Event Details
Club: | Dark & White |
Event Name: | D&W Winter Series 2 - Grindleford/Central/NE Peak District |
Date: | 06/11/11 |
Format: | MBO Score |
Mapping: | Ordnance Survey |
Time Limit: | 3 hours |
National League: | - |
League: | D+W Winter League 2011/2012 (Round 2 of ) |
Electronic Punch: | SportIdent |
Event Report
Fireworks in the sunshine ......//
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//Clear blue skies, the trees looking superb in their Autumn browns and golds, relatively dry under-tyre conditions and an event based from one of the most beautiful spots in the Peak District – what more could any mountain biker possibly wish for?? This was the scenario for the second round of the Dark & White Winter Bike O/Trailquest Series. The biggest dilemma at the start for the majority of the 200+ competitors (apart from which way to go!) was how much clothing to wear, jacket on or jacket off? Shorts or tights?//
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//The event offered up 22 controls spread over approx 80sq km with a maximum possible score of 320 points and 3 hour time limit; the riding was basically to the south west of Grindleford using bridleways, off-road routes and lanes in and around Eyam, Hucklow Edge, Longstone Moor, Tideswell and Great Longstone – an additional option was to slog up to Curbar Gap for a control by Wellington’s Monument up on the spectacular Baslow Edge.//
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//The majority of the trails were in surprisingly good condition given the recent rain, there was the odd muddy one, Silly Dale definitely being worth a mention in this category plus in other places fallen leaves had created a few slippery corners but overall the riding was good and fast.//
//The early bird starters were finishing around midday and the feedback was good, obviously the weather helped but there were also great comments about the course. It looked like it had been another tough, with plenty of hills and route choice dilemmas it resulted in quite a number of competitors being late back. The one advantage of basing an event at Grindleford is that it’s very low lying so the last run to the finish is fast! We had reports of 60/70kph on the descent from Sir William Hill, good testing for any brake problems!!//
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//So there was steady stream of rather sweaty and breathless riders finishing over a 2 hour period all claiming to have had a great time. We only had one complaint and that was about the lack of cake up by Wardlow, apparently the note on the map definitely said cake and not care - now we know what really motivates mountain bikers!! The competitor in question saying they would have not ventured so far out had they known, personally we think they were hallucinating with all the effort.//
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//There was a very relaxed post-event atmosphere as everyone sat out in the afternoon sun drinking tea and discussing route choices made; both good and bad. So how did everyone get on? It was all very competitive and a quick glance at the overall results (link below) shows that there was some serious effort going on with just seconds counting in many cases. The top scorer and overall event winner with 301 points was Oliver Holmes closely followed by Alan Billington on 292 and Andrew Douglas in 3rd with 289. Top in the ladies class was Maggie McPhillips with 205 points followed by Lucy Ham on 165 although the top performing lady overall was Molly Whittall in the Mixed category partnered by Mark Horsley-Frost who scored a fantastic 240 points which put then in 22nd overall. The generation team of Dave Palmer and young whippet Will Gascoyne scored a superb 225 points for a very impressive 34th overall.//
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//To see a full run down of all the results go to http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/results-cross-country-fell-races.asp//
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//There are a few photographs of the event here //
//https://picasaweb.google.com/DWChallengeEvents/ 2011NovGrindlefordTQRound2Of7//
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//Don’t forget the MTB Marathon from Chapel-en-le-Frith on the 20th November full details here //
//http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/challenge-events-outdoor-activities.asp?race_id=343 for the 61km route //
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//or if you fancy something a little shorter there is the 45km route here //
//http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/challenge-events-outdoor-activities.asp?race_id=347//
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//We hope to see you there.//
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//Dark & White Events Team//
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