The West Drayton MBC event at Black Park was a great success with over 120 riders enjoying the fast course run over fire roads and technical single track sections.

The ride of the day was in the Intermediate race where Chris Minter (Pedal On) raced away to a comfortable win after briefly being challenged by Rob Lee (Team Extreme Endurance). Whilst 1st and 2nd positions were soon decided, 3rd was always in question, with Bren Divall (Brixton Cycles) and Robert Whenman (Team Corridori) neck and neck throughout the race before the Whenman got the better of his rival in a sprint finish. Another ride of note was Matt Hill who finished 6th despite an earlier effort that saw him win the Youth race. In the Ladies race there was another comfortable winner with
Phillipe Le Roux taking the honours.

The West Drayton club weren’t short of home winners, with Viv Hazelton winning the Women’s Veterans class and club mate Clive Evans winning the Men’s Vets. The club also provided the 1st and 3rd placed
riders in the Fun Men’s class in Wayne Liggins and Adam Elderfield, whilst in the Ladies section Sally Lee of Team Extreme Endurance took 1st ahead of the home club’s Mel Greaves and Francis Pressner. Father and son duo Geoff and Sam Bores (Lea Valley YCC) took wins in the Grand Vets and Under 12s race.

The racers were all in agreement that, although not as
technical as most circuits, Black Park’s fast tracks made for exciting racing and with the Park Rangers being pleased with the organisation it looks like the chances of the club hosting another event at the venue are high.

Off-Road 100km Classic

This weekend the West Drayton MBC/Beyond Mountain Bike team organises its Off-Road 100km Classic (and Mini-Classic), now in its seventh year of running. This endurance event follows a mostly new route, starting with familiar local trails from from Denham to Chenies. From here the route goes anti-clockwise around
Chesham as far north as Hastoe. From here it returns through Chesham back to Chenies and Denham. It’s no secret that the full 100km route is a tough challenge (as it’s designed to be). However we recognise that many of you are put off by the distance/time involved, so this year we’ve introduced a ‘medium’ 70km route. This will be fully
marked on the ground and on the map/directions. Hopefully this will
encourage more of you to come and sample the excellent trails in the
northern Chiltern Hills. There’s lots of ups and downs and a surprising amount of singletrack if you know where to look. Follow our route and it’ll be right there under your wheels!

I rode a 60km event in the same area last weekend and the trails are in pretty good condition, even after the heavy rain at the end of last week. There’s mud about, but only enough to make it interesting rather than just a slog. So there’s no excuse, if you don’t fancy the full 100km, come and do the 70km. It’s almost as much fun but not quite as hard. For those of you braving the full distance, watch out for section 20!

There are still entries available on the day and the club are expecting a record turnout this year. More details from [email protected] or download an entry form from www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk.