the second round of the well-organised and welcoming Dragon Series at Bettwys Farm near Abergavenny Ben Roff flew the Team MK colours with a strong win. His day started well – it wasn’t raining that much! As Ben rode the course he found it was really wet, muddy and slippery with lots of little river crossings. Sprinting off the line straight into a grassy hill, Ben managed to pull a small gap at the front of the field but, overcautious on the following descent, was caught by the second and third riders. On the next lap Ben again opened a lead on the climb and had more faith on the descent and kept ahead opening up a good lead to the end of the race.

As the rain in June and July continued, the FNSS was thrown into confusion, first with a cancellation of the Cosford round at Rugby, as a mini-tornado hovered over the course and then with three more cancelled races as parks were underwater, courses could not be prepared, off-road car parking was hazardous and, generally, the weather was most inclement.

The Cosford race was rerun, however, but still in wet and slippery conditions which Lee Goodman revelled in. The wooded sections became darker and the exposed roots increasingly slippery as the race wore on and the rain started again. Lee finished a commendable 5th in the competitive Senior race. Carl Stukenbrock was suffering with an injured shoulder and neck after a recent training crash and decided to withdraw after the first lap as he was in increasing pain and didn’t feel he could ‘get going’. Fred Edwards came in 14th in the Vets and Ben Roff won the Youth category. Rob Chaundy again came in third in the Grand Vets after a bad start and being held up in the single track sections. Trying to make up time he came off a couple of times in the slippery conditions and struggled to the end.

On 14 July, Claire Yearby and Lynne Coldray teamed up to enter the TwentyFour12 12-hour female event. The course was tough with twists, turns, mud and a ‘fun’ mogul field at the end of the 11km lap. The race started at midday and, although the weather was good the track was very muddy and sticky over the first few hours with plenty of running across unrideable off-camber and rooty sections. As the day wore on it did dry out producing some fantastic single track and, at night, the mogul field looked spectacular with bikes everywhere. Overall, the course was very technical with ‘bomb-holes’ and grinding climbs and Claire and Lynne clocked up eleven laps in the 12-hour period and were pleased to come in 3rd in this their first team event. Lynne’s husband, Alan, ‘was a star’ acting as team mechanic and bike cleaner for the event.

Despite the poor weather Team Milton Keynes off-road riders are looking forward to some great races over the end of the summer including the ‘hardest cyclo-cross race in the world’, The Three Peaks, to be held on 30 September.