Anyway, Round 1 was at the Screaming Goat, about as far from Scotland as its possible to get before getting wet feet, in the QECP in Hampshire. 450 miles each way. I reckon that's about 120 miles in the car for each minute on the board. Was it worth it? Oh yes...
You might have seen the ATBA promo video for this round, and maybe you thought the track looked easy. Maybe a little quick in places, maybe slower in others. They say the camera doesn't lie, but this time, well lets say its not often that riders like Bieran, Brindy, Mark Sewell and James Wanklyn look a little pale before dropping in...
The top was a nice gentle windy trail through scrubby bushes, with the odd shortcut or two. The gradient picked up a bit into a choice of off camber right handers and a sharpish left over a couple of small dirt kickers.
So far so good- but now the hill dropped sharply, as the track widened.There was two main line choices here- left and right round a large fallen tree, or straight on and over the drop. As the hill got to its steepest, there was a magnetic tree right on the line. If you managed to miss that one, the track got bumpier setting up nicely for the next tree- a lovely example, clad in Ironsides finest foam mattress. The best line was to aim right here, rather than straight on (Shane!) to avoid hospital time. Final corner was a thing of beauty, a left over a rise, which was almost perfect for keeping wheels off the ground when grip was needed most. Straight on the the road and finish.
Sub 1 minute 10 was respectable, sub 1 minute fast, 55 secs very fast- anything below 50 secs ridiculous..
Results:http://www.atbauk.org/results/uk-series-round-1-head-down-results/
Headcam:
