The final round of the British Cycling National XC Series headed to Cannock Chase in the West Midlands, a venue on the doorstep for many of the team. With a big crowd out on course for race day, the team set out to round the 2015 XC racing season off on a high.

In the Men’s Elite race, Chris Andrews, Lee Gratton and Alex Welburn represented the team with exceptional performances. Alex was the first riders home in an amazing 3rd place, his second National Series podium this year, which secured him an Overall 5th place Series finish. Chris suffered an mechanical issue over the course of the race, which limited him to a respectable 14th place and Lee Gratton came in shortly behind with a 22nd.

In the Women’s Elite race, it was a close battle between Jules Toone and Jo Clay, who rode together for much of the race and both were just in touch of a podium finish. Jules eventually came out on top and finished a mere 36 seconds off the top 5 in 6th, with Jo just behind in 7th.

In the Expert category races, TORQ’s Endurance specialist Richard Dunnett took a respectable 4th place, after spending much of the race in 2nd, but the result on the day was enough to secure him a 2nd place Expert Series finish and provided him with the points to qualify for an Elite race licence. In the women’s Expert race, (after a season plagued by injury), Sarah Murray put in a strong performance to take 3rd on the day.

A very good showing of results and a great way to round out the National XC Series for 2015. The team now head to TORQ In Your Sleep for one of the final races of the Season. 

Thank you to Andy Whitehouse for the images in this report. 

As always, a big thank you to all the team sponsors. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do: