Rob English (AWcycles.co.uk) took home a 28in flat-screen TV courtesy of title sponsors Sagem in the Gorrick 100. After nearly six hours of pounding Swinley Forest aboard his trusty rigid machine, a delighted and relieved English crossed the line to receive the title of Gorrick 100 Champion. Two-time winner Jamie Newall (Evans Cycles) crossed the line five minutes later and acknowledged he had been beaten by the better rider, but still completed a total of 75 miles in an amazing sub six hour time, confirming his good form for Saturday’s National Series opener.

Michael Scott took home the monster 56in Sagem TV (we hope he had a big motor to get it home!) in the grand prize draw, which also included mobile phones, set-top boxes and printers.

The day started out with some early cloud and light rain, but it soon cleared to leave perfect conditions for racing. The lap headed onto high-speed singletrack after just a hundred yards, making a good start critical. After some classic climbs to get the heart pumping there was the addition of a great bermed downhill which proved interesting for testing your nerve and the limits of adhesion! From here some fast fireroads allowed time for recovery before some tree-hugging singletrack and a final descent back to the arena, cementing Gorrick’s place at the top of the leader board for production of courses so full of fun, it may well have been illegal.

A lead group containing Marcos Schier, Paul Davies (Sagem/Mountain Trax) and Brent Collyer (Sagem) soon formed in the five lap event, however Schier was out after lap three. With Davies and Collyer fading, Nathan Judge (Extreme Endurance) took full advantage, hammering through the final lap to catch the leaders and take the win by six seconds over Davies. Earlier in the week, Extreme Endurance team manager and fourth man in the seven lap event, Rob Lee, was referring to Nathan’s commitment to training through the winter, the win showing exactly what this young prospect has to offer.

In the four lap event Matt Hill (Primera) reached the heights of all time stardom, an umbrella girl in the form of Jay Spetch keeping him dry until the gun fired! It was National Expert champion Luke Smith (Whyte Bikes) however who led out from the front and continued to take the win after a severe injection of pace on lap four, just ahead of Mansour Youssef (Loughborough Uni). Hill finished in third but has plenty of time to progress given that he is only 17!

Three women completed the full quota of seven laps and it was Jenn Hopkins (Kona/Minx) who was the second female competitor to complete the full ‘100’ in the history of the event, doing so in some style. The win was taken in just over seven hours, a time which would have placed her 24th in the men’s race! Second was Karyn Velleman, followed by Lorraine Staley. Anita Palfery (Plan:IT/Berks on Bikes) rolled over the line to take victory in the five lapper, Meggie Bichard (Red Kite) finishing first in the four lap event, Lydia Gould (Torq) top of the three lap pile and Sarah Davidson (PedalOn) cleaning up in the two lap sprint.

The three lap race was dominated by the stars of the Master category in ‘normal’ XC racing, with Sam Gardner (Cannondale/Fat Face/Maxi Muscle), Mark Hutt (AWcycles.co.uk) and Nick Onslow (PedalOn) glued to each others’ wheels for the opening two laps. Come lap three though and it was a battle of attrition, with all three fighting the dreaded self-destruct. First Onslow and then Hutt were blown out by Gardner who took the spoils.

In the final event of the day youth triumphed over experience as Jay Spetch was fastest over two laps, finally dropping David Nelson (Beyond Mountain Bikes/Specialized) for the win.

Nearly 600 riders enjoyed the delights of the Sagem/Gorrick 100 – a new record for the event and we hope that you will all be back for the Exodus Spring Series on May 21 at Porridge Pot Hill which will again be a great course, only with shorter laps and holidays instead of gadgets up for grabs in the prize draw. Congratulations to everyone who completed their distance!