Race Report for SXC1

A blast in the forest at Kirroughtree

8 riders from Drumlanrig made the trip to Kiroughtree Forest at Newton Stewart for yesterday's SXC mountain bike race. The main course was a combination of 7-Stanes red / blu e single track, forest roads and natural rooty trails cut into the earth especially for the race.

The first race off included Ewan Clark (Junior) Jack and Ally Taylor (Youth), Graeme Scott (Veteran) and Andrew Taylor (Open).

First back was Jack with a good 7th place in a very competitive field - he was shortly followed by Ally and then Andrew who both completed their two lap races without event.

Next in, in what was recognised as the finish of the day was Ewan who after leading strongly early on in the four lap junior race was caught and passed by a rival. This led to a dramatic sprint finish, which Ewan won by selecting the inside line on the final bend to seal his first victory of the season. The last but not least finisher of the 11am races was Graeme Scott with a very impressive performance in his first race as a veteran. Not bad considering he didn't realise that the clocks had changed untill 10:45!

Drumlanrig riders Ariana Willoughby, Jamie Willoughby and Cameron Scott entered the primary school races. Ariana was first off, putting in a fantastic effort to gain a podium finish in her race. Next off was Jamie Willoughby who finished a 5th in a very strong field. Jamie topped off his brilliant performance with the most spectacularily loud puncture that many people had ever heard. There were reports of a gunshot far and wide. The main picture above shows the extent of the puncture - not one for a patch Jamie felt.

Cameron Scott fought his was through to an impressive 5th place in yet another strong field to round off a successful outing for the club. Cameron is pictured to the left demonstrating excellent cornering skill whilst rounding the final bend on his course which came after a forest road descent.

Mini DH Downhill Race - 15th April 2009

Coaching returns to Thursday evenings

Coaching sessions are returning to Thusday nights at Drumlanrig. Secondary age group sessions start this Thursday at 18:30 and run on until 20:00, and the Primary age group sessions start on Thursday next week at 16:45.

For the secondary age riders, the theme for the next two sessions will be Downhill with Richard Lord of Scottish Cycling and myself forming the coaching team. We are using these two sessions as preparation towards a Mini DH Downhill event that is being run by EVR and Scottish Cycling on the 15th April at the Freeride Park in Newmilns. Mini DH events are designed to introduce riders to Downhill racing in a safe environment and the courses used are designed to be rideable by all with no need for special bikes and equipment. However, the courses can be very technically demanding to ride at speed! There will be a second Mini DH event at Ae Forest later this year. See the Root Rats blog for more details of the Newmilns event.

If anyone hasn't filled out a parental consent form for this year, please try to bring along a completed one to your first session. Membership fees for the year are U16 £10, adult £20 and family £40. Sessions fees are £2.50 per session, but new riders are welcome to come along and have a go for a couple of sessions before joining the club and having to pay.

Coming up next week is the first of our monthly trail building sessions. This will start from Rik's Bike Shed at 18:30 on Tuesday the 7th April. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in. Contact Rik for more details. Finally, please remember to look at the Blog for session dates, race reports and other events. This week, I have just added details of a road race coaching event that is being held at Ingliston by Scottish Cycling and will be adding a report and photos from the SXC race that took place at Kirroughtree yesterday.

Road Race Training Ingilston Thursday 2nd April at 5pm

The popular closed road race series organised by Edinburgh Road club and held at Ingilston circuit starts this week. The organisers have made the course available from 5pm for a pre- race coaching session. Starting this week Paul Newnham, Mark Mackay and David Winton will coach for an hour before the race starts. This is an excellent opportunity to train on a closed circuit and then to practice these skills at the race afterwards. Note you do not need to race on your first night if you would like to build your skills and confidence over a couple of sessions.
To book your place, please contact David Winton of Scottish Cycling

Details as follows:

Age: 10 and upward

Equipment required:
· Road bike,
· Helmet and gloves,
· Completed Parental Consent Form(print out and complete attached form)
Coaching Time: 5-6pm

Race Entry: On the night of the race.

Full race information is available on the Edinburgh Road Club Website at http://www.edinburghrc.co.uk/index.php?page=122
“A popular series of short course road races held on a traffic-free circuit. If you are new to road racing, the Ingliston criterium series is an ideal introduction to the sport. You can experience the excitement of being part of a fast moving racing bunch in a traffic free environment. Each meeting features two races:

The Support Race event is open to women, youth and junior riders.

Race dates:-
2nd April 2009: Ingliston - Support Race 18:30, Senior Race 19:0016th April 2009: Ingliston - Support Race 18:30, Senior Race 19:0023rd April 2009: Ingliston - Support Race 18:30, Senior Race 19:0030th April 2009: Ingliston - Support Race 18:30, Senior Race 19:007th May 2009: Ingliston - Support Race 18:30, Senior Race 19:00 “

If you have any questions please contact either David Winton, Richard Lord, or Andrew Taylor.

Family Fun Day 1100 to 1500 28th March 2009

Everyone is welcome to come along to our Family Fun Day on the 28th March. Just turn up any time you like between 11am and 3pm on Sunday and take part in the activities as a family. This is a great chance for you to find out more about the club and to get yourself into gear for the spring.

There will be a treasure hunt through the wood to give you a chance to get some fresh air whilst solving some tricky puzzles. Easter prizes await those who can crack Rik's system and complete the trail.

Open coaching sessions will kick off roughly every hour with coaches Rik Allsop, Richard Lord and Andrew Taylor . The sessions will be suitable for riders of all abilities and ages and will cover a variety of cyling skills from cornering and gear selection through to riding the limbo. Parents are encouraged to join these sessions to get a taste of what we do for themselves.

Throughout the day, you will have the opportunity to renew your membership for 2009 and to find out more about the upcoming club activities for the rest of the year.

Bike Parts Photos challenge

In addition to the treasure hunt, you will also get the chance to prove, or improve your knowledge of the anatomy of a bike with our bike parts photos challenge. In this challenge, you will be given 20 photgraphs of various parts of a bike and your aim will be to identify / guess as many of these as possible. See below for an example.

Scottish Cyling RSR at Drumlanrig 21st March 2009

Coaching Session - 10:00 - 12:00 Saturday 7th March

This weeks session will be led by the new Regional Development Coach from Scottish Cycling, Richard Lord. Richard has a wealth of biking experience both on and off road and he is going to be delivering a session aiming to improve your bike handling and cornering.

Look out for details of a Regional School of Racing event that will be held at Drumlanrig on the 21st March. This event is being organised by Scottish Cycling and is targetting riders aged 12-15 who have an interest in racing. Younger riders may be admitted on request. Further details will be available soon, but feel free to drop me an e-mail if you can't wait to register.

Bad news - the Dirt Crit Race that we had planned for the 14th March has had to be cancelled. We are now looking towards a date in June to run our first race of the year as a club. Please watch this space.