Barrie Clarke (Helly Hansen/Giant) and Caroline Alexander (Specialized) emerged as National Series winners following the final round of the Giant NRS National Points Series at Trentham Gardens last weekend.

Alexander managed to avoid all the sharp rocks, finishing with tyres intact, some six minutes ahead of Sue Thomas (Team Y2K/Trek/SRAM/Lucozade). Jenny Copnall (Motorex/Bianchi) finished third, at over nine minutes, followed by Elizabeth Scalia (Bikes Ragusa) and Katy Middlehurst (Helly Hansen/Giant).

Oli Beckingsale (Team MBUK/Scott USA) continued his good form, after winning the National Championships, by winning the men’s race. Phil Dixon (Team Y2K/Trek/SRAM/Lucozade) put on a fantastic performance to cross the line almost two minutes ahead of Barrie Clarke in third and Nick Craig (Pertex/Planet X) in fourth.

Elite Men
1. Oli Beckingsale Team MBUK/Scott 01:42.11
2. Philip Dixon Team Y2K/Trek/SRAM/Lucozade @ 00.42
3. Barrie Clarke Helly Hansen / Giant @ 2.35
4. Nick Craig Pertex/Planet X @ 3.37
5. Philip Spencer Team Y2K/Trek/SRAM/Lucozade 3.56

Elite Women
1. Caroline Alexander Specialized 01:28.51
2. Sue Thomas Team Y2K/Trek/SRAM/Lucozade @ 6.36
3. Jenny Copnall Motorex/Bianchi @ 9.10
4. Elizabeth Scalia Bikes Ragusa @ 13.07
5. Katy Middlehurst Helly Hansen/Giant @ 15.50

Full results can be found on Timelaps.co.uk.

With the NPS series and National Championships decided, attention turns to the World Championships, happening in two weeks time in Kaprun, Austria. Caroline Alexander and Liam Killeen remain Britain’s brightest medal hopes, and both are selected to ride for the British Team at the event. Liam’s hard-earned bronze at the Commonwealth Games shows he can compete against the best in the world, and could be on course for a rainbow jersey in the Espoirs.

Caroline didn’t have luck on her side at the games, but her dominance, pre-puncture, shows what she could achieve at the Worlds if fortune smiles on her.

One surprise is the lack of any representatives in the Junior Women. According to the BCF, no one was able to demonstrate the fitness required to compete at World Championship level.

The full team is as follows:

Elite Men
Barrie Clarke
Oli Beckingsale
Nick Craig
Zak Toogood

Elite Women
Caroline Alexander
Sue Thomas
Jenny Copnall

Under-23 Men
Liam Killeen
Phil Dixon
Jody Crawforth
Steve Farmer
Phil Spencer

Junior Men
Steven Clark
Ed Perry
Alex Cutler
Mark Russell