The National XC Championships had to be moved from their originally-planned venue and were run concurrently with Round 4 of the National Series at Newnham Park, Plymouth. This worked out pretty well, largely because somehow the weather was good. The turnout was affected by the appalling weather (and hence travel) conditions elsewhere in the country, but the key players were generally present.

Jenny Copnall (Gary Fisher) took to the front of the women’s race as part of a small group, but soon found herself alone. Jenn O’Connor crossed the line second, but as she’s from New Zealand the silver National Champs medal went to third-placed Ruth McGavigan and the bronze to Maddie Horton.

The results of the men’s race certainly weren’t a foregone conclusion, with Oli Beckingsale recovering from illness. Ian Wilkinson gave him a considerable challenge but ultimately Beckingsale managed to take the win. Wilkinson’s performance was certainly impressive, though, particularly as he’s not a full-time racer and has a job to go to during the week. In third place was the ever-reliable Nick Craig, who we fully expect to still see on National podiums in 2050.

On the subject of old hands, a quick mention for newly-crowned Veteran Men champion Paul Hinton, scoring his first Championship win for twenty years after a bunch of near-misses. And congratulations also to BM forum regular Nick Evans, second in the Sports cat.

Results

Senior Men

1. Oli Beckingsale
2. Ian Wilkinson
3. Nick Craig

Senior Women

1. Jenny Copnall
2. Jenn O’Connor
3. Ruth McGavigan
4. Maddie Horton

Junior Men

1. David Fletcher
2. Hamish Creber
3. Alex Paton

Youth Men

1. Michael Butler
2. Kenta Gallagher
3. Luke Gray

Youth Women

1. Rebecca Thompson
2. Carla Haines
3. Jessica Laird

Juvenile Men

1. Max Sykes
2. Grant Ferguson
3. Hugo Humphreys

Juvenile Women

1. Hannah Barnes
2. Claire Oakley
3. Alice Barnes

Sport Men

1. Ben Thomas
2. Nick Evans
3. John Whittington

Sport Women

1. Wendy Cashmore
2. Katie Collins
3. Sara Randle

Junior Women

1. Annabel Simpson
2. Annie Last
3. Marie Stuart

Espoir Men

1. Ian Bibby
2. Ross Creber
3. Mark Thwaites

Grand Vet Men

1. Roy Hunt
2. Ray Crosthwaite
3. Andrew Haines

Grand Vet Women

1. Sallie Burnham

Master Men

1. Sam Gardner
2. Jamie Newall
3. Simon Burgess

Master Women

1. Michelle Roberts
2. Jodi Vickery
3. Caroline Goward

Veteran Men

1. Paul Hinton
2. Roland Tilley
3. Jef Sharp

Veteran Women

1. Belinda Tarling
2. Hazel Sutherland
3. Debbie Burton

Open Men

1. Andy Plewes
2. Stuart Harvey
3. Tjarko Leungen