Aside from the National Series and National XC Championships, the big event for many non professional riders is the Regional Championships, which is their chance to stamp authority in their region and take away the title of regional champion.
This year saw TORQ riders represented at two Regional Championships with the Scottish and Midlands XC Champs. Elite riders Jessie Roberts and Gen Whitson were racing in Scotland on the newly created Cathin Brae race course, which is to be used as a venue for the 2014 Commonwelth Games. Joanne Clay, Chris Andrews, Lee Westwood and Ben Price all headed to The Wyre forest in Herefordshire for the Midlands XC Series.
Jessie Roberts reports from Scotland: I travelled up to Glasgow for course profiling at the 2014 Commonwealth Games course with Scottish Cycling. Friday was spent data logging with Edinburgh Napier University. This meant using a Go Pro and data monitoring unit, this data can be used in preparation for the national championships and potentially the commonwealth games. I spent Saturday getting as many laps in as possible and concentrating on sections of the course that I was left comfortable with.
Sunday! Race day. My legs were heavy from a big week’s training in Spain so the plan was to ride as smooth as possible and save as much energy as possible. I had a bad start and didn’t manage to get into the first section of singletrack in the position that I wanted but, over the first half lap, I worked my way up the field. Lee Craige was long gone by this point but I kept pushing and managed to finish in 2nd place. Really happy with the progression I have made technically over the previous days. The course was brilliant and I can’t wait to race on it again at national championships!
A great result for Jessie, which was followed by a 4th place finish for Gen Whitson coming in shortly afterwards.
Down in the Midlands, the TORQ-Fuelled Midlands XC Series had created a great course at The Wyre Forest in Herefordshire. With the sun out, it was running very dry and dusty, yet flowing nicely, with a couple of short climbs and descents keeping the course interesting. Joanne Clay represented the female riders for TORQ and leading from the start, she took a close win with a sprint finish to be crowned the 2013 Elite Female Midlands XC Champion. In the men’s race, TORQ had a solid line up with Chris, Lee and Ben all racing, with some tough competition from former National Champions and pro road riders. The team put up a great fight with Lee was first rider home, making some great progress in his form after an nasty hand injury early in the season and rolled in 4th, with Ben shortly behind in 6th and Chris finishing 12th. Check out the event video below for the full story.
As always, a big thank you to all the team sponsors, without them we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. Look out for the report from the British XC Series at Hopton Woods soon:
www.whytebikes.com – Frames & Wheels
www.shimano.com – Drivetrain & Brakes
www.chapeaucycling.co.uk – Team Clothing
www.amphibia-sport.com – Custom Kit Bags
www.limarhelmets.com – Helmets
www.max-mediagroup.co.uk – Team PR
www.schwalbe.com – Tyres
www.lezyne.com – Pumps, Tools & Bottle Cages
www.srsuntour-cycling.com – SR Suntour Suspension Forks
www.exposurelights.com – Advanced Lighting
www.juicelubes.co.uk – Lubrication
www.lakecycling.com – Shoes
www.jagwireusa.com – Cables & Housing
www.joolzedymond.com – Photography
Follow the TORQ Performance MTB team’s progress on their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/TORQ-Performance-Mountain-Bike-Team/110217305676815
And Twitter
www.twitter.com/TORQfitness
